在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

不怕伤鸟：无扇叶涡轮风力发电机

Wind turbines are efficient sources of cheap energy but also a source of concern as their huge spinning blades frequently kill birds and bats. A new type of wind generator¹ developed in Spain offers a creative solution to that problem.

风力涡轮是一种高效能的发电机，不过，有一个问题是，鸟类和蝙蝠经常死于刀刃般的涡轮扇叶。西班牙的一种新型涡轮风力发电机以创造性的方式提出了解决方案。

In 2002, Spanish inventor David Yanez saw a short film about the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the U.S., collapsing² in strong wind. It was a vivid example of the powerful vibrations³ wind can create when it blows past a long pole, such as a car antenna⁴ or even a stick of bamboo. It gave him the idea for a new type of wind-energy generator.

2002年，西班牙发明人戴维·亚涅斯（David Yanez）看了一部有关美国塔科马海峡吊桥在大风中倒塌的短片。这直观地体现了风吹过高竖的直杆、比如汽车天线甚至竹竿时所产生的强大振动力。这给他启发，让他想到发明新型的风能发电机。

“The initial philosophy or spirit was to create a generator of dreams that had all the qualities one would want: It should be as cheap as possible, need as little maintenance as possible, the setup as simple as possible," he said.

他说：“最初的理念或者说精神是，创造一种梦幻发电机，它具有人们所希望的所有性能，而且应该尽可能廉价，尽可能减少维修，安装也尽可能简单。”

Yanez and his friend Raoul Martin took the idea to an engineering firm, where they were told it would never work. Undiscouraged, they started experimenting on their own in a small wind tunnel they built.

亚涅斯和朋友劳尔·马丁（Raoul Martin）把这个想法带到一家工程公司。对方称这是异想天开。两人并不气馁，开始在自建的小风洞里进行试验。

Good initial results were repeated by a larger working model called Vortex installed in a nearby field.

初试结果不错。他们随后在附近田间竖立了更大的工作模型，称为“涡旋”（Vortex），进行重复试验。

“What we have is a mast, which is the top piece and acts as a blade," Yanez said. "It's constructed from the same material as a conventional generator, and what it does is it oscillates, transmitting the oscillation to a conventional alternator, which by its own oscillation converts the wind's energy into electric energy.”

亚涅斯说：“我们有个桅杆，这是顶部装置，起着扇叶的作用。建造材料跟常规发电机一样。它所做的是发生震荡，把这种震荡传输到一个常规的交流发电机，再通过交流发电机的震荡，把风能转换为电能。”

Yanez said the output of the 6-meter-tall generator, and even that of smaller models, was better than expected. The Vortex creates about 30 percent less energy than a comparable bladed wind turbine, but it is lighter⁵ and cheaper to build and maintain. It is made mostly of reinforced plastic and has very few moving parts. Also, it does not create noise and — even more important for many environmentalists — it does not present a threat to passing birds.

亚涅斯说，这部风力发电机的产出高过了预期。“涡旋”发电机跟同类有扇叶风力涡轮机相比，产生的能源要少大约30%，不过，它的重量相对较轻，制造和维修价格也更为低廉。它主要是由强化塑料制成，可移动部件很少。另外，它还不会产生噪音，而且对环保人士来说，更重要的是，它对飞鸟不构成威胁。

The current prototype works at wind speeds ranging from 1.5 to 7 meters per second.

驱动目前原型机运转所需风速在每秒1.5到7米之间。

The inventors say the next step is building a 12.5-meter tall bladeless generator with a 4-kilowatt capacity that could power small businesses or individual homes, or provide supplemental power to a main grid⁶.

这两位发明人说，下一步是建立一个12.5米高的无扇叶发电机，装机容量为4千瓦，可以为小公司、个人住宅提供电能，或者为主电网提供补充电力。

The commercial version of the Vortex Bladeless generator should be ready for the market by 2017.

 “涡旋无扇叶”（Vortex Bladeless）发电机的商业版应该能在2017年之前做好进入市场的准备。