2020年经济学人 让乌龟和兔子交配(3)

According to a paper its inventors published recently in Nature Communications, the Graz cell's performance exceeds that of a Li-ion battery. It is able, for example, to cope with up to 1m charge and discharge cycles, says Qamar Abbas, a member of the team. A Li-ion equivalent might be expected to manage a couple of thousand cycles.

根据其发明者最近发表在《自然通讯》上的一篇论文，格拉茨电池的性能超过了锂离子电池。例如，研究小组成员卡马尔·阿巴斯说，它能够应付高达100万次的充放电循环。锂离子当量的电池可以运行几千次循环。

Both Skeleton and the Graz group, then, are taking modified supercapacitor architecture and adding some bespoke¹ electrochemistry. By contrast, although the offering from NAWATechnologies does indeed also employ modified supercapacitor plates as its electrodes, it uses tried and trusted Li-ion ingredients for the chemical donkey work.

于是，骨架和格拉茨团队都采用了改良的超级电容器结构，并添加了一些定制的电化学元素。相比之下，虽然NAWATechnologies公司提供的产品确实也使用了改良的超级电容器板作为电极，但它使用了经过验证的锂离子成分来进行化学辅助工作。

Like Skeleton, NAWA already manufactures supercapacitors. The plates for these are created using a process which the firm calls VACNT(vertically aligned² carbon nanotubes). This arranges those tubes in an array that resembles, in miniature, the bristles³ on a brush. Extreme miniature. A square centimetre contains about 100bn of them, all standing⁴ to attention. That greatly increases the surface area available to hold an electric charge.

NAWA和骨架一样，也在生产超级电容器。该公司使用一种叫做VACNT(垂直排列碳纳米管)的工艺制造了这些平板，将这些管子像微型刷子的刷毛一样进行排列。极端的缩影。每平方厘米大约有1000亿条管子竖着立正，这大大增加了可容纳电荷的表面积。

To adapt VACNT plates to operate also as battery-like electrodes, NAWA's engineers have thinned the nanotube forest to make room for coatings of the chemicals which batteries employ for their reactions, and also for the movement of lithium ions into and out of the spaces between the tubes. This freedom of movement, the company reckons, will boost the arrangement's power density⁵ by a factor of ten.

为了使VACNT板也能作为类似电池的电极使用，NAWA的工程师对纳米管进行了细化，为电池进行化学反应所使用的化学涂层腾出空间，为锂离子进出奈米管之间的空间腾出空间。该公司估计，这种自由移动将使这种装置的功率密度提高10倍。

To start with, the nanotubes of the invention's cathode (the positive electrode in a battery) will be coated with nickel, manganese and cobalt, a mixture already widely used to make such cathodes. Conventional anodes (the negative electrodes) are already carbon based, so using that element in the form of nanotubes is not a big departure. Other, less commercially developed battery chemistries should, though, also work with VACNT electrodes. These include lithium-sulphur and lithium-silicon⁶, both of which have the potential to increase energy densities⁷.

首先，该发明的阴极(电池中的正极)的纳米管将被镀上镍、锰和钴，一种已经广泛用于制造此类阴极的混合体。传统的阳极(负极)已经是碳基的，所以使用碳纳米管形式的元素并没有太大的差异。尽管如此，其他未被商业化开发的电池化学物质也应该适用于VACNT电极。其中包括锂-硫和锂-硅，这两种物质都有可能增加能量密度。

Silicon is particularly promising⁸, but it swells⁹ as it absorbs ions, and that can rupture¹⁰ a battery. The thicket¹¹ of nanotubes in a VACNT electrode should operate like a cage to keep the silicon in check, says Pascal Boulanger, a physicist¹² who helped found NAWA in 2013. The new electrode material could also be used with solid rather than liquid electrolytes, to make "solid-state" batteries. These are powerful and robust¹³, but are proving tricky¹⁴ to commercialise.

硅的前景极其光明，但它会在吸收离子的过程中膨胀，这可能会损坏电池。2013年协助发现NAWA的物理学家帕斯卡尔·布朗热称VACNT电极中错综复杂的纳米管就像笼子一样控制着硅。这种新的电极材料也可以用于固体电解质(非液体电解质)以制造“固态”电池。这些技术既强大又稳健，但商业化却很棘手。

1 bespoke   

adj.（产品）订做的；专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求

参考例句：

• His style of dressing bespoke great self-confidence. 他的衣着风格显得十分自信。
• The haberdasher presented a cap, saying,"Here is the cap your worship bespoke." 帽匠拿出一顶帽子来说：“这就是老爷您定做的那顶。” 来自辞典例句

2 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

3 bristles   

短而硬的毛发，刷子毛( bristle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the bristles on his chin 他下巴上的胡楂子
• This job bristles with difficulties. 这项工作困难重重。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

6 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

7 densities   

密集( density的名词复数 )； 稠密； 密度（固体、液体或气体单位体积的质量）； 密度（磁盘存贮数据的可用空间）

参考例句：

• The range of densities of interest is about 3.5. 有用的密度范围为3．5左右。
• Densities presumably can be probed by radar. 利用雷达也许还能探测出气体的密度。

8 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

9 swells   

增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The waters were heaving up in great swells. 河水正在急剧上升。
• A barrel swells in the middle. 水桶中部隆起。

10 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

11 thicket   

n.灌木丛，树林

参考例句：

• A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
• We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。

12 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

13 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

14 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。