科学美国人60秒 SSS 扬声器设备阻挡城市噪音

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列，我是克里斯托弗·因塔格里塔。

Restaurants, schools, dentist offices are all keeping more windows open to increase ventilation—

餐馆、学校、牙医诊所都在敞开更多窗户以增加通风，

and, hopefully, to decrease the chances of encountering the coronavirus.

希望能减少感染冠状病毒的机会。

But letting in fresh air also lets in more noise.

但是让新鲜空气进来也会让更多噪音传入。

Now researchers have come up with a device that's like noise-cancelling headphones—but for a building.

现在，研究人员发明出一种类似于降噪耳机的设备，但是用于建筑物的。

"It works on the same principle, so it detects noise that's coming into the windows and then is cancelling the noise."

“设备的工作原理与降噪耳机相同，因此它能检测到进入窗户的噪音，之后消除噪音。”

Bhan Lam, an acoustical¹ engineer at Nanyang Technological² University in Singapore.

新加坡南洋理工大学的声学工程师Bhan Lam说到。

The device looks like a grid³ of small speakers and fits over an open window.

这个设备看起来像由小型扬声器组成的网格，固定在打开的窗户上。

A microphone samples incoming noise, then sends the speaker grid instructions on what sort of "antinoise" to emit.

麦克风对传入噪音进行采样，之后发送扬声器网格“抗噪”指令。

The result is to cancel out the incoming sound.

结果是为了抵消传入的声音。

For example, here's the sound of a commuter⁴ train in Singapore with no noise control.

例如，以下是新加坡没有噪音控制的通勤列车发出的声音。

Now here's that same sound with the array of noise-cancelling speakers turned on.

这是同样的声音，但同时开启一组降噪扬声器的效果。

Compare that to a closed window.

将其与关窗效果进行比较。

The antinoise device is almost as good and allows air to keep flowing into and out of the window.

抗噪音设备的效果几乎与关窗一样好，而且还能让空气从窗户进出。

The details are in the journal Scientific Reports.

研究详情发表在《科学报告》期刊上。

The device is just a prototype—so it's still expensive. And it doesn't block out all sounds.

这个设备只是个模型，因此价格仍然很昂贵。而且它并不能阻挡所有声音。

It only masks sound at frequencies from 300 to 1000 Hz—which includes the rumble⁵ of freeways, trains and planes.

这个设备只能屏蔽300到1000赫兹的声音，包括高速公路、火车和飞机的隆隆声。

But even that could come in handy in a place like Singapore.

但即使这样，在新加坡等地也能派上用场。

"Gimme a second, there's a plane flying past."

“等一下，有架飞机飞过。”

Bhan says Singapore already has a lot of green buildings that use natural ventilation.

Bhan表示，新加坡已经有许多使用自然通风的绿色建筑。

"But the downside is: when you have lots of openings in the buildings, the noise comes in, so you need some way to manage the increasing noise."

“但缺点是：如果建筑物有很多通风口，那噪音就会传入，所以我们需要某种方法来管理不断增加的噪音。”

A grid of window speakers could do the trick—especially if people prioritize peace and quiet over a good view, which folks at home tend to do all night.

窗户扬声器网络就可以达到这个效果，尤其是如果人们认为平和安静优先于美丽风景的话，而且居家人士往往整晚都这么认为。

Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔。

1 acoustical   

adj. 听觉的，声学的，音响学的

参考例句：

• This system can set up acoustical resonances. 这种系统能产生共鸣。
• The relevance of acoustical principles is by no means limited to sound and hearing. 声学原理并不仅仅适用于声音和听觉。

2 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

3 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。

4 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

5 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。