欧美人文风情第162篇:塞车的科学

 You've just made your way out of a really frustrating¹ traffic jam, and you're looking around for the reason, maybe an accident or roadworks, 你才刚脱离一阵着实恼人的车潮，而你正四处查看塞车的原因，也许是车祸或是道路施工，

but you can't see anything. So, what in the world just happened? 但你却看不到任何线索。那么，刚才究竟发生啥事了？

Mathematicians² use different models to explain these so-called phantom³ traffic jams. 数学家们使用不同模型来解释这些所谓的“幽灵塞车”。

One popular model likens traffic to a flowing liquid and traffic jams to a shockwave. 一种最普遍的模型将车潮譬喻成流动的液体，而塞车譬喻成震荡波。

To investigate this, Japanese researchers put 22 cars on a circular track, and ask them to drive around at a steady 30 kilometers per hour. 要研究这现象，日本研究人员安排 22 辆车在一条环形跑道上，并要求他们以稳定的时速 30 公里绕圈行驶。

For a little while, all goes well, but it takes just one car to slightly change speed to cause problems, 过了一会儿，一切都很顺利，但只要一辆车稍微改变车速就能造成问题，

making the car behind slow down further, and the next car back to slow down even more again. 使得后方的车进一步慢下来，而下一辆车又甚至慢更多下来。

The cars begin to clump⁴ together, and this clumping⁵ effect reverberates⁶ backwards⁷ around the track like a shockwave, 车辆开始挤在一起，而这相挤的效应就像震荡波一般向后回传到整个跑道，

even leaving to brief halts at points. 甚至在某些地方带来短暂的停止状态。

Theoretically, if traffic remains⁸ heavy, this traveling wave could just keep going and going forever. 理论上来说，如果交通维持繁忙状态，这种行进波能就永远不停持续下去。

These invisible waves of congestion⁹ also occur in real-life traffic jams. 这些隐形的壅塞波动同样也在现实生活的塞车中发生。

They create a ripple¹⁰ effect which doesn't go away until all cars return to the same pace. 它们产生一种在所有车辆回到相同车速前都不会消失的涟漪效应。

To prevent a jam, you should maintain a steady speed, so no changing lanes, no slowing down to look at things, 要避免塞车，你应该要维持稳定的车速，所以那代表不要变换车道、不减速看其他东西，

and using your cruise control. 并使用你的定速巡航。

And you can always carpool or use public transport to reduce congestion in the first place. 还有你永远可以共乘或是利用大众运输来在一开始就减少壅塞情形。

Another potential solution is driverless cars, which are better at keeping a constant pace, 另一个可能的解决方式是无人驾驶汽车，那更能维持固定的车速，

and which can wirelessly¹¹ communicate with each other to respond to changing traffic conditions. 且那可以和彼此无线通讯以应对不断变化的交通状况。

Mathematicians help, too, by improving the algorithms that control our traffic lights, 数学家也有帮忙，借由改善控制交通号志的演算法，

and predicting when and where traffic jams will occur. 还有预测塞车状况在何时何地会发生。

And now, four fast facts about pesky traffic: 现在，有四则关于恼人车潮的趣味资讯：

Traffic light timings optimize¹² movement for the majority of traffic, 交通号志的时间点尽可能配合大多数的车潮动向，

meaning that if you're driving against the flow, you could hit a frustrating run of red lights. 表示如果你往不同方向前进，你可能就会碰上一连串烦人的红灯。

Traffic psychology¹³ studies show that women cyclists are given more space on the road than men, 交通心理研究显示，女单车骑士比起男性在路上会被让出更多空间，

and you're more likely to let a car in front of you if you have passengers. 而如果你车上有乘客的话，你更有可能让车辆开在你的前面。

Using theoretical physics to understand traffic congestion is creatively called "jamology." 利用理论物理学理解塞车，被很有创意地称为“塞车学”。

And in 2010, a 100-kilometer stretch of highway between Beijing and Tibet came to a standstill for two weeks, 2010 年，在北京和西藏间高速公路上一条绵延 100 公里的车流停滞了两个礼拜，

possibly the greatest traffic jam in history. 也许是史上最厉害的塞车。

Stuck for ideas about traffic jams? 脑袋堵太多塞车资讯吗？

Check out our website where we have some links, 看看我们的网站，那儿我们有一些连结，

and we'll see you around back here next week. 我们在下周会回到这里与你相会。

 

1 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 mathematicians   

数学家( mathematician的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do you suppose our mathematicians are unequal to that? 你以为我们的数学家做不到这一点吗？ 来自英汉文学
• Mathematicians can solve problems with two variables. 数学家们可以用两个变数来解决问题。 来自哲学部分

3 phantom   

n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的

参考例句：

• I found myself staring at her as if she were a phantom.我发现自己瞪大眼睛看着她，好像她是一个幽灵。
• He is only a phantom of a king.他只是有名无实的国王。

4 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

5 clumping   

v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的现在分词 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声

参考例句：

• Wipe the wand off before the first coat to prevent clumping. 把睫毛棒刷干净，避免结块。 来自互联网
• Fighting gravitational clumping would take a wavelength of a few dozen light-years. 为了对抗重力造成的聚集，这些粒子的波长可能会长达好几十光年的距离。 来自互联网

6 reverberates   

回响，回荡( reverberate的第三人称单数 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射

参考例句：

• His voice reverberates from the high ceiling. 他的声音自天花板顶处反射回来。
• No single phrase of his reverberates or penetrates as so many of La Bruyere's do. 他没有一个句子能象拉布吕耶尔的许多句子那样余音回荡，入木三分。

7 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

10 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

11 wirelessly   

不用电线的，用无线电波传送的

参考例句：

• I heard it on the wireless. 我是从无线电收音机里听到的。
• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio. 收音机里有许多无线电线路。

12 optimize   

v.使优化 [=optimise]

参考例句：

• We should optimize the composition of the Standing Committees.优化人大常委会组成人员的结构。
• We should optimize our import mix and focus on bringing in advanced technology and key equipment.优化进口结构，着重引进先进技术和关键设备。

13 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。