TED演讲 4D打印机的诞生(1)

 This is me building a prototype for six hours straight. This is slave labor¹ to my own project.  这是我正在做一个模型，足足花了6个小时。完全是苦力活。

This is what the DIY and maker² movements really look like.  这就是所谓的自己动手做和自造者运动。

And this is an analogy for today's construction and manufacturing world with brute-force assembly techniques.  这也是今日全球建筑和制造业的缩影：到处可见费尽蛮力的组装技术。

And this is exactly why I started studying how to program physical materials to build themselves. 这也是我为什么开始研究如何让物理材料根据特定程序来组装自己。

But there is another world. Today at the micro- and nanoscales, there's an unprecedented³ revolution happening.  但是，还有另外一个世界。如今在微观纳米级上，正在发生一场空前的革命。

And this is the ability to program physical and biological materials to change shape, change properties and even compute⁴ outside of silicon-based matter.  这就是通过编程使物理和生物材料改变形状、改变属性的能力，它的应用范围甚至超过了硅基物质。

There's even a software called cadnano that allows us to design three-dimensional shapes like nano robots or drug delivery systems  甚至已经有了一个叫cadnano的软件，我们可以用它来设计各种三維物体，比如纳米机器人或者药物传输系统，

and use DNA⁵ to self-assemble those functional⁶ structures. 以及利用DNA自我组装各种功能结构。

But if we look at the human scale, there's massive problems that aren't being addressed by those nanoscale technologies.  但是，如果我们再看宏观的人类社会生活，还有很多问题没有被这些纳米级技术解决。

If we look at construction and manufacturing, there's major inefficiencies, energy consumption and excessive labor techniques.  如果我们看看建筑业和制造业，有很多效率严重低下的地方，比如能源消耗和过多的人工技能需求。

In infrastructure⁷, let's just take one example.  在基础设施方面，我们举个例子。

Take piping. In water pipes, we have fixed⁸-capacity water pipes that have fixed flow rates, except for expensive pumps and valves.  比如说铺设管道。水管，我们的水管都是固定容积，固定流量的，除了昂贵的水泵和水阀以外。

We bury them in the ground. If anything changes -- if the environment changes, the ground moves, or demand changes -- we have to start from scratch and take them out and replace them. 我们把它们埋在地底下。如果有任何变动——比如环境变化，地基移动或者需求改变——我们就得从头再来，把它们挖出来再换新的。

 

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 compute   

v./n.计算，估计

参考例句：

• I compute my losses at 500 dollars.我估计我的损失有五百元。
• The losses caused by the floods were beyond compute.洪水造成的损失难以估量。

5 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

6 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。