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Newsworthy Clips: Diamonds cutting environmental impact 钻石降低环境冲击

 

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Diamonds cutting environmental impact 钻石降低环境冲击

 

Diamonds are known as a girl’s best friend due to their splendid sparkle, but they are also held in very high regard by industrialists, who prize their unmatched density, excellent thermal conduction and other properties.

钻石因为耀眼夺目而被称为女人最好的朋友，但也深受工业家的重视。他们看重的是钻石无与伦比的密度、绝佳的导热性以及其他特质。

 

Exploiting these unique properties is the key to a new kind of semiconductor that researchers hope could be a revolutionary advance in energy-efficient technology.

研发一种新式半导体的关键，正是充分利用这些独特的性质。研究人员期盼这种半导体能够为节能科技带来革命性的进展。

 

The artificial diamond super semiconductor is being developed by the Diamond Research Laboratory of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan.

人造钻石超级半导体的研发机构是日本产业技术综合研究所（产综研）的钻石研究实验室。

 

Artificial diamonds are most commonly produced by decomposing methane gas in a microwave oven at temperatures of about 1,000 degrees Celsius, which pile up like accumulated snow to form a thin layer, or laminate, of diamond.

人造钻石最常见的制造方法是利用温度可达摄氏一千度的微波炉分解甲烷气体。这种程序可制造出碳的细微碎片，像积雪一样堆栈成钻石薄层，或称为层压片。

 

The AIST team has found a way to accelerate that process and can efficiently produce diamond laminates measuring 2.3 centimeters square and 0.4 millimeter thick – a size that ranks alongside the largest artificial diamonds produced.

产综研的团队找出了一种方法，能够加速这项程序，并且能够极有效率地产生面积达二点三平方公分、厚零点四公厘的钻石层压片──大小相当于当前世界上最大的人造钻石。

 

While diamond has natural insulating qualities, adding minute amounts of boric acid and some other substances during the methane-decomposition process produces a diamond that also acts as an excellent semiconductor.

钻石虽然具有天然绝缘的特性，但只要在甲烷分解过程中加入微量的硼酸及一些其他物质，产生的钻石即可成为优异的半导体。

 

The AIST team [in 2009] created a prototype semiconductor element measuring 1.6 centimeters square. If about 10 such elements were combined to form one large element, it would be suitable for use in the power control system of a hybrid vehicle, said Shinichi Shikata, 56, who heads the AIST team.

产综研的团队在二００九年制造出一件半导体组件原型，面积为一点六平方公分。只要把约十件这种组件结合成一个大型组件，即可用于油电混合车辆的电力控制系统当中，五十六岁的鹿田真一表示。他是产综研团队的领导人。

 

A hybrid car equipped with such technology would consume about 960 kilowatt hours less per year than a conventional hybrid.

配备这种科技的油电混合车每年消耗的电量将可较传统油电混合车减少约九百六十度（译注：或称千瓦时）。

 

If every hybrid vehicle currently in use worldwide had such a system in place, their collective carbon dioxide emission would be reduced by about 5 million tons over 40 years, he said.

当前世界上的油电混合车如果全都配备有这样的系统，其二氧化碳排放总量将可在四十年内减少五百万吨左右，他如此表示。

 

“We’d like to see diamond semiconductors become commonplace some day, since they would be sure to help realize a low-carbon society.”

「我们希望钻石半导体有朝一日能够普及，因为这种半导体绝对有助于实现低碳社会的理想。」

 

－by Takashi Hagiwara

 

 

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splendid [ˋsplɛndɪd] adj. 有光彩的; 灿烂的

thermal [ˋθɝm!] conduction 热传导

exploit [ɪkˋsplɔɪt] v. 开发; 开采

decompose [͵dikəmˋpoz] v. 分解

laminate [ˋlæmə͵net] n. 薄片制品

rank [ræŋk] v. 列为; 具有…等级

 

 

 

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Moon has more water than previously thought  月球上的水量多于先前的推测

 

The moon is much wetter and more chemically complicated than scientists had believed, according to data released in October by NASA.

美国航空暨太空总署在十月公布的资料指出，月球的含水量和化学成分的复杂度都远比科学家先前以为的还高。

 

In 2009, after the space agency dropped a rocket into a frozen crater near the moon’s south pole and measured the stuff kicked up by the collision, scientists calculated that the crater contained about 25 gallons of water. But further analysis over the past 11 months indicates that the amount of water vapor and ice was closer to 41 gallons.

二００九年，太空总署把一具火箭投入月球南极附近的一座冰冻月坑，并且测量了撞击扬起的物质，结果科学家计算出那座月坑含有二十五加仑左右的水。然而，过去十一个月以来的分析发现，水蒸气与冰的量比较接近四十一加仑。

 

“It’s twice as wet as the Sahara Desert,” said Anthony Colaprete, the lead scientist for the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission at NASA Ames Research Centerin Northern California.

「那里的含水量是撒哈拉沙漠的两倍，」安东尼．卡拉普瑞特如此表示。他是北加州太空总署艾姆斯研究中心的月坑观察与感测卫星（简称LCROSS）任务小组的首席科学家。

 

The instruments aboard the satellite, including near-infrared and visible light spectrometers, scanned the debris cloud and identified the compounds it contained. They determined that about 5.6 percent of the plume was made of water, give or take 2.9 percent. It also included a surprising variety of chemicals, including mercury, methane, silver, calcium, magnesium, pure hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

那颗卫星上的仪器──包括近红外线与可见光的光谱仪──扫描了碎屑烟云，并且辨识了其中所含的化合物。结果发现，那团烟云有约百分之五点六是水，正负误差值为百分之二点九。出乎意料的是，那团烟云也含有极为多样化的化学物质，包括汞、甲烷、银、钙、镁、纯氢与一氧化碳。

 

The findings were reported in six related papers published online by the journal Science.

这些发现发表于六份彼此相关的论文里，由《科学》期刊刊登在网络上。

 

“The lunar ‘closet’ is really at the poles, and I think there’s a lot of stuff crammed into the closet that we really haven’t investigated yet,” said Peter Schultz, a planetary geologist at Brown University and one of the LCROSS team members.

「月球的『密室』其实位于两极地带，而且我认为那座密室里塞藏了许多东西，我们都还没真正研究过，」彼得．舒茨表示。他是布朗大学的行星地质学家，也是LCROSS的团队成员。

 

The new measurements allowed Colaprete to estimate that the crater could hold as much as 1 billion gallons of water.

卡拉普瑞特利用新的测量结果进行估计，发现这月坑可以含纳高达十亿加仑的水量。

 

That might be handy for space explorers who might use the moon as an interplanetary way station. The water could be used for drinking and be mined for breathable oxygen. It also could be used to make hydrogen fuel for long-distance spacecraft.

这项发现对于可能利用月球做为星际中继站的太空探险家来说颇为便利。（月球上的）水可以拿来饮用，也可以用于制造可供呼吸的氧气。此外，也可以生产氢燃料以供长程航行的宇宙飞船使用。

 

－by Amina Khan

 

 

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crater [ˋkretɚ] n. 陨石坑; 火山口

infrared [ɪnfrəˋrɛd] n. 红外线

spectrometer [spɛkˋtrɑmətɚ] n. 分光计，光谱仪

plume [plum] n. 羽状物（如烟云，雪尘等）

closet [ˋklɑzɪt] n. 密室 a small private chamber, as for study or prayer

planetary [ˋplænə͵tɛrɪ] adj.【天】行星的

handy [ˋhændɪ] adj. 便利的

interplanetary [͵ɪntɚˋplænə͵tɛrɪ] adj. 行星间的

 

 

 

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Study: Teamwork makes surgery safer  研究指出：团队合作可提高外科手术的安全性

 

Training doctors and nurses to work as teams –using safety techniques borrowed from the aviation industry – cut the death rate from surgery by 18 percent, a new study shows.

一项新研究指出，训练医生与护士团队合作──采用借自航空业的安全技巧──可让手术死亡率降低百分之十八。

 

Surgical teams in the study, which included 108 hospitals around the country, focused on low-tech techniques, such as holding briefings and debriefings before and after each operation, says study author and former astronaut James Bagian, a professor at the University of Michigan’s medical and engineering schools.

研究报告作者是曾任航天员的密西根大学医学院与工学院教授詹姆斯．巴吉恩。他表示，这项研究调查的手术团队包括了全国一百零八家医院，焦点则是放在低科技的措施上，诸如每次手术的术前简报与术后报告。

 

These briefings, which are routinely conducted before airplane flights, allow crews to anticipate and prepare for potential safety risks, Bagian says.

巴吉恩指出，飞机航班出发前照例都会举行这类简报，有助于机组人员为可能发生的安全风险预做准备。

 

Briefings helped surgical teams make important discoveries, such as learning that patients were on blood thinners, which increase the risk for serious bleeding during surgery. “You don’t want to be surprised in the middle of surgery,” he says.

简报有助于手术团队获得重要发现，例如病患如果服用血液稀释剂，在手术中发生严重出血的风险就会提高，而这种信息即可从简报中得知。「你可不想在手术中才被突如其来的状况吓得手足失措，」他表示。

 

Researchers trained operating room staff at 74 hospitals. Teams learned to recognize red flags, challenge each when they found safety risks and develop presurgical checklists, according to the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The more training surgical teams received, the safer they became, Bagian says.

研究人员在七十四所医院训练了手术室的医护人员。这些团队学会了辨识各种警讯，只要发现安全风险就会互相提醒，也发展出术前检查表，《美国医学会期刊》刊登的这份研究报告指出。手术团队接受的训练愈多，手术就愈安全，巴吉恩表示。

 

But Bagian notes his study has limitations. The 34 hospitals that hadn’t yet undergone training at the time of the study also improved, reducing their surgical mortality rate by 7 percent, he says. And the design of his study prevents him from concluding that training actually caused the drop in mortality, although the link seems strong.

不过，巴吉恩指出，自己的研究仍然有其局限。研究期间还没接受训练的三十四所医院也有所改善，手术死亡率降低了百分之七，他如此表示。此外，他这项研究的设计方式也导致他无法确认训练是否确是死亡率降低的原因，尽管两者之间似乎具有强烈关联。

 

But the study is also the largest and most rigorously designed of its kind, says Peter Pronovost, a doctor and safety advocate.

不过，这项研究仍是同类型研究中规模最大而且设计也最严谨的一个，医师暨安全倡导者彼得．普罗诺佛斯表示。

 

“For decades, surgery and anesthesiology have focused on the technical work,” Pronovost says. “But the harm that’s occurring [from surgery] is happening due to teamwork failure, not technical failures. This is something every hospital can do.”

「数十年来，外科医学与麻醉学都把关注焦点集中在技术方面，」普罗诺佛斯表示：「但手术造成的伤害来自团队缺失，而不是技术缺失。这点是每家医院都能着手处理之处。」

 

－by Liz Szabo

 

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debriefing [diˋbrifɪŋ] n. 任务报告；任务报告中提出的情报 report of a mission or task

blood thinner 血液稀释剂 anticoagulant

checklist [ˋtʃɛk͵lɪst] n. 核对用的清单

mortality [mɔrˋtælətɪ] n. 死亡率; 失败率

anesthesiology [͵ænəs͵θizɪˋɑlədʒɪ] n. 麻醉学

 

 

 

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Vocabulary Focus

hold in high regard 十分尊重; 十分重视 to think of someone or something in a very positive way and respect them

unmatched [͵ʌnˋmætʃt] adj. 无与伦比的 having no equal; better than any other of the same type

accelerate [ækˋsɛlə͵ret] v. 加速 to speed up; to make something happen faster

prototype [ˋprotə͵taɪp] n. 原型; 雏型 the first example of something, such as a machine or other industrial product, from which all later forms are developed

hybrid [ˋhaɪbrɪd] adj. 混合而成的 a vehicle with an engine that uses both gas and another type of energy, usually electricity

collective [kəˋlɛktɪv] adj. 聚集而成的 of or shared by every part of a group

kick up 激起 to cause dust or sand to rise into the air, often by walking or running

debris [dəˋbri] n. 碎片; 残骸 broken or torn pieces of something larger

briefing [ˋbrifɪŋ] n. 简报 a meeting at which detailed information or instructions are given, as for military operations, etc

red flag 危险信号 a sign of danger

rigorously [ˋrɪgərəslɪ] adv. 严厉地；残酷地 done in a way that carefully looks at or considers every part of something to make certain it is correct or safe

 

 

How do they do artificial diamonds?

 

 

Toward applications of diamond in power electronics infrastructure for a low-carbon society 

 

 

NASA Confirms Water on Moon