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科学美国人60秒 SSS 夜空的热量损失可为离网区供电

时间:2020-07-21 02:09:08

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(单词翻译)

This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science, I'm Susanne Bard1.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列,我是苏珊娜·巴德。

Switching on the lights at night is second nature to most people in the developed world. But electricity isn't a given in many other parts of the globe.

对大多数发达国家的居民来说,夜晚开灯是第二天性。但世界上还有许多地方尚未通电。

"Something like a billion people on our planet still lack reliable access to electricity. Think about folks in parts of the developing world that are living in off-grid locations. And for them, one of the central applications of electricity is lighting2, and we need lighting the most at night."

“地球上大约有10亿人仍然缺乏可靠的电力供应。想想那些生活在发展中国家离网区的人们。对他们来说,电力的核心应用之一就是照明,而我们在夜晚最需要照明。”

U.C.L.A. materials scientist Aaswath Raman. Solar cells can provide remote areas with electricity during the day but require batteries to store that energy for use at night. Raman's team has developed a potential solution: a simple thermoelectric device that generates power when it's exposed to the cold night sky. It's made possible by a phenomenon called radiative sky cooling.

加州大学洛杉矶分校的材料科学家阿斯沃斯·拉曼说到。太阳能电池可在白天为偏远地区提供电力,但需要电池储存能量以备夜间使用。拉曼的团队已经开发出可能的解决方案:一种暴露在寒冷的夜空就能发电的简单热电设备。这是由“天空辐射冷却”现象实现的可能性。

All objects, Raman explains, radiate heat. "And so what that means from the perspective of a surface that's looking up at the night sky is that it will, all by itself, send out more heat than the sky sends back to it. It escapes to the upper atmosphere and even out to outer space. And it's something that anyone can observe at night. So if you go and measure the roof temperature on your house in the early morning hours, say, you should read a temperature that is much lower than the immediate3 ambient air temperature."

拉曼解释说,所有物体都会散发热量。“所以,从仰望夜空表面的角度来看,这意味着表面自身散发的热量比天空反射回来的热量要多。热量逃到上层大气,甚至逃出外层空间。这是任何人都可以在晚上观察到的情况。因此,如果你在清晨测量自家房子的屋顶温度,你应该会看到比即时周围气温低得多的温度。”

Raman reasoned that this temperature difference could be exploited to generate electricity. His team built their device using an aluminum4 disk that acts as a radiative cooler. Its cool side faces the night sky, while its other side is warmed by the air around it. As heat escapes upwards5, a thermoelectric generator6 converts the temperature difference into electricity that powers a small LED light.

拉曼认为这种温差可以用来发电。他的团队用铝盘当作辐射冷却器,制作出他们的设备。其冷却面朝向夜空,另一面则被周围的空气温暖着。当热量向上逃逸时,热电发电机将温差转化为电能,这种电能可为小型LED灯供电。

For now, the energy output of the device is just a tiny fraction of what a solar cell can produce. But engineering improvements could eventually boost its performance. Raman sees the device as a complement7 to solar, providing inexpensive, 24-hour power generation to remote areas of the world—without the need for batteries.

目前,与太阳能电池发电相比,该设备的能量输出相当少。但工程改进最终可能会提高其性能。拉曼将该设备视为太阳能的补充,可以24小时为世界偏远地区提供廉价的电力生产,而且无需电池。

"You can also think about, say, the polar regions, where for several months of the year, there is no sun at all. So in those kinds of regions, this might represent one of the few ways you can actually generate power naturally at night." The research is described in the journal Joule.

“你可以想想极地地区,那里一年中有几个月完全没有阳光。所以在这些地区,这也许是可在夜间自然发电的几种方式之一。”这项研究发表在《焦耳》期刊上。

In addition to lighting, Raman says the device could be useful for specialized8 applications, such as powering wireless9 sensors10 and monitoring atmospheric11 conditions. Or it could be a really cool way to recharge your cell phone at night.

拉曼表示,除了照明,这种设备还可以用于特殊用途,比如为无线传感器供电和监测大气状况。或者还可以成为夜间给手机充电的超酷方式。

Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Susanne Bard.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是苏珊娜·巴德。


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 bard QPCyM     
n.吟游诗人
参考例句:
  • I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神!
  • I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。
2 lighting CpszPL     
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光
参考例句:
  • The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
  • The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。
3 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
4 aluminum 9xhzP     
n.(aluminium)铝
参考例句:
  • The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
  • During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段,它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。
5 upwards lj5wR     
adv.向上,在更高处...以上
参考例句:
  • The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
  • The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。
6 generator Kg4xs     
n.发电机,发生器
参考例句:
  • All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
  • This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。
7 complement ZbTyZ     
n.补足物,船上的定员;补语;vt.补充,补足
参考例句:
  • The two suggestions complement each other.这两条建议相互补充。
  • They oppose each other also complement each other.它们相辅相成。
8 specialized Chuzwe     
adj.专门的,专业化的
参考例句:
  • There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
  • These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。
9 wireless Rfwww     
adj.无线的;n.无线电
参考例句:
  • There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
  • Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。
10 sensors 029aee483db9ae244d7a5cb353e74602     
n.传感器,灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时,有很大变化。 来自辞典例句
11 atmospheric 6eayR     
adj.大气的,空气的;大气层的;大气所引起的
参考例句:
  • Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
  • Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

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