- 用心翻译每一天
联系我们
全国统一服务热线：
电话：021-58446796
公司QQ：732319580
邮箱：daisy.xu@easytranslation.com.cn
网址：www.easytranslation.com.cn
地址：上海浦东金桥开发区金豫路700号6号楼1楼
Peer into any fishbowl, and you'll see that pet goldfish and guppies have nimble fins. With a few flicks of these appendages, aquarium swimmers can turn in circles, dive deep down or even bob to the surface.
透过任何鱼缸，我们都能看到金鱼和孔雀鱼那敏捷灵巧的鱼鳍。只需轻轻摆动几下鱼鳍，这些鱼缸里的“游泳好手”们就可以转圈、深潜或直接浮上水面。
Nimble：敏捷、灵活、灵巧、机灵
Flick：轻拂、轻拍、轻弹
Appendage：附加物
New research led by the University of Colorado Boulder has uncovered the engineering secrets behind what makes fish fins so strong yet flexible. The team's insights could one day lead to new designs for robotic surgical tools or even airplane wings that change their shape with the push of a button.
由科罗拉多大学波尔得分校所牵头的新研究已经发现了让鱼鳍如此强健但同时又十分灵活的工程学秘密。团队的深入研究也许有一天可以创造出新设计的机器人外科工具或只需按下按钮就可以改变形状的飞机翅膀。
The researchers published their results Aug. 11 in the journal Science Robotics.
研究人员已于8月11日将研究成果发表在期刊《机器人科学》上。
Francois Barthelat, senior author of the study, noted that fins are remarkable because they can achieve feats of dexterity even though they don't contain a single muscle. (Fish move these structures by twitching sets of muscles located at the base of the fins).
研究资深作者Francois Barthelat强调表示，鱼鳍令人惊叹的原因是，即使没有任何一块肌肉，它们也具有了不起的灵活性。（鱼儿通过猛拉位于鱼鳍底部的肌肉组来移动这些结构）。
Twitch：急拉；猛拽；猛地被扯动
"If you look at a fin, you'll see that it's made of many stiff 'rays,'" said Barthelat, professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering. "Each of those rays can be manipulated individually just like your fingers, but there are 20 or 30 of them in each fin."
“如果你仔细观察鱼鳍，你会发现它由许多不易弯曲的线组成，”Barthelat，机械工程Paul M. Rady系的教授表示。“每条线都可以单独操控，就像人的手指一样，每片鱼鳍中有20或30条线。”
In their latest research, Barthelat and his colleagues drew on a range of approaches, including computer simulations and 3D-printed materials, to dive deep into the biomechanics of these agile structures. They report that the key to fish fins may lie in their unique design. Each ray in a fin is made up of multiple segments of a hard material that stack on top of much softer collagen, making them the perfect balance between bouncy and stiff.
在最新的研究中，Barthelat和他的同事利用一系列方法，包括机器人模拟和3-D打印材料，来深入了解这些灵巧结构内部的生物力学。他们报告说，鱼鳍的关键可能在于其独特的设计。鱼鳍中的每条线都由许多个一段段的硬质材料组成，这些硬质材料堆叠在更加柔软的胶原蛋白表面，使鱼鳍在弹性和硬度之间达到了完美的平衡。
Draw on：利用
"You get this dual capability where fins can morph, and yet they're still quite stiff when they push water," he said.
“这种双重能力使鱼鳍可以改变形状，但同时在推水时，又能够仍然保持坚硬，”他表示。
Morph：变化、改变
Armor and airplanes
盔甲和飞机
Barthelat is no stranger to looking into aquariums. He previously studied how fish scales can help engineers to design better body armor for humans, and how seashells might inspire tougher glasses.
Barthelat对观摩水族馆并不陌生。他之前所研究的是鱼鳞如何能够帮助工程师为人类设计出更好的身体盔甲以及海贝壳如何能够激发人们设计出更加坚固的眼镜。
Aquarium：水族馆
Fins may be just as useful. When it comes to engineering, Barthelat explained, materials that are both stiff and flexible are a hot commodity. Airplane designers, for example, have long been interested in developing wings that can morph on command, giving planes more ability to maneuver while still keeping them in the air.
鱼鳍也许同样有用。当涉及到工程学，Barthelat解释道，既坚硬又灵活的材料非常抢手。比如，飞机设计师很早就有兴趣设计出可以根据要求变形的翅膀，以使飞机在空中飞行的时候能够更加灵活自如。
Just as：同样，如同……那样
on command：按照命令、按照指令
"Airplanes do this now, to some extent, when they drop their flaps," Barthelat said. "But that's in a rigid way. A wing made out of morphing materials, in contrast, could change its shape more radically and in a continuous manner, much like a bird."
“在某些程度上，当飞机降下襟翼时，它们可以实现灵活上下飞行。但是这是比较刻板的一种方式。由变形材料制作的飞机翅膀可以更加大幅度、连续地改变形状，就像鸟儿一样。”
Flap：襟翼
To understand how ordinary run-of-the-mill goldfish achieve similar feats every day, take a close look at these structures under the microscope. Each of the rays in a fin has a layered structure, a bit like a bakery éclair: The spikes include two layers of stiff and mineralized materials called hemitrichs that surround an inner layer of spongy collagen.
为了了解普通平凡的金鱼如何拥有同样类似的技能，我们来仔细观察一下显微镜下的鱼鳍结构。鱼鳍中的每条线都是层叠结构，有点像面包师做的泡芙：尖头部分包含两层坚硬的矿物化材料，叫做半球，半球包裹着海绵胶原蛋白的内层。
run-of-the-mill：普通的、平凡的
But, Barthelat said, those layers of hemitrichs aren't solid. They're divided into segments, as if someone had cut up the éclair into bite-sized pieces.
但是，Barthelat表示，这些半球层并不是实心的。它们被分为各个弓形部分，就像有人将泡芙切成一口大小的小块一样。
bite-sized：一口大小的
"Until recently, the function of those segments hadn't been clear," he said.
“直到最近，这些弓形组成的功能都未得到明确了解，”他表示。
Swimming, flying and walking
游泳、飞翔和行走
The engineer and his team decided to use computer simulations to examine the mechanical properties of fins. They discovered that those segments can make all the difference.
工程师和他的团队决定使用计算机模拟来检查鱼鳍的机械特性。他们发现，这些弓形组成发挥着巨大的影响力。
Pretend for a moment, Barthelat explained, that fish fins are made up entirely of collagen. They could bend easily, but wouldn't give fish much traction in the water because hydrodynamic forces would collapse them. Rays made up of solid, non-segmented hemitrichs, in contrast, would have the opposite problem -- they'd be way too stiff.
Barthelat解释说，假设鱼鳍完全由胶原蛋白构成，那么它们可以轻松弯曲，但是却无法在水中给鱼提供大部分牵引力，这是因为水动力会使它们瓦解。相反，如果线条由实心、非弓形的半球组成，那么就会有相反的问题-它们会变得过于坚硬。
way too：过于、简直
"All of the segments, essentially, create these tiny hinges along the ray," Barthelat said. "When you try to compress or pull on those bony layers, they have a very high stiffness. This is critical for the ray to resist and produce hydrodynamic forces that push on water. But if you try to bend individual bony layers, they're very compliant, and that part is critical for the rays to deform easily from the base muscles."
“所有的弓形部分，基本上都沿着线条形成小的铰链，”，Barthelat表示。“当你尝试挤压或拉扯这些骨头状的线条时，他们具有非常强的坚硬度。这对于线条阻挡并产生推动水的水动力至关重要。但是，如果你尝试弯曲单个的骨状线条，它们非常有韧性，这对于线条从底部肌肉处变形至关重要。”
The researchers further tested the theory by using a 3D printer to produce model fish fins made from plastic, some with those hinges built in and some without. The idea panned out: The team found that the segmented design provided better combinations of stiffness and morphing capabilities.
研究人员继续利用3D打印机打印出用塑料制成的鱼鳍模型来测试了这一理论，有些模型有内置的铰链，有些则没有。这个想法的结果是：团队发现了半弓形设计能够将坚硬度和变形能力更好地结合在一起。
Barthelat added that he and his colleagues have only scratched the surface of the wide diversity of fins in the fish world. Flying fish, for example, deploy their fins to glide above the water, while mudskippers use their fins like legs to walk on land.
Barthelat补充表示，在鱼类世界种类多样的鱼鳍中，他和他的同事仅仅掀起了冰山一角。比如，飞鱼会利用它们的鱼鳍在水面上滑行，而弹涂鱼的鱼鳍就像腿一样使其在陆地上行走。
scratched the surface：掌握了皮毛、蜻蜓点水
"We like to pick up where the biologists and zoologists have left off, using our background in the mechanics of materials to further our understanding of the amazing properties of the natural world," Barthelat said.