CREATIVE FIRE

1. All the industries today are in need of new methods of joining metals together. And not only metals with metals but also joining metals with glass, plastics and many other materials. The work done by the Paton Institute of Electric Welding is considered to be the solution of these problems. For example, how to weld a 1,000 km-long pipeline? The Institute has developed a machine for welding pipelines. The welding section in each pipe exceeds 100,000 sq. mm. It would take 6-8 hours to perform this work by hand. The machine does it in two minutes.

2. The machine was tested in production conditions, the results being excellent.

3. It would seem strange to compare the steel constructions that produce oil in the Caspian Sea with a space station orbiting the Earth. What do they have in common? But they do - it is the need for making repairs, and repairs mean cutting metal and doing welding work.

4. The rapid development of the oil and other mineral resources of the ocean made the problem of underwater welding especially up-to-date. The equipment developed by Kiev's scientists is very effective. New semi-automatic machines for underwater welding increased divers productivity by 25-30 times.

5. And what about welding in outer space? The scientists understood that welding had to be done in conditions of weightlessness, in nearly complete vacuum and within abroad range of temperatures-from 150°C below to 130°C above zero. The equipment, of course, must be rеliable and safe. And the Institute developed such equipment.

5. Прочтите 5-й абзац текста и ответьте письменно наследующий вопрос:

What are the conditions of welding in space?