Heat sensors - Marvel Education

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Practice Listening: Highlight Correct Summary ID: #4261 Medium Heat sensors

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Transcript:

One of the most exquisite heat sensors in the world - it’s not in some government lab. It's in the head of a snake. The pit viper, to be specific. "They're incredibly sensitive. They beat any of the,I would say, synthetic counterparts, even the most expensive semiconducting systems used for example in infrared or thermal cameras today." Chiara Daraio, a materials scientist at Caltech. "They can effectively resolve few millikelvin of temperature changes at a distance of up to a meter." Now Daraio and her colleagues have designed a heat-sensing material that competes with the sensitivity of the snake. Using pectin. Same stuff you used to thicken jam. “Pectin, which is a double-stranded molecule thats ubiquitously present on the outer cell wall of plant cells, acts effectively as a tiny molecular temperature sensor." When temperatures go up, she says, the double-stranded molecule unzips, "like the zipper of a jacket." So they did what you usually do with pectin - they made jelly, using pectin and water and calcium ions. They dried that out, and got a thin, transparent film. Then, they had to test it. Which they realized they could do using a microwave and her son’s teddy bear. "Which can be heated up to a temperature of 37 degrees, roughly the temperature for example of a mouse or a running prey for a snake." Pectin film was exquisitely sensitive to the warmed-up teddy bear - on par with the snake. The film could detect temperature changes as small as 10- thousandths of a degree celsius. The study is in the journal Science Robotics.

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Infrared or thermal cameras today are incredibly sensitive and can detect temperature changes as small as 10- thousandths of a degree Celsius. This has been possible after studying the outer cell wall of plant cells. Scientists have designed a heat-sensing material that competes with the sensitivity of the pit viper snake. They used thickened jam to create a new heat-sensing material that competes with the most effective heat sensors in the world. A new heat-sensing material has been found that competes with the sensitivity of the pit viper snake. This snake used to beat any of the man-made sensors. But Scientists have been able to create a material that rivals the effectiveness of the snake. The head of the pit viper snake has the most effective heat sensors in the world, which can easily detect even slight temperature changes. Scientists have been able to use pectin to replicate the effectiveness of the snake’s sensors.

Result:

A.I. Explanation:

Option 1: "Infrared or thermal cameras today are incredibly sensitive and can detect temperature changes as small as 10- thousandths of a degree Celsius. This has been possible after studying the outer cell wall of plant cells."
Explanation: This option incorrectly states that infrared or thermal cameras are incredibly sensitive, which is not the main focus of the text. The text emphasizes the sensitivity of the pit viper's heat sensors, not the cameras. Additionally, it misrepresents the role of studying plant cells, as the text discusses pectin's application rather than a direct study of the outer cell wall.
Option 2: "Scientists have designed a heat-sensing material that competes with the sensitivity of the pit viper snake. They used thickened jam to create a new heat-sensing material that competes with the most effective heat sensors in the world."
Explanation: While this option mentions the design of a heat-sensing material, it inaccurately simplifies the process by stating that thickened jam was used. The text explains that pectin, a component of jam, was used to create the material, but it does not imply that jam itself was the focus. Furthermore, it lacks the detail about the effectiveness of the pit viper's sensors.
Option 3: "A new heat-sensing material has been found that competes with the sensitivity of the pit viper snake. This snake used to beat any of the man-made sensors. But Scientists have been able to create a material that rivals the effectiveness of the snake."
Explanation: This option correctly identifies that a new heat-sensing material competes with the pit viper's sensitivity, but it fails to mention the specific mechanism of how the material was created using pectin. It also does not capture the essence of the snake's unique capabilities, which are highlighted in the text.
Option 4: "The head of the pit viper snake has the most effective heat sensors in the world, which can easily detect even slight temperature changes. Scientists have been able to use pectin to replicate the effectiveness of the snake’s sensors."
Explanation: This option accurately summarizes the main idea of the text, which emphasizes the pit viper's exceptional heat-sensing abilities and the scientists' achievement in creating a pectin-based material that mimics this sensitivity. It captures both the effectiveness of the snake's sensors and the innovative use of pectin, aligning well with the text's content.

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