Luca Turin: The science of scent

87,383 views ・ 2008-11-10

TED


请双击下面的英文字幕来播放视频。

翻译人员: Yi Zhang 校对人员: Xu Jiang
00:12
The fragrance that you will smell, you will never be able to smell this way again.
0
12160
4000
一会你们将闻到一款香水 它会带给你们绝无仅有的体验
00:16
It’s a fragrance called Beyond Paradise,
1
16160
3000
这款香水叫做“霓采天堂”
00:19
which you can find in any store in the nation.
2
19160
3000
在全国各大商场都能买到
00:22
Except here it’s been split up in parts by Estée Lauder
3
22160
4000
但是今天在这里 香水被分解成几部分
00:26
and by the perfumer who did it, Calice Becker,
4
26160
3000
这项工作是由雅诗兰黛公司和香水调配者 凯莉斯·贝克尔完成的
00:29
and I'm most grateful to them for this.
5
29160
1000
我十分感谢他们
00:30
And it’s been split up in successive bits and a chord.
6
30160
4000
香水被分解成连续的几个小部分和一个香水和弦
00:34
So what you’re smelling now is the top note.
7
34160
2000
现在你们闻到的是香水的“前味”
00:36
And then will come what they call the heart, the lush heart note.
8
36160
4000
接下来是“中味” 甜味香料
00:40
I will show it to you.
9
40160
3000
我展示给你们看
00:43
The Eden top note is named after the Eden Project in the U.K.
10
43160
3000
“前味”伊甸清雾是根据英国的伊甸园计划命名的
00:46
The lush heart note, Melaleuca bark note -- which does not contain any Melaleuca bark,
11
46160
5000
“中味”甜味香料 还有“后味”白千层树树皮 -- 其中并不含白千层树树皮
00:51
because it’s totally forbidden.
12
51160
3000
因为那是被禁止的
00:54
And after that, the complete fragrance.
13
54160
3000
最后就是完整的香味了
00:57
Now what you are smelling is a combination of --
14
57160
3000
现在你们闻到的是一个组合
01:00
I asked how many molecules there were in there, and nobody would tell me.
15
60160
4000
如果我想问组合里有多少个分子 没有人可以告诉我
01:04
So I put it through a G.C., a Gas Chromatograph that I have in my office,
16
64160
5000
于是 我用我办公室里的气相色谱仪做了一下检测
01:09
and it’s about 400.
17
69160
3000
发现大约有400个
01:12
So what you’re smelling is several hundred molecules
18
72160
3000
所以你们现在闻到的是几百个分子
01:15
floating through the air, hitting your nose.
19
75160
3000
弥漫在空气中 钻进你的鼻子里
01:18
And do not get the impression that this is very subjective.
20
78160
4000
不要觉得气味是十分主观的
01:22
You are all smelling pretty much the same thing, OK?
21
82160
4000
你们闻到的差不多都是一样的
01:26
Smell has this reputation of being somewhat different for each person.
22
86160
4000
人们总是认为同一种气味对不同的人来说是不一样的
01:30
It’s not really true.
23
90160
1000
这个想法并不正确
01:31
And perfumery shows you that can’t be true,
24
91160
2000
一款香水就会证明 的确不是这样的
01:33
because if it were like that it wouldn’t be an art, OK?
25
93160
6000
因为那样的话 制造香水就不算一门艺术了
01:39
Now, while the smell wafts over you, let me tell you the history of an idea.
26
99160
4000
现在 趁着香味还萦绕在你们周围 我来为你们介绍一个想法形成的过程
01:43
Everything that you’re smelling in here
27
103160
4000
现在你所闻到的
01:47
is made up of atoms that come from what I call
28
107160
2000
都是由这样一些原子组成的 他们来自 被我称为
01:49
the Upper East Side of the periodic table -- a nice, safe neighborhood.
29
109160
3000
元素周期表“上东区”的地方 -- 一个美好而安全的街区
01:52
(Laughter)
30
112160
4000
(笑声)
01:56
You really don’t want to leave it if you want to have a career in perfumery.
31
116160
3000
如果你想从事香水业 你一定不想离开这个地方
01:59
Some people have tried in the 1920s
32
119160
2000
十九世纪二十年代 有一些人
02:01
to add things from the bad parts, and it didn’t really work.
33
121160
4000
尝试在香水中添加来自“坏街区”的原子 没有成功
02:05
These are the five atoms from which just about everything
34
125160
2000
这五个原子 可以组成
02:07
that you’re going to smell in real life, from coffee to fragrance, are made of.
35
127160
6000
从咖啡到香水 现实生活中你所能闻到的一切
02:13
The top note that you smelled at the very beginning,
36
133160
2000
你们最开始闻到的“前味”
02:15
the cut-grass green, what we call in perfumery -- they’re weird terms --
37
135160
4000
用香水专有名词说 就是割下来青草的香味 听起来很奇怪
02:19
and this would be called a green note,
38
139160
2000
这一类被称为绿叶调
02:21
because it smells of something green, like cut grass.
39
141160
2000
闻起来像绿色的东西 比如割下来的青草
02:23
This is cis-3-hexene-1-ol. And I had to learn chemistry on the fly
40
143160
7000
它的成分是顺3己醇 我可是在匆忙之中学的化学
02:30
in the last three years. A very expensive high school chemistry education.
41
150160
6000
过去的三年里 在一所十分昂贵的中学的化学课上学的
02:36
This has six carbon atoms, so "hexa," hexene-1-ol.
42
156160
4000
它有六个碳原子 所以写作“hexa”: 己醇
02:40
It has one double bond, it has an alcohol on the end,
43
160160
4000
有两个双键 在一端有一个乙醇
02:44
so it’s "ol," and that’s why they call it cis-3-hexene-1-ol.
44
164160
3000
这就是全部 就是为什么大家称之为顺3己醇
02:47
Once you figure this out, you can really impress people at parties.
45
167160
3000
一旦你弄清楚它的结构 你就可以在派对上卖弄了
02:50
This smells of cut grass. Now, this is the skeleton of the molecule.
46
170160
4000
它闻起来就像割下来青草 这就是分子的骨架
02:54
If you dress it up with atoms, hydrogen atoms --
47
174160
3000
如果再给它配上其他原子 比如说氢原子
02:57
that’s what it looks like when you have it on your computer --
48
177160
2000
在电脑上模拟看上去是这样
02:59
but actually it’s sort of more like this, in the sense that the atoms have a certain
49
179160
4000
但实际上看上去是这样的 就某种意义来说
03:03
sphere that you cannot penetrate. They repel.
50
183160
3000
原子有某种不为人们所理解的性质 -- 他们相互排斥
03:06
OK, now. Why does this thing smell of cut grass, OK?
51
186160
6000
好了 现在 为什么这个东西闻起来像割下来的青草呢
03:12
Why doesn’t it smell of potatoes or violets? Well, there are really two theories.
52
192160
6000
为什么闻起来不像土豆 或者紫罗兰 有两种理论
03:18
But the first theory is: it must be the shape.
53
198160
4000
第一种理论认为: 一定是形状在起作用
03:22
And that’s a perfectly reasonable theory in the sense that
54
202160
2000
这是一个完美的理论
03:24
almost everything else in biology works by shape.
55
204160
2000
因为在生物领域 形状在几乎所有东西中都起着一定作用 唯独这个是例外
03:26
Enzymes that chew things up, antibodies, it’s all, you know,
56
206160
4000
酶用来消化 抗生素是用来做什么的你们都知道
03:30
the fit between a protein and whatever it is grabbing, in this case a smell.
57
210160
6000
蛋白质和它抓住的东西配成一对 在这种情况下它抓住的是气味
03:36
And I will try and explain to you what’s wrong with this notion.
58
216160
3000
我会试着解释为什么这个概念是错误的
03:39
And the other theory is that we smell molecular vibrations.
59
219160
3000
另一个理论是 我们闻到的是分子的震动
03:42
Now, this is a totally insane idea.
60
222160
2000
这是一个离谱的想法
03:44
And when I first came across it in the early '90s, I thought my predecessor,
61
224160
4000
九十年代初 我第一次接触到这个理论的时候
03:48
Malcolm Dyson and Bob Wright, had really taken leave of their senses,
62
228160
3000
觉得我的前辈 麦肯戴森和鲍勃怀特 肯定是失去理智了
03:51
and I’ll explain to you why this was the case.
63
231160
3000
我待会会解释为什么我是这样的想的
03:54
However, I came to realize gradually that they may be right --
64
234160
3000
但是 我逐渐意识到他可能是对的
03:57
and I have to convince all my colleagues that this is so, but I’m working on it.
65
237160
3000
我必须说服我所有的同事 这个理论是对的 我正在努力这样做
04:00
Here’s how shape works in normal receptors.
66
240160
6000
这里展示的是 形状是如何对通常的感受器起作用的
04:06
You have a molecule coming in, it gets into the protein, which is schematic here,
67
246160
5000
一个分子进来 进到蛋白质里 图中所示意的就是蛋白质
04:11
and it causes this thing to switch, to turn, to move in some way
68
251160
5000
它让这个东西转变 旋转 向某个方向移动起来
04:16
by binding in certain parts.
69
256160
4000
通过合并某些部分
04:20
And the attraction, the forces, between the molecule and the protein
70
260160
2000
分子和蛋白质之间的互相吸引和作用力
04:22
cause the motion. This is a shape-based idea.
71
262160
5000
造成了运动 这是基于形状理论的想法
04:27
Now, what’s wrong with shape is summarized in this slide.
72
267160
4000
这张幻灯片总结了为什么形状理论是错误的
04:31
The way --I expect everybody to memorize these compounds.
73
271160
5000
这种方式 -- 我希望每一个人把这些化合物都记住
04:36
This is one page of work from a chemist’s workbook, OK?
74
276160
5000
这是一个化学家工作手册中的一页
04:41
Working for a fragrance company.
75
281160
2000
他为一家香水公司工作
04:43
He’s making 45 molecules, and he’s looking for a sandalwood,
76
283160
3000
他要制造45个分子 他正在寻找檀香料
04:46
something that smells of sandalwood.
77
286160
1000
就是闻起来像檀香木的东西
04:47
Because there’s a lot of money in sandalwoods.
78
287160
2000
因为檀香木很贵
04:49
And of these 45 molecules, only 4629 actually smells of sandalwood.
79
289160
7000
在这45个分子之中 只有编号为4629的闻起来像檀香木
04:56
And he puts an exclamation mark, OK? This is an awful lot of work.
80
296160
3000
于是他在上面标注了一个感叹号 这个工作量很大
04:59
This actually is roughly, in man-years of work, 200,000 dollars roughly,
81
299160
5000
这大概是一个人好几年的工作量 大约需要20万美金
05:04
if you keep them on the low salaries with no benefits.
82
304160
4000
在低酬劳和没有福利的条件下 是20万美金
05:08
So this is a profoundly inefficient process.
83
308160
2000
如此 这是一个效率极低的过程
05:10
And my definition of a theory is, it’s not just something
84
310160
3000
我认为“理论”不仅是可以
05:13
that you teach people; it’s labor saving.
85
313160
2000
拿来教授别人的东西 同时也是节约劳动力的东西
05:15
A theory is something that enables you to do less work.
86
315160
3000
一个理论可以使人们做更少的工作
05:18
I love the idea of doing less work. So let me explain to you why -- a very simple fact
87
318160
6000
我喜欢少做工作这个想法 让我来解释为什么 一个非常简单的事实
05:24
that tells you why this shape theory really does not work very well.
88
324160
5000
它会告诉你们为什么形状的理论并不成立
05:29
This is cis-3-hexene-1-ol. It smells of cut grass.
89
329160
5000
这是顺3己醇 闻起来像割下来的青草
05:34
This is cis-3-hexene-1-thiol, and this smells of rotten eggs, OK?
90
334160
7000
这是顺3己硫醇 闻起来像臭鸡蛋
05:41
Now, you will have noticed that vodka never smells of rotten eggs.
91
341160
5000
现在 你们一定已经意识到 伏特加酒闻起来绝不像臭鸡蛋
05:46
If it does, you put the glass down, you go to a different bar.
92
346160
4000
如果闻起来像的话 你就把杯子放下 去另外一家酒吧
05:50
This is -- in other words, we never get the O-H --
93
350160
5000
这是 -- 换句话说 我们绝对不会
05:55
we never mistake it for an S-H, OK?
94
355160
3000
把S-H错误地认为是O-H
05:58
Like, at no concentration, even pure, you know,
95
358160
3000
无论是在什么样的浓度 甚至是纯的情况下
06:01
if you smelt pure ethanol, it doesn’t smell of rotten eggs.
96
361160
3000
如果你闻到纯的乙醇 它闻起来绝对不像臭鸡蛋
06:04
Conversely, there is no concentration at which the sulfur compound will smell like vodka.
97
364160
7000
相反 无论在什么浓度下 硫化合物会闻起来都不会像伏特加酒
06:11
It’s very hard to explain this by molecular recognition.
98
371160
4000
用分子识别来解释这个问题 难度很大
06:15
Now, I showed this to a physicist friend of mine who has a profound distaste
99
375160
2000
我把问题拿给我的一个物理学家朋友看 他一点也不喜欢生物
06:17
for biology, and he says, "That’s easy! The things are a different color!"
100
377160
4000
他说 这太简单了 两个东西的颜色不一样啊
06:21
(Laughter)
101
381160
5000
(笑声)
06:26
We have to go a little beyond that. Now let me explain why vibrational theory has
102
386160
5000
我们需要进一步深入 现在我来解释
06:31
some sort of interest in it. These molecules, as you saw in the beginning,
103
391160
4000
为什么震动理论有一定的道理 这些分子 正如你们开始时看到的
06:35
the building blocks had springs connecting them to each other.
104
395160
2000
是基本组成 它们之间有弹簧连接着
06:37
In fact, molecules are able to vibrate at a set of frequencies
105
397160
3000
事实上 分子可以在一定的频率下震动
06:40
which are very specific for each molecule and for the bonds connecting them.
106
400160
4000
每一个不同的分子和不同的连接方式 都有特定的频率
06:44
So this is the sound of the O-H stretch, translated into the audible range.
107
404160
8000
所以 这是O-H键发出的声音 转化成人耳可以听到的频率
06:53
S-H, quite a different frequency.
108
413160
2000
S-H键 有十分不同的频率
06:55
Now, this is kind of interesting, because it tells you
109
415160
4000
现在看来 这十分有趣 因为它告诉你
06:59
that you should be looking for a particular fact, which is this:
110
419160
3000
你应该寻找一个独特的事实 事实是:
07:02
nothing in the world smells like rotten eggs except S-H, OK?
111
422160
4000
除了S-H以外 没有其他东西闻起来像臭鸡蛋
07:06
Now, Fact B: nothing in the world has that frequency except S-H.
112
426160
7000
第二个事实就是 除了S-H 没有其他东西有那样的频率
07:13
If you look on this, imagine a piano keyboard.
113
433160
2000
如果你看到这些 想象一下钢琴的键盘
07:15
The S-H stretch is in the middle of a part of the keyboard
114
435160
4000
S-H键是在键盘的中间部分
07:19
that has been, so to speak, damaged,
115
439160
2000
可以说键盘的那部分损坏了
07:21
and there are no neighboring notes, nothing is close to it.
116
441160
3000
也没有其他的音符挨着它
07:24
You have a unique smell, a unique vibration.
117
444160
2000
你得到的是一个独特的味道 一种独特的震动
07:26
So I went searching when I started in this game
118
446160
2000
在这个游戏的最初 我就开始寻找
07:28
to convince myself that there was any degree of plausibility
119
448160
3000
说服我自己 这个理论有一定的合理性
07:31
to this whole crazy story.
120
451160
2000
这整个故事有点疯狂
07:33
I went searching for a type of molecule, any molecule,
121
453160
3000
我开始寻找一种分子 任何分子
07:36
that would have that vibration and that -- the obvious prediction
122
456160
5000
会有那种震动的分子 -- 明显地 我预测
07:41
was that it should absolutely smell of sulfur.
123
461160
2000
那种分子一定闻起来像硫
07:43
If it didn’t, the whole idea was toast, and I might as well move on to other things.
124
463160
6000
如果闻起来不像 那么整个想法就是糟糕透顶 我最好还是去做别的事情
07:49
Now, after searching high and low for several months,
125
469160
4000
在到处寻找几个月后
07:53
I discovered that there was a type of molecule called a Borane
126
473160
5000
我发现有一种叫做硼烷的分子
07:58
which has exactly the same vibration.
127
478160
2000
和硫有一模一样的震动
08:00
Now the good news is, Boranes you can get hold of.
128
480160
3000
好消息是硼烷是可以获取的
08:03
The bad news is they’re rocket fuels.
129
483160
3000
坏消息是 它是火箭燃料
08:06
Most of them explode spontaneously in contact with air,
130
486160
3000
大部分情况下 它们在遇到空气的瞬间就会爆炸
08:09
and when you call up the companies, they only give you minimum ten tons, OK?
131
489160
4000
而且 你打电话向公司询问 他们会告诉你你最少要买10顿
08:13
(Laughter)
132
493160
3000
(笑声)
08:16
So this was not what they call a laboratory-scale experiment,
133
496160
3000
所以这不是一个实验室规模的实验
08:19
and they wouldn’t have liked it at my college.
134
499160
2000
我所工作的学院也不会喜欢这个主意
08:21
However, I managed to get a hold of a Borane eventually, and here is the beast.
135
501160
8000
无论如何 我最终得到了一些硼烷 这就是那个"怪物"
08:29
And it really does have the same -- if you calculate,
136
509160
2000
结果和我预期的一样 -- 如果你计算
08:31
if you measure the vibrational frequencies, they are the same as S-H.
137
511160
4000
如果你计算振动频率 它的和S-H的一样
08:35
Now, does it smell of sulfur? Well, if you go back in the literature,
138
515160
5000
现在 来看看它闻起来像不像硫 如果你去查文献
08:40
there’s a man who knew more about Boranes than anyone
139
520160
3000
会发现有一个人比历史上任何人都更了解硼烷
08:43
alive then or since, Alfred Stock, he synthesized all of them.
140
523160
5000
阿尔弗雷德·斯托克 他用人工的方法合成过所有的硼烷类物质
08:48
And in an enormous 40-page paper in German he says, at one point --
141
528160
6000
在他用德语写成的 长达40页的论文中 他曾说
08:54
my wife is German and she translated it for me --
142
534160
3000
我太太是德国人 她为我翻译了一下
08:57
and at one point he says, "ganz widerlich Geruch,"
143
537160
2000
他曾说 “ganz widerlich Geruch”
08:59
an "absolutely repulsive smell," which is good. Reminiscent of hydrogen sulfide.
144
539160
6000
意思就是“绝对令人厌恶的味道” 很好 让人想起硫化氢
09:05
So this fact that Boranes smell of sulfur
145
545160
3000
硼烷闻起来像硫这一事实
09:08
had been known since 1910, and utterly forgotten until 1997, 1998.
146
548160
7000
自从1910年人们就知道了 但是却全然被大家遗忘了 直到1997年 1998年
09:15
Now, the slight fly in the ointment is this: that
147
555160
4000
现在唯一的不足就是
09:19
if we smell molecular vibrations, we must have a spectroscope in our nose.
148
559160
5000
如果我们闻到的是分子的震动 我们的鼻子里一定要有一个分光镜才行
09:24
Now, this is a spectroscope, OK, on my laboratory bench.
149
564160
5000
这是一个分光镜 在我实验室的椅子上
09:29
And it’s fair to say that if you look up somebody’s nose,
150
569160
2000
可以这么说 如果你观察一个人的鼻子内部
09:31
you’re unlikely to see anything resembling this.
151
571160
3000
你不会看到任何类似这个的东西
09:34
And this is the main objection to the theory.
152
574160
2000
这是反对这个理论的主要观点
09:36
OK, great, we smell vibrations. How? All right?
153
576160
5000
好吧 我们闻到的是震动 怎么闻到呢
09:41
Now when people ask this kind of question, they neglect something,
154
581160
2000
当人们问这个问题的时候 他们忽略了一些事情
09:43
which is that physicists are really clever, unlike biologists.
155
583160
4000
物理学家都是很聪明的 不像生物学家
09:47
(Laughter)
156
587160
3000
(笑声)
09:50
This is a joke. I’m a biologist, OK?
157
590160
2000
这是玩笑话 我是生物学家 好不好
09:52
So it’s a joke against myself.
158
592160
1000
这是一个自嘲的玩笑
09:53
Bob Jacklovich and John Lamb at Ford Motor Company,
159
593160
3000
福特汽车公司的 鲍勃·捷克洛维奇 和 约翰·兰姆
09:56
in the days when Ford Motor was spending vast amounts of money
160
596160
2000
在福特公司花大手笔
09:58
on fundamental research, discovered a way
161
598160
4000
进行基础研究的时候 发现了
10:02
to build a spectroscope that was intrinsically nano-scale.
162
602160
4000
制造纳米级分光镜的方式
10:06
In other words, no mirrors, no lasers, no prisms, no nonsense,
163
606160
3000
换句话说 没有镜片 没有激光 没有棱镜 没有废话
10:09
just a tiny device, and he built this device. And this device uses electron tunneling.
164
609160
5000
只是一个很小的设备 他们用电子贯穿制造出这样的仪器
10:14
Now, I could do the dance of electron tunneling,
165
614160
3000
我其实可以给你们演示电子贯穿的过程
10:17
but I’ve done a video instead, which is much more interesting. Here’s how it works.
166
617160
5000
但是我做了一个视频 这样更有意思一些 是这样的
10:22
Electrons are fuzzy creatures, and they can jump across gaps,
167
622160
4000
电子是糊里糊涂的家伙 它们可以越过间隙
10:26
but only at equal energy. If the energy differs, they can’t jump.
168
626160
5000
但只有在能量相同的情况下 如果能量不同 它们就跳不了
10:31
Unlike us, they won’t fall off the cliff.
169
631160
2000
但是和我们不同 它们不会从悬崖掉下去
10:33
OK. Now. If something absorbs the energy, the electron can travel.
170
633160
7000
好吧 现在 如果有什么东西把能量吸收了 电子就可以飞驰了
10:40
So here you have a system, you have something --
171
640160
3000
现在你们已经了解了这个体系 要是有
10:43
and there’s plenty of that stuff in biology --
172
643160
1000
生物界有很多这样的东西
10:44
some substance giving an electron, and the electron tries to jump,
173
644160
5000
要是有一些物质可以提供电子 电子想要越过间隙
10:49
and only when a molecule comes along that has the right vibration
174
649160
4000
只有在一个有匹配震动的分子出现时
10:53
does the reaction happen, OK?
175
653160
2000
反应才会发生
10:55
This is the basis for the device that these two guys at Ford built.
176
655160
4000
这是福特公司那两个制作的仪器的基本原理
10:59
And every single part of this mechanism is actually plausible in biology.
177
659160
7000
实际上 这个机制的每一个步骤 在生物领域中都是可行的
11:06
In other words, I’ve taken off-the-shelf components,
178
666160
1000
换句话讲 我用现成的部件
11:07
and I’ve made a spectroscope.
179
667160
2000
做成了一个分光镜
11:09
What’s nice about this idea, if you have a philosophical bent of mind,
180
669160
4000
如果你有点哲学的天赋 你会发现这个点子的绝妙之处在于
11:13
is that then it tells you that the nose,
181
673160
2000
它告诉你 鼻子
11:15
the ear and the eye are all vibrational senses.
182
675160
3000
耳朵 眼睛可以感知震动
11:18
Of course, it doesn’t matter, because it could also be that they’re not.
183
678160
4000
当然 这关系并不大 因为他们不能感知震动也是有可能的
11:22
But it has a certain --
184
682160
1000
但是 它有一定的
11:23
(Laughter)
185
683160
2000
(笑声)
11:25
-- it has a certain ring to it which is attractive to people
186
685160
4000
这个理论对某些人来说有一定的吸引力
11:29
who read too much 19th-century German literature.
187
689160
4000
对阅读了太多十九世纪德国文学的人来说
11:33
And then a magnificent thing happened:
188
693160
1000
于是发生了一件绝妙的事情
11:34
I left academia and joined the real world of business,
189
694160
6000
我离开了学术界 到现实世界经营起生意
11:40
and a company was created around my ideas
190
700160
3000
一个公司在我的想法的基础上建成了
11:43
to make new molecules using my method,
191
703160
3000
用我的方式合成新分子
11:46
along the lines of, let’s put someone else’s money where your mouth is.
192
706160
4000
依照这样一个理念: 用别人的钱来喂自己的嘴
11:50
And one of the first things that happened was
193
710160
4000
最开始 发生了一件事情
11:54
we started going around to fragrance companies
194
714160
2000
我们来到香水公司
11:56
asking for what they needed, because, of course,
195
716160
4000
问他们需要什么 因为
12:00
if you could calculate smell, you don’t need chemists.
196
720160
2000
如果你能计算气味的话 当然也就不需要化学家了
12:02
You need a computer, a Mac will do it, if you know how to program the thing right,
197
722160
4000
你需要的是一台电脑 一台苹果电脑就成 如果你知道如何正确操作
12:06
OK? So you can try a thousand molecules,
198
726160
4000
你可以试一千个分子
12:10
you can try ten thousand molecules in a weekend,
199
730160
3000
也可以一个星期试一万个分子
12:13
and then you only tell the chemists to make the right one.
200
733160
3000
然后只需告诉化学家 让他们去制造那一个正确的就可以了
12:16
And so that’s a direct path to making new odorants.
201
736160
4000
这是制造新气味的直接方式
12:20
And one of the first things that happened was
202
740160
1000
最开始发生的事情是
12:21
we went to see some perfumers in France --
203
741160
2000
我们去法国见香水师
12:23
and here’s where I do my Charles Fleischer impression --
204
743160
2000
那里给我留下了一个印象 就像是查尔斯·弗莱舍经历的一般
12:25
and one of them says, "You cannot make a coumarin."
205
745160
4000
其中一个人说 你一定合成不出香豆素
12:29
He says to me, "I bet you cannot make a coumarin."
206
749160
3000
他对我说 我打赌你肯定合成不出香豆素
12:32
Now, coumarin is a very common thing, a material,
207
752160
4000
香豆素是香水中一个十分平常的原料
12:36
in fragrance which is derived from a bean that comes from South America.
208
756160
3000
从来自南美的豆子中提炼出来的
12:39
And it is the classic synthetic aroma chemical, OK?
209
759160
4000
是一种经典的合成香料♫
12:43
It’s the molecule that has made men’s fragrances
210
763160
4000
是男性香水的主要成分
12:47
smell the way they do since 1881, to be exact.
211
767160
3000
确切地说是自1881年以来的主要成分
12:50
And the problem is it’s a carcinogen.
212
770160
3000
问题是 香豆素是致癌的
12:53
So nobody likes particularly to -- you know, aftershave with carcinogens.
213
773160
6000
没有人尤其喜欢 他们的须后水里含有致癌物
12:59
(Laughter)
214
779160
2000
(笑声)
13:01
There are some reckless people, but it’s not worth it, OK?
215
781160
3000
确实有一些人不要命 但是也并不值得这样做
13:04
So they asked us to make a new coumarin. And so we started doing calculations.
216
784160
5000
于是他们让我们合成香豆素 我们便开始计算
13:09
And the first thing you do is you calculate the vibrational spectrum
217
789160
3000
第一件要做的事情就是计算香豆素的震动频率
13:12
of coumarin, and you smooth it out,
218
792160
1000
计算完成 就顺利多了
13:13
so that you have a nice picture of what the sort of chord, so to speak, of coumarin is.
219
793160
6000
现在你有一张 可以说是香豆素"和弦"的图片
13:19
And then you start cranking the computer to find other molecules,
220
799160
6000
然后你启动电脑 寻找其他分子
13:25
related or unrelated, that have the same vibrations.
221
805160
3000
相关的或者不相关的都可以 寻找那些有相同震动的
13:28
And we actually, in this case, I’m sorry to say,
222
808160
4000
实际上 在这件事情上 我很遗憾地说
13:32
it happened -- it was serendipitous.
223
812160
2000
我们找到了 是偶然间发现的
13:34
Because I got a phone call from our chief chemist
224
814160
3000
我接到我们的一位首席化学家打来电话
13:37
and he said, look, I’ve just found this such a beautiful reaction,
225
817160
5000
他说 听着 我刚刚发现一个完美的反应
13:42
that even if this compound doesn’t smell of coumarin,
226
822160
1000
即使这个化合物闻起来不像香豆素
13:43
I want to do it, it’s just such a nifty,
227
823160
3000
我也想用它 它闻起来实在太棒了
13:46
one step -- I mean, chemists have weird minds --
228
826160
3000
只需要一步 我的意思是 化学家的头脑太古怪了
13:49
one step, 90 percent yield, you know, and you get this lovely
229
829160
4000
一步 就可以得出90%的结果 你就找到了这么美好的
13:53
crystalline compound. Let us try it.
230
833160
2000
水晶般透明的化合物 我们来试一试
13:55
And I said, first of all, let me do the calculation on that compound, bottom right,
231
835160
4000
然后 我说 让我先计算一下那个化合物 右下角那个
13:59
which is related to coumarin, but has an extra pentagon inserted into the molecule.
232
839160
6000
它和香豆素有一定的关系 但是比香豆素的结构多了一个五边形
14:05
Calculate the vibrations, the purple spectrum is that new fellow,
233
845160
5000
计算它的震动频率 紫色的光谱代表的就是那个新发现的家伙
14:10
the white one is the old one.
234
850160
1000
白色的部分 是以前的那个
14:11
And the prediction is it should smell of coumarin.
235
851160
4000
我们的预测是 它闻起来应该和香豆素一样
14:15
They made it ... and it smelled exactly like coumarin.
236
855160
8000
他们成功了 这个物质闻起来的确和香豆素一模一样
14:23
And this is our new baby, called tonkene.
237
863160
5000
这就是我们新的宝贝 叫做汤克恩
14:28
You see, when you’re a scientist, you’re always selling ideas.
238
868160
2000
你们看 科学家出售的是想法
14:30
And people are very resistant to ideas, and rightly so.
239
870160
4000
然而 人们对新想法往往采取抵抗的态度 这也有一定道理
14:34
Why should new ideas be accepted?
240
874160
2000
为什么要接受新的想法呢
14:36
But when you put a little 10-gram vial on the table in front of perfumers
241
876160
6000
但是 当你把一个10克的小瓶放在香水师面前的桌子上
14:42
and it smells like coumarin, and it isn’t coumarin,
242
882160
2000
它闻起来像香豆素 却又不是香豆素
14:44
and you’ve found it in three weeks,
243
884160
2000
你用三个星期的时间 找到了它
14:46
this focuses everybody’s mind wonderfully.
244
886160
3000
这迎合了每个人的心意
14:49
(Laughter)
245
889160
1000
(笑声)
14:50
(Applause)
246
890160
6000
(掌声)
14:56
And people often ask me, is your theory accepted?
247
896160
4000
人们经常问我 你的理论被人们接受了没有
15:00
And I said, well, by whom? I mean most, you know -- there’s three attitudes:
248
900160
5000
我说 被谁接受 我的意思是 -- 对我的理论有三种态度
15:05
You’re right, and I don’t know why, which is the most rational one at this point.
249
905160
4000
你是对的 虽然我不知道为什么 这个态度是最理性的
15:09
You’re right, and I don’t care how you do it, in a sense;
250
909160
4000
你是对的 某种程度上来说 我并不关心你是怎么做到的
15:13
you bring me the molecules, you know.
251
913160
1000
你给我分子就好
15:14
And: You’re completely wrong, and I’m sure you’re completely wrong.
252
914160
3000
还有 就是你完全错了 我十分肯定是你完全错了。
15:17
OK? Now, we’re dealing with people who only want results,
253
917160
3000
今天 我们在和只在乎结果的人们打交道
15:20
and this is the commercial world.
254
920160
2000
这是一个商业的世界
15:22
And they tell us that even if we do it by astrology, they’re happy.
255
922160
5000
他们告诉我们 即便我们是用占星术得到的结果 他们也高兴
15:27
But we’re not actually doing it by astrology.
256
927160
3000
但是 我们并没有利用占星术
15:30
But for the last three years, I’ve had what I consider to be
257
930160
2000
在过去的三年里 我拥有
15:32
the best job in the entire universe, which is to put my hobby --
258
932160
5000
我认为全宇宙最好的工作 也就是我的兴趣所在-
15:37
which is, you know, fragrance and all the magnificent things --
259
937160
2000
你们都知道 就是 香水和其他美好的事情
15:39
plus a little bit of biophysics, a small amount of self-taught chemistry
260
939160
5000
加上一点点生物物理学的知识 一些自学的化学知识
15:44
at the service of something that actually works.
261
944160
2000
为真正可行的事业服务
15:46
Thank you very much.
262
946160
1000
十分感谢
15:47
(Applause)
263
947160
1000
(掌声)

Original video on YouTube.com
关于本网站

这个网站将向你介绍对学习英语有用的YouTube视频。你将看到来自世界各地的一流教师教授的英语课程。双击每个视频页面上显示的英文字幕,即可从那里播放视频。字幕会随着视频的播放而同步滚动。如果你有任何意见或要求,请使用此联系表与我们联系。

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7