VOA标准英语2015--新型风力发电机避免误伤鸟类

Bladeless Wind-Power Generator¹ is Friendly to Birds 新型风力发电机避免误伤鸟类

Wind turbines are efficient sources of cheap energy but also a source of concern as their huge spinning blades frequently kill birds and bats. A new type of wind generator developed in Spain offers a creative solution to that problem.

In 2002, Spanish inventor David Yanez saw a short film about the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the U.S., collapsing² in strong wind. It was a vivid example of the powerful vibrations³ wind can create when it blows past a long pole, such as a car antenna⁴ or even a stick of bamboo. It gave him the idea for a new type of wind-energy generator.

“The initial philosophy or spirit was to create a generator of dreams that had all the qualities one would want: It should be as cheap as possible, need as little maintenance as possible, the setup as simple as possible," he said.

Yanez and his friend Raoul Martin took the idea to an engineering firm, where they were told it would never work. Undiscouraged, they started experimenting on their own in a small wind tunnel they built.

Good initial results were repeated by a larger working model called Vortex installed in a nearby field.

“What we have is a mast, which is the top piece and acts as a blade," Yanez said. "It's constructed from the same material as a conventional generator, and what it does is it oscillates, transmitting the oscillation to a conventional alternator, which by its own oscillation converts the wind's energy into electric energy.”

Yanez said the output of the 6-meter-tall generator, and even that of smaller models, was better than expected. The Vortex creates about 30 percent less energy than a comparable bladed wind turbine, but it is lighter⁵ and cheaper to build and maintain. It is made mostly of reinforced plastic and has very few moving parts. Also, it does not create noise and — even more important for many environmentalists — it does not present a threat to passing birds.

The current prototype works at wind speeds ranging from 1.5 to 7 meters per second.

The inventors say the next step is building a 12.5-meter tall bladeless generator with a 4-kilowatt capacity that could power small businesses or individual homes, or provide supplemental power to a main grid⁶.

The commercial version of the Vortex Bladeless generator should be ready for the market by 2017.

1 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

2 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

3 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

5 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。

6 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。