VOA科学技术2023 科学家利用激光改变雷击方向（在线收听）

Scientists Use Laser to Redirect Lightning Strikes

科学家利用激光改变雷击方向

Scientists said this week that they used a high-powered laser to change the direction of lightning strikes for the first time. The laser was aimed at the sky atop Mount Santis in northeastern Switzerland.

科学家本周表示，他们首次使用高功率激光改变雷击方向。激光瞄准了瑞士东北部桑蒂斯山山顶的天空。

Lightning is a powerful electrical discharge between a cloud and the ground, within a cloud or between clouds. It kills thousands of people and causes billions of dollars of damage to communication systems, power lines, and equipment each year.

闪电是云和地面之间、云中或云之间的强大放电。它每年造成数千人死亡，对通信系统、电线和设备造成数十亿美元的损失。

American inventor Benjamin Franklin first invented the lightning rod in the 1750s. That technology is still used today but can protect only a small area.

美国发明家本杰明·富兰克林在1750年代首次发明了避雷针。这项技术至今仍在使用，但只能保护一小部分区域。

Scientists say the new device, called Laser Lightning Rod (LLR), could increase protection by extending the height of rods hundreds of meters. With further development, LLR could improve protection for important places such as power stations and airports.

科学家们表示，这种名为“激光避雷针”（LLR）的新装置可以通过将避雷针的高度延长数百米来增加保护。随着进一步的发展，LLR可以改善对发电站和机场等重要场所的保护。

Workers brought the equipment to the top of Mount Santis at 2,500 meters by helicopter and gondola. The laser is the size of a large car and weighs more than 2,700 kilograms. It was aimed at the sky above a 124-meter Swisscom telecommunications tower, one of Europe's structures most affected by lightning.

工人们用直升机和贡多拉将设备带到了2500米的桑蒂斯山山顶。激光有一辆大型汽车的大小，重达2700多公斤。它瞄准了一座124米的瑞士电信塔上方的天空，这座塔是欧洲受闪电影响最严重的建筑物之一。

The laser works by creating a beam of electrically charged particles called ions. The ions attract lightning, just as a metal lightning rod does.

激光的工作原理是产生一束称为离子的带电粒子。离子吸引闪电，就像金属避雷针一样。

In experiments during the summer of 2021, the LLR sent strong laser pulses 1000 times per second. The laser redirected all four lightning strikes that happened during the laser's operation.

在2021夏天的实验中，LLR每秒发送1000次强激光脉冲。激光重新定向了激光操作期间发生的所有四次雷击。

"We demonstrate for the first time that a laser can be used to guide natural lightning," said physicist Aurelien Houard of Ecole Polytechnique's Laboratory of Applied Optics in France. He is the coordinator of the Laser Lightning Rod project and lead writer of the research published in the journal Nature Photonics.

法国Ecole Polytechnique应用光学实验室的物理学家Aurelien Houard说：“我们首次证明激光可以用来引导自然闪电。”。他是激光闪电棒项目的协调员，也是发表在《自然光子学》杂志上的这项研究的主要作者。

Houard said that 10 to 15 years more work would be needed before the Laser Lightning Rod can enter common use. One worry is avoiding airplanes in flight. In fact, air traffic in the area was stopped when the researchers used the laser.

霍沃德表示，在激光避雷针进入普遍使用之前，还需要10到15年的时间。一个担忧是避免飞行中的飞机。事实上，当研究人员使用激光时，该地区的空中交通已经停止。

"Indeed, there is a potential issue using the system with air traffic in the area because the laser could harm the eyes of the pilot if he crosses the laser beam and looks down," Houard said.

“事实上，在该地区的空中交通中使用该系统存在潜在问题，因为如果飞行员越过激光束向下看，激光可能会伤害飞行员的眼睛，”霍沃德说。

Words in This Story

laser -n. a narrow beam of concentrated light used for special purposes

激光--一种用于特殊用途的窄光束

rod -n. a rigid piece of material in the form of a thin bar

杆--细棒状的刚性材料

gondola -n. a car suspended under a moving cable, used to transport people and equipment

贡多拉--悬挂在移动电缆下的汽车，用于运送人员和设备

structure -n. a building or other man-made construction

结构--建筑物或其他人造建筑

beam -n. a line of energy or particles sent in a line of direction

光线,波束--沿一条方向输送的能量线或粒子线

pulse -n. an increased emission of energy or material at periodic, rhythmic intervals

脉冲--以周期性、有节奏的间隔增加能量或物质的排放

potential -adj. possible for the future

潜在的--未来可能