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GeorgeTulevski_2016S-_纳米科技的展望_
Let's imagine a sculptor building a statue , just chipping away with his chisel . 让我们想象一个雕刻家在打造一个雕塑, 用他的凿子慢慢雕饰。
sculptor:n.雕刻家; statue:n.雕像;塑像;铸像;v.用雕像装饰; chipping:n.破片;碎屑; chisel:vt.雕,刻;凿;欺骗;vi.雕,刻;凿;欺骗;n.凿子;
Michelangelo had this elegant way of describing it when he said, "Every block of stone has a statue inside of it, and it's the task of the sculptor to discover it." 米开朗基罗用这样一种优雅的方式来描述这件事: “每块石头当中都藏着一个雕塑, 而雕刻家的工作就是去发现它。”
Michelangelo:n.米开朗基罗(意大利文艺复兴时期成就卓著的科学家,艺术家); elegant:adj.高雅的,优雅的;讲究的;简炼的;简洁的; describing:v.描述;形容;把…称为;做…运动;(describe的现在分词)
But what if he worked in the opposite direction? 但要是他从完全相反的角度来做呢？
what if:如果…怎么办?
Not from a solid block of stone, but from a pile of dust, somehow gluing millions of these particles together to form a statue. 不是从一个完整的石块当中, 而是从一堆尘埃当中, 通过某种方式,将这数百万的颗粒粘在一起形成雕塑。
pile:n.桩;堆;摞;桩柱;v.堆放;摞起;叠放;放置; somehow:adv.以某种方法;莫名其妙地; gluing:n.粘合;胶合; particles:n.微粒,粒子;粒子系统;碎木料(particle的复数形式);
I know that's an absurd notion . 我知道这听起来很荒唐。
absurd:adj.荒谬的;可笑的;n.荒诞;荒诞作品; notion:n.观念;信念;理解;
It's probably impossible. 这应该不可能吧。
The only way you get a statue from a pile of dust is if the statue built itself — if somehow we could compel millions of these particles to come together to form the statue. 唯一一种能够从尘埃中得到雕塑的方法 就是让雕塑自己建造自己, 想出某种办法,强制使得这些微粒都聚集在一起 形成雕塑。
compel:v.强迫;迫使;使必须;引起(反应);
Now, as odd as that sounds, that is almost exactly the problem I work on in my lab. 这也许听起来很奇怪, 但这就是我一直以来在实验室里研究的问题。
odd:adj.古怪的;奇数的;n.奇数;
I don't build with stone, 我不用石头来建造,
I build with nanomaterials. 我用纳米材料来建造。
They're these just impossibly small, fascinating little objects. 它们就是这些不可思议的细小的,神奇的东西。
impossibly:adv.不可能地;难以置信地;无法可想地; fascinating:adj.极有吸引力的;迷人的;v.深深吸引;迷住;(fascinate的现在分词)
They're so small that if this controller was a nanoparticle , a human hair would be the size of this entire room. 它们是如此的细微,以至于如果这个遥控器就是一个纳米颗粒的话, 那么一根人类头发就将有整个房间这么大。
nanoparticle:n.纳米颗粒;毫微粒;
And they're at the heart of a field we call nanotechnology , which I'm sure we've all heard about, and we've all heard how it is going to change everything. 它们也是我们所说的纳米科技的核心, 我们都听说过纳米科技, 我们都听说过它将如何改变一切。
nanotechnology:n.纳米技术;
When I was a graduate student, it was one of the most exciting times to be working in nanotechnology. 当我还是一名研究生的时候, 那也是纳米技术发展最令人激动的那段时间。
There were scientific breakthroughs happening all the time. 很多的科技突破连续不断的出现。
scientific:adj.科学的,系统的; breakthroughs:突破;
The conferences were buzzing , there was tons of money pouring in from funding agencies . 各种会议在四处召开, 投资机构的资金大量涌入。
conferences:n.会议(conference的复数形式); buzzing:v.发出嗡嗡声;发出蜂鸣声;充满兴奋(或活动等);(buzz的现在分词) pouring:v.倾倒;倾泻;连续流出;倒出;喷发;(pour的现在分词) funding:n.基金;资金;提供资金;v.为…提供资金;拨款给;(fund的现在分词) agencies:n.代理;代理处(agency的复数);
And the reason is when objects get really small, they're governed by a different set of physics that govern ordinary objects, like the ones we interact with. 原因是 当东西变得很小的时候, 它们所遵循的物理定则和正常物品所经历的, 就是我们熟悉的,完全不同。
interact:v.互相影响;互相作用;n.幕间剧;幕间休息;
We call this physics quantum mechanics . 我们称其为量子物理。
quantum mechanics:n.量子力学;
And what it tells you is that you can precisely tune their behavior just by making seemingly small changes to them, like adding or removing a handful of atoms , or twisting the material. 而量子物理告诉你的就是你可以通过一些 看似细微的改变,来精确调整它们的行为, 比如增加或是减少部分原子, 或是改变其形状。
tune:n.曲调;和谐;心情;v.调整;使一致;为…调音;调谐; seemingly:adv.看来似乎;表面上看来; atoms:n.[物]原子(atom的复数); twisting:v.使弯曲;转动(身体部位);(twist的现在分词)
It's like this ultimate toolkit . 它们就像是终极工具箱。
ultimate:adj.最终的;极限的;根本的;n.终极;根本;基本原则; toolkit:n.工具包,工具箱;
You really felt empowered; you felt like you could make anything. 你甚至会感到无所不能;就像是可以做出世间万物一样。
And we were doing it — and by we I mean my whole generation of graduate students. 我们一直都在从事这件事, “我们”是指我那一代的所有研究生们。
We were trying to make blazing fast computers using nanomaterials. 我们试图用纳米材料制作超快计算机。
blazing:adj.酷热的;极其愤怒的;v.熊熊燃烧;闪耀;发亮光;怒视;(blaze的现在分词)
We were constructing quantum dots that could one day go in your body and find and fight disease . 我们制造那些量子点, 终有一天它们会进入人体内发现并对抗疾病。
constructing:n.构造;v.构造(construct的现在分词); disease:n.病,[医]疾病;弊病;vt.传染;使…有病;
There were even groups trying to make an elevator to space using carbon nanotubes . 甚至还有一批人,他们尝试利用纳米管去制造 通向太空的电梯。
elevator:n.电梯;升降机;升降舵;起卸机; carbon:n.[化学]碳;碳棒;复写纸;adj.碳的;碳处理的; nanotubes:n.纳米管;米碳管;
You can look that up, that's true. 你可以查查看,这些都是真的。
Anyways, we thought it was going to affect all parts of science and technology, from computing to medicine. 总的来说,我们认为这项技术 将会影响科学与技术的方方面面,从计算到医药。
computing:n.计算;计算机技术;信息处理技术;v.计算;求出;(compute的现在分词)
And I have to admit, 我必须要承认,
I drank all of the Kool-Aid. 我是彻底的屈服于这项技术了,
I mean, every last drop. 我的意思是,完完全全的。
But that was 15 years ago, fantastic science was done, really important work. 那大概是15年前的事儿了—— 研究了奇妙的科学现象,这是十分重要的工作。
fantastic:奇异的,空想的
We've learned a lot. 我们学到了很多。
We were never able to translate that science into new technologies — into technologies that could actually impact people. 但我们却从未能够将这种科学转化为新的技术, 那种能够真正影响人们的技术。
translate:v.翻译;被翻译;被译成;(使)转变; technologies:n.技术;科技(technology的复数); impact:n.影响;效果;碰撞;冲击力;v.挤入,压紧;撞击;对…产生影响;
And the reason is, these nanomaterials — they're like a double-edged sword. 原因在于,这些纳米材料, 它们就像是双刃剑。
double-edged:adj.双刃的;对双方皆不利的;有双重目的的;
The same thing that makes them so interesting — also makes them impossible to work with. 就是那种让它们变得有趣起来的特质, 这也使得操作它们变得极其困难。
It's literally like trying to build a statue out of a pile of dust. 这几乎无异于尝试用一堆尘埃建造雕塑。
literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地:
And we just don't have the tools that are small enough to work with them. 我们就没有小到能够用于操作它们的工具。
But even if we did, it wouldn't really matter, because we couldn't one by one place millions of particles together to build a technology. 但是即使我们有这样的工具,也并不会改变什么, 因为我们不可能一个一个的将成千上万的小颗粒摆放在一起 去打造一项技术。
one by one:一个接一个;
So because of that, all of the promise and all of the excitement has remained just that: promise and excitement. 因为这样的原因, 所有的那些期许与激动, 迟迟未能变成现实。
excitement:n.兴奋;刺激;令人兴奋的事物;
We don't have any disease-fighting nanobots , there's no elevators to space, and the thing that I'm most interested in, no new types of computing. 我们并没有得到那些对抗疾病的纳米机器人, 没有得到通向宇宙的电梯, 而在我最感兴趣的领域,也没有得到新的计算机运行方法。
nanobots:n.纳米机器人(nanobot的复数); elevators:n.电梯(elevator的复数形式);升降机;
Now that last one, that's a really important one. 最后的,也是十分重要的一点是,
We just have come to expect the pace of computing advancements to go on indefinitely . 我们必须继续去预期 计算机运行的进步步伐将无穷无尽的延续下去。
advancements:n.进步;进展(advancement的复数形式);升任; indefinitely:adv.不确定地,无限期地;模糊地,不明确地;
We've built entire economies on this idea. 我们的整个经济体都是构建于那个想法之上的。
economies:n.经济;经济结构;节约;(economy的复数)
And this pace exists because of our ability to pack more and more devices onto a computer chip. 这样的步伐得以存在的原因 是我们能够将越来越多的设备安装在 一块电脑芯片上。
devices:n.[机][计]设备;[机]装置;[电子]器件(device的复数);
And as those devices get smaller, they get faster, they consume less power and they get cheaper. 当这些设备变得越来越小的时候, 它们就运行的更快,耗能更少, 价格也越来越便宜。
consume:v.消耗;吃;毁灭;烧毁;
And it's this convergence that gives us this incredible pace. 是这些因素的汇集带给了我们这样不可思议的进步步伐。
convergence:n.[数]收敛;会聚,集合; incredible:adj.难以置信的,惊人的;
As an example: if I took the room-sized computer that sent three men to the moon and back and somehow compressed it — compressed the world's greatest computer of its day, so it was the same size as your smartphone — your actual smartphone, 举个例子: 如果说我拿来那个房间大小的,把三个人成功送上并接回月球的计算机, 然后通过某种方式压缩它, 把当代最伟大的计算机压缩, 然后它就变得和你的智能手机一样大小—— 那么你的智能手机,
compressed:adj.(空气或气体)压缩的; v.(被)压紧; (compress的过去式和过去分词) smartphone:n.智能手机;
that thing you spent 300 bucks on and just toss out every two years, would blow this thing away. 就是你花了300美金,每隔个两年就换掉的那种, 就会完爆它。
bucks:n.元;雄鹿;(buck的复数) toss:v.扔,抛,掷;甩(使)摇摆,挥动,颠簸;摇匀;n.掷硬币决定;向上甩头;投掷
You would not be impressed . 你完全不会被它惊艳到。
impressed:adj.印象深刻; v.使钦佩; (impress的过去分词和过去式)
It couldn't do anything that your smartphone does. 你的手机能做的,它什么也做不了。
It would be slow, you couldn't put any of your stuff on it, you could possibly get through the first two minutes of a "Walking Dead" episode if you're lucky — 它运行起来会很慢, 你没法在上面安装任何东西, 要是运气好的话,你没准可以 先看个两分钟“行尸走肉”——
stuff:n.东西:物品:基本特征:v.填满:装满:标本: episode:n.一段经历;片段,插曲;一集;
(Laughter) （笑声）
The point is the progress — it's not gradual . 问题是这种进步并非是渐进的。
gradual:adj.逐渐的;平缓的;n.弥撒升阶圣歌集;
The progress is relentless . 进步是持续不断的。
relentless:adj.无情的;残酷的;不间断的;
It's exponential . 以指数形式,
exponential:adj.指数的;n.指数;
It compounds on itself year after year , to the point where if you compare a technology from one generation to the next, they're almost unrecognizable . 这样年复一年的自我叠加, 直到某个时间点,当你把这一代人的科技 与下一代的比较, 已经是面目全非了。
compounds:n.混合物,化合物;大院(compound的复数形式); year after year:年复一年地;每年; compare:v.比较;对比;n.比较; unrecognizable:adj.未被承认的;无法认出的;
And we owe it to ourselves to keep this progress going. 我们有责任让这种进步继续下去。
owe:v.归功于;欠(债);欠(账);欠(情)
We want to say the same thing 10, 20, 30 years from now: look what we've done over the last 30 years. 我们十年,二十年,三十年以后,还是想要重复这样的话: 看看我们在过去的三十年里都做了些什么。
Yet we know this progress may not last forever. 但是我们知道,这样的进步不可能一直持续下去。
In fact, the party's kind of winding down. 事实上,这场派对已经开始走下坡路了。
It's like " last call for alcohol ," right? 就好比酒吧“最后一单”,是吧？
last call:n.(酒吧打烊前)买饮料的最后机会; alcohol:n.酒精;乙醇;含酒精饮料;
If you look under the covers, by many metrics like speed and performance , the progress has already slowed to a halt . 如果你看到本质, 从一些像是速度和性能的标准上来说, 发展已经趋于停滞了。
metrics:n.度量;作诗法;韵律学; performance:n.性能;表现;业绩;表演; halt:v.停止;立定;踌躇,犹豫;n.停止;立定;休息;
So if we want to keep this party going, we have to do what we've always been able to do, and that is to innovate . 所以,如果我们想要让这场派对继续下去, 我们就必须去做长久以来一直坚持的, 那就是去创新。
innovate:vi.创新;改革;革新;vt.改变;创立;创始;引人;
So our group's role and our group's mission is to innovate by employing carbon nanotubes, because we think that they can provide a path to continue this pace. 所以,我们团队的角色,我们的任务 就是运用碳纳米管去创新, 我们认为它会给我们提供一条道路,让我们能保持这样的进步步伐。
mission:n.使命,任务;代表团;布道;v.派遣;向…传教;
They are just like they sound. 名副其实。
They're tiny, hollow tubes of carbon atoms, and their nanoscale size, that small size, gives rise to these just outstanding electronic properties. 它们很小,是由碳原子组成的中空管, 它们那种纳米级的,极其微小的体积, 也带来了杰出的电属性。
hollow:n.孔; v.挖; adj.中空的; v.彻底; nanoscale:n.纳米级; outstanding:adj.优秀的;杰出的;出色的;v.突出;离港;向海上;停留(outstand的现在分词) electronic:adj.电子的;电子器件的;电子设备的;
And the science tells us if we could employ them in computing, we could see up to a ten times improvement in performance. 科学告诉我们,如果我们能够将它们运用到运算当中, 我们就能够看到10倍的性能提升。
employ:vt.使用,采用;雇用;使忙于,使从事于;n.使用;雇用; improvement:n.改进,改善;
It's like skipping through several technology generations in just one step. 仿佛一步就跳过了好几代的科技。
So there we have it. 所以,我们找到了。
We have this really important problem and we have what is basically the ideal solution . 我们找到了这个真正重要的问题, 还有这个近乎理想的解决方案。
basically:adv.主要地,基本上; solution:n.解决方案;溶液;溶解;解答;
The science is screaming at us, "This is what you should be doing to solve your problem." 科学在向我们咆哮, “这就是你们该做的,去解决你们的问题。”
So, all right, let's get started, let's do this. 那么,让我们开始吧, 准备大干一场。
But you just run right back into that double-edged sword. 但是你很快又会回到那把双刃剑。
This "ideal solution" contains a material that's impossible to work with. 这个“理想答案”包含了一种我们不可能操作的材料。
I'd have to arrange billions of them just to make one single computer chip. 为了制作一个电脑芯片,我就必须要排列数亿万个碳纳米管。
arrange:v.安排;排列;整理;
It's that same conundrum , it's like this undying problem. 同样的问题似乎永远无解。
conundrum:n.难题;谜语; undying:adj.永恒的;不朽的;不死的;
At this point, we said, "Let's just stop. 到了这时,我们就说,“让我们停一下。
Let's not go down that same road. 先别继续下去。
Let's just figure out what's missing. 先想想还缺了点什么。
What are we not dealing with? 我们错过了什么吗？
What are we not doing that needs to be done?" 有什么必要的环节被遗漏了？”
It's like in "The Godfather ," right? 就像是“教父”,是吧？
Godfather:n.教父;v.当…的教父;
When Fredo betrays his brother Michael, we all know what needs to be done. 当弗雷多背叛他的兄弟迈克尔, 我们都知道他马上要干什么。
betrays:v.出卖;泄露(机密);辜负;(betray的第三人称单数)
Fredo's got to go. 弗雷多必须要离开。
(Laughter) （笑声）
But Michael — he puts it off. 但是迈克尔,他居然放过了。
Fine, I get it. 好吧,我知道了。
Their mother's still alive, it would make her upset . 他们的妈妈还活着,这会令她伤心的。
upset:adj.沮丧; v.打乱; n.苦恼; (意外的)混乱;
We just said, "What's the Fredo in our problem?" 我们就是想说, “在我们这儿,是什么扮演着弗雷多的角色呢？
What are we not dealing with? 我们错过了什么？
What are we not doing, but needs to be done to make this a success?" 我们到底遗漏了什么, 导致无法成功。”
And the answer is that the statue has to build itself. 而答案是,这个雕塑必须要自己建造自己。
We have to find a way, somehow, to compel, to convince billions of these particles to assemble themselves into the technology. 我们必须找到一种方法,通过某种途径, 迫使、说服这些上亿的微粒 自己组装成我们想要的技术。
convince:v.使确信;使相信;说服,劝说; assemble:vt.集合,聚集;装配;收集;vi.集合,聚集;
We can't do it for them. They have to do it for themselves. 我们没办法代它们完成。它们必须要自己完成这件事。
And it's the hard way, and this is not trivial , but in this case, it's the only way. 这很困难,不是什么简单小事, 而在这种境况当中,也是唯一的办法。
trivial:adj.不重要的,琐碎的;琐细的;
Now, as it turns out, this is not that alien of a problem. 现在,结果表明,这个问题并不过分。
We just don't build anything this way. 只是我们平常不这样造东西而已。
People don't build anything this way. 人们从来没有这么打造过什么东西。
But if you look around — and there's examples everywhere — 但是当你环顾四周——到处都是这样的例子——
Mother Nature builds everything this way. 大自然母亲以这样的方式建造万物。
Mother Nature:n.大自然;自然界;
Everything is built from the bottom up. 任何事物都是从无到有。
You can go to the beach, you'll find these simple organisms that use proteins — basically molecules — to template what is essentially sand, just plucking it from the sea and building these extraordinary architectures with extreme diversity . 你可以去沙滩, 会发现这些简单的生物,利用蛋白质—— 基本上是各种分子—— 利用沙子当作模版, 把它从海中拉出来, 然后建造这些万千风情的神奇建筑。
organisms:n.[生物]生物体(organism的复数);[生物]有机体; proteins:n.[生化]蛋白质(protein复数); molecules:n.[化学]分子,微粒;[化学]摩尔(molecule的复数); template:n.模板,样板; essentially:adv.本质上;本来; plucking:v.摘;拔;拔掉,退去(死禽的毛);弹,弹拨(乐器的弦);(pluck的现在分词) extraordinary:adj.非凡的;特别的;离奇的;临时的;特派的; architectures:n.建筑;架构(architecture的复数); extreme:adj.极端的;极度的;偏激的;尽头的;n.极端;末端;最大程度;极端的事物; diversity:n.差异(性):多样性:多样化:
And nature's not crude like us, just hacking away. 但自然不像我们这样粗鲁,到处乱砍乱伐。
crude:adj.粗略的;简略的;大概的;粗糙的;n.原油;石油; hacking:v.黑客行为;砍;劈;猛踢;(hack的现在分词)
She's elegant and smart, building with what's available, molecule by molecule, making structures with a complexity and a diversity that we can't even approach . 她端庄、睿智, 用手边的材料,一个分子一个分子的, 建造出这些各式各样的复杂结构, 而以我们人类的能力根本不可能做到。
structures:n.结构; v.建造(structure的第三人称单数形式); complexity:n.复杂性;难以理解的局势 approach:n.方法;路径;v.接近;建议;着手处理;
And she's already at the nano. 她早就达到纳米级了。
She's been there for hundreds of millions of years. 她已经在那里待了亿万年了。
We're the ones that are late to the party. 我们才是迟到的那个。
So we decided that we're going to use the same tool that nature uses, and that's chemistry. 所以,我们决定,也要用大自然的工具, 那就是化学。
Chemistry is the missing tool. 化学就是那个被忽略的工具。
And chemistry works in this case because these nanoscale objects are about the same size as molecules, so we can use them to steer these objects around, much like a tool. 在这种情境下能使用化学, 是因为这些纳米级的小东西都和分子差不多大小, 所以我们可以利用化学反应来控制这些小东西, 就像是一种工具一样。
steer:v.引导;控制;操纵;驾驶(船、汽车等);n.建议;劝告;忠告;阉公牛;
That's exactly what we've done in our lab. 这就是我们在实验室里所做的。
We've developed chemistry that goes into the pile of dust, into the pile of nanoparticles , and pulls out exactly the ones we need. 我们设计了一种能够进入这些尘埃, 这些纳米微粒堆的化学, 它能够准确挑选出我们所需要的那些纳米微粒。
nanoparticles:n.纳米粒子(nanoparticle的复数形式);
Then we can use chemistry to arrange literally billions of these particles into the pattern we need to build circuits . 然后,我们就利用化学,把数亿的微粒 排列成我们建造电路所需要的形状。
circuits:n.环行路线;电路;线路;巡回赛;v.巡回;周游;(circuit的第三人称单数和复数)
And because we can do that, we can build circuits that are many times faster than what anyone's been able to make using nanomaterials before. 因为我们能做到那一点, 我们就可以建造出比运用纳米材料之前 快好多倍的线路。
Chemistry's the missing tool, and every day our tool gets sharper and gets more precise . 化学就是那个被忽略的工具, 而每天,我们的工具都会变得更加锋利,更加精准。
sharper:n.骗子;赌棍;欺诈犯; precise:adj.准确的;确切的;精确的;明确的;
and we hope this is within a handful of years — we can deliver on one of those original promises. 我们也希望会在几年之内, 就可以达到开始的那些预期中的一个。
original:n.原件;原作;原物;原型;adj.原始的;最初的;独创的;新颖的;
Now, computing is just one example. 运算只是一个例子。
It's the one that I'm interested in, that my group is really invested in, but there are others in renewable energy, in medicine, in structural materials, where the science is going to tell you to move towards the nano. 那是我们所感兴趣的,我们的团队所投入的领域, 但是在很多其它领域,可再生能源,医药, 建筑材料, 科学都将引领我们走向纳米技术。
invested:v.投资;投入;(invest的过去分词和过去式) renewable:adj.可再生的;可更新的;可继续的;n.再生性能源; structural:adj.结构的;建筑的;
That's where the biggest benefit is. 这就是最大的好处。
But if we're going to do that, the scientists of today and tomorrow are going to need new tools — tools just like the ones I described . 但是,如果我们想要这么做, 现在和未来的科学家们,就需要新的工具, 就像是我描绘的那种一样。
described:v.描述;形容;把…称为;做…运动;(describe的过去分词和过去式)
And they will need chemistry. That's the point. 他们需要化学,这是重点。
The beauty of science is that once you develop these new tools, they're out there. 科学的美丽之处就在于,一旦你研发了新的工具, 它们就唾手可得了。
They're out there forever, and anyone anywhere can pick them up and use them, and help to deliver on the promise of nanotechnology. 它们变得无处不在, 任何人,在任何地方,都可以随时拿来并使用它们, 帮助实现那些纳米科技的承诺。
Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. 非常感谢你们。我很感激。
appreciate:v.欣赏;感激;感谢;理解;
(Applause) （掌声）