Text8纳米技术如何工作.docVIP

Text 8 纳米技术如何工作 翻译by杨玲老师 修订 by 我 How Nanotechnology Works Theres an unprecedented multidisciplinary convergence of scientists dedicated to the study of a world so small, we cant see it -- even with a light microscope. That world is the field of nanotechnology, the realm of atoms and nanostructures. Nanotechnology is so new, no one is really sure what will come of it. Even so, predictions range from the ability to reproduce things like diamonds and food to the world being devoured by self-replicating nanorobots. 有很多致力于研究小到我们无法看见的世界的科学家。他们从事不同学科，但是他们史无前例地会聚在一起，他们研究的世界小得连借助精致的显微镜都看不见。那个世界就是纳米技术的世界，一个由原子和纳米结构组成的领域。纳米技术是如此新以至于没人能够确定它会给我们带来什么。即便如此，各种预言却都有，比如说复制钻石和食物，又比如说世界会被自我复制的纳米机器人毁灭。 In order to understand the unusual world of nanotechnology, we need to get an idea of the units of measure involved. A centimeter is one-hundredth of a meter, a millimeter is one-thousandth of a meter, and a micrometer is one-millionth of a meter, but all of these are still huge compared to the nanoscale. A nanometer (nm) is one-billionth of a meter, smaller than the wavelength of visible light and a hundred-thousandth the width of a human hair 为了了解纳米技术不同寻常的世界，我们需要了解所涉及的测量单位，一厘米是一米的百分之一，一毫米是一米的千分之一，一微米是百万分之一米，但是和纳米级相比，这些都还是巨大的数字。一纳米是十亿分之一米，比可见光的波长还要小，还不到人类一根头发宽度的十万分之一。 As small as a nanometer is, its still large compared to the atomic scale. An atom has a diameter of about 0.1 nm. An atoms nucleus is much smaller -- about 0.00001 nm. Atoms are the building blocks for all matter in our universe. You and everything around you are made of atoms. Nature has perfected the science of manufacturing matter molecularly. For instance, our bodies are assembled in a specific manner from millions of living cells. Cells are natures nanomachines. At the atomic scale, elements are at their most basic level. On the nanoscale, we can potentially put these atoms together to make almost anything. 尽管纳米很小，但是和原子水平比起来依然很大。原子的直径大约是0.1纳米。原子的核更是小得多——大约0.00001纳米。原子是宇宙所有物质的基石。你和你身边的一切都是由原子组成的。自然界从分子水平上完