核聚变原理解析——是未来还是空梦？：英语精读讲义

The fundamental currency of our universe is energy. 習語

宇宙的基本通用货币是能量。

It lights our homes,

它点亮我们的家，

grows our food,

滋养我们的食物，

powers our computers.

为我们的电脑供电。

We can get it lots of ways.

我们有很多方法来获取它。

Burning fossil fuels,

燃烧化石燃料，

splitting atoms,

分裂原子，

or sunlight striking photovoltaics.

或者用阳光照射光伏板。

But there's a downside to everything.

但凡事都有其缺点。

Fossil fuels are extremely toxic,

化石燃料剧毒无比，

nuclear waste is, well, nuclear waste,

核废料嘛，就是核废料，

and there are not enough batteries to store sunlight for cloudy days yet.

而且现在还没有足够的电池来储存阳光以备阴天使用。

And yet, the sun seems to have virtually limitless free energy. 表達脈絡

然而，太阳似乎拥有近乎无限的免费能量。

Is there a way we could build a sun on Earth?

我们有没有办法在地球上建造一个太阳？

Can we bottle a star? 習語

我们能把一颗恒星装进瓶子里吗？

The sun shines because of nuclear fusion.

太阳发光是因为核聚变。

In a nutshell, fusion is a thermonuclear process, 習語

简而言之，聚变是一个热核过程，

meaning that the ingredients have to be incredibly hot,

这意味着原料必须极其灼热，

so hot that the atoms are stripped of their electrons, 短語搭配

热到原子被剥离电子，

making a plasma where nuclei and electrons bounce around freely.

形成一个原子核和电子四处自由碰撞的等离子体。

Since nuclei are all positively charged, they repel each other.

由于原子核都带正电荷，它们会相互排斥。

In order to overcome this repulsion, the particles have to be going very, very fast.

为了克服这种排斥力，粒子必须运动得非常非常快。

In this context, very fast means very hot, 表達脈絡

在这里，非常快就意味着非常热，

millions of degrees.

高达几百万度。

Stars cheat to reach these temperatures. 習語

恒星通过“作弊”来达到这些温度。

They are so massive that the pressure in their cores 語法

它们太庞大了，以至于核心的压力

generates the heat to squeeze the nuclei together until they merge and fuse,

会产生高温，将原子核挤压在一起，直到它们合并、聚变，

creating heavier nuclei and releasing energy in the process. 短語搭配

产生更重的原子核并在此过程中释放能量。

It is this energy release that scientists hope to harness 語法

科学家们正是希望能驾驭这种能量释放，

in a new generation of power plant, the fusion reactor.

应用于新一代发电厂——聚变反应堆中。

On Earth, it's not feasible to use this brute force method to create fusion. 習語

在地球上，用这种简单粗暴的方法来制造聚变是行不通的。

So, if we wanted to build a reactor that generates energy from fusion,

所以，如果我们想建造一个通过聚变产生能量的反应堆，

we have to get clever.

我们必须另辟蹊径。

To date, scientists have invented two ways 表達脈絡

迄今为止，科学家们发明了两种方法

of making plasmas hot enough to fuse. 語法

让等离子体热到足以发生聚变。

The first type of reactor uses a magnetic field

第一类反应堆使用磁场

to squeeze a plasma in a donut-shaped chamber

将等离子体挤压在一个甜甜圈形状的腔室里，

where the reactions take place. 短語搭配

反应就在那里发生。

These magnetic confinement reactors,

这些磁约束反应堆，

such as the ITER reactor in France,

例如法国的ITER反应堆，

use superconducting electromagnets cooled with liquid helium

使用被液氦冷却的超导电磁铁

to within a few degrees of absolute zero, 用詞

降温到距离绝对零度仅几度，

meaning they host some of the biggest temperature gradients

这意味着它们拥有已知宇宙中

in the known universe.

最大的温度梯度之一。

The second type, called inertial confinement, 用詞

第二类叫做惯性约束，

uses pulses from super powered lasers

它使用来自超高功率激光器的脉冲

to hit the surface of a pellet of fuel, imploding it,

轰击燃料小球的表面使其内爆，

briefly making the fuel hot and dense enough to fuse.

瞬间让燃料变得足够热和致密以发生聚变。

In fact, one of the most powerful lasers in the world 語法

事实上，世界上最强大的激光器之一

is used for fusion experiments

就被用于聚变实验，

at the National Ignition Facility in the US.

位于美国的国家点火装置（NIF）。

These experiments and others like them around the world

世界上这些以及其他类似的实验

are today just experiments.

如今依然仅仅是实验而已。

Scientists are still developing the technology.

科学家们仍在研发这项技术。

And although they can achieve fusion right now,

尽管他们现在就能实现聚变，

it costs more energy to do the experiments 語法

但进行实验消耗的能量

than they produce in fusion.

比聚变产生的能量还要多。

The technology has a long way to go before it's commercially viable. 講解

这项技术距离商业化还有很长的路要走。

And maybe it never will be.

也许永远也实现不了。

It might just be impossible to make a viable fusion reactor on Earth.

在地球上建造一个可行的聚变反应堆可能压根行不通。

But if it gets there, 習語

但如果真的实现了，

it would be so efficient that a single glass of seawater

它将非常高效，只需一杯海水

could be used to produce as much energy 語法

就能产生相当于

as burning a barrel of oil with no waste to speak of. 習語

燃烧一桶石油的能量，而且几乎没有废料。

This is because fusion reactors would use hydrogen or helium as fuel,

这是因为聚变反应堆将使用氢或氦作为燃料，

and seawater is loaded with hydrogen. 短語搭配

而海水中富含氢。

But not just any hydrogen will do. 短語搭配

但并非随便哪种氢都可以。

Specific isotopes with extra neutrons,

需要带有额外中子的特定同位素，

called deuterium and tritium,

即氘和氚，

are needed to make the right reactions.

才能进行合适的反应。

Deuterium is stable and can be found in abundance in seawater, 短語搭配

氘是稳定的，在海水中储量丰富，

though tritium is a bit trickier. 語氣意圖

但氚就有点棘手了。

It's radioactive,

它具有放射性，

and there may only be 20 kg of it in the world,

全世界大概只有20公斤，

mostly in nuclear warheads,

且大部分在核弹头里，

which makes it incredibly expensive.

这让它变得极其昂贵。

So, we may need another fusion buddy for deuterium instead of tritium. 習語

因此，我们可能需要另一个聚变伙伴来替代氚和氘反应。

Helium-3, an isotope of helium,

氦的同位素氦-3，

might be a great substitute.

可能是一个极好的替代品。

Unfortunately, it's also incredibly rare on Earth.

不幸的是，它在地球上也极其稀有。

But here, the moon might have the answer. 習語

但在这里，月球可能给出了答案。

Over billions of years,

经过数十亿年的积累，

the solar wind may have built up huge deposits 短語動詞

太阳风可能在月球上

of helium-3 on the moon.

形成了巨大的氦-3储量。

Instead of making helium-3, we can mine it. 語法

我们不用制造氦-3，可以直接开采。

If we could sift the lunar dust for helium, 短語搭配

如果我们能从月球尘埃中筛出氦，

we'd have enough fuel to power the entire world

我们的燃料就足够为全世界提供能源

for thousands of years.

长达数千年之久。

One more argument for establishing a moon base, 表達脈絡

如果你还没被说服，

if you weren't convinced already.

这又多了一个建立月球基地的理由。

Okay, maybe you think building a mini sun

好吧，也许你觉得建造一个微型太阳

still sounds kind of dangerous. 語氣意圖

听起来还是有点危险。

But they'd actually be much safer 語法

但实际上，它们会比

than most other types of power plant.

大多数其他类型的发电厂安全得多。

A fusion reactor is not like a nuclear plant,

聚变反应堆不同于核裂变电站，

which can melt down catastrophically. 短語動詞

后者可能会发生灾难性的熔毁。

If the confinement failed, 語法

如果约束失效，

then the plasma would expand and cool,

等离子体就会膨胀并冷却，

and the reaction would stop.

反应也会随之停止。

Put simply, it's not a bomb. 表達脈絡

简而言之，它不是个炸弹。

The release of radioactive fuel like tritium

像氚这样的放射性燃料的泄漏

could pose a threat to the environment. 短語搭配

可能会对环境构成威胁。

Tritium could bond with oxygen, making radioactive water,

氚可以与氧结合，形成具有放射性的水，

which could be dangerous as it seeps into the environment.

渗入环境中会很危险。

Fortunately, there's no more than a few grams

幸运的是，在任何给定时间内

of tritium in use at a given time, 短語搭配

使用的氚都不超过几克，

so a leak would be quickly diluted.

所以一点泄漏很快就会被稀释。

So, we've just told you that there's nearly unlimited energy

总结一下，我们刚刚告诉过你，

to be had at no expense to the environment 講解

在不会以牺牲环境为代价的情况下，

in something as simple as water. 語法

像水一样简单的东西里就蕴藏着几乎无限的能量。

So, what's the catch? 習語

那么，问题出在哪里？

Cost.

成本。

We simply don't know if fusion power

我们完全不知道核聚变能源

will ever be commercially viable.

是否真能实现商业化。

Even if they work, 語法

即使它们管用，

they might be too expensive to ever build. 語法

建造起来也可能太贵了。

The main drawback is that it's unproven technology. 表達脈絡

主要的缺点在于这是一项未经证实的技术。

It's a $10 billion gamble, 習語

这是一场耗资百亿美元的赌博，

and that money might be better spent 短語搭配

这笔钱也许更应该花在

on other clean energy that's already proven itself. 短語搭配

其他已经证实可行的清洁能源上。

Maybe we should cut our losses. 習語

也许我们应该及时止损。

Or maybe, when the payoff is unlimited clean energy for everyone,

又或者，当回报是让每个人都拥有无限的清洁能源时，

it might be worth the risk. 短語搭配

这个险可能值得一冒。

Videos like this one take hundreds of hours to make

像这样的视频需要花费数百小时来制作，

and are made possible by your contributions on patreon.com.

正是因为你们在 patreon.com 上的赞助才得以实现。

If you want to learn more about global energy,

如果你想了解更多关于全球能源的知识，

here's a playlist about nuclear energy, fracking, and solar power.

这里有一个关于核能、水力压裂法和太阳能的播放列表。

Let us know in the comments

请在评论区留言告诉我们，

if there are other technologies you want us to explain.

还有哪些技术想让我们解释。