Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Joseph@Shiga]

Hi there,

I always appreciate native teachers' suggestions.
What bothers me today is how to use the verb "align"
in the following situation:

1. This is concerning film formation on a substrate by use of a mask.
(A film material is made to pass through the openings of the mask
and deposited on the corresponding positions on the substrate.)
2. The respective sizes of the mask and the substrate are equal.
3. The mask and the substrate are made to adhere to each other.

[My questions]
A. Can we write as follows?
The mask and the substrate are made to align with (or to?) each other.

B. Can we use the verb "adhere", even though the mask and the
substrate are made to attach to each other, by use of magnetic force,
not by glue or other chemical agents.

Many thanks in advance.

Joseph@Shiga.

[CP]

Since the film and the substrate are positioned correspondingly by means of the mask, they are aligned, and you can say that one is aligned with the other, or that they are aligned or are in registration.

When two things stick to or cling to each other, they adhere to each other, whether because of glue, magnetism, or (I suppose) gravity. So, yes, you can say that the mask adheres to the substrate magnetically, or that they adhere to each other, or that they stay together because of magnetic attraction.
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