电话英语：科学家用激光造雨 人类科学史上的一大进步

      Scientists claim that they will soon be able to create the washout conditions.

      据英国《每日邮报》8月31日报道，科学家称，他们很快就可以创造出降雨的条件了。

 

　 Using a powerful laser, researchers have created water droplets in the air.

 

　 研究人员用一个强大的激光发射器在空气中制造出水滴。

 

 

 

      The technique, called laser-assisted water condensation, could one day unlock the secrets of weather cycles and enable humans to decide where and when it rains.

 

　 这项名为激光助水凝结的技术有一天将揭开气象周期的秘密，并帮助人类决定下雨的事件和地点。

 

      While “cloud seeding” has existed for some time it is not considered a safe way of creating rainclouds because it involves filling the atmosphere with small particles such as dry ice and silver iodide.

 

　 虽然“云的催化”技术已存在一段时间了，但一般认为制造雨云不太安全，因为这需要向大气中喷洒像干冰和碘化银这样的小粒子。

 

      This means that while raindrops can form, chemicals are often spread far and wide and potentially damage the environment.

 

　 这意味着在制造雨滴的同时要大范围地喷洒化学物质，从而有可能对环境造成破坏。

 

      The new laser method is different because it uses natural humidity levels and atmospheric conditions to create water droplets.

 

　 而新的激光技术就不同了，因为它是利用自然的湿度和大气的条件来制造水滴的。

 

      Physicist Jerome Kasparian, of the University of Geneva, said: “The laser can run continuously, you can aim it well, and you don't disperse huge amounts of silver iodide in the atmosphere.”

 

      日内瓦大学的物理学家热罗姆-卡斯帕里安说：“激光能持续发射，可以很好地瞄准，这样我们就不需要向大气喷洒大量的碘化银了。”

 

　 “You can also turn the laser on and off at will, which makes it easier to assess whether it has any effect. When you disperse silver iodide into the sky, it is very hard to know whether it would have rained anyway,” Kasparian added.

 

　 “你可以随时开关激光，这样就能更容易地评估它是否有效了。而在天空中喷洒碘化银则很难判断其降雨效果。” 卡斯帕里安补充说。

 

      Researchers showcased the new technique on the banks of the Rhone near Lake Geneva after constructing the gigantic mobile laser.

 

　 研究人员用一个巨大的移动激光器在日内瓦湖附近的罗纳河岸试验了这种技术。

 

      Following 133 hours of firing a beam of intense laser light which created nitric acid particles in the air it resulted in binding the water molecules together to create droplets.

 

　 在连续133小小时向空中发射密集激光束从而在空中制造出硝酸粒子后，空气中的水分子凝聚在一起形成了小水滴。

 

      Although it didn't form into actual rainfall, scientists remain positive they can soon manipulate weather conditions and even prevent showers.

 

　 尽管最后没有形成实际的降雨，但科学家仍然认为他们很快就能控制天气条件，甚至阻止降雨。

 

      “Maybe one day this could be a way to attenuate the monsoon or reduce flooding in certain areas,” Kasparian said.

 

　 卡斯帕里安说：“也许有一天这种方法将能够减弱季风，或将少某些地方的洪水泛滥。”