靈感源于大自然的新發明

Engineer Eiji Nakatsu helped design the Shinkansen1)， or bullet trains， of Japan. The high-speed trains are among the world's fastest. But when they were first designed， there was one big problem: They made a thunderlike boom when they entered tunnels because of the change in air pressure.

Nakatsu was stumped2) for a solution—until he thought about the hunting tactics of a bird called the kingfisher3). Sitting still as a statue onshore， it waits for its prey in nearby waters. When the bird spots some fish， it dives into the water without making a sound—despite the change in pressure it faces as it goes from the air to water. Nakatsu realized that the kingfisher owed its stealth4) to its knife-shaped beak.

The current generation of bullet trains have a nose like a kingfisher's beak. The new design works like magic: The trains are quieter through tunnels， faster， and more efficient.

The concept of engineering technology so that it copies nature is known as biomimicry5). \"Nature has had millions and millions of years to come up with solutions to problems，\" says Jennifer Gille， an engineer at Qualcomm， a wireless communications company based in San Diego， California. \"If we can piggyback6) on those millions of years of experience， we can do some amazing things.\"

工程師中津英治幫助設計了日本的新干線列車(又稱子彈頭列車)。這種高速列車是世界上最快的交通工具之一。但在列車設計之初，人們遇到過一個很大的難題：列車進入隧道時會引起隧道內氣壓的變化，從而會造成雷鳴般的巨響。

中津一直沒有找到解決方案，直到他想到翠鳥的捕魚方法。翠鳥會像雕像一樣靜靜守在岸邊，等待它的獵物在附近水面出現。發現魚后，翠鳥一頭扎入水中捉魚，卻不會弄出任何聲響——盡管它從空氣進入水中時身體承受的壓力會發生變化。中津發現，翠鳥的“消音術”得益于其刀刃般尖銳的鳥喙。

如今的子彈頭列車都有一個像翠鳥鳥喙一樣的車頭。這種全新的設計獲得了神奇的效果：列車過隧道的聲音變小了，同時速度更快，能效更高。

像這樣模仿大自然的工程技術就被稱為仿生學。“大自然用了億萬年的時間想出了很多解決問題的辦法，”加利福尼亞州圣迭戈高通無線通信公司的工程師珍妮弗·吉勒說，“如果能利用這些億萬年來的經驗，我們就能做出非比尋常的事情。”

Robotic Trunk 機械臂

The elephant， with its flexible trunk， inspired a German company called Festo to make a bendable robotic arm.

An elephant trunk contains about 40，000 bundles of muscle. It is so dexterous7) that it can pick up single grain of rice. Many robotic arms are made of heavy， rigid metal. But like an elephant's trunk， Festo's robotic arm is bendy.

The arm uses three lines of actuators8). These mechanisms turn air pressure into movement. When one of the lines contracts and the others stretch， the arm bends. The arm is built from a lightweight material called polyamide and can bend away from an accidental bump9). This makes the arm safe enough to work beside people in factories， hospitals， and in homes to help people with special needs. At the end of the flexible \"trunk\" is an adjustable gripper that can hold objects.

大象的鼻子十分靈活，受此啟發，德國一家名為費斯托的公司制造出了能靈活彎曲的機械臂。

大象的鼻子含有約四萬塊肌肉。象鼻極為靈巧，甚至能撿起一粒大米。機械臂多由笨重僵硬的金屬制成，但費斯托公司制造的機械臂卻能如象鼻一般靈活彎曲。

該機械臂有三排傳動裝置，這套機械裝置能把氣壓轉化成動力。當一排傳動裝置收縮而其余傳動裝置伸展時，機械臂就能彎曲。該機械臂用一種名為聚酰胺的輕質材料制成，在遭到意外撞擊時會自動彎曲躲避。有了這種特性，這種機械臂就能應用在工廠和醫院以輔助人們的工作，或用于家庭幫助有特殊需要的人，而無需擔心安全問題。這種靈活自如的機械臂前端還裝有一個能抓住物體的可調夾持器。

Lessons from a Butterfly 蝴蝶的啟示

The wings of the morpho10) butterfly inspired a new type of screen for mobile phones， computers， and e-readers. Most electronic screens are backlit， which means they shine light behind the display to make the image visible. This type of screen uses a lot of energy， meaning users have to recharge their devices often. The wireless communications company Qualcomm in California came up with a screen that requires less power.

Morpho butterflies sport11) brilliant blue wings that glow with iridescence12)， the shimmer13) also seen in peacock feathers. An iridescence object appears to shine because it reflects the light of a certain color， bouncing it back like a mirror. An innovator named Mark Miles figured that if butterflies could reflect light so intensely， then a display screen could too. With this inspiration， he pulled together14) a team of engineers and designed what's called the mirasol display15). This screen utilizes microscopic machines that help reflected light appear as different colors at different times to display pictures or video.

By mimicking the morpho butterfly's reflective properties， devices with a mirasol display have batteries that last longer than those in devices that have backlit displays.

受大閃蝶翅膀的啟發，人們發明了一種可用于手機、電腦和電子書的新型顯示屏。現在的大多數電子屏幕為背光屏，也就是說要靠屏幕背后發光才能顯示出圖像。這種屏幕耗電量很大，用戶須經常給設備充電。而加利福尼亞州的高通無線通訊公司卻推出了一種耗電少的新型顯示屏。

大閃蝶的翅膀呈亮藍色，非常耀眼，能散發出彩虹色的光澤——在孔雀的羽毛上也能看到這種光澤。能散發出彩虹色光芒的物體之所以看上去很亮，是因為它可以反射特定顏色的光，就像鏡子一樣把這種光反射回去。一位名叫馬克·邁爾斯的創新者認為，如果大閃蝶能這樣強烈地反射環境光，那么顯示屏也能做到。帶著這個靈感，他與一個工程師團隊齊心協力，設計出了Mirasol顯示屏。這種顯示屏利用能使反射光在不同時間呈現出不同顏色的顯微裝置來顯示圖片或視頻。

通過模仿大閃蝶的反光特性，使用Mirasol顯示屏的那些設備的電池續航能力比那些使用背光顯示屏的設備更強。

Seaweed Power 海藻發電

Seaweed has inspired a new way to generate electricity from ocean waves—a source of renewable energy. Most designs to harness16) wave energy have large platforms or floating buoys17). Platforms can be swept away by big waves， and buoys aren't able to capture much energy.

Timothy Finnigan， an engineer and founder of BioPower Systems in Australia， wanted to create a better way to harness wave energy. As he began his research， he tried different designs. Soon Finnigan noticed that the best design looked familiar. \"Our structure [called BioWave] is like a big plant in the ocean.\" Like kelp18) swaying in the sea， BioWave moves slowly and uses a pivot19) to bend. The technology can even lie flat against the sea floor in bad weather so it doesn't get damaged.

Other inventions by Finnigan's company also have designs that are inspired by nature. For example， one has a \"fin20)\" that can sweep back and forth in a tidal current to capture energy. Its design mimics the fins of tuna， sharks， and mackerel.

受海藻的啟發，人們發明了一種新的潮汐發電方法。潮汐是可再生能源的一種來源。大多數用來開發潮汐能的設計裝置都依賴于大型海上平臺或浮標。但平臺會被巨浪卷走，浮標也無法充分捕捉潮汐的能量。

澳大利亞生物能源系統公司的創始人兼工程師蒂莫西·芬尼根試圖找到一種利用潮汐能發電的更好方法。自著手研究以來，他嘗試了許多不同的設計方案。芬尼根很快發現，最好的設計看上去似曾相識。“我們的發電裝置[稱為生物潮汐發電系統]外表就像海里的一種大型植物。”生物潮汐發電系統形如在海中搖曳的海藻，能緩慢擺動，借樞軸來彎曲，甚至能在天氣惡劣時平鋪在海底，從而免遭損壞。

芬尼根的公司還有一些其他的發明，其設計靈感也源于大自然。例如，一種設備裝有“魚鰭”，能隨海潮來回搖擺從而捕獲能量，其設計就模仿了金槍魚、鯊魚和鯖魚的魚鰭。

1.Shinkansen: 新干線(日本的高速客運列車系統)

2.stump [st?mp] vt. <美口> 把……難住；使受挫

3.kingfisher [?k??f???(r)] n. 【鳥】翠鳥

4.stealth [stelθ] n. 秘密行動

5.biomimicry

[?ba????m?m?kr?] n. 仿生學

6.piggyback [?p?ɡib?k] vt. 把……負在背(或肩)上

7.dexterous [?dekstr?s] adj. (身、手等)靈巧的，熟練的，敏捷的

8.actuator [??ktjueit?] n. 致動器；傳動裝置

9.bump [b?mp] n. 碰撞，猛撞

10.morpho [?m?:f?u] n. 【昆】大閃蝶

11.sport [sp??t] vt. <口>惹人注目地穿戴

12.iridescence [??r??desns] n. (變幻斑斕的)彩虹色

13.shimmer [???m?(r)] n. 閃光

14.pull together: 齊心協力；團結起來

15.mirasol display: Mirasol顯示屏。Mirasol顯示技術是由高通無線通訊公司開發的一種新型顯示技術。它以一種稱為干涉測量調制的反射型技術為基礎，利用環境光顯示圖片或視頻，而不需要背景光，因此功耗大大降低。

16.harness [?hɑ?n?s] vt. 利用(或控制)……以產生動力

17.buoy [b??] n. 浮標，航標

18.kelp [kelp] n. 海草；巨藻

19.pivot [?p?v?t] n. 樞，樞軸

20.fin [f?n] n. 魚鰭