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What do leaves and solar panels have in common?
树叶和太阳能板有哪些共同之处呢？
Both absorb sunlight and turn it into energy.
它们都能吸收阳光并将之转换成能量。
But while solar panels typically have smooth surfaces,leaves have tiny wrinkles and folds that allow for maximum light absorption.
但是太阳能板的表面一般较为平整，而叶子表面有细小的纹理和褶皱，这些纹理和褶皱使树叶能够最大限度地吸收阳光。
Recently, scientists took a cue from nature and engineered plastic solar panels with leaf likesurfaces.
最近，科学家们受到大自然的启发，设计出一种与树叶表面结构类似的塑料太阳能板。
Most flat surfaced solar panels absorb some light and turn about eighteen percent of itinto electricity.
大多数表面平整的太阳能板在吸收阳光后仅能将其中的18%转化为电能。
Panels with ridged surfaces can absorb more light by channeling light waves,thereby significantly increasing their efficiency at converting light into electricity.
而有脊状表面的太阳能板可以通过引导光波来吸收更多的阳光，因此大大提高了光能转化为电能的效率。
Besides making panels more efficient, ridged and wrinkled surfaces could allow solar panels to bemade out of bendable plastic instead of silicon.
这种脊状、褶皱的表面不仅提高了太阳能板的效率，同时也使得可弯曲的塑料能够代替原本用于制作太阳能板的硅。
Silicon is naturally better at absorbing light thanplastic, but it's also more expensive and more brittle.
硅从本质上来说吸收光的性能要比塑料好，但是其成本昂贵同时也易碎。
Flexible plastic is cheaper and more durablebut typically not as good at absorbing light.
柔韧的塑料相比之下更为便宜也更为耐用，但一般来讲吸收光的性能还是不太好。
But with leaf like surfaces, solar panels made frombendable plastic may be able to absorb light just as effectively, if not more so, than regularpanels.
但是有了这种叶状表面，用可弯曲的塑料制成的太阳能板能够像普通太阳能板一样吸收阳光，甚至要比普通太阳能板的效果还要好。
Another benefit of the wrinkled surface technique is that it's especially useful for increasingabsorption at the red end of the light spectrum, which has the longest wavelengths.
褶皱表面的另一个好处就是它在显著提高太阳能板吸收光谱中波长最长的红光端的效率。
Conventional solar panels typically absorb very little of red and infrared light.
传统的太阳能板只能吸收少量红光和红外线。
But the foldingtechnique increased absorption of this light by nearly 600 percent.
但是这种褶皱的表面可以使吸收红光的效率提高近6倍。
Plastic, leaf like solar panels are not yet ready for widespread use.
塑料、叶状的太阳能板目前还没有被广泛使用。
But they could one day helprevolutionize the solar industry by allowing for thin, flexible panels used on windows, clothing, andmost flat surfaces.
但是它们终有一天会掀起一场太阳能产业的变革，因为这种薄而柔韧的太阳能板可以应用到窗户、衣服和多数的平整表面上。
