VOA慢速英语2015 New Camera Records Invisible Motion

New Camera Records Invisible Motion

The world is in never-ending motion, even when objects seem to be perfectly¹ still. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology use a special camera that shows these seemingly invisible movements.

Many objects around us vibrate when hit by sound waves. But the movements are not visible to the human eye.

One example of this invisible movement happens when a wine glass is exposed to a loud noise. It vibrates although it looks still.

The movements can be recorded with a special high-speed camera called a motion microscope. The microscope records thousands of picture frames per second, and a computer program amplifies² the sound vibrations⁴. These are made into a video in which a wine glass hit by sound waves looks very flexible.

Michael Rubinstein is the lead researcher of the motion microscope technology. He has made his research open to the public, so anyone can make magnified videos of their own.

Neil Wadhwa is a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He recorded and amplified⁵ the movements of a person’s face with a motion microscope. The recording⁶ shows the man’s blood pressure going up and down with every heartbeat.

“The motion microscope is a way to visualize⁷ small motions that are seemingly invisible to the naked eye in videos.”

Mr. Wadhwa says the motion microscope can be very useful for observing important movements, like those of a baby during pregnancy⁸ or of an infant breathing.

“You can create a non-contact vital signs monitor so you don’t need to attach anything to a person and you will still be able to figure out their heart rate and respiration⁹ rate.”

Mr. Wadhwa says recording invisible motion also could be used in other ways. He says the technology can help engineers detect vibrations of buildings, bridges, and construction materials.

Words in This Story

amplify¹⁰ – v. to increase the strength of an electric signal; to make louder by increasing the strength of electric signals

expose – v.  to cause to experience something or to be influenced or affected¹¹ by something

vibration³ – n. a continuous slight shaking movement : a series of small, fast movements back and forth or from side to side

1 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

2 amplifies   

放大，扩大( amplify的第三人称单数 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• Gain is the number of times the amplifier amplifies a signal. 增益就是放大器放大信号的倍数。
• Such panicky behaviour amplifies the impact of the Russian export ban. 这样的恐慌行为放大了俄罗斯小麦出口禁令的影响效应。

3 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

4 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》

5 amplified   

放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• He amplified on his remarks with drawings and figures. 他用图表详细地解释了他的话。
• He amplified the whole course of the incident. 他详述了事件的全过程。

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 visualize   

vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想

参考例句：

• I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人，但他的样子我想不起来了。
• She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。

8 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

9 respiration   

n.呼吸作用；一次呼吸；植物光合作用

参考例句：

• They tried artificial respiration but it was of no avail.他们试做人工呼吸，可是无效。
• They made frequent checks on his respiration,pulse and blood.他们经常检查他的呼吸、脉搏和血液。

10 amplify   

vt.放大，增强；详述，详加解说

参考例句：

• The new manager wants to amplify the company.新经理想要扩大公司。
• Please amplify your remarks by giving us some examples.请举例详述你的话。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。