How super glue was invented | Moments of Vision 8 - Jessica Oreck

譯者: Peijia Hong 審譯者: 庭芝 梁

In a Moment of Vision...

靈光一現的時刻

1940 年代，正值二次大戰高峰 在紐約州的羅徹斯特市

It's the 1940s, the height of World War II, Rochester, New York.

一位名叫哈利·庫弗的化學家 正在為伊士曼柯達公司進行研究

A chemist by the name of Harry Coover is conducting research for Eastman Kodak.

He and his team are looking for a clear plastic

他和他的團隊正在尋找 透明的塑膠材料

to produce precision gunsights for the military.

來為軍隊生產 精確的槍用瞄準鏡

They begin working with a family of chemicals called cyanoacrylates,

他們起先採用一種稱為 氰基丙烯酸酯的化學材料

but find, to their extreme annoyance,

但是卻遇到一個 讓他們十分困擾的情況

that the chemicals stick to everything permanently.

就是這種化學材料 會牢固地粘上各種物品

The cyanoacrylates are discarded.

於是氰基丙烯酸酯 被放棄使用了

After the war, Coover is working at Kodak's chemical plant in Tennessee.

戰爭結束之後，庫弗在柯達公司 位於田納西州的化學工廠任職

This time, he and his team are researching

這一次，他和他的團隊研究

heat-resistant polymers for jet airplane canopies.

用來製作噴射機座艙罩的 耐高溫聚合物

他們又嘗試了氰基丙烯酸酯 仍然遇到令人沮喪的結果

They try cyanoacrylates, but find, to their great frustration,

that the chemicals stick to everything permanently.

這個化學材料 仍然牢固地粘上各種物品

Again, the cyanoacrylates are discarded.

氰基丙烯酸酯再次被拋棄了

然而，庫弗突然靈光一現

Coover, however, in a moment of vision,

realizes that the quality that makes these chemicals so infuriating to work with

他瞭解到，氰基丙烯酸酯 這種令人惱怒的特性

is exactly what makes them valuable.

正是它最有價值之處

He takes out a patent and begins marketing a super glue.

他申請了一項專利 並開始拓展這種瞬間膠的市場

Years later during the Vietnam War,

幾年之後，在越戰期間

field medics find that using super glue on an open wound

戰地醫療人員發現 在開放性傷口上使用瞬間膠

instantly stops the bleeding,

可以立即止血

saving countless lives.

因此拯救了無數的生命

到了今天，醫療用瞬間膠 仍然被用於手術當中

Today, medical grade super glue is still used in surgery,

but it's also a nearly indispensable household item.

它同時也是一項 不可或缺的家庭用品