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小小泡沫把普通水变成强力清洁剂

While a stream of ordinary cold water may clean some dirt it is not considered an effective cleaning agent. But when two inventors at the University of Southampton added a little ultrasound the water became highly effective for removing germs from tiny cracks and crevices¹.

虽然普通的水流可以洗掉某些污垢，然而人们并不认为水是有效的清洁剂。不过，南安普顿大学的两位发明人给水里添加了一点超声波，大大加强了清洁效力，可以除去细缝中的细菌。

Under ultraviolet light greasy² residue³ on human hands becomes visible, but trying to rinse⁴ it off with ordinary cold water is next to impossible.

紫外线的照射把人手上残留的油脂显现出来，不过，用普通的凉水洗掉它几乎是不可能的。

Infusing the water stream with a bit of ultrasound turns it into an effective scrubber that quickly and harmlessly rinses⁵ the skin to spotless clean.

给水流中加入一点点超声波，就能把水变成高效清洁剂了。不仅很快洗得干干净净，而且对皮肤无害。

The simplicity⁶ of ‘Starstream,’ invented by two researchers from the University of Southampton, England, promises to change the way we clean our bodies as well as objects we use, from kitchen tools to medical instruments.

“星流”（Starstream）由英格兰南安普顿大学的两名研究人员发明。它的简单性使其前景看好，有可能改变人们的习惯，包括洗浴身体，也包括清洗物体，比如清洗厨房用具和医疗设备。

“We wanted to build some kind of micro-scrubber that can clean without bleach⁷ and detergents⁸, and can get into the crevices and the cracks. And so what we did, what we found is the bubble," said Tom Leighton from the University of Southampton.

南安普顿大学的蒂姆·莱顿说：“我们希望制造某种微清洗器，可以不用漂白液和洗涤剂就能清洗，还能进入缝隙中。于是，我们就发现了这种泡沫。”

Normally, bubbles of gas contained in ordinary water have smooth surfaces. But the infusion⁹ of ultrasound makes their surfaces ripple¹⁰, almost like the surface of sand paper. Flowing with water over contaminated surfaces the bubbles effectively take dirt away.

一般情况下，普通水中含有的气泡表面是平滑的。不过，向水中发出超声波，会使泡沫表面起皱，几乎同砂纸一样。当水流过不洁物体表面时，泡沫有效地去除了污垢。

“One of the key factors of Starstream is that it takes any liquid that you are using and makes it several thousand times more effective. So if you are using soapy water or bleach, something like that, it will make it more effective," said Leighton.

莱顿说：“‘星流’的一个关键要素是，不管你用什么液体，它都可以使其效力增加几千倍。如果你用肥皂水或漂白液等等，它会使其效力更强。”

Starstream is especially effective for removing bacteria where it hides, like in this piece of glass smeared¹¹ with lipstick¹² and mascara, or for cleaning rust¹³ spots from kitchen sinks.

“星流”对去除深藏的细菌尤为有效，比如藏在这片抹有口红和睫毛膏的玻璃里的细菌，也善于清除厨房水池的锈斑。

Researchers say their invention could easily replace the recommended 20-seconds washing of hands with soap and warm water, with only a six-second wash with water infused with ultrasound.

研究人员说，他们的发明有可能取代用肥皂和温水洗手20秒的建议。有了注入超声波的水，洗手六秒钟就够了。