将重力转化为光 - Smarter Every Day 146：英语精读讲义

Hey, it's me Destin.

嘿，我是Destin。

Welcome back to Smarter Every Day.

欢迎回到Smarter Every Day。

If you've ever watched Smarter Every Day,

如果你看过Smarter Every Day，

you know that I spend a lot of time off the grid. 習語

你就知道我有很多时间都待在远离现代电网的地方。

Right now,

现在，

I'm in the Amazon rainforest and I don't really know what this thing is.

我在亚马逊雨林，我其实不知道这东西是什么。

I think it's some kind of termite thing on a tree.

我觉得是树上的某种白蚁窝之类的。

I don't know.

我也不清楚。

Anyway,

总之，

so one thing about being off the grid or in a developing nation is light is always an issue.

在断电地区或发展中国家，有一件事总是个问题，那就是照明。

Right now,

现在，

I'm using a headlamp.

我在用一个头灯。

I've done this all over the world.

我在世界各地都这么干过。

I've done this in Africa.

我在非洲这么干过。

I've taken showers by headlamp.

我戴着头灯洗过澡。

It's an important thing.

这是一件很重要的事。

But what if you live off the grid so far that you don't have access to batteries? 短語搭配

但如果你住在远离电网、连电池都买不到的地方怎么办？

Today,

今天，

I want to talk about a new invention

我想聊一个新发明，

that I'm really stinking excited about. 用詞

我真的为此感到无比兴奋。

It's a company called Gravity Light.

这是一家叫Gravity Light的公司。

Check this out.

来看看这个。

I'm about to make light in the middle of the rainforest 語法

我准备在热带雨林的深处发光，

alone with nothing but gravity. 短語搭配

独自一人，除了重力什么都不用。

This is awesome.

这太棒了。

I'm going to have to put this head strap camera on because I don't have enough hands.

我得戴上这个头带摄像机，因为我两只手都占着。

But check this out.

但你看看这个。

So there you go.

看，成功了。

I'm in the middle of the rainforest

我在热带雨林深处

powering a light with nothing but gravity

仅靠重力点亮了一盏灯，

and that's a pretty big deal 短語搭配

这可是件了不起的大事，

because humans have powered things with gravity for thousands of years,

因为几千年来人类一直在用重力驱动东西，

but we've never done personal source lighting.

但我们从未将其用于个人照明。

So we're gonna figure out how this thing works, 短語動詞

所以我们要弄清楚这东西是怎么工作的，

because that's obviously the next question,

因为这显然是下一个问题，

how does it work,

它是怎么运作的，

let's go to the UK

让我们去英国，

where the offices are,

他们的办公室就在那，

but let's make a pit stop on the way. 短語搭配

但我们在路上先停一下。

Harnessing the energy of gravity to power things

利用重力能源来驱动物品

is not a new idea at all.

根本不是什么新主意。

In fact,

事实上，

here at Salisbury Cathedral in the UK,

在英国的索尔兹伯里大教堂这里，

they've been using the power of gravity

他们利用重力

to power something

来驱动某个东西

for hundreds of years.

已经有几百年历史了。

It's a clock

那是一个钟，

and we're about to go mess with it

我们准备去捣鼓一下它，

and see if we can come up with any bright ideas. 講解

看看能不能想出什么好点子。

The cathedral at Salisbury is over 750 years old.

索尔兹伯里的大教堂有超过750年的历史。

It's home to beautiful choral music,

这里有美妙的合唱音乐，

one of the original copies of the Magna Carta, 文化背景

有《大宪章》的原始副本之一，

and what's claimed to be the oldest working mechanical clock in the entire world.

还有据称是世界上最古老的仍在运转的机械钟。

Clock expert Chris McKay agreed to walk me through the ancient technology of powering something using gravity. 短語動詞

钟表专家Chris McKay同意向我演示这种利用重力驱动物品的古老技术。

So it's ancient technology.

所以这是项古老的技术。

It's very ancient technology.

这是非常古老的技术。

Clocks generally work backwards.

钟表的运作原理通常是相反的。

Most machinery is you're turning something fast and

大多数机器是你快速转动某个东西，然后

making it slower.

让它慢下来。

With a clock,

但在钟表这里，

you've got a you know slow faster

你知道，你把一个东西先变慢然后再变快，

and sort of fast as if it were.

或者说让它仿佛变得很快。

The motive power is this thing here.

动力来源就是这个东西。

This is a weight

这是一个重物，

and it's suspended by some pulleys

它被一些滑轮悬挂着，

which go all the way up.

滑轮一直延伸到顶端。

So the rope pulling on here

所以这根向下拉的绳子

tries to turn this wooden barrel

试图转动这个木桶，

and in fact it's turning it now,

实际上它现在正在转，

but at a very slow rate.

但速度非常慢。

And the rate is being governed by the escapement.

而这个速度是由擒纵机构来控制的。

There it goes.

转动了。

And it's stopped with the pawl and ratchet here.

它被这里的棘爪和棘轮停住了。

The pawl and ratchet's very clunky,

这棘爪和棘轮非常笨重，

isn't it? 語法

不是吗？

It's really loud.

真的很大声。

So it's like you have this nice sound with the chimes

所以感觉就像你有一边是悦耳的钟声，

and then you have this clunk clunk clunk clunk clunk.

然后一边是这种哐当哐当的声音。

Okay,

好吧，

so there's two takeaways to remember about clocks powered by gravity. 表達脈絡

关于重力驱动的钟，有两点需要记住。

Number one, 表達脈絡

第一，

they take a slow moving object

它们接收一个缓慢移动的物体，

and speed up the movement with gears.

并用齿轮加快其运动。

And number two,

第二，

there's an escapement that regulates the release of potential energy. 短語搭配

有一个擒纵机构来调节势能的释放。

Let's go to London.

我们去伦敦吧。

Hey, what's up, man? 語氣意圖

嘿，你好吗，老兄？

I'm Destin.

我是Destin。

Pleased to meet you, Jim. 語氣意圖

很高兴见到你，Jim。

Jim?

Jim？

This is Jim Reeves,

这位是Jim Reeves，

co-inventor of GravityLight.

GravityLight的联合发明人。

Jim told me that he had visited Kenya 語法

Jim告诉我，他去过肯尼亚，

where he had met people who had to use kerosene lamps at night

在那里他遇到了那些晚上不得不用煤油灯的人，

so their children could do their homework. 語法

这样他们的孩子才能做作业。

Children can get burned,

孩子们可能会被烧伤，

the soot causes respiratory problems.

煤烟会引起呼吸道疾病。

You've got to pay for the kerosene 語法

你得花钱买煤油，

and think about it.

而且想想看，

You're burning an open container of fuel inside your house.

你在屋里点燃一罐敞口的燃料。

It's a fire hazard. 短語搭配

这是个火灾隐患。

Jim let me inside the secret lair

Jim让我进入了他们的秘密基地，

where they developed GravityLight.

他们就是在这里开发了GravityLight。

I wasn't really surprised when we took one apart 短語動詞

当我们拆开一个，

and found a DC generator on the inside.

在里面发现一个直流发电机时，我并不惊讶。

Okay,

好了，

so now what we're going to do is

现在我们要做的就是，

we're going to set up the GravityLight prototype up here

把GravityLight的原型机架在这里，

without a cover on it

不加盖子，

and we're going to look at how it actually works.

我们要看看它是如何实际运作的。

So I would expect that the side under tension is where it's going to be moving slowest 語氣意圖

我猜想，受拉力的一侧移动速度应该是最慢的，

and near the gear on the or the belt on the motor with the generator,

而在靠近电机发电机上的齿轮或皮带处，

they're the same thing by the way,

顺便说一下，这俩是一回事，

that's where it's going to be driving fastest.

那里的转速将会是最快的。

So let's check it out.

让我们来看看。

So the weight on GravityLight moves very slow

GravityLight上的重物移动得非常慢，

and takes over 20 minutes to fall.

掉下来需要20多分钟。

So how is this slow motion converted into something fast enough to move that generator?

那么这种缓慢的运动是如何转换成足够快的速度来驱动那个发电机的呢？

The clock in the church had really large metal teeth

教堂里的那个钟有非常大的金属齿轮，

capable of holding back that large weight. 短語搭配

能够拉住那个巨大的重物。

But GravityLight is just made of plastic.

但GravityLight是用塑料做的。

Wouldn't those teeth just break off under such a large load? 短語動詞

在这么大的负荷下，那些齿轮的齿难道不会断掉吗？

Jim taught me something interesting about how gears work.

Jim教了我一些关于齿轮工作原理的有趣知识。

If you have two gears touching on the outer diameter,

如果有两个外径接触的齿轮，

only one tooth is engaged at any time.

在任何时候只有一颗齿在啮合。

But if you have a gear running on the inner diameter of another gear,

但如果一个齿轮在另一个齿轮的内径上运转，

multiple teeth are engaged at the same time,

多个齿就会同时啮合，

which has serious implications for the life of the gear. 短語搭配

这对齿轮的寿命有着重大影响。

So if a gear is mounted internally,

所以如果齿轮是内装的，

then you get multiple teeth touching.

那你就会有多个齿接触。

Exactly.

没错。

Therefore,

因此，

you transmit the force over multiple teeth

你把受力分布在多个齿上，

and so you decrease the contact stress,

这样就降低了接触应力，

Exactly.

对极了。

increasing the life of the gear.

从而增加了齿轮的寿命。

Precisely.

完全正确。

I went to school for 4 years and you just taught me something in 10 seconds. 表達脈絡

我上了四年学，而你只用了10秒钟就教会了我一点。

Thank you so much.

太感谢你了。

Think about that.

想想看，

One side of the mechanism is closest to the weight

机械装置最靠近重物的一侧，

so the forces are larger.

受到的力是最大的。

Jim uses internal gearing here to distribute that load across more teeth. 短語搭配

Jim在这里使用了内齿轮，将负荷分布到更多的齿上。

The further through the drivetrain you go, 語法

在传动系统中你越往后走，

the fewer the teeth you have to engage

你需要啮合的齿就越少，

because the torque gets lighter and lighter as the speed runs faster.

因为随着速度加快，扭矩变得越来越小。

Eventually,

最终，

they're even light enough so that the generator can run with just a small rubber band, which has the added bonus of being quiet at high speeds. 短語搭配

它们甚至轻到只需一根小橡皮筋就能让发电机运转，而且这在高速时还有一个好处就是安静。

When you said the motor itself is at 1,600 RPMs?

你刚才说电机本身转速是1600 RPM？

That's right.

没错。

And that's one of the reasons why we use a belt at the end 語法

这也是我们在末端使用皮带的原因之一，

because if you did that just with a spur gear,

因为如果你只用直齿轮来做这个，

it'd sound like a bag of nails. 習語

听起来会像一袋钉子在晃。

So the secret that you guys have uncovered

所以你们发现的秘诀，

to creating light with gravity

也就是用重力制造出光，

with these low powered LEDs

驱动这些低功率LED灯，

is using ancient technology,

实际上是利用古老的技术，

which is just falling weights

也就是落下的重物，

But the way you've done it is distributed the load

但你们的实现方式是以一种非常特殊的方法将负荷分布

on the teeth in a very particular way

在齿轮的齿上，

so that these things last a long time

所以这些东西能持续很长时间，

and they don't break or wear out. 短語動詞

而且不会断裂或磨损。

That's genius.

真是个天才想法。

Okay,

好吧，

so we talked about the gearing,

我们谈了齿轮，

but what about the escapement?

那擒纵机构呢？

Why doesn't the weight just speed up until it hits the ground?

为什么重物不会一直加速直到砸到地上？

LEDs are way more efficient than traditional bulbs, 語法

LED比传统灯泡高效得多，

but there's something else.

但还有其他原因。

LEDs have a voltage limit.

LED有一个电压限制。

Once the generator turns up to a certain speed

一旦发电机达到一定的转速，

and that voltage limit is reached,

并且达到了那个电压限制，

the LED won't let it turn any faster. 語法

LED就不会让它转得更快。

It acts just like the escapement in a clock.

它的作用就像钟表里的擒纵机构。

In fact,

事实上，

if you hang 10 rocks on it

如果你在上面挂10块石头，

or if you hang 12 rocks on it,

或者挂12块石头，

it's always going to fall at the same rate.

它下降的速度总是一样的。

This is how GravityLight can run for so long.

这就是为什么GravityLight能运行这么长时间。

Right.

对。

One of the advantages of GravityLight is there's no limit

GravityLight的优势之一是这个能量储备

to that reservoir of power

是没有限制的，

as long as you're willing to go back over 語法

只要你愿意走回去，

and re-hoist the weight off the ground.

把重物重新吊离地面。

You can let that run all night for no cost.

你可以让它免费开一整夜。

So there you go.

就是这样。

Jim and his team are using their technical talent

Jim和他的团队正在利用他们的技术才能，

to provide a safe, clean, sustainable alternative to kerosene lamps. 短語搭配

为煤油灯提供一种安全、清洁、可持续的替代方案。

I love this story.

我喜欢这个故事。

I think it's because the solution was so obvious,

我觉得这是因为解决办法太明显了，

but nobody connected the dots. 習語

但一直没有人把它们联系起来。

All we had to do was apply an ancient technology 語法

我们要做的仅仅是把一种古老的技术

to a technology that we have now

应用到我们现有的技术上，

and we could give light to 1.3 billion people

这样我们就能为之前没有照明的13亿人

that didn't have it before.

带来光明。

I'm Destin.

我是Destin。

You're getting smarter every day.

你正在变得Smarter Every Day。

Have a good one.

祝你今天愉快。

So you plug the audio plug in the side of the product

你把音频插头插进产品侧面，

and that interrupts the power to the LED

这会切断LED的电源，

so you've got a really bright task light.

这样你就得到了一盏非常明亮的工作灯。

You can turn off.. What like a child's schoolwork or something at night,

你可以关掉…… 比如晚上孩子做学校作业什么的，

like homework.

比如家庭作业。

Exactly.

没错。

What we're attempting to do here is to provide a really cost-effective solution

我们在这里试图做的是为电网覆盖不到的人们

to people off grid.

提供一个非常具有成本效益的解决方案。

But one of the ways in which we're doing that 語法

但我们实现这个目标的方式之一，

is to market the product in on-grid markets 用詞

就是在已通电的市场里销售这个产品，

for people who might be wanting to put something away 短語動詞

卖给那些可能想未雨绸缪的人，

for the next hurricane or the next tsunami

以防下一次飓风或海啸来临，

when the power's gonna go out. 短語動詞

也就是停电的时候用。

Because GravityLight has no batteries in it,

因为GravityLight里面没有电池，

it doesn't degrade over time. 短語搭配

它不会随时间衰退。

So you can store it under the stairs

所以你可以把它储藏在楼梯下，

and it's still going to be ready to go for you whenever you need it. 短語搭配

当你需要的时候，它依然随时可以派上用场。

If you'd like to learn more about the GravityLight project,

如果你想了解更多关于GravityLight项目的信息，

I'll leave links in the video description.

我会在视频描述里留下链接。

And thank you very much to Shell

非常感谢壳牌（Shell），

for connecting me with Jim and letting me learn more about this project.

是他们让我与Jim取得了联系，并让我了解更多关于这个项目的信息。

It means a lot to me. 語氣意圖

这对我来说意义重大。

I've spent a lot of time in Africa and South America

我在非洲和南美洲待过很长时间，

and I think it's really important.

我认为这非常重要。

Thanks.

谢谢。

So to summarize everything that we've come up with here,

那么，总结一下我们在这里探讨的成果，

this weight pulls this chain,

重物拉动这根链条，

which drives these gears, 表達脈絡

链条驱动这些齿轮，

which drives this motor,

齿轮驱动这个电机，

which powers this light,

电机点亮这盏灯，

which changes the world.

而这盏灯改变了世界。

Absolutely.

绝对的。