Woody Norris: Hypersonic sound and other inventions

翻译人员: Andy ZHAO 校对人员: Jenny Yang

I became an inventor by accident.

我能成为一个发明家， 纯属偶然

I was out of the air force in 1956. No, no, that's not true:

1956年我从空军退役。不，我说错了

I went in in 1956, came out in 1959,

是1956年服役，1959年退役

was working at the University of Washington,

退役后在华盛顿大学工作

and I came up with an idea, from reading a magazine article,

我在看一篇杂志文章时冒出个想法

for a new kind of a phonograph tone arm.

想发明一种新的留声机拾音臂

Now, that was before cassette tapes, C.D.s, DVDs --

相比今天的录音带 CD DVD等很酷的产品

any of the cool stuff we've got now.

那可以说是古董级的了

And it was an arm that,

它是一个臂

instead of hinging and pivoting as it went across the record,

用以代替读盘时铰链和枢轴的功能

went straight: a radial, linear tracking tone arm.

直截了当的说：放射式直线循迹拾音臂

And it was the hardest invention I ever made, but it got me started,

这是我做过最难的一个发明，但是它促使我开始

and I got really lucky after that.

之后我就一帆风顺了

And without giving you too much of a tirade,

不长篇大论了

I want to talk to you about an invention I brought with me today:

今天我给大家带来的是

my 44th invention. No, that's not true either.

我的第44个发明。不，又错了

Golly, I'm just totally losing it.

天啊，我今天完全不在状态

My 44th patent; about the 15th invention.

我的第44个专利，第15个发明

I call this hypersonic sound.

我称之为特超声

I'm going to play it for you in a couple minutes,

我先播放几分钟给你们听

but I want to make an analogy before I do

但是在这之前

to this.

我要先道歉

I usually show this hypersonic sound and people will say,

通常，我播放这个特超声后

That's really cool, but what's it good for?

人们都会说确实很酷，但是有什么用呢？

And I say, What is the light bulb good for?

我则会说，那灯泡有什么用呢？

Sound, light: I'm going to draw the analogy.

我用声和光来举例

When Edison invented the light bulb, pretty much looked like this.

爱迪生发明的灯泡，和这个差不多

Hasn't changed that much.

并没有太大的改进

Light came out of it in every direction.

光向各个方向照射

Before the light bulb was invented,

在发明灯泡以前

people had figured out how to put a reflector behind it,

人们已经懂得，在其后面放一个反射器

focus it a little bit;

聚焦效果就会好些

put lenses in front of it,

前面再放一个透镜

focus it a little bit better.

效果会更好些

Ultimately we figured out how to make things like lasers

最终，我们掌握了如何制造激光

that were totally focused.

那就是完全聚焦

Now, think about where the world would be today

现在想象下，如果我们只有灯泡

if we had the light bulb,

而不懂得聚焦

but you couldn't focus light;

如今的世界会是什么样子

if when you turned one on it just went wherever it wanted to.

你开灯后，光向任意方向照射

That's the way loudspeakers pretty much are.

喇叭就和这个差不多

You turn on the loudspeaker,

你打开喇叭

and after almost 80 years of having those gadgets,

在这个玩意已经被发明了80多年后

the sound just kind of goes where it wants.

声音还是像当初那样传播

Even when you're standing in front of a megaphone,

就算你站在麦克风前面

it's pretty much every direction.

传播的方向基本上也是任意方向

A little bit of differential, but not much.

有一点点差别，但不是很多

If the light bulb was the way the speaker is,

如果灯泡和喇叭一样

and you couldn't focus or sharpen the edges or define it,

不能聚焦或限定它

we wouldn't have that, or movies in general,

我们就不能播放幻灯片，电影

or computers, or T.V. sets,

电脑或电视机

or C.D.s, or DVDs -- and just go down the list

又或者CD和DVD，等等等等

of what the importance is

其重要的特征都是

of being able to focus light.

能聚焦

Now, after almost 80 years of having sound,

在喇叭发明了80年后的今天

I thought it was about time that we figure out

我认为是时候掌握

a way to put sound where you want to.

如何将声音按照你们想要的方式传播了

I have a couple of units.

我带来了一组设备

That guy there was made for a demo I did yesterday early in the day

这是用来演示的，我昨天早上做的

for a big car maker in Detroit who wants to put them in a car --

底特律的一家知名汽车制造商想把它们安装在汽车上

small version, over your head --

一个小的型号，可以戴在头上

so that you can actually get binaural sound in a car.

这样你就可以在汽车里面享受到真正的立体声

What if I could aim sound the way I aim light?

如果我能像瞄准光一样瞄准声音会怎么样？

I got this waterfall I recorded in my back yard.

这是我在我家后院录的声音

Now, you're not going to hear a thing unless it hits you.

现在，除非我对准你，否则你是听不到的

Maybe if I hit the side wall it will bounce around the room.

也可能是我对准了侧壁，然后声波在屋内回荡

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

The sound is being made right next to your ears. Is that cool?

声音就在你耳边产生，很酷吧？

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

Because I have some limited time, I'll cut it off for a second,

因为时间有限，我中断一会

and tell you about how it works and what it's good for.

来讲解下它的原理和用途

Course, like light, it's great to be able to put sound

当然，能像光一样用声音勾勒出

to highlight a clothing rack, or the cornflakes, or the toothpaste,

晾衣架，或者玉米片、牙膏

or a talking plaque in a movie theater lobby.

又或电影院大厅的公告板太好了

Sony's got an idea -- Sony's our biggest customers right now.

索尼有一个想法--索尼是我们目前最大的客户

They tried this back in the '60s

60年代他们试过这些想法

and were too smart, and so they gave up.

但是由于太超前了，他们只能放弃

But they want to use it -- seriously.

但是他们还是想使用这些发明，真的

There's a mix an inventor has to have.

一个发明家必须是全才

You have to be kind of smart,

你必须非常聪明

and though I did not graduate from college doesn't mean I'm stupid,

虽然我不是大学毕业，但是不代表我笨

because you cannot be stupid and do very much in the world today.

在这个世界上，太笨就会被淘汰

Too many other smart people out there. So.

因为聪明的人太多了

I just happened to get my education in a little different way.

我只是恰巧通过另一种方式接受教育

I'm not at all against education.

我不是完全反对教育

I think it's wonderful; I think sometimes people,

我认为教育很好，只是认为有时候

when they get educated, lose it:

人们去接受教育，却失去了教育

they get so smart they're unwilling to look at things that they know better than.

过于自大，以至于不稀罕其他事物，因为他们认为自己更好

And we're living in a great time right now,

我们现在生活的时代很好

because almost everything's being explored anew.

因为几乎所有东西都被重新探究过

I have this little slogan that I use a lot, which is:

我有一个用很多次的口号，就是

virtually nothing --

一无所有

and I mean this honestly --

我是认真的

has been invented yet.

至今没有发明任何东西

We're just starting.

我们仅仅在摸索的开端

We're just starting to really discover the laws of nature and science and physics.

我们对自然法则、科学、物理的探索才刚刚开始

And this is, I hope, a little piece of it.

对于所掌握的，我希望，只是冰山一角

Sony's got this vision back -- to get myself on track --

索尼开阔了眼界，并使我步入正轨

that when you stand in the checkout line in the supermarket,

当你站在超市的结账口时

you're going to watch a new T.V. channel.

你要看一个特别的电视频道

They know that when you watch T.V. at home,

他们知道当你在家看电视时

because there are so many choices

由于你有很多的选择

you can change channels, miss their commercials.

你可以换台，跳过他们的广告

A hundred and fifty-one million people every day stand in the line at the supermarket.

每天有1.5亿人要站在超市的结账口

Now, they've tried this a couple years ago and it failed,

如今，这个他们采用多年的方法出现问题了

because the checker gets tired of hearing the same message

因为，收银员厌倦了听重复的信息

every 20 minutes, and reaches out, turns off the sound.

每20分钟就循环一次

And, you know, if the sound isn't there, the sale typically isn't made.

大家知道 ，广告是促销的有效手段

For instance, like, when you're on an airplane, they show the movie,

例如，当你在候机厅时

you get to watch it for free;

你可以免费欣赏电影

when you want to hear the sound, you pay.

但如果要听声音，你就需要购买

And so ABC and Sony have devised this new thing

所以ABC和索尼设计了一项新的试验

where when you step in the line in the supermarket --

当你走进超市的结账口时

initially it'll be Safeways. It is Safeways;

最初将在西韦夫商店试验

they're trying this in three parts of the country right now --

现在在全国的三家西韦夫商店测试

you'll be watching TV.

你还是要观看电视频道

And hopefully they'll be sensitive

但幸运的是，他们这次做的很谨慎

that they don't want to offend you with just one more outlet.

因为他们不想让你再次被一个输出声音而干扰

But what's great about it, from the tests that have been done, is,

这个设计的的好亮点是

if you don't want to hear it,

如果你不想听声音

you take about one step to the side and you don't hear it.

你向旁边侧一步就听不到了

So, we create silence as much as we create sound.

因此 ，我们制造声音，但同时我们也创造安静

ATMs that talk to you; nobody else hears it.

ATM机和你对话时，别人无法听到

Sit in bed, two in the morning, watch TV;

凌晨两点，你坐在床上看电视

your spouse, or someone, is next to you, asleep;

你的爱人，或其他人还在旁边睡觉

doesn't hear it, doesn't wake up.

就听不到，也不会被吵醒

We're also working on noise canceling things like snoring, noise from automobiles.

我们同样致力于消除噪音，像鼾声或汽车的噪音

I have been really lucky with this technology:

这项技术确实给我带来了好运

all of a sudden as it is ready, the world is ready to accept it.

当这项技术成熟了，这个世界也就准备好了接受

They have literally beat a path to our door.

他们甚至在我们门前排起了队

We've been selling it since about last September, October,

我们从去年的九、十月份就开始发售这项技术

and it's been immensely gratifying.

销量非常不错

If you're interested in what it costs -- I'm not selling them today --

如果你对价格感兴趣，但今天不卖

but this unit, with the electronics and everything,

这套设备，包括电子器件和其他所有的零件

if you buy one, is around a thousand bucks.

每套售价在1000美元左右

We expect by this time next year,

我们希望在明年的这个时候

it'll be hundreds, a few hundred bucks, to buy it.

价格可以降到几百美元

It's not any more pricey than regular electronics.

相比家用电器，这一点都不贵

Now, when I played it for you, you didn't hear the thunderous bass.

现在，当我播放时，你们听不到嘈杂的低声

This unit that I played goes from about 200 hertz to above the range of hearing.

这组设备播放的声音可以达到200赫兹，超过了听觉范围

It's actually emitting ultrasound -- low-level ultrasound --

实际上它是在发射超声波，低电平的超声波

that's about 100,000 vibrations per second.

振动频率是每秒十万次

And the sound that you're hearing,

你现在听到的声音

unlike a regular speaker on which all the sound is made on the face,

和在表面制造声音的普通喇叭不同

is made out in front of it, in the air.

这个是外部，在空气中制造声音

The air is not linear, as we've always been taught.

正如我们一直被告诉的，空气是非线性的

You turn up the volume just a little bit --

把音量稍微调高一点

I'm talking about a little over 80 decibels --

我的意思是略高于80分贝

and all of a sudden the air begins to corrupt signals you propagate.

突然之间空气开始将传播的信号扭曲化

Here's why: the speed of sound is not a constant. It's fairly slow.

原因是：声速不是常数。相当慢

It changes with temperature and with barometric pressure.

但是声速根据温度和气压的变化而变化

Now, imagine, if you will, without getting too technical,

现在，想象一下不用任何高科技水段

I'm making a little sine wave here in the air.

我在空气中制造一些正弦波

Well, if I turn up the amplitude too much,

如果我将振幅调的过大

I'm having an effect on the pressure,

则会对气压产生影响

which means during the making of that sine wave,

也就是说在制造正弦波的同时

the speed at which it is propagating is shifting.

声音的传播速度发生了变化

All of audio as we know it

我们常见的广播

is an attempt to be more and more perfectly linear.

是力图接近完美的线性化

Linearity means higher quality sound.

线性化意味着更好的音质

Hypersonic sound is exactly the opposite:

特超声则完全相反

it's 100 percent based on non-linearity.

它属于完全的非线性

An effect happens in the air, it's a corrupting effect of the sound --

它也作用于空气，但是是相反的效果

the ultrasound in this case -- that's emitted,

这就是特超声

but it's so predictable

但是它是可预测的

that you can produce very precise audio out of that effect.

你可以制造精确的广播来消除这种影响

Now, the question is, where's the sound made?

现在的问题是，那么声音从何而来？

Instead of being made on the face of the cone,

不是在这个表面形成

it's made at literally billions of little independent points

而是沿着空气中这条狭窄的带

along this narrow column in the air,

数亿计独立的点而形成的

and so when I aim it towards you,

所以当我把它对准你

what you hear is made right next to your ears.

你听到的声音就在耳边形成

I said we can shorten the column,

我说过我们可以缩短这条带

we can spread it out to cover the couch.

我们可以将其扩散以覆盖整排座椅

I can put it so that one ear hears one speaker,

我可以将其设置成只一支耳朵听一个喇叭

the other ear hears the other. That's true binaural sound.

而另一只听的是其他的声音，这才是真正的立体声

When you listen to stereo on your home system,

当你用家庭影院的音响时

your both ears hear both speakers.

你两耳听到的都是一个喇叭的声音

Turn on the left speaker sometime

就算只打开左边的喇叭

and notice you're hearing it also in your right ear.

你右耳还是能听到左边喇叭的声音

So, the stage is more restricted --

而剧院的情况就更糟了

the sound stage that's supposed to spread out in front of you.

剧院的声音是在你的前方散播

Because the sound is made in the air along this column,

因为声音时沿着空气中这条带形成

it does not follow the inverse square law,

它不遵循平方反比定律

which says it drops off about two thirds

也就是说距离每增加一倍

every time you double the distance:

它就会减弱大约三分之二

6dB every time you go from one meter, for instance, to two meters.

例如：你从1米走到2米，声音就会减弱6分贝

That means you go to a rock concert or a symphony,

而现在，你去听摇滚音乐会或交响乐会时

and the guy in the front row gets the same level

前排和后排

as the guy in the back row, now, all of a sudden.

享受到的效果是一样的

Isn't that terrific?

了不起吧？

So, we've been, as I say, very successful, very lucky,

所以，正如我所说的，非常成功也非常幸运

in having companies catch the vision of this,

很多公司对这个发明感兴趣

from cars -- car makers who want to put a stereo system in the front for the kids,

汽车制造商想为儿童在汽车的前排安装一个音响系统

and a separate system in the back --

在后排再另装一个独立的系统

oh, no, the kids aren't driving today.

噢，不，儿童是禁止驾驶的

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

I was seeing if you were listening.

我是在试探你们是不是睡着了

Actually, I haven't had breakfast yet.

实际上，我还没有吃早餐

A stereo system in the front for mom and dad,

为大人在前排安装一个立体音响系统

and maybe there's a little DVD player in the back for the kids,

在后排为孩子们装一个迷你的DVD播放器

and the parents don't want to be bothered with that,

这样父母就不会被后排的DVD

or their rap music or whatever.

或者摇滚音乐或其他的东西所打扰

So, again, this idea of being able to put sound anywhere you want to

因此，随心所欲控制声音的想法

is really starting to catch on.

正在开始变成现实

It also works for transmitting and communicating data.

它还可以应用于数据的传送和通信

It also works five times better underwater.

传播的速度比在水下的快4倍

We've got the military -- have just deployed some of these into Iraq,

我们已经得到军方的订单，并将其中一些应用在伊拉克

where you can put fake troop movements

比如在四分之一英里远的山坡上

quarter of a mile away on a hillside.

制造军队调遣的假象

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

Or you can whisper in the ear of a supposed terrorist some Biblical verse.

或者在一个恐怖嫌疑分子耳边小声念圣经

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

I'm serious. And they have these infrared devices

我是认真的 他们确实有这样的红外线装置

that can look at their countenance,

他们用它可以在100码远的地方

and see a fraction of a degree Kelvin in temperature shift

看到恐怖分子的面部表情

from 100 yards away when they play this thing.

和温度变化中的绝对温度率

And so, another way of hopefully determining who's friendly and who isn't.

另外，也可以用以辨别敌友

We make a version with this which puts out 155 decibels.

我们做一个155分贝的版本

Pain is 120.

痛苦指数是120

So it allows you to go nearly a mile away and communicate with people,

它可以使你在一英里外与其他人交流

and there can be a public beach just off to the side,

那可以是在一个公共的海滩上

and they don't even know it's turned on.

而他们根本不知道这打开了

We sell those to the military presently for about 70,000 dollars,

我们卖给军方的售价是7万美元

and they're buying them as fast as we can make them.

我们做多少他们就买多少

We put it on a turret with a camera, so that when they shoot at you,

我们通过一个照相机把它安装在塔楼上，因此当恐怖分子对你射击时

you're over there, and it's there.

你其实在另外一个地方 这里相只是一台照相机

I have a bunch of other inventions.

我还有很多其他的发明

I invented a plasma antenna, to shift gears.

我发明过一个用来变速的等离子体天线

Looked up at the ceiling of my office one day --

有一天 我正在仰望办公室的天花板

I was working on a ground-penetrating radar project --

当时正在做一个探底雷达的项目

and my physicist CEO came in and said, "We have a real problem.

这时 物理学家CEO进来说：“ 我们遇到麻烦了

We're using very short wavelengths.

我们采用的波长太短

We've got a problem with the antenna ringing.

因此天线的铃声有问题

When you run very short wavelengths,

当你采用很短的波长时

like a tuning fork the antenna resonates,

天线就会和音叉产生共振

and there's more energy coming out of the antenna

而且从天线中传出来的能量

than there is the backscatter from the ground

比来自于地面的反向散射要多

that we're trying to analyze, taking too much processing."

我们正在尝试分析试 但数据处理的工作量太大了

I says, "Why don't we make an antenna that only exists when you want it?

我说 为什么不做一个只有用的时候才存在的天线？

Turn it on; turn it off.

可以打开可以关闭

That's a fluorescent tube refined."

那是一个细致化的荧光管

I just sold that for a million and a half dollars, cash.

我卖了150万美元 现金付款

I took it back to the Pentagon after it got declassified,

在它被破解后 我将其收回给五角大楼

when the patent issued, and told the people back there about it,

当专利被批准后 我告诉他们它的来由时

and they laughed, and then I took them back a demo and they bought.

他们笑了 然后我带去了一个样品 他们买下来了

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

Any of you ever wore a Jabber headphone -- the little cell headphones?

你们有人戴过Jabber耳机吗 迷你型手机耳机？

That's my invention. I sold that for seven million dollars.

那是我发明的 当时的售价是七百万美元

Big mistake: it just sold for 80 million dollars two years ago.

算盘打错了：两年前 这个技术的转让费用是八千万美元

I actually drew that up on a little crummy Mac computer

实际上，我就是在家里阁楼上

in my attic at my house,

那台破苹果机上设计的

and one of the many designs which they have now

现在很多的发明

is still the same design I drew way back when.

和我当初设计时的一样

So, I've been really lucky as an inventor.

因此作为一名发明者，我很幸运

I'm the happiest guy you're ever going to meet.

我是你们遇到的最开心的人

And my dad died before he realized anybody in the family

我的父亲在他可以看到这个家庭

would maybe, hopefully, make something out of themselves.

可能或者有希望有所成就前就去世了

You've been a great audience. I know I've jumped all over the place.

你们是很棒的观众 我知道我省略了很多细节

I usually figure out what my talk is when I get up in front of a group.

我经常是站在观众前后才想起我演讲的主题是什么

Let me give you, in the last minute,

在这最后时刻我来告诉你

one more quick demo of this guy,

为了那些没有听到的观众

for those of you that haven't heard it.

我再来演示一遍

Can never tell if it's on.

永远不知道是开着还是关着

If you haven't heard it, raise your hand.

没听到的请举手

Getting it over there?

好了吗

Get the cameraman.

让摄影师也听一下

Yeah, there you go.

好嘞

I've got a Coke can opening that's right in your head; that's really cool.

我在你脑袋里面打开了可乐瓶 太酷了

Thank you once again.

再次感谢

Appreciate it very much.

非常感谢