In the past,one of the biggest disadvantages of machines has been their inability to work on a micro-scale. For example,doctors did not have devices allowing them to go inside the human body to (36) health problems or to perform (37) surgery. Repair crews did not have a way of (38) broken pipes located deep within a high-rise (39) building. However, that’s about to change. Advances in computers and biophysics have started a microminiature (超微) (40) that allows scientists to envision—and in some cases actually build— microscopic machines. These devices promise to (41) change the way we live and work.
Micromachines already are making an impact. At Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland,Ohio, research scientists have designed a 4-inch silicon chip that holds 700 tiny (42) motors. At Lucas NovaSensor in Fremont,California,scientists have perfected the world’s first microscopic blood-pressure sensor. Threaded through a person’s blood (43) , the sensor can provide blood pressure readings at the valve of the heart itself. (44) .
Auto manufacturers, for example, are trying to use tiny devices (45) . Some futurists envision nanotechnology (纳米技术) also being used to explore the deep sea in small submarines, or even to launch finger-sized rockets packed with microminiature instruments.
There is an explosion of new ideas and applications. So, (46) .