17种改变世界的物质

　　发自悉尼：分子并非同时被创造。它们当中有的已经存在亿万年，或者造成环境的大破坏，或者让世界变得更加丰富多彩。在这里，我们将选出十七种改变人类历史进程的物质分子。

　　PENICILLIN⁴ — R-C9H11N2O4S

　　When British microbiologist Alexander Fleming stumbled upon penicillin in 1928, he couldn't have imagined the impact it would have on modern medicine. Fleming noticed that Petri dishes with mould on them grew no bacteria, and in doing so discovered the first antibiotic⁵. Before penicillin came into widespread use in the 1940s, wounds and diseases like syphilis were killers⁶; antibiotics⁷ have since saved an estimated 200 million lives。

　　青霉素R-C9H11N2O4S

　　1928年，当英国微生物学家亚历山大·弗莱明首次发现青霉素时，他并没有料到这种物质对现代医学造成怎样的影响。弗莱明注意到，在发霉的培养皿中没有生长任何细菌，由此，他发现了第一种抗生素。到1940年代青霉素被广泛使用之前，像梅毒这样的创伤病害便足以杀死人类；自从抗生素被发现之后，据估计它们至少拯救了两亿生命。

　　SODIUM⁸ CHLORIDE — NaCl

　　Salt paved the way for modern civilization; it was used to preserve vegetables and meat as long as 4,000 years ago. This gave our ancestors the freedom to store food for hard times, travel long distances and live in harsh climates. Salt is also an important ingredient in the production of chemicals, soap and paper. Sodium chloride is in such high demand that in 2006 alone, 240 million tones were produced。

　　氯化钠NaCl

　　盐铺就了现代文明的道路；早在四千年前，它就被用来为蔬菜和肉类保鲜。这让我们的祖先在困难时期、长途旅行或恶劣气候条件下可以自由保存食品。盐也是制造化学品、肥皂和纸张的重要成分。人们对于氯化钠的需求是如此之高，仅在2006年，它们的产量就达到两亿四千万吨。

　　POTASSIUM NITRATE — KNO3

　　As the key ingredient in gunpowder⁹, potassium nitrate allowed humans to propel bullets from guns and, in doing so, changed the face of warfare¹⁰. Today, there are more than 500 million handguns in circulation, causing at least 1,000 deaths every day. The formula for gunpowder was likely discovered in the 8th century, although it wasn't until the 13th century that it was first used in canons。

　　硝酸钾KNO3

　　作为制造黑火药的关键成分，正是硝酸钾推动子弹飞出枪膛，而且这样一来还改变了战争的面貌。如今，市面上有超过五亿支手枪在流通，每天造成至少一千人死亡。黑火药的配方似乎早在公元八世纪就已被发现，但直到十三世纪才被用于火炮。

　　ASPIRIN¹¹ — C9H8O4

　　Aspirin is the most widely used drug in the world, with more than 100 billion tablets consumed annually¹². The active component¹³, salicylic acid, originally from willow¹⁴ bark, was used as a folk remedy as long ago as the 5th century BC. But it wasn't until 1897 that German chemist Felix Hoffman managed to synthesize aspirin in a pure and stable form, making it one of the earliest synthetic¹⁵ drugs. Aspirin is now taken for a huge variety of afflictions, from fever and arthritis¹⁶ to the prevention of heart attacks, stroke and dementia。

　　阿司匹林C9H8O4

　　阿司匹林是世界上使用最广泛的药物，每年消耗量高达一千亿片。它来自早在公元前五世纪就被用于民间配方的柳树皮，是这种树皮的一种有效成分。不过直到1897年，德国药剂师费力克斯·霍夫曼才设法把它合成为一种纯净和稳定的形态，因此它并不是最早的合成药物。

　　SODIUM STEARATE — NaC18H35O2

　　It's hard to imagine how life might have smelled for the human race prior to the invention of soap. More fastidious hygiene¹⁷ has also been important for stemming the spread of disease. Sodium stearate, the active ingredient in soap, works its magic by helping¹⁸ oil to dissolve in water. According to the United Nations Children's Fund, hand washing with soap prevents up to 1.4 million deaths per year through acute respiratory infections。

　　硬脂酸钠 NaC18H35O2

　　很难想象发明肥皂之前的人类生活中充斥着怎样的气味。而更好的卫生习惯也极大阻碍了疾病的传播。作为肥皂的重要组成部分，硬脂酸钠其魔法般的工作原理在于可以把油脂溶解在水中。据联合国儿童基金会统计，用肥皂洗手的行为每年可以让一百四十万人免于因严重呼吸道疾病而死亡。

　　SILICON¹⁹ — Si

　　In 1954 the first silicon transistor²⁰ initiated²¹ what has become a A$160 billion global market in semiconductors²². Silicon is a key component of computer chips and circuits and it's estimated that there are currently more than one billion computers in use worldwide. Silicon is also used in solar cells, waterproofing²³ treatments and seals, explosives and breast implants²⁴。

　　硅Si

　　从1954年第一个硅晶体管诞生开始，现在已经发展为价值一千六百亿美元的半导体产业。硅是计算机芯片和电路的关键部件，据估计，目前全世界有超过十亿台计算机。另外，硅还被用于太阳能电池，防水密封，炸药以及胸部填充。

　　RUBBER — C5H8

　　Natural rubber has been gathered from the sap of plants for centuries. But rubber only began to be used widely after 1839, when Charles Goodyear found a way to make it strong, durable²⁵ and elastic²⁶. In 1931 U.S. chemist Elmer Bolton developed a synthetic version, and in 2005 we produced 21 million tonnes, with tyres and tubes accounting²⁷ for 56 per cent of consumption. Other applications include gloves, rubber bands and balloons. Even some rockets and missiles are powered by synthetic, rubber-based fuels。

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