Computers and Cybernetics

The computers or high-speed electronic machines of today have created entirely new technical possibilities in automatic control of industrial processes. First designed for solving mathematical problems, they soon paved the way for a new field of science — cybernetics — that studies general princi­ples of control both in life and non-live systems. The impor­tance of cybernetics is great in the sphere of engineering sciences. A newly developed field of knowledge is technical cybernetics. Its objectives are to control automatic'industrial processes, to study problems of transmission of information and to develop new principles of automatic control.

One of the main problems of technical cybernetics is the development of control algorithms to be used in processing and control of information flows. The algorithms worked out for employment in control machines are called programs. These are based on subdivision of the computation process into sim­ple arithmetical operations and on determination of the logi­cal operations to be performed with a view to fulfil the pro­gram which gives the sequence of the machine's operations, and must be coded or expressed in the adopted code system.

Two systems of computers are now created for control com­puter design.

One of these is the development of general-purpose control machines which may have much wider application but re­quire more complicated logical circuitry and a greater umber of instructions and commands employed.in the computer. This approach permits control of a great variety of industrial units with the aid of one and the same computer. Thе second system utilizes modern microcomputer tech­ niques to develop special-purpose machines designed to con­ trol a particular process. This leads to the creation of more easily operated and low-cost control computers. Tests of some control computers manufactured for specific industrial units have shown their efficiency and quite sufficient reliability. In our country both systems of control are applied. Elec­tronic digital computers perform both arithmetical and logi­cal operations, making it possible to govern processes under rather complicated conditions.

 

Vocabulary:

cybernetics кибернетика

to create создавать, творить

entirely всецело, совершенно

to design предназначать, намереваться, проектировать, состав-лять план

to solve решать, разрешать (проблему)

to pave мостить, прокладывать, устилать

algorithms алгоритмы

subdivision подразделение

computation вычисление

determination решительность, решимость; определение, установление; решение

to fulfil исполнять, осуществлять

to code передавать шифром, кодировать

to adopt принимать, усваивать

application применение; заявление, просьба

circuitry электрическая схема; компоновка эл. схемы

approach приближение, подход

to permit разрешать, позволять, допускать

unit единица измерения

aid помощь

to utilize утилизировать, использовать

particular особенный, особый; частный, отдельный; подробный, детальный

to lead led, led вести, проводите, приводить к...

creation создание, творение.

low-cost низкой стоимости

efficiency действенность, эффективность; производительность
sufficient достаточный

reliability надежность, достоверность (сведений)» прочность to govern управлять, регулировать rather слегка, до некоторой степени

 

1) Прочитайте и переведите следующие словосочетания:

high-speed electronic machine, non-live systems, technical cybernetics, automatic industrial processes, problems of trans­mission, to control algorithms, general-purpose control ma­chines, complicated logical circuitry, industrial units, mod­ern microcomputer techniques, special-purpose machines, low-cost computers, sufficient reliability, electronic digital computers, rather complicated conditions.

2) Слова для активизации:

cybernetics, algorithms, computation, application, circuit­ry, unit, aid, creation, efficiency, reliability, low-cost, suffi­cient, to create, to solve, to fulfil, to code, to adopt, to permit,to utilize, to lead, to govern.

3) Вопросы:

1. What have the computers of high-speed electronic ma­chines created?

2. What does cybernetics study?

3. Is the importance of cybernetics especially great in the sphere of engineering sciences?

4. What is the field of acting of technical cybernetics?

5. What is one of the main problems of technical cybernetics?

6. Where are the algorithms used? For what purpose are they used?

7. How many systems of computer are now created for con­trol computer design?

8. What is the first system? What is its application?

9. What is the second system? What is its application? 10. What.computers are low-cost, the computers of the first

system or the computers of the second one? 11. What systems of control are applied in our country?