TED演讲 第8期:从20马赫的滑翔机到蜂鸟无人机的感想(3)

 That's an unnatural¹ act for a rocket.  这对于火箭来说，不是一种自然的行为。

The third stage has a camera.  第三次发射，火箭上有一个摄像机。

We call it rocketcam.  我们称之为火箭摄像机。

And it's pointed² at the hypersonic glider³.  用于拍摄特超音速滑翔机。

This is the actual rocketcam footage from flight one.  这是一段来自首次飞行的真实录像。

Now to conceal⁴ the shape, we changed the aspect ratio a little bit.  我们稍稍改动了纵横比来遮掩滑翔机的样子。

But this is what it looks like from the third stage of the rocket looking at the unmanned glider as it heads into the atmosphere back towards Earth.  但这正是从火箭发射的第三阶段上看到的无人操纵滑翔机的样子。它冲进大气层返回地球。

We've flown twice.  我们飞了两次。

In the first flight,no aerodynamic control of the vehicle.  头一次没有对滑翔机操控。

But we collected more hypersonic flight data than in 30 years of ground-based testing combined.  但我们也收集了比过去30年间地面测试总和还多的数据。

And in the second flight,three minutes of fully-controlled,aerodynamic flight at Mach 20.  第二次飞行是历时3分钟的全程操控，空气动力飞行的速度是20马赫。

We must fly again, because amazing, never-been-done-before things require that you fly. 我们还要再飞一次。因为神奇的前人从未尝试过的事物促使我们飞行。

You can't learn to fly at Mach 20 unless you fly. 你飞不了20马赫，除非你继续飞。

And while there's no substitute for speed, maneuverability is a very close second.  虽然速度很重要，操纵性也同样不可忽视。

If a Mach 20 glider takes 11 minutes and 20 seconds to get from New York to Long Beach,a hummingbird⁵ would take,well, days.  如果20马赫的滑翔机花11分钟20秒。从纽约飞到长滩，那么，一只蜂鸟大概要几天。

You see, hummingbirds⁶ are not hypersonic, but they are maneuverable.  你知道，蜂鸟不是特超音速。但是操纵性很好。

In fact, the hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backwards⁷.  事实上，蜂鸟是唯一能后退飞行的鸟。

It can fly up, down,forwards, backwards,even upside-down.  它能飞上飞下。向前飞，向后飞。甚至倒过来飞。

And so if we wanted to fly in this room or places where humans can't go, small enough and maneuverable enough we'd need an aircraft to do so.  所以，如果我们想在这个房间里或者人类无法到达的地方飞行。我们就需要飞机。体积小，操作性强方可达到此要求。

This is a hummingbird drone.  这是个蜂鸟无人驾驶飞机。

It can fly in all directions,even backwards.  它能向各个方向飞行。甚至向后飞。

It can hover⁸ and rotate.  它能悬停和旋转。

This prototype aircraft is equipped with a video camera.  这个原型机配有一个视频摄像头。

It weighs less than one AA battery.  它比一节AA电池还轻。

It does not eat nectar.  还不用吃花蜜。

In 2008,it flew for a whopping 20 seconds,a year later,two minutes,then six, eventually 11.  2008年它破天荒地飞了20秒。一年后是2分钟。然后是6分钟。最终飞了11分钟。

Many prototypes crashed many.  很多原型机都摔烂了—很多。

But there's no way to learn to fly like a hummingbird unless you fly. 但是无法学会象蜂鸟一样飞。除非不停地学习飞行。

It's beautiful, isn't it.Wow.  很美妙，是吧。哇。

It's great.  非常棒。

1 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

2 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 glider   

n.滑翔机；滑翔导弹

参考例句：

• The glider was soaring above the valley.那架滑翔机在山谷上空滑翔。
• The pilot managed to land the glider on a safe place.那个驾驶员设法让滑翔机着陆到一个安全的地方。

4 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

5 hummingbird   

n.蜂鸟

参考例句：

• The hummingbird perches on a twig of the hawthorn.小蜂鸟栖在山楂树枝上。
• The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backward.蜂鸟是唯一能倒退向后飞的鸟。

6 hummingbirds   

n.蜂鸟( hummingbird的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious. 蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• Why do hummingbirds and gorillas both have backbones? 为什么蜂鸟和大猩猩都有脊骨？

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 hover   

vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫

参考例句：

• You don't hover round the table.你不要围着桌子走来走去。
• A plane is hover on our house.有一架飞机在我们的房子上盘旋。