神马文学网译言网 | 病毒电池的诞生
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病毒电池的诞生
vivi2005020
于2010-07-23 22:45:57翻译 | 已有329人浏览
听说过用病毒制造电池吗？科学家将带我们领略这一过程。
Tags:电池
Angela Belcher, a materials chemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is using nanotechnology to grow batteries. Out of viruses. Batteries that could last weeks or months and be thinner than a credit card. How did she get such an idea? Abalone shells.Angela Belcher 是麻省理工学院的材料化学家，正致力于通过纳米技术，借助病毒制作电池。如果成功，电池将可以比信用卡还要薄，电量则能持续数周甚至数月。她是由什么产生这个想法的呢？鲍鱼贝。
“I’m really interested in how biology makes materials,” Belcher says. “I’ve always been fascinated, for instance, with shells.” Abalone seashells are made up mostly of calcium carbonate but because of how abalones mix that soft material with proteins at nanoscale sizes, the shells form a nearly unbreakable armor. “A lot of objects controlled at the nanoscale have unusual properties based on how they are made biologically,” she says.“我对生物体产生物质的过程非常感兴趣，”她说，“常常被贝壳什么的吸引住。”鲍鱼贝主要由碳酸钙构成，但由于鲍鱼将柔软的材料与蛋白质融合，其精细程度处于纳米级，形成的贝壳成为了牢不可破的保护层。“许多在纳米级别上调解的物体，性质都是以其在生物学上如何形成的为基础，很不寻常。”
Working in her lab with materials scientists and bioengineers, Belcher started with a naturally occurring virus called the M13 bacteriophage and inserted genes that caused the virus to become a template for tiny, self-assembling wires. Some wires, made of cobalt oxide and gold, become the negative poles of the battery. Others, made of iron phosphate covered in carbon nanotubes, form the positive poles. The ultrathin wires, several nanometers in diameter, can be combined to form high-power electrodes for lithium-ion batteries like those used in many modern electronics. But Belcher’s batteries can be engineered into any shape imaginable.Belcher与其他材料科学家、生物工程师协力合作。他们先往一种名为M13噬菌体（M13 bacteriophage）的常见病毒中植入基因，这种基因能导致病毒变成一个载体，承载细小、自动集成的导线。一些导线由金和氧化钴制成，作为电池的负极。一些则由磷酸铁制成，由碳纳米管包裹，作为电池的正极。这些导线直径只有几纳米，可用来合成现代电器中使用的锂电池的高能电极。而且，Belcher研制的电池还可以做成任何想象的形状。
Belcher’s wizardry has attracted attention from the highest levels of government. President Obama stopped by Belcher’s lab for a demonstration. She gave him a miniature copy of the periodic table of elements. (“In case you’re ever in a bind and need to calculate a molecular weight, here’s a periodic table for your wallet,” she told him.)Belcher的研究甚至吸引了政府最高层的注意。奥巴马总统曾到访参加说明会。她给了奥巴马一个元素周期表的微型复制品。（还对他说：“这是个元素周期表，你可以放到钱包里，以防需要计算分子质量，你又想不起来的尴尬场面。”）
Belcher’s batteries are at least a few years away from commercialization. They may show up first in a new generation of computerized credit cards. Or long-lasting lightweight batteries for gadgets like laptops or cellphones—or a lab on a chip.Belcher的研究成果还需要很多年才能正式进入市场。可能会先应用在新一代计算机控制信用卡上，或者小电器的持久型轻便电池里，如手机、笔记本电脑等。或者供芯片实验室使用。
vivi2005020
于2010-07-23 22:45:57翻译 | 已有329人浏览
听说过用病毒制造电池吗？科学家将带我们领略这一过程。
Tags:电池
Angela Belcher, a materials chemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is using nanotechnology to grow batteries. Out of viruses. Batteries that could last weeks or months and be thinner than a credit card. How did she get such an idea? Abalone shells.Angela Belcher 是麻省理工学院的材料化学家，正致力于通过纳米技术，借助病毒制作电池。如果成功，电池将可以比信用卡还要薄，电量则能持续数周甚至数月。她是由什么产生这个想法的呢？鲍鱼贝。
“I’m really interested in how biology makes materials,” Belcher says. “I’ve always been fascinated, for instance, with shells.” Abalone seashells are made up mostly of calcium carbonate but because of how abalones mix that soft material with proteins at nanoscale sizes, the shells form a nearly unbreakable armor. “A lot of objects controlled at the nanoscale have unusual properties based on how they are made biologically,” she says.“我对生物体产生物质的过程非常感兴趣，”她说，“常常被贝壳什么的吸引住。”鲍鱼贝主要由碳酸钙构成，但由于鲍鱼将柔软的材料与蛋白质融合，其精细程度处于纳米级，形成的贝壳成为了牢不可破的保护层。“许多在纳米级别上调解的物体，性质都是以其在生物学上如何形成的为基础，很不寻常。”
Working in her lab with materials scientists and bioengineers, Belcher started with a naturally occurring virus called the M13 bacteriophage and inserted genes that caused the virus to become a template for tiny, self-assembling wires. Some wires, made of cobalt oxide and gold, become the negative poles of the battery. Others, made of iron phosphate covered in carbon nanotubes, form the positive poles. The ultrathin wires, several nanometers in diameter, can be combined to form high-power electrodes for lithium-ion batteries like those used in many modern electronics. But Belcher’s batteries can be engineered into any shape imaginable.Belcher与其他材料科学家、生物工程师协力合作。他们先往一种名为M13噬菌体（M13 bacteriophage）的常见病毒中植入基因，这种基因能导致病毒变成一个载体，承载细小、自动集成的导线。一些导线由金和氧化钴制成，作为电池的负极。一些则由磷酸铁制成，由碳纳米管包裹，作为电池的正极。这些导线直径只有几纳米，可用来合成现代电器中使用的锂电池的高能电极。而且，Belcher研制的电池还可以做成任何想象的形状。
Belcher’s wizardry has attracted attention from the highest levels of government. President Obama stopped by Belcher’s lab for a demonstration. She gave him a miniature copy of the periodic table of elements. (“In case you’re ever in a bind and need to calculate a molecular weight, here’s a periodic table for your wallet,” she told him.)Belcher的研究甚至吸引了政府最高层的注意。奥巴马总统曾到访参加说明会。她给了奥巴马一个元素周期表的微型复制品。（还对他说：“这是个元素周期表，你可以放到钱包里，以防需要计算分子质量，你又想不起来的尴尬场面。”）
Belcher’s batteries are at least a few years away from commercialization. They may show up first in a new generation of computerized credit cards. Or long-lasting lightweight batteries for gadgets like laptops or cellphones—or a lab on a chip.Belcher的研究成果还需要很多年才能正式进入市场。可能会先应用在新一代计算机控制信用卡上，或者小电器的持久型轻便电池里，如手机、笔记本电脑等。或者供芯片实验室使用。