评论
打印
When I waltzed off to high school with my new Nokia phone,
当我带着我的新诺基亚手机，迈着轻快的步伐去上高中时，
I thought I just had the new, coolest replacement for my old pink princess walkie-talkie.
我以为它是我老旧粉红公主款对讲机的最新最酷的替代品。
Except now, my friends and I could text or talk to each other wherever we were,
然而现在，我和朋友不论在哪里，都可以互相发信息或者对话，
instead of pretending, when we were running around each other's backyards.
而不再需要像在后院里东奔西跑时那样假装互相对话。
Now, I'll be honest. Back then, I didn't think a lot about how these devices were made.
坦白说，在那个时候，我并没有想过太多这些装置是如何制造出来的。
They tended to show up on Christmas morning, so maybe they were made by the elves in Santa's workshop.
它们就像在圣诞节的早晨突然出现，所以也许是被圣诞老人手工店的小精灵做出来的。
Let me ask you a question. Who do you think the real elves that make these devices are?
我想问你们一个问题。你们认为谁是真正制造这些设备的小精灵？
If I ask a lot of the people I know, they would say it's the hoodie-wearing software engineers in Silicon Valley, hacking away at code.
如果我问一些我认识的人，他们会说是硅谷里面那些穿着连帽衫编辑代码的软件工程师。
But a lot has to happen to these devices before they're ready for any kind of code.
但是在这些设备进行任何代码编辑前，它们已经经过了大量的准备工作。
These devices start at the atomic level. So if you ask me, the real elves are the chemists.
这些设备的诞生是从原子级别开始的。所以如果你问我这个问题，我会说，那些真正的小精灵是化学家们。
That's right, I said the chemists. Chemistry is the hero of electronic communications.
是的，我说的是化学家们。化学是电子通讯技术的幕后英雄。
And my goal today is to convince you to agree with me.
我今天的目的就是说服你们赞同我的观点。
OK, let's start simple, and take a look inside these insanely addictive devices.
让我们从简单一点的开始，从内部来看看这些令人痴迷的设备。
Because without chemistry, what is an information superhighway that we love, would just be a really expensive, shiny paperweight.
因为没有化学，我们所喜爱的这个信息高速公路，将会只是一个非常昂贵的、闪亮的压纸器。
Chemistry enables all of these layers. Let's start at the display.
化学使每一层材料能够发挥作用。让我们从显示层开始。
How do you think we get those bright, vivid colors that we love so much?
你们认为我们是如何得到这些令人爱不释手的明亮生动的颜色的？
Well, I'll tell you. There's organic polymers embedded within the display,
事实上，嵌入在显示层中的有机聚合物，
that can take electricity and turn it into the blue, red and green that we enjoy in our pictures.
能够把电流变成我们在图片中看到的令人赏心悦目的蓝色、红色和绿色。
What if we move down to the battery? Now there's some intense research.
那么电池层呢？目前有一些密集的研究。
How do we take the chemical principles of traditional batteries and pair it with new, high surface area electrodes,
我们如何将传统电池的化学原理与新兴的、高表面积电极相结合，
so we can pack more charge in a smaller footprint of space, so that we could power our devices all day long,
使得我们能够将更多的电荷放进一个更小的空间，这样当我们自拍时，设备可以续航一整天，
while we're taking selfies, without having to recharge our batteries or sit tethered to an electrical outlet?
不必再去给电池重新充电，或者在一个插座附近坐着？
What if we go to the adhesives that bind it all together, so that it could withstand our frequent usage?
再看看把这些全都紧紧固定在一起的粘合剂，它经得起我们的频繁使用吗？
After all, as a millennial, I have to take my phone out at least 200 times a day to check it,
毕竟，作为千禧一代，我不得不每天把手机拿出来检查200次，
and in the process, drop it two to three times.
并且在这个过程中摔了两到三次。
But what are the real brains of these devices? What makes them work the way that we love them so much?
但是什么才是这些设备真正的大脑？为什么我们对它们爱不释手？
Well that all has to do with electrical components and circuitry that are tethered to a printed circuit board.
这些都和电子组件，以及围绕在一个印刷电路板周围的电子线路有关。
Or maybe you prefer a biological metaphor -- the motherboard, you might have heard of that.
或者也许你更喜欢生物学隐喻--你应该听说过的，主板。
Now, the printed circuit board doesn't really get talked about a lot.
围绕印刷电路板，并没有太多真正的讨论。
And I'll be honest, I don't know why that is.
坦白讲，我不知道这是为什么。
Maybe it's because it's the least sexy layer and it's hidden beneath all of those other sleek-looking layers.
可能是因为它是最不吸引人的一层，并且它隐藏在其它所有设计流畅的应用层下面。
But it's time to finally give this Clark Kent layer the Superman-worthy praise it deserves.
但是现在是时候给予这名不见经传的一层超人般的赞誉了。
And so I ask you a question. What do you think a printed circuit board is?
所以我想问你们一个问题。你们认为什么是印刷电路板？
Well, consider a metaphor. Think about the city that you live in.
考虑用隐喻的方式。想想你居住的城市。
You have all these points of interest that you want to get to:
你知道所有的景点，然后你想去：
your home, your work, restaurants, a couple of Starbucks on every block.
你家里，你工作单位，餐厅以及每个街区的星巴克。
And so we build roads that connect them all together. That's what a printed circuit board is.
所以我们修了将它们都连接起来的路。这就是印刷电路板。
Except, instead of having things like restaurants, we have transistors on chips, capacitors, resistors,
除了那些类似餐厅的东西，我们在芯片上用晶体管、电容器、电阻器替代了它们，
all of these electrical components that need to find a way to talk to each other.
所有这些电子元件，都需要可以相互通话的方式。
And so what are our roads? Well, we build tiny copper wires.
那么我们的道路呢？我们造了微小的铜线。
So the next question is, how do we make these tiny copper wires? They're really small.
所以下一个问题是，我们如何制造这些微小铜线？它们非常的小。
Could it be that we go to the hardware store, pick up a spool of copper wire,
可不可能，我们走进一家硬件商店，拿一轴铜线，再用那些钢丝钳，
get some wire cutters, a little clip-clip, saw it all up and then, bam -- we have our printed circuit board? No way.
一点线缆，把它们组装起来，然后，砰--我们就有了印刷线路板吗？没门。
These wires are way too small for that. And so we have to rely on our friend: chemistry.
我们需要的铜线是非常微小的。所以我们不得不依靠我们的朋友：化学。
Now, the chemical process to make these tiny copper wires is seemingly simple.
化学工艺使制造这些微小铜线看起来似乎非常简单。
We start with a solution of positively charged copper spheres.
我们从一个带正电的铜球的溶液开始。
We then add to it an insulating printed circuit board.
然后我们加入一个绝缘的印刷电路板。
And we feed those positively charged spheres negatively charged electrons by adding formaldehyde to the mix.
同时我们通过往混合液里加入甲醛给带正电的球体里提供带负电的电子。
So you might remember formaldehyde.
你可能还记得甲醛是什么。
Really distinct odor, used to preserve frogs in biology class.
非常独特的气味，用来在生物课上保存青蛙。
Well it turns out it can do a lot more than just that.
是的，事实证明它可以用来做更多的事情。
And it's a really key component to making these tiny copper wires.
并且这是制造这些微小铜线的关键部分。
You see, the electrons on formaldehyde have a drive.
于是，这些甲醛上的电子有了内驱力。
They want to jump over to those positively charged copper spheres.
它们想跳上这些带正电的铜球。
And that's all because of a process known as redox chemistry.
这些都是因为一个叫氧化还原的过程。
And when that happens, we can take these positively charged copper spheres
当这个反应发生的时候，我们可以将这些带正电的铜球
and turn them into bright, shiny, metallic and conductive copper.
变成明亮的、闪光的、金属的、有传导性的铜。
And once we have conductive copper, now we're cooking with gas.
一旦我们有了带传导性的铜，就相当于我们已经在用天然气做饭了。
And we can get all of those electrical components to talk to each other. So thank you once again to chemistry.
那么，我们能够使所有电子元件互相之间进行交流了。所以再次谢谢化学。
And let's take a thought and think about how far we've come with chemistry.
让我们来想想，思考一下有了化学以后我们走了多远。
Clearly, in electronic communications, size matters.
很明显，在电子通讯领域，尺寸非常重要。
So let's think about how we can shrink down our devices, so that we can go from our 1990s Zack Morris cell phone
所以让我们思考一下如何才能缩小设备的尺寸，这样我们可以从90年代的大哥大，
to something a little bit more sleek, like the phones of today that can fit in our pockets.
过渡到一种更加流畅的，就像今天我们可以装进口袋里的手机。
Although, let's be real here: absolutely nothing can fit into ladies' pants pockets,
尽管，现实一点：很显然没有东西可以装进女士裤子的口袋里，
if you can find a pair of pants that has pockets.
如果你可以找到一对有口袋的裤子。
And I don't think chemistry can help us with that problem.
并且我也不认为化学可以帮我们解决这个问题。
But more important than shrinking the actual device, how do we shrink the circuitry inside of it, and shrink it by 100 times,
但是比让实际设备缩小尺寸更重要的是，我们如何使内部的电路缩小100倍，
so that we can take the circuitry from the micron scale all the way down to the nanometer scale?
以便使电路从微米尺寸直接缩小到纳米尺寸？
Because, let's face it, right now we all want more powerful and faster phones.
因为，我们面对的是，现在我们需要更强大、更快的手机。
Well, more power and faster requires more circuitry.
而更强大和更快意味着需要更多的电路。
So how do we do this? It's not like we have some magic electromagnetic shrink ray,
那么我们如何做到这一点？并不是说我们拥有某些有魔力的电磁收缩射线，
like professor Wayne Szalinski used in "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" to shrink his children.
就像韦恩·萨林斯基教授在“亲爱的，我把孩子们缩小了”里面用来缩小他的孩子们的机器。
On accident, of course. Or do we?
当然，他不是故意的。我们可以用他的机器吗？
Well, actually, in the field, there's a process that's pretty similar to that. And it's name is photolithography.
事实上，在该领域内，有一个过程和那个非常类似。它的名字叫光刻法。
In photolithography, we take electromagnetic radiation, or what we tend to call light,
在光刻法里，我们使用电磁辐射，或者，我们更倾向于叫光，
and we use it to shrink down some of that circuitry, so that we could cram more of it into a really small space.
我们用它来缩小电路的一些部分，这样我们可以在一个非常小的空间里塞进更多的电路。
Now, how does this work? Well, we start with a substrate that has a light-sensitive film on it.
那么，这是如何运作的呢？我们从一个有一层感光膜覆盖的基底开始。
We then cover it with a mask
然后我们用一张膜把它盖住，
that has a pattern on top of it of fine lines and features that are going to make the phone work the way that we want it to.
膜上面有一些用来让手机以我们想要的方式工作的细线和特性的图案。
We then expose a bright light and shine it through this mask, which creates a shadow of that pattern on the surface.
接着我们让基底暴露在一束明亮的光下，在表面上留下一个阴影的图案。
Now, anywhere that the light can get through the mask, it's going to cause a chemical reaction to occur.
任何光透过的地方，都将会引起一个化学反应。
And that's going to burn the image of that pattern into the substrate.
并且会将图案的图像烙进基底里。
So the question you're probably asking is, how do we go from a burned image to clean fine lines and features?
所以你可能想问一个问题，我们如何从一个烧出来的图像得到干净的线条和特征？
And for that, we have to use a chemical solution called the developer.
要实现这个目的，我们必须使用一种叫显影剂的化学溶液。
Now the developer is special. What it can do is take all of the nonexposed areas and remove them selectively,
这种显影剂比较特别。它的作用是将没有曝光的区域有选择性的去除掉，
leaving behind clean fine lines and features, and making our miniaturized devices work.
留下干净的线条和特征，让我们的小型设备正常工作。
So, we've used chemistry now to build up our devices, and we've used it to shrink down our devices.
所以，现在我们已经使用化学打造出了我们的设备，也用它缩小了我们的设备。
So I've probably convinced you that chemistry is the true hero, and we could wrap it up there.
所以我可能已经说服了你们，化学才是真正的英雄，那我们就可以到这里结束了。
Hold on, we're not done. Not so fast. Because we're all human. And as a human, I always want more.
等一下，还没有。没这么快。因为我们都是人类。作为一个人类，我总是想要更多。
And so now I want to think about how to use chemistry to extract more out of a device.
所以现在我想思考如何使用化学从一个设备中提取出更多的东西。
Right now, we're being told that we want something called 5G, or the promised fifth generation of wireless.
现在，我们知道了我们想造5G，或者说承诺的第五代无线技术。
Now, you might have heard of 5G in commercials that are starting to appear.
你应该已经在商业领域听说过，5G已经开始出现了。
Or maybe some of you even experienced it in the 2018 winter Olympics.
或者你们中的一些人也许已经在2018年冬奥会体验过了。
What I'm most excited about for 5G is that, when I'm late, running out of the house to catch a plane,
5G最使我兴奋的是，当我迟到了，冲出家门去赶飞机，
I can download movies onto my device in 40 seconds as opposed to 40 minutes.
我可以用40秒下载电影到我的手机上，而不是40分钟。
But once true 5G is here, it's going to be a lot more than how many movies we can put on our device.
但是一旦5G真的来了，比起我们可以放多少部电影在手机里，它实际上有更深远的意义。
So the question is, why is true 5G not here? And I'll let you in on a little secret.
那么问题来了，为什么真正的5G还没来？我想与你们分享一个小秘密。
It's pretty easy to answer. It's just plain hard to do.
这个问题很好回答。很难做到。
You see, if you use those traditional materials and copper to build 5G devices, the signal can't make it to its final destination.
想想看，如果你用那些传统的材料和铜来制造5G设备，信号并不能到达它的终点。
Traditionally, we use really rough insulating layers to support copper wires.
传统上，我们用非常粗糙的绝缘层来使铜线发挥作用。
Think about Velcro fasteners. It's the roughness of the two pieces that make them stick together.
想象一下尼龙搭扣。是粗糙度让两片东西能相互粘牢。
That's pretty important if you want to have a device that's going to last longer than it takes you to rip it out of the box
这一点就非常重要了，如果你想要一个设备，它的续航的时间比你把它从盒子里拿出来，
and start installing all of your apps on it.
并开始安装所有的应用程序要长的话。
But this roughness causes a problem. You see, at the high speeds for 5G the signal has to travel close to that roughness.
但是这种粗糙度引起了一个问题。在5G的高速下，信号不得不靠近粗糙面传输。
And it makes it get lost before it reaches its final destination. Think about a mountain range.
那么在到达终点前它就会损失殆尽。想象一个山脉。
And you have a complex system of roads that goes up and over it, and you're trying to get to the other side.
环绕着一条错综复杂的道路系统，你试图到达山的那一边。
Don't you agree with me that it would probably take a really long time, and you would probably get lost, if you had to go up and down all of the mountains,
那么你们同不同意，翻山越岭要花上很长时间，而且还可能会迷路，
as opposed to if you just drilled a flat tunnel that could go straight on through?
与挖一条笔直的隧道，直接穿过山脉相比起来的话？
Well it's the same thing in our 5G devices.
这就是5G设备所面临的问题。
If we could remove this roughness, then we can send the 5G signal straight on through uninterrupted. Sounds pretty good, right?
如果我们可以去掉这个粗糙面，就可以让5G信号笔直穿过媒介而不受干扰。听起来不错，是吧？
But hold on. Didn't I just tell you that we needed that roughness to keep the device together?
但是等一下。我有没有告诉你们，我们需要那个粗糙面来保持设备相互连接？
And if we remove it, we're in a situation where now the copper isn't going to stick to that underlying substrate.
如果我们去掉了这部分，就无法将铜固定在下面的基底上。
Think about building a house of Lego blocks, with all of the nooks and crannies that latch together, as opposed to smooth building blocks.
想象用乐高积木搭建一个房子，相比于光滑的积木块，乐高积木的所有边边角角都是嵌合在一起的。
Which of the two is going to have more structural integrity
这两个中哪一个的结构会更稳固呢，
when the two-year-old comes ripping through the living room, trying to play Godzilla and knock everything down?
当两岁的小孩闯进客厅，试图扮演哥斯拉，并且把所有东西都拆掉的时候？
But what if we put glue on those smooth blocks? And that's what the industry is waiting for.
但是如果我们在光滑的积木块上用胶水呢？这就是行业目前在等待的东西。
They're waiting for the chemists to design new, smooth surfaces with increased inherent adhesion for some of those copper wires.
他们在等化学家们为某些铜线设计出增加了固有粘着力的新的、光滑的表面。
And when we solve this problem, and we will solve the problem,
当我们解决了这个问题，我们一定会解决这个问题，
and we'll work with physicists and engineers to solve all of the challenges of 5G,
然后我们会跟物理学家和工程师一起合作，解决5G的所有挑战，
well then the number of applications is going to skyrocket.
然后应用程序的数量就会呈爆发性增长。
So yeah, we'll have things like self-driving cars,
是的，我们将会有像自动驾驶汽车一样的应用，
because now our data networks can handle the speeds and the amount of information required to make that work.
因为现在我们的数据网络可以应对这个速度，并且信息的数量也需要使它达到这个速度。
But let's start to use imagination.
但是，再让我们来想象一下。
I can imagine going into a restaurant with a friend that has a peanut allergy, taking out my phone,
比如，我和一个对花生过敏的朋友走进一家餐厅，拿出我的手机，
waving it over the food and having the food tell us a really important answer to a question -- deadly or safe to consume?
对着食物晃一下，然后让食物来帮助我们回答一个非常重要的问题--这个食物是致命的还是安全的？
Or maybe our devices will get so good at processing information about us, that they'll become like our personal trainers.
或者我们的设备能够非常好的处理这些信息，这样它们就成为了我们的个人助理。
And they'll know the most efficient way for us to burn calories.
它们能够了解对于我们燃烧卡路里最有效的方式。
I know come November, when I'm trying to burn off some of these pregnancy pounds,
我知道到了十一月，当我试图减掉一部分因为怀孕长胖的体重，
I would love a device that could tell me how to do that.
我会很高兴有一个设备可以告诉我该怎么做。
I really don't know another way of saying it, except chemistry is just cool.
除了说，化学真的太酷了，我不知道还有什么别的方式来形容它的神奇。
And it enables all of these electronic devices.
它使这些所有的电子设备成为了可能。
So the next time you send a text or take a selfie,
所以下一次当你发信息或者自拍的时候，
think about all those atoms that are hard at work and the innovation that came before them.
想一想所有努力工作的原子和在它们之前的革新。
Who knows, maybe even some of you listening to this talk, perhaps even on your mobile device,
谁知道呢，也许你们当中的一些人，甚至通过移动设备，
will decide that you too want to play sidekick to Captain Chemistry, the true hero of electronic devices.
也会决定要协助电子设备真正的英雄，化学队长，贡献自己的一份力量。
Thank you for your attention, and thank you chemistry.
谢谢大家的聆听，谢谢化学。
