太阳科普 第9期

 Plasmas I always like to think of as being like naughty children.  我一直觉得电浆就像调皮的小孩

They're full of energy and they are,  充满了能量，随时随地都想捣蛋
want to misbehave and it's ourjob to try  我们的工作就是
and control that misbehaviour.  试着控制它们的行为
For the particles to fuse on Earth  要让粒子在地球上融合
the temperatures need to be raised to 10 times  温度必须提高至
those found at the heart of the sun.  太阳核心的十倍
Bombarding the gas with a stream of fast neutrons 2  用高速中子束撞击气体
raises the temperature to over 100 million degrees.  能让温度飙高至一亿度以上
Only then can the energy of nuclear fusion 3 be released.  只有这时才能释放出核融合的能量
After years of learning to control the plasma 1,  在苦心研究控制电浆多年之后
scientists now believe they are  科学家相信
within sight of harnessing the sun's power.  利用太阳能的时刻指日可待
The aim of it is to be able to produce cheap,  我们的目标是
clean and effectively an inexhaustible supply  为后代子孙制造廉价
of electricity for future generations.  清净和用之不竭的电力
This is only small experimental reactor 4.  这只是个小型的实验反应炉
It can only run for a few seconds  它只能运作数秒钟
and sucks up more energy than it creates.  而且消耗的能量高过于制造的能量
But the next generation of bigger reactors 5  但是新一代的更大的反应炉
is already being built.  已经问世
When operational they will produce 10 times  一旦开始运作之后，它们可以制造十倍于
more power energy than they use.  它们消耗的能源
They will be stars on Earth.  它们将成为地球上的恒星
Power stations that won't deplete 6 natural resources  是不会消耗自然资源
or produce dangerous waste products.  或产生危险废弃物的发电厂
It sounds great.  听来十分美好
But recreating the sun isn't easy  但重现太阳并不容易
and it may be another 50 years  而且核融合发电厂的落实
before the fusion power station becomes reality.  可能还得再等50年
Until then we'll just have to make do  在那之前，我们只好将就
with the real thing.  利用真正的太阳
But that's not so bad.  其实这也不赖
Just seeing sunlight is enough to cheer us up.  光是看到阳光，就能让人精神一振
Well many people think it's the warmth of the sun  很多人认为阳光的热度
that is associated with us feeling good  让我们身心舒畅
and of course that's true.  这话说得当然没错
But in fact research has shown that it's not really  但研究结果显示
the warmth it's actually the light that's important.  最重要的不是热度，而是光线
Sunlight controls our daily cycle  阳光控制着我们的日常生活
making sure we wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night.  让我们黎明即起，日落而眠
When there's not enough light those patterns get disturbed  如果光线不够，我们的生活模式便会受到干扰
with miserable 7 effect.  产生不幸的后果
It's a clinical fact that depression is more common in winter  临床研究结果显示，忧忧症在冬天较为常见
because of the lack of sunlight  其原因就是日照不足
they call it SAD seasonal 8 affective disorder 9.  这是简称为SAD的季节性情绪失调
Seasonal affective disorder is a depressive illness  季节性情绪失调是一种忧忧症
that starts during the autumn and early winter.  它在秋天和初冬发生
And usually goes away completely during the spring and early summer.  通常到了春天和初夏就不药而愈