关于电流那些令人震惊的事实
Shocking facts about electricity
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.
大家好，这里是BBC教学英语的《六分钟英语》，我是尼尔。
And I'm Georgina.
我是乔治娜。
Now, Georgina, what do you know about AC DC?
乔治娜，你对AC DC了解多少？
You mean the Australian rock'n'roll band?
你是说那个澳大利亚重金属摇滚乐队吗？
Well, their 1979 hit 'Highway to Hell' stayed at No.1 for eleven weeks…
好吧，他们1979年的热门单曲《地狱公路》占据榜首11周……
No, no, no - not that AC DC, Georgina!
不，不，不，不是那个AC DC，乔治娜！
I'm not talking rock music here, I'm talking electrical currents
我在这里说的不是摇滚音乐，我说的是电流
– alternating current - AC, and direct current - DC, the two ways in which electricity flows.
——交流电AC和直流电DC，它们是电流流动的两种方式。
Oh, I see. No, I don’t know anything about that ACDC!
哦，明白了。不了解，我对交流电和直流电一无所知！
Well, don't worry because in today's programme we'll be finding out some quirky facts about electricity
好吧，不用担心，因为在今天的节目中，我们会发现一些关于电流的离奇事实
- how it differs across the world and why some countries have more complicated electrical systems than others.
——世界各地的电流有什么不同，为什么一些国家的电气系统比其他国家更复杂。
Hmmm, I have noticed that when I travel to another country I need a converter plug to connect my laptop.
嗯，我注意到当我去另一个国家旅行时，我需要一个转换插头来连接我的笔记本电脑。
Is that something to do with AC DC?
这和交流、直流有关吗？
Yes, it could be.
是的，有可能。
Of course, electricity itself doesn't change from country to country.
当然，电流本身不会因国而异。
No. It’s an invisible, natural force at work in everything from lightning storms to the electrical sparks firing our brains.
不会因国而异。它是一种无形的自然力量，作用在所有事物中——从雷雨到激发我们大脑的电火花。
But although it happens naturally, one scientist was credited with discovering electricity.
虽然它是自然发生的，但人们认为是一位科学家发现了电。
Who?
是谁呢？
That's my quiz question – who discovered electricity?
那就是我的测试问题——谁发现了电？
Was it: a) Thomas Edison, b) Alexander Graham Bell, or c) Benjamin Franklin?
是a)托马斯·爱迪生，b)历山大·格雷厄姆·贝尔，还是c)本杰明·富兰克林？
I'm not a qualified electrician myself, Neil, but I'll say c) Benjamin Franklin.
我自己不是一个合格的电工，尼尔，但我选c)本杰明·富兰克林。
OK. Well one person who definitely is a qualified electrician is BBC presenter Gareth Mitchell.
好的。有一个人绝对是一个合格的电工，他就是BBC的主持人加雷斯·米切尔。
So when BBC Radio 4s 'Science Stories' sent him to meet electricity expert Keith Bell,
因此，当BBC广播4频道的《科学故事》节目让他去采访电力专家基思·贝尔时，
the conversation was, shall we say, sparky.
对话可以说是非常活跃。
Standard frequency in the US is 60 hertz, actually I think in the US on the mainland, US main continent, there are three different synchronous areas.
美国的电流标准频率是60赫兹，实际上我认为在美国大陆有三个电流频率相同的不同地区。
So although it's around 60 hertz, at any moment in time these three different areas, because they're not connected to each other,
所以尽管其电流频率都在60赫兹左右，但在任何时刻，由于这三个地区彼此不相连，
will be going at a slightly different frequency.
它们的电流频率会稍有不同。
There are bigger differences elsewhere.
其他地方电流频率差异更大。
So in Japan for example, I think one of the main islands is at 60 hertz and the other half of Japan is at 50 hertz.
以日本为例，我觉得其一个主要岛屿的电流频率是60赫兹，而日本另一半地方的电流频率就是50赫兹。
That's a bit of a pickle!
那有点麻烦！
Generally speaking, frequency means how often something repeats.
一般来说，频率是指某件事重复的次数。
In the case of electrical currents, frequency is the number of times an electrical wave repeats a positive-to-negative cycle.
就电流而言，频率是一个电波重复正负循环的次数。
It's measured in hertz (Hz).
它的单位是赫兹。
In the US power is at 60 hertz and in the UK it's around 50 hertz.
在美国电力下，电流频率是60赫兹，在英国是50赫兹左右。
So the US and UK are not in the same synchronous area
因此，美国和英国不在一个同步区
– not occurring together at the same time and rate, or in this case, frequency.
——时间和频率不同，或者在这种情况下是指电流频率不同。
Which means that to safely use a British electrical device in America, I need to convert the power supply.
这就意味着要想在美国安全使用英国的电子设备，我需要转换电源。
If not it won't work or even worse, it could break.
如果不这样做，设备就无法工作，甚至更糟糕的会让设备坏掉。
And a broken laptop could leave you in a bit of a pickle
一台坏了的笔记本电脑可能让你有点小麻烦
– an informal expression meaning a difficult situation with no obvious answer.
——这是一个非正式表达，意思是没有明显解决方法的困境。
Here's Gareth and Keith again talking about more differences.
这是加雷斯和基思再次谈到的更多差异。
I'm pretty sure when I go to the United States, my electric toothbrush doesn't charge up at 60 hertz - 110 volts,
我可以肯定的是，当我去美国的时候，我的电动牙刷在60赫兹，110伏电压下没法充电，
but my laptop still works.
但我的笔记本电脑仍能用。
Maybe you have no comment, Keith, but I'm just saying…one of these anomalies that I seem to have found.
可能你对此不置可否，基思，但我只是说……这就是我发现的反常之一。
So, I'm not sure about the electric toothbrush but I know a lot of our power supplies for laptops and stuff are solid state,
我不确定电动牙刷是怎样的，但我知道笔记本电脑之类的很多电源是固态电子器件，
you know - they've got electronics in that do all the conversion for you,
你知道的——电源里有电子设备来为你进行所有转换，
so basically it ends up with a DC supply into the machine itself.
所以它基本上结束了用直流电为机器供电。
So there's a little converter in there and it's designed so it doesn't care what frequency the AC input is.
所以机器里面有一个小型转换器，它是特制的，因而不用担心交流电的输入频率。
Gareth noticed that in the United States his toothbrush doesn't always fully charge up – get the power needed to make it work.
加雷斯注意到，在美国，他的牙刷并不总能充满电——获得使之工作所需的能量。
Electric toothbrushes which don't fully charge and differences between electrical frequencies are good examples of anomalies
电动牙刷不能充满电以及电流频率不同都是反常现象的典型例子
– things which are different from what is usual or expected.
——与通常情况或预期情况不同。
But with modern technology these anomalies are becoming less and less commonplace.
但随着现代技术的发展，这些反常现象越来越少见。
For example, computer companies have started making laptops with solid state electronics
例如，计算机公司已经开始制造具有固态电子器件的笔记本电脑
– electronics using semiconductors which have no moving parts and can automatically convert different electrical currents.
——使用半导体的电子设备没有活动部件，并且可以自动转换不同的电流。
Meaning I can use my laptop to google the answer to your quiz question!
意味着我可以用我的笔记本电脑谷歌出来你测试问题的答案！
Ah, yes. I asked you which scientist was credited with discovering electricity.
啊，是的。我问你人们认为哪位科学家发现了电。
And you said?
你说是？
c) Benjamin Franklin – and I already know I'm right because I googled it on my solid state laptop!
c)本杰明·富兰克林——我早已经知道我是对的了，因为我在我的固态笔记本电脑上搜索过！
To show that lightning was electricity, Franklin attached a metal key to a kite and flew it during a thunderstorm.
为了证明闪电是电，富兰克林把一把金属钥匙系在风筝上，然后在雷雨天把它放飞。
The key conducted electricity and gave him a shock!
这把钥匙导电并电了他一下。
Hmm, not an experiment I recommend trying at home!
嗯，我不建议在家里做这个实验！
Today we've been talking about anomalies – or unexpected differences in electrical currents between countries.
今天我们一直在讨论反常现象或国家之间电流的意外差异。
Electrical currents are measured in frequencies – the number of times a wave repeats a positive-to-negative cycle.
电流用频率衡量——一个电波重复正负循环的次数。
These can be different if two countries are not synchronous – occurring at the same rate, for example Britain and the United States.
如果两个国家不是同步的——以相同的频率存在，例如英国和美国，那电流可能会有所不同。
Different frequencies may mean your electrical devices,
频率不同可能意味着你的电子设备，
like your laptop, phone and toothbrush won't properly charge up – get the power to function, in other countries.
比如你的笔记本电脑、手机和电动牙刷在其他国家不能正常充电——获得能量以运转。
And having a phone with no power could leave you in a bit of a pickle - a difficult situation.
而手机没电可能会让你有点小麻烦——一个困境。
Fortunately many modern devices use solid state electronics
幸运的是，许多现代设备都使用固态电子器件
– non-moving semiconductors inside the machine which automatically convert the electrical current.
——机器内部的固定半导体，它可以自动转换电流。
So you’ll never miss another edition of 6 Minute English again!
所以你不会错过下一期的《六分钟英语》！
That’s all for today.
以上就是今天的全部内容。
See you soon at BBC Learning English for more interesting topics and related vocabulary.
下次见，更多有趣的话题和相关词汇，就在BBC教学英语。
Bye for now!
再见了！
Bye!
再见！