If superpowers were real: Super strength - Joy Lin

如果超能力是真的：神力 - 乔伊 林

翻译人员: Diwen Tan 校对人员: Boxi Sun

If you wake up one morning

如果某天早上你醒来

with 1,000 times the strength you had the night before,

发现你的力量是昨晚的一千倍，

how will you handle delicate day-to-day tasks?

你该如何处理那些日常的精细活？

Everything must seem so fragile to you

一切对于你来说都太脆弱了

since the scale of your strength

因为你的力量

has expanded one thousand times.

已经扩大为原来的一千倍。

You'd have to be very careful

你必须非常的小心

when you're shaking someone's hand

这样当你和别人握手的时候

so you don't end up breaking their bones

才不至于把他们的骨头捏碎

或者把每个你拥抱的人给挤死。

or crushing everyone you hug.

And using a fork to pick up a piece of broccoli

此外， 用餐叉从一个泡沫塑料盘子里

from a Styrofoam plate

叉起一块西兰花

without driving the fork through the plate

而不叉透盘子，

is going to be as difficult as brain surgery.

这难度将不亚于脑外科手术。

Say the day comes

如果真的有这么一天

and you get the chance to save a damsel in distress

你正好有机会去拯救一个正在

falling from a helicopter.

从直升飞机上落下而身处险境中的少女。

So, you hold out your arms,

你伸出你的双臂，

hoping to catch her.

希望能接住她。

Seconds later, you will find yourself

几秒之后，你却发现

holding her lifeless body.

你抱着的是她的尸体。

What happened?

这是怎么回事？

Well, pressure is force divided by area.

其实，压强等于压力除以受力面积。

The smaller the area,

受力面积越小，

the bigger the pressure.

压强就越大。

This is why we can lift heavy objects

这就是为什么我们能抬起重物

without breaking our skin,

却不会伤到皮肤，

but a tiny needle can make us bleed

但一个小小的针头只要轻轻扎一下

with just a little poke.

就能让我们出血。

The pressure that will be exerted on her body

作用到她身上的压强

可以通过压力

can be calculated by force

divided by the area on the top of your arms

除以你双臂上表面与她身体发生接触

that comes in contact with her.

的面积来得出。

It doesn't matter if your arms are strong enough

这和你双臂是否强壮到

to catch her body without breaking your bones.

能接住她的身体而不骨折没有关系。

Her spine is not strong enough

问题是她的脊椎不够强壮，

to be caught by you without being damaged.

无法保证被你接住而不受损。

Even if you rip off the nearest door

就算你就近拆下一扇门

to provide a bigger area to catch her with,

来提供一个更大的表面积来接住她，

you still wouldn't be able to save her anyway.

你也还是无法救她一命。

Remember, it's not the fall that kills her,

记住，她不是因为下落而死，

but the sudden stop at the bottom.

而是因为落到地面后的骤然静止。

Let's say she's falling from a 32 story building,

比如说她正在从32层楼上落下，

about 300 feet,

差不多300英尺，

and you are 6 feet tall,

而你有6英尺高，

maybe 10 feet on your tippy-toes,

可能踮起脚尖有10英尺高，

with your arms above your head

你双臂将一扇门

holding a door,

举过头顶，

in hopes of distributing the pressure

期望能够将压力分散作用于

一个更大的表面积上，

across a larger surface area,

but all you're doing is essentially moving

但实际上你所做的只是把

the ground up by 10 feet.

着陆点抬高了10英尺。

So, she's now falling from 290 feet,

等于她现在是从290英尺落下，

instead of 300 feet,

而不是300英尺，

reaching the speed of 173 feet per second

这样她在落地时的速度

just before impact,

可以达到173英尺每秒，

not counting air resistance.

不考虑空气阻力的话。

It's the equivalent of crashing at 94 miles per hour

这相当于以94英里每小时的速度

into a wall with a door in front of it.

顶着它前面的一扇门撞进墙里。

The only thing that could save her is flying.

这时只有会飞才能救她。

But that power comes with its own host of scientific issues.

但随之而来的是一系列与其相关的重要科学问题。

If you could fly,

假如你会飞，

what you must do is fly up to her,

你必须飞上去接住她，

start flying down at the speed she is falling,

然后以她下落的速度往下飞，

hold on to her,

抱紧她，

then gradually slow down

然后慢慢减速

until you come to a complete stop.

直到完全停住。

This process requires a lot of cushion space

这个过程要求在她开始下落的地点到地面之间

between the point she starts falling and the ground.

有一个很大的缓冲空间。

Every second you waste

你每多浪费一秒钟

on changing into your superhero costume

去换你的超级英雄战袍

and flying up to her height,

然后飞到她所处的高度，

her head is getting that much closer to the pavement!

她的头离地面的距离会越来越近！

If she's falling from a high place,

如果她从一个很高的地方落下来，

and you can't get to her

而你却在

until she's only a few feet above the ground,

她离地面仅有几英尺的时候才接住她，

there's really nothing you can do

那么，你也无能为力了

other than magically turn the pavement

除非你能神奇的将坚硬的路面

into marshmellow

变成棉花糖

to allow her enough time to slowly come to a stop.

让她能有足够的时间慢慢停下来。

Then, break out the chocolate and graham crackers

那么，拿出巧克力和全麦饼干

and you've got s'mores.

你就已经可以做“棉花糖巧克力夹心饼干”了。

Mmmm, delicious!

嗯，好吃！

Now, which superpower physics lesson

现在，你打算接着选择

will you explore next?

哪门超能力物理课去研究？

Shifting body size and content,

是改变人体大小和成分,

super speed,

超级快的速度，

flight,

飞行，

super strength,

神力，

immortality,

长生不老，

and

还是

invisibility.

隐身。