Frozen Smoke
固体烟
Male:What's as light as smoke but strong as a brick?
什么东西既可以跟烟一样轻,又可以跟砖块一样重?
Female:I'm gonna take a while guess and say... aerogel?
让我想会儿……气凝胶?
Male:Sorry,yaoyao,the answer is... Wait a second! Did you say aerogel? How did you know?
瑶瑶,不好意思,答案是……等等!你说的是气凝胶吗?你是怎么知道的?
F:Yeap! Did you know that aerogel is the lightest solid on earth?
是的!你知道气凝胶是地球上最轻的固体吗?
M:I was going to tell you that.
我刚刚正要告诉你呢!
F:Another cool thing is that it starts out as a kind of chemical Jello. Then the gel is dried in a powerful pressure cooker and emerges as a very lightweight, dry, sponge-like material that looks like frozen smoke.
了不起的是,气凝胶开始是作为一种化学凝胶物的。然后胶体在压力很强的锅里变干,成为了一种重量很轻、很干燥、类似海绵状,看起来像固体烟雾的物体。
M:OK! Did you know that aerogel is ninety-nine-point-eight percent air?
是的!那你知道气凝胶中99.8%都是空气吗?
F:Sure.That was in your notes.And it's incredibly light-one thousand times less dense than glass. But it's also really strong and an excellent insulator.
知道啊!你的笔记中有的!气凝胶相当的轻,轻到密度只有玻璃的千分之一。但它也很结实,是几号的绝缘体。
M:Is there anything you don't know about aerogel? For instance,scientists are using it to try to capture dust particles from the tail of a comet. When the particlesslam into an aerogelpanel aboard a space probe, they'll bury themselves inside and leave visible trails. Since aerogel is mostly air, it won't damage the particles.
关于气凝胶,你还有什么不知道的吗?比如说,科学家正在试图用它捕捉彗星经过的微尘。当(微尘)颗粒猛烈撞击到航空探测器上的气凝胶板时,它们将会自然,从而留下可见的痕迹。因为气凝胶差不多等同于空气,并不会破坏(微尘)颗粒。
F:Actually, I know that too.
其实这个我也知道!