將重力轉化為光 - Smarter Every Day 146：英語精讀講義

Hey, it's me Destin.

嘿，我是Destin。

Welcome back to Smarter Every Day.

歡迎回到Smarter Every Day。

If you've ever watched Smarter Every Day,

如果你看過Smarter Every Day，

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

你就知道我有很多時間都待在遠離現代電網的地方。

Right now,

現在，

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

我在亞馬遜雨林，我其實不知道這東西是什麼。

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

我覺得是樹上的某種白蟻窩之類的。

I don't know.

我也不清楚。

Anyway,

總之，

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

在斷電地區或開發中國家，有一件事總是個問題，那就是照明。

Right now,

現在，

I'm using a headlamp.

我在用一個頭燈。

I've done this all over the world.

我在世界各地都這麼做過。

I've done this in Africa.

我在非洲這麼做過。

I've taken showers by headlamp.

我戴著頭燈洗過澡。

It's an important thing.

這是一件很重要的事。

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

但如果你住在遠離電網、連電池都買不到的地方怎麼辦？

Today,

今天，

I want to talk about a new invention

我想聊一個新發明，

that I'm really stinking excited about. 用詞

我真的為此感到無比興奮。

It's a company called Gravity Light.

這是一家叫Gravity Light的公司。

Check this out.

來看看這個。

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

我準備在熱帶雨林的深處發光，

alone with nothing but gravity. 片語搭配

獨自一人，除了重力什麼都不用。

This is awesome.

這太棒了。

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

我得戴上這個頭帶攝影機，因為我兩隻手都佔著。

But check this out.

但你看看這個。

So there you go.

看，成功了。

I'm in the middle of the rainforest

我在熱帶雨林深處

powering a light with nothing but gravity

僅靠重力點亮了一盞燈，

and that's a pretty big deal 片語搭配

這可是件了不起的大事，

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

因為幾千年來人類一直在用重力驅動東西，

but we've never done personal source lighting.

但我們從未將其用於個人照明。

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

所以我們要弄清楚這東西是怎麼運作的，

because that's obviously the next question,

因為這顯然是下一個問題，

how does it work,

它是怎麼運作的，

let's go to the UK

讓我們去英國，

where the offices are,

他們的辦公室就在那，

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

但我們在路上先停一下。

Harnessing the energy of gravity to power things

利用重力能源來驅動物品

is not a new idea at all.

根本不是什麼新點子。

In fact,

事實上，

here at Salisbury Cathedral in the UK,

在英國的索爾茲伯里大教堂這裡，

they've been using the power of gravity

他們利用重力

to power something

來驅動某個東西

for hundreds of years.

已經有幾百年歷史了。

It's a clock

那是一個鐘，

and we're about to go mess with it

我們準備去研究一下它，

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

看看能不能想出什麼好點子。

The cathedral at Salisbury is over 750 years old.

索爾茲伯里的大教堂有超過750年的歷史。

It's home to beautiful choral music,

這裡有美妙的合唱音樂，

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

有《大憲章》的原始副本之一，

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

還有據稱是世界上最古老的仍在運轉的機械鐘。

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

鐘錶專家Chris McKay同意向我示範這種利用重力驅動物品的古老技術。

So it's ancient technology.

所以這是項古老的技術。

It's very ancient technology.

這是非常古老的技術。

Clocks generally work backwards.

鐘錶的運作原理通常是相反的。

Most machinery is you're turning something fast and

大多數機器是你快速轉動某個東西，然後

making it slower.

讓它慢下來。

With a clock,

但在鐘錶這裡，

you've got a you know slow faster

你知道，你把一個東西先變慢然後再變快，

and sort of fast as if it were.

或者說讓它彷彿變得很快。

The motive power is this thing here.

動力來源就是這個東西。

This is a weight

這是一個重物，

and it's suspended by some pulleys

它被一些滑輪懸掛著，

which go all the way up.

滑輪一直延伸到頂端。

So the rope pulling on here

所以這根向下拉的繩子

tries to turn this wooden barrel

試圖轉動這個木桶，

and in fact it's turning it now,

實際上它現在正在轉，

but at a very slow rate.

但速度非常慢。

And the rate is being governed by the escapement.

而這個速度是由擒縱機構來控制的。

There it goes.

轉動了。

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

它被這裡的棘爪和棘輪停住了。

The pawl and ratchet's very clunky,

這棘爪和棘輪非常笨重，

isn't it? 文法

不是嗎？

It's really loud.

真的很大聲。

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

所以感覺就像你有一邊是悅耳的鐘聲，

and then you have this clunk clunk clunk clunk clunk.

然後一邊是這種哐噹哐噹的聲音。

Okay,

好吧，

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

關於重力驅動的鐘，有兩點需要記住。

Number one, 表達脈絡

第一，

they take a slow moving object

它們接收一個緩慢移動的物體，

and speed up the movement with gears.

並用齒輪加快其運動。

And number two,

第二，

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

有一個擒縱機構來調節位能的釋放。

Let's go to London.

我們去倫敦吧。

Hey, what's up, man? 語氣意圖

嘿，你好嗎，老兄？

I'm Destin.

我是Destin。

Pleased to meet you, Jim. 語氣意圖

很高興見到你，Jim。

Jim?

Jim？

This is Jim Reeves,

這位是Jim Reeves，

co-inventor of GravityLight.

GravityLight的共同發明人。

Jim told me that he had visited Kenya 文法

Jim告訴我，他去過肯亞，

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

在那裡他遇到了那些晚上不得不用煤油燈的人，

so their children could do their homework. 文法

這樣他們的孩子才能做功課。

Children can get burned,

孩子們可能會被燒傷，

the soot causes respiratory problems.

煤煙會引起呼吸道疾病。

You've got to pay for the kerosene 文法

你得花錢買煤油，

and think about it.

而且想想看，

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

你在屋裡點燃一罐敞口的燃料。

It's a fire hazard. 片語搭配

這是個火災隱患。

Jim let me inside the secret lair

Jim讓我進入了他們的秘密基地，

where they developed GravityLight.

他們就是在這開發了GravityLight。

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

當我們拆開一個，

and found a DC generator on the inside.

在裡面發現一個直流發電機時，我並不驚訝。

Okay,

好了，

so now what we're going to do is

現在我們要做的就是，

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

把GravityLight的原型機架在這裡，

without a cover on it

不加蓋子，

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

我們要看看它是如何實際運作的。

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，受拉力的一側移動速度應該是最慢的，

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

而在靠近馬達發電機上的齒輪或皮帶處，

they're the same thing by the way,

順帶一提，這倆是一回事，

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

那裡的轉速將會是最快的。

So let's check it out.

讓我們來看看。

So the weight on GravityLight moves very slow

GravityLight上的重物移動得非常慢，

and takes over 20 minutes to fall.

掉下來需要20多分鐘。

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

那麼這種緩慢的運動是如何轉換成足夠快的速度來驅動那個發電機的呢？

The clock in the church had really large metal teeth

教堂裡的那個鐘有非常大的金屬齒輪，

capable of holding back that large weight. 片語搭配

能夠拉住那個巨大的重物。

But GravityLight is just made of plastic.

但GravityLight是用塑膠做的。

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

在這麼大的負荷下，那些齒輪的齒難道不會斷掉嗎？

Jim taught me something interesting about how gears work.

Jim教了我一些關於齒輪運作原理的有趣知識。

If you have two gears touching on the outer diameter,

如果有兩個外徑接觸的齒輪，

only one tooth is engaged at any time.

在任何時候只有一顆齒在嚙合。

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

但如果一個齒輪在另一個齒輪的內徑上運轉，

multiple teeth are engaged at the same time,

多個齒就會同時嚙合，

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

這對齒輪的壽命有著重大影響。

So if a gear is mounted internally,

所以如果齒輪是內裝的，

then you get multiple teeth touching.

那你就會有多個齒接觸。

Exactly.

沒錯。

Therefore,

因此，

you transmit the force over multiple teeth

你把受力分佈在多個齒上，

and so you decrease the contact stress,

這樣就降低了接觸應力，

Exactly.

對極了。

increasing the life of the gear.

從而增加了齒輪的壽命。

Precisely.

完全正確。

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

我上了四年學，而你只用了10秒鐘就教會了我一點。

Thank you so much.

太感謝你了。

Think about that.

想想看，

One side of the mechanism is closest to the weight

機械裝置最靠近重物的一側，

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. 片語搭配

Jim在這裡使用了內齒輪，將負荷分佈到更多的齒上。

The further through the drivetrain you go, 文法

在傳動系統中你越往後走，

the fewer the teeth you have to engage

你需要嚙合的齒就越少，

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

因為隨著速度加快，扭矩變得越來越小。

Eventually,

最終，

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. 片語搭配

它們甚至輕到只需一根小橡皮筋就能讓發電機運轉，而且這在高速時還有一個好處就是安靜。

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

你剛才說馬達本身轉速是1600 RPM？

That's right.

沒錯。

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

這也是我們在末端使用皮帶的原因之一，

because if you did that just with a spur gear,

因為如果你只用直齒輪來做這個，

it'd sound like a bag of nails. 慣用語

聽起來會像一袋釘子在晃。

So the secret that you guys have uncovered

所以你們發現的秘訣，

to creating light with gravity

也就是用重力製造出光，

with these low powered LEDs

驅動這些低功率LED燈，

is using ancient technology,

實際上是利用古老的技術，

which is just falling weights

也就是落下的重物，

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

但你們的實現方式是以一種非常特殊的方法將負荷分佈

on the teeth in a very particular way

在齒輪的齒上，

so that these things last a long time

所以這些東西能持續很長時間，

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

而且不會斷裂或磨損。

That's genius.

真是個天才想法。

Okay,

好吧，

so we talked about the gearing,

我們談了齒輪，

but what about the escapement?

那擒縱機構呢？

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

為什麼重物不會一直加速直到砸到地上？

LEDs are way more efficient than traditional bulbs, 文法

LED比傳統燈泡高效得多，

but there's something else.

但還有其他原因。

LEDs have a voltage limit.

LED有一個電壓限制。

Once the generator turns up to a certain speed

一旦發電機達到一定的轉速，

and that voltage limit is reached,

並且達到了那個電壓限制，

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

LED就不會讓它轉得更快。

It acts just like the escapement in a clock.

它的作用就像鐘錶裡的擒縱機構。

In fact,

事實上，

if you hang 10 rocks on it

如果你在上面掛10塊石頭，

or if you hang 12 rocks on it,

或者掛12塊石頭，

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

它下降的速度總是一樣的。

This is how GravityLight can run for so long.

這就是為什麼GravityLight能運作這麼長時間。

Right.

對。

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

GravityLight的優勢之一是這個能量儲備

to that reservoir of power

是沒有限制的，

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

只要你願意走回去，

and re-hoist the weight off the ground.

把重物重新吊離地面。

You can let that run all night for no cost.

你可以讓它免費開一整夜。

So there you go.

就是這樣。

Jim and his team are using their technical talent

Jim和他的團隊正在利用他們的技術才能，

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

為煤油燈提供一種安全、清潔、永續的替代方案。

I love this story.

我喜歡這個故事。

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

我覺得這是因為解決辦法太明顯了，

but nobody connected the dots. 慣用語

但一直沒有人把它們聯繫起來。

All we had to do was apply an ancient technology 文法

我們要做的僅僅是把一種古老的技術

to a technology that we have now

應用到我們現有的技術上，

and we could give light to 1.3 billion people

這樣我們就能為之前沒有照明的13億人

that didn't have it before.

帶來光明。

I'm Destin.

我是Destin。

You're getting smarter every day.

你正在變得Smarter Every Day。

Have a good one.

祝你有美好的一天。

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

你把音源插頭插進產品側面，

and that interrupts the power to the LED

這會切斷LED的電源，

so you've got a really bright task light.

這樣你就得到了一盞非常明亮的工作燈。

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

你可以關掉…… 比如晚上小孩寫學校功課什麼的，

like homework.

比如家庭作業。

Exactly.

沒錯。

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

我們在這裡試圖做的是為電網覆蓋不到的人們

to people off grid.

提供一個非常具有成本效益的解決方案。

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

但我們實現這個目標的方式之一，

is to market the product in on-grid markets 用詞

就是在已通電的市場裡銷售這個產品，

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

賣給那些可能想未雨綢繆的人，

for the next hurricane or the next tsunami

以防下一次颶風或海嘯來臨，

when the power's gonna go out. 片語動詞

也就是停電的時候用。

Because GravityLight has no batteries in it,

因為GravityLight裡面沒有電池，

it doesn't degrade over time. 片語搭配

它不會隨時間衰退。

So you can store it under the stairs

所以你可以把它儲藏在樓梯下，

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

當你需要的時候，它依然隨時可以派上用場。

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

如果你想了解更多關於GravityLight項目的資訊，

I'll leave links in the video description.

我會在影片描述裡留下連結。

And thank you very much to Shell

非常感謝殼牌（Shell），

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

是他們讓我與Jim取得了聯繫，並讓我了解更多關於這個項目的資訊。

It means a lot to me. 語氣意圖

這對我來說意義重大。

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

我在非洲和南美洲待過很長時間，

and I think it's really important.

我認為這非常重要。

Thanks.

謝謝。

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

那麼，總結一下我們在這裡探討的成果，

this weight pulls this chain,

重物拉動這根鏈條，

which drives these gears, 表達脈絡

鏈條驅動這些齒輪，

which drives this motor,

齒輪驅動這個馬達，

which powers this light,

馬達點亮這盞燈，

which changes the world.

而這盞燈改變了世界。

Absolutely.

絕對的。