你的短信去了哪儿？：英语精读讲义

200 years ago,

200年前，

it took 12 days to deliver a message from New York City to London. 語法

从纽约市向伦敦传递一条消息需要12天。

150 years ago,

150年前，

the first transatlantic cable transmission was sent from the Queen of England to the US president,

英国女王向美国总统发出了第一条跨大西洋电缆电报，

taking 17 hours. 語法

历时17小时。

85 years ago,

85年前，

telephones became common household fixtures

电话成为常见的家用设备

and 30 years ago,

而30年前，

the first cell phone was invented,

第一部手机问世，

which weighed as much as an iron, 語法

它和熨斗一样重，

took 10 hours to charge for a 35-minute conversation,

充电10小时只能通话35分钟，

and cost almost $4,000.

售价还接近4000美元。

20 years ago,

20年前，

the first text message was sent.

第一条短信被发送出去。

a simple Merry Christmas.

内容只是一句简单的“圣诞快乐”。

And today,

而如今，

more people have mobile phones than toilets,

拥有手机的人比拥有厕所的人还多，

with around 23 billion text messages being sent every day. 語法

每天大约有230亿条短信发出。

But how the hell do text messages even work? 語氣意圖

但短信到底是怎么传送的？

When you tune a radio to a station, 短語搭配

当你把收音机调到某个电台时，

you pick up the information that is being sent out via electromagnetic waves 短語動詞

你接收到的是通过电磁波发送的信息，

at a particular frequency.

这些电磁波具有特定频率。

In this case,

在这里，

they are radio waves.

这种电磁波就是无线电波。

These waves mostly just pass through our bodies without interacting at all,

这些波大多直接穿过我们的身体，完全不会与之发生相互作用，

but they're on the same spectrum as the visible light we see,

但它们和我们看到的可见光同属一个电磁波谱，

just different in size.

只是波长不同。

Photons with wavelengths between 400 to 700 nanometers 語法

波长在400至700纳米之间的光子

have the perfect level of energy to excite the rods and cones in your eyes,

恰好具有足够的能量，可以激发你眼睛里的视杆细胞和视锥细胞，

which then transmit signals to your brain that you interpret as different colors.

随后这些细胞会向大脑传递信号，而你会将其解读为不同的颜色。

But radio waves,

但无线电波

which have wavelengths ranging from 100 microns to 100 kilometers, 短語搭配

的波长范围从100微米到100千米，

are much lower energy and can't excite your eyes,

能量要低得多，无法刺激你的眼睛，

so they're invisible to us.

所以我们看不见它们。

Similar to a radio,

和收音机类似，

your cell phone receives signals at specific frequencies,

你的手机会接收特定频率的信号，

but it can also transmit its own radio waves back to a network at the same time.

同时也能将自身的无线电波传回网络。

The network is a system of towers, antennas, and transmitters,

这个网络由信号塔、天线和发射器组成，

which divide a geographical area into cells, 短語搭配

它们把一个地理区域划分成多个蜂窝小区，

hence the term cell phone. 表達脈絡

“蜂窝电话”这个名称也由此而来。

These cells determine which areas are served by which towers,

这些蜂窝小区决定了各个区域由哪些信号塔提供服务，

though they generally overlap so that your phone always has a tower to communicate with. 語法

不过它们通常彼此重叠，确保你的手机始终有信号塔可以与之通信。

Feel like your phone battery's losing power faster than normal? 語氣意圖

感觉手机电量掉得比平时快？

Phones transmit at higher levels indoors due to building materials,

由于建筑材料的影响，手机在室内会用更高的功率发射信号，

in rural areas, due to greater distances the network antennas,

在农村地区，由于离网络天线更远，也是如此，

and when moving at high speeds, like in a car, 語法

而高速移动时，比如坐在车里，

due to the frequent handover between network antennas. 用詞

也会因为需要在网络天线之间频繁切换而加大功率。

Whenever someone sends you a text,

每当有人给你发短信时，

their phone transmits radio signals,

对方的手机会发射无线电信号，

which convey the identity of both their phone and yours,

其中包含对方手机和你手机的身份信息，

along with the content of the message.

以及短信内容。

These signals are then picked up by the tower closest to them,

随后，离对方最近的信号塔会接收到这些信号，

which converts the radio waves 短語搭配

并将无线电波

into a digital electrical impulse

转换为数字电脉冲，

and passes it along to a hub of the network called a mobile switching center. 短語動詞

再把它传送到一个名为移动交换中心的网络枢纽。

If you're out of range or your phone is off, 短語搭配

如果你不在信号覆盖范围内，或者手机已关机，

the message is stored by the mobile switching center

这条短信会被移动交换中心保存

for a short time until you can be located by the network.

一小段时间，直到网络能够找到你。

The network then figures out which tower you're closest to 講解

随后，网络会确定离你最近的信号塔，

and passes the signal there.

并把信号传到那里。

Once at the tower nearest you, 語法

信号到达离你最近的信号塔后，

it's converted back to a radio signal that can be picked up by the antenna in your phone.

会被重新转换成无线电信号，供你手机里的天线接收。

This all happens in seconds.

这一切只需几秒钟。

Interestingly, traditional SMS text traffic actually peaked in 2011. 用詞

有趣的是，传统SMS短信的流量其实早在2011年就达到了峰值。

Now,

如今，

most people send messages via internet services.

大多数人通过互联网服务发送消息。

In fact,

事实上，

last year WhatsApp overtook traditional SMS 用詞

去年，WhatsApp超越了传统SMS，

as the number one handler of text messaging,

成为处理文字消息最多的平台，

managing 30 billion messages sent every day 用詞

每天处理着300亿条消息，

all around the world.

覆盖世界各地。

And if you're sending those messages across the world,

如果你要把这些消息发往世界另一端，

it's actually sent via a giant cable that runs across the ocean floor. 用詞

它们其实会通过一条铺设在海底的巨型电缆传输。

In fact,

事实上，

99% of all international data is sent via undersea cables.

所有国际数据中，有99%是通过海底电缆传输的。

So,

那么，

what does the future of messaging look like? 習語

信息传递的未来会是什么样子？

We're currently in the fourth generation of mobile communication networks with 5G on the horizon, 習語

我们目前正处于第四代移动通信网络时代，而5G也已近在眼前，

and it's actually been projected that the technology for phones embedded in our bodies 語法

而且据预测，将手机植入人体的技术

can be available as soon as 2023. 用詞

最早可于2023年问世。

While only a few decades ago, 表達脈絡

就在几十年前，

it may have taken months to send a love letter, 語法

寄出一封情书可能还要花上几个月，

in just a few years,

但再过短短几年，

you may be able to simply think of your loved one 講解

你或许只要在脑海中想起心爱的人，

and send them a message to let them know you care. 短語搭配

就能给对方发消息，让对方知道你在乎。

We tackle humanity's new forms of communication

我们探讨了人类的新型交流方式，

in the science of emojis over on AsapTHOUGHT,

相关内容就在AsapTHOUGHT的《表情符号的科学》中，

how they're often misinterpreted,

包括表情符号为何常被误解，

and how to use them properly.

以及如何正确使用它们。

Check it out with the link in the description.

点击简介中的链接去看看吧。

And subscribe for more weekly science videos.

订阅我们的频道，每周观看更多科学视频。