科学家们共同分享纳米技术其未来的相关信息

Scientists Gather to Share Information for Nanotechnology’s Future

科学家们共同分享纳米技术其未来的相关信息

 

The world of nanotechnology is far too small to be seen by the human eye, but its potential impact is huge.

 

Nanotechnology involves manipulation of matter at the atomic level.  Researchers are concentrating on ways of using this technology for better medical treatments, more powerful computers, and stronger, lighter¹ materials. 

 

The head of Rice University's Nanotechnology Center, Wade² Adams, says a tube with walls that are only one atom thick is incredibly strong.

 

Wade Adams: The big effort at Rice is single-walled carbon nanotubes, which are predicted to be the strongest material that we will ever find in the universe.

 

While most of this remains³ at the experimental level, Mr. Adams says products based on nanotechnology are starting to emerge.

 

Wade Adams: We are going to see some good products come out in the next five years, in terms of materials that have greatly improved properties. Now, we already have taken advantage of some of their other properties, like their electrical conductivity. You can put a tenth of a percent or a hundredth of a percent of nanotubes in a plastic and make it conductive and use it to protect your computer case from static discharge.

 

Such applications are of enormous interest to the U.S. military, as well as the U.S. space program. On hand at the conference was Sivaram Arepalli, a native of India who works as a Senior Staff Scientist at the Johnson Space Center.

 

He sees big things coming from this research focused on small things.

 

Sivaram Arepalli: You can make structures that are a lot stronger and with multifunction materials. That is made a structure can provide strength as well as energy and it can sense itself and repair itself and so on.

 

Composite materials developed by nanotechnology could not only benefit space vehicles, they could also make automobiles⁴ and airplanes lighter and stronger.

 

Such things may be years away, but Sivaram Arepalli says nanotechnology has plenty to offer in the nearer-term. 

 

Sivaram Arepalli: I think there are other small areas where this nanotechnology can make an impact, like CO2 [carbon dioxide] absorption, like fuel cells. And that means a small amount of nanotechnology research can give us a lot more information than what we had before.

 

Scientists attending this conference said such gatherings⁵ allow researchers from competing universities and institutions to share information and help each other work towards a future based on nanotechnology.

 

Greg Flakus, VOA news, Houston.

 

注释：

nanotechnology [5nAnEu tek5nClEdVi] n. 纳米技术

manipulation [mE7nipju5leiFEn] n. 处理，操作

conductivity [7kCndQk5tiviti] n. 传导性，传导率

multifunction [7mQlti5fQNkFEn] n. 多功能

absorption [Eb5sC:pFEn] n. 吸收

1 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

2 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

3 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。

4 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。