Woody Norris: Hypersonic sound and other inventions

譯者: kane tan 審譯者: Shelley Krishna Tsang

I became an inventor by accident.

我在偶然的情況下變成了發明家。

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

1956年我從空軍退伍。不對，我記錯了：

I went in in 1956, came out in 1959,

我在1956年進去，1959年離開的，

was working at the University of Washington,

之後在華盛頓大學工作，

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

當我看雜誌文章時，想到了一個點子，

for a new kind of a phonograph tone arm.

用於留聲機的新型唱臂上。

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

那是在卡式錄音帶，CD，DVD --

any of the cool stuff we've got now.

任何現在很酷的新玩意出來之前的事。

And it was an arm that,

那是一種當它在唱片上移動時

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

不靠鏈條移動, 不繞著中樞軸旋轉的唱臂，

went straight: a radial, linear tracking tone arm.

講明白一點，就是一種在半徑上作線性循跡的唱臂。

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

這是我做過最困難的發明，但也是它讓我走上了這條路，

and I got really lucky after that.

這之後我就一直滿順利的。

And without giving you too much of a tirade,

長篇大論就不多說了，

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

我們直接來談我今天帶來的發明：

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

這是我第44項發明。不對，又錯了。

Golly, I'm just totally losing it.

天啊，我已經搞混了。

My 44th patent; about the 15th invention.

這是我第44項專利，大概是第15項發明吧。

I call this hypersonic sound.

我稱它為超級超音波。(超越超音波)

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

我會用它來播放幾分鐘給各位聽，

but I want to make an analogy before I do

不過在這之前要先跟各位

to this.

說聲抱歉。

I usually show this hypersonic sound and people will say,

我常常秀這個超級超音波，可是大家都會問，

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

那東西真酷，不過有什麼用啊?

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

我說，燈泡有什麼用處呢？

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

我們來比較一下聲音和光線。

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

當愛迪生發明燈泡，看起來大概就像這樣。

Hasn't changed that much.

這並沒有改變太多。

Light came out of it in every direction.

光線從各個角度散放出來。

Before the light bulb was invented,

在燈泡發明之前，

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

人們就知道它後面放個反射鏡，

focus it a little bit;

讓光線更集中；

put lenses in front of it,

在前面放個透鏡，

focus it a little bit better.

讓它更加集中。

Ultimately we figured out how to make things like lasers

最終我們發現怎麼去做出雷射

that were totally focused.

這種完全聚集的光線。

Now, think about where the world would be today

現在想想，如果我們有燈泡，

if we had the light bulb,

但是無法集中光線時，

but you couldn't focus light;

世界會變成怎麼樣；

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

當你點亮燈泡，光線四散的時候。

That's the way loudspeakers pretty much are.

那和喇叭差不多。

You turn on the loudspeaker,

當你打開喇叭時，

and after almost 80 years of having those gadgets,

即使在它們已經發明了將近80年之後，

the sound just kind of goes where it wants.

聲音仍然會隨便亂跑。

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

即使你在站擴音器前面，

it's pretty much every direction.

它還是幾乎往各個方向跑。

A little bit of differential, but not much.

會有些許不同，但差不多。

If the light bulb was the way the speaker is,

如果燈泡和喇叭一樣，

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

你沒辦法把光線聚集，讓邊界變小或是限制它，

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

我們就不可能擁有，比如說電影，

or computers, or T.V. sets,

或是電腦，或是電視機，

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

或是 CD, DVD -- 想想看

of what the importance is

把光線聚集起來

of being able to focus light.

有多麼重要。

Now, after almost 80 years of having sound,

在擁有聲音將近80年後的今日，

I thought it was about time that we figure out

我想差不多是時候去發覺

a way to put sound where you want to.

如何將聲音導向你希望的位置。

I have a couple of units.

我這兒有一些設備。

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

那是我昨天在底特律的一家汽車工廠做示範用的，

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

他們想把這個裝在車子裡 --

small version, over your head --

用小的型號，裝在你的頭頂上方 --

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

這樣你就可以在車上聽見雙聲道。

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

如果我能夠將聲音像是光線一樣的去瞄準呢?

I got this waterfall I recorded in my back yard.

我在我的後院錄了這段瀑布的聲音。

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

除非它朝向你，否則你不會聽見這個聲音。

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

如果我讓它傳到邊牆上，也許它會產生一點回音。

(Applause)

(掌聲)

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

聲音就在你的耳朵旁邊。很酷吧?

(Applause)

(掌聲)

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

因為我的時間有限，所以暫時先展示到這裡，

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

接下來要跟大家說明它的原理和用途。

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

當然, 如果可以把聲音像光一樣

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

用來突顯衣架, 或是玉米片, 或是牙膏,

or a talking plaque in a movie theater lobby.

或是在戲院大廳的看板, 那就太好了。

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

Sony 有一個點子 -- Sony 現在是我們最大的客戶。

They tried this back in the '60s

早在1960年代他們就在嘗試這個，

and were too smart, and so they gave up.

不過當時人們的接受度不高，所以放棄了。

But they want to use it -- seriously.

但是他們很認真的想要去使用它。

There's a mix an inventor has to have.

對一個發明家而言，必須要有多元性。

You have to be kind of smart,

你必須要有點小聰明，

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

雖然我大學沒畢業，但不表示我很笨，

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

因為如果你很笨，你就沒辦法做太多事。

Too many other smart people out there. So.

外頭有一大堆聰明的傢伙。

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

所以我用了不同的方式來進行我的學習。

I'm not at all against education.

我不反對接受教育。

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

我覺得這很棒。只是我覺得有些人，

when they get educated, lose it:

當他們畢業之後就忘光了。

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

因為他們太聰明了，所以不願意去看他們已經知道的東西。

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

我們生活在一個很棒的時代，

because almost everything's being explored anew.

因為幾乎所有東西都是全新設計的。

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

我有一個座右銘，

virtually nothing --

事實上大部分的東西 --

and I mean this honestly --

都還沒有被發明出來 --

has been invented yet.

我很認真的這麼想。

We're just starting.

我們才剛剛開始而已。

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

我們才剛開始發現自然, 科學和物理的法則。

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

而這只是，我希望，其中的一小部份而已。

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

Sony 找回了這個想法 -- 讓我步上這條路 --

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

當你在超級市場結帳處排隊時，

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

你將會看見一個全新的電視頻道。

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

他們知道你在家看電視時，

because there are so many choices

因為有太多選擇，

you can change channels, miss their commercials.

你會轉台而跳過他們的廣告了。

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

全球每天有一億五千萬人在超級市場中排隊。

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

他們幾年前曾經試過這個方法但失敗了，

because the checker gets tired of hearing the same message

因為結帳人員會厭倦於每隔20分鐘就聽見同樣的東西，

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

結果就會去把聲音給關掉。

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

你知道，如果沒聲音，生意通常就做不成了。

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

例如，當你坐飛機時，他們會放電影，

you get to watch it for free;

你可以看免費的電影，

when you want to hear the sound, you pay.

當你想聽音樂時，你卻必須付錢。

And so ABC and Sony have devised this new thing

於是 ABC 和 Sony 想到這個新點子，

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

當你在超級市場排隊時 --

initially it'll be Safeways. It is Safeways;

頭一家將會是在 Safeways，

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

他們正在國內三個分店試用 --

you'll be watching TV.

你會在那兒看他們的電視廣告。

And hopefully they'll be sensitive

所幸他們很細心，

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

聲音只會在你站的那條結帳隊伍中出現。

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

而在這個測試裡最棒的事情是，

if you don't want to hear it,

如果你不想聽的話，

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

你只要往旁邊站一步，你就不會聽見了。

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

於是，如同我們創造聲音一般，我們也創造出寧靜。

ATMs that talk to you; nobody else hears it.

提款機對你說的事情，旁邊的人不會聽見。

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

半夜兩點做在床上看電視時，

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

你的另一半或其他睡在你旁邊的人，

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

不會聽見聲音，更不會被吵醒。

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

我們同時也在努力進行噪音消除，例如打鼾或手機的雜音。

I have been really lucky with this technology:

關於這項技術，我的運氣挺好的，

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

當它完成的同時，這個世界已經準備好去使用它了。

They have literally beat a path to our door.

人們爭相找上門來。

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

我們從去年九月十月左右就開始賣了，

and it's been immensely gratifying.

大家的反應都很滿意。

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

如果你想知道價格的話 -- 我今天不是來賣這東西的 --

but this unit, with the electronics and everything,

這一台附帶這些電子配備和其他東西，

if you buy one, is around a thousand bucks.

如果你想買的話，大概要一千美元左右。

We expect by this time next year,

我們希望到明天此時，

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

價格能降到幾百塊美元。

It's not any more pricey than regular electronics.

它將不會再比一般家用電器貴很多。

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

當我播放給大家聽時，你不會聽見吵雜的低音。

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

我播放的這個設備可以從200Hz到超音波。

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

它可以發出超音波 --低頻的超音波 --

that's about 100,000 vibrations per second.

振動頻率大約每秒 10 萬次。

And the sound that you're hearing,

你所聽見的聲音，

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

不會像一般喇叭直接對著你的臉來，

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

而是在你面前的空氣中產生。

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

我們所了解的空氣是非線性的。

You turn up the volume just a little bit --

當你把音量提高一點時 --

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

我指的是高過80分貝 --

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

空氣會導致聲音被扭曲。

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

因為，聲音並不是固定速度。它相當緩慢。

It changes with temperature and with barometric pressure.

它的速度會因為溫度和壓力而改變。

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

想像一下，如果用簡單的技術原理來說明，

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

當我在空氣中製造一個正弦波，

Well, if I turn up the amplitude too much,

如果我把擴大器開太大，

I'm having an effect on the pressure,

會因為壓力而產生干擾，

which means during the making of that sine wave,

就是說，當製造正弦波時，

the speed at which it is propagating is shifting.

剛生成的波，移動速度會產生變化。

All of audio as we know it

我們所知道的聲波

is an attempt to be more and more perfectly linear.

全都會趨向於形成線性。

Linearity means higher quality sound.

線性代表高品質的聲音。

Hypersonic sound is exactly the opposite:

超級超音波則完全相反，

it's 100 percent based on non-linearity.

它是100%非線性的。

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

空氣造成的干擾，會將聲音扭曲 --

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

這裡的超音波會因此四散，

but it's so predictable

但這是可預期的，

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

所以你可以造出正確的聲音來導正這個干擾結果。

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

現在的問題是，聲音在哪裡形成的呢?

Instead of being made on the face of the cone,

不同於原本由喇叭前面的振動膜發聲，

it's made at literally billions of little independent points

它是在狹長的空氣柱中

along this narrow column in the air,

幾十億個獨立的小點所產生，

and so when I aim it towards you,

所以當我將它瞄準你時，

what you hear is made right next to your ears.

你所聽見的是在你耳邊所發出的聲音。

I said we can shorten the column,

我們可以將這個空氣柱變小，

we can spread it out to cover the couch.

也可以將它擴大到覆蓋整張沙發。

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

我可以讓你一隻耳朵聽見一個喇叭的聲音，

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

另一隻耳朵聽到另一個喇叭的聲音。這才是真正的立體聲。

When you listen to stereo on your home system,

當你在家裡聽立體音效時，

your both ears hear both speakers.

你的兩隻耳朵都能聽見兩個喇叭的聲音。

Turn on the left speaker sometime

有時只開左邊的喇叭時，

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

你的右耳還是會聽見聲音。

So, the stage is more restricted --

在舞台上的話限制就更多了 --

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

因為聲音必須要傳到你的面前。

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

正因為聲音是在空氣柱中產生的，

it does not follow the inverse square law,

它不會遵循反平方定理，

which says it drops off about two thirds

那是指當距離變成兩倍時，

every time you double the distance:

音量會減少二分之三：

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

舉例來說，每移動一到兩公尺就會少 6 分貝。

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

也就是說，當你聽搖滾演唱會或交響樂時，

and the guy in the front row gets the same level

在後排的人所聽見的聲音，

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

現在突然之間就和前排的人一樣了。

Isn't that terrific?

這不是很棒嗎?

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

因此，我們相當成功，也相當幸運，

in having companies catch the vision of this,

能有許多公司願意採用這種概念，

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

在車上 -- 汽車製造商想在前面替小孩們放一套立體聲系統，

and a separate system in the back --

以及後面放置不同的立體聲系統 --

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

喔，不對，小孩子不能開車。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

I was seeing if you were listening.

我只是在試看看你有沒有注意聽。

Actually, I haven't had breakfast yet.

事實上，我還沒吃早餐。

A stereo system in the front for mom and dad,

在前面替爸爸媽媽放一套立體聲系統，

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

後面也許有個DVD播放器讓小孩子看，

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

而父母們不想被這個

or their rap music or whatever.

或是rap音樂或其他的吵到。

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

於是，可以讓你在任何想要的地方放音樂的概念

is really starting to catch on.

逐漸趕上需求了。

It also works for transmitting and communicating data.

這也可以用來傳輸或溝通資料。

It also works five times better underwater.

在水底的運作效果好上5倍。

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

國軍採購了這些 -- 用在伊拉克戰爭時，

where you can put fake troop movements

你可以在山腰的1/4英里外

quarter of a mile away on a hillside.

播放偽造的士兵走動聲音。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

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

或者你可以在疑似恐怖份子的耳邊小聲的說一些聖經的詩句。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

I'm serious. And they have these infrared devices

我是認真的。它們還有這些紅外線裝置，

that can look at their countenance,

可以在一百碼外，

and see a fraction of a degree Kelvin in temperature shift

看見他們的表情，

from 100 yards away when they play this thing.

以及每一度絕對溫度的變化量。

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

希望這個能成為另一種判別敵我的方式。

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

我們還製造了一種可以造出155分貝的機器。

Pain is 120.

120分貝就能讓人感到痛苦。

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

它可以讓你和距離一英里左右的人交談，

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

那可以是在公共海灘旁邊，

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

旁人甚至不會發現它已經被打開了。

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

我們最近把這東西以7萬美金賣給軍方，

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

我們才剛做好立刻就被他們買走了。

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

我們將它裝置在砲塔上，並裝置了攝影機，當他們朝你射擊時，

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

你並不在他們瞄準的地方。

I have a bunch of other inventions.

我還有許多其它發明。

I invented a plasma antenna, to shift gears.

我發明了一個用來變速的電漿天線。

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

有天我看著天花板想事情時 --

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

我正在進行一個地底探測雷達的案子 --

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

我的物理學CEO跑來跟我說，"我們遇到麻煩了。

We're using very short wavelengths.

我們用的是極短波長。

We've got a problem with the antenna ringing.

這會產生天線鳴叫的問題。

When you run very short wavelengths,

當使用極短波長時，

like a tuning fork the antenna resonates,

就像是用音叉讓天線產生共鳴，

and there's more energy coming out of the antenna

這會讓天線產生出

than there is the backscatter from the ground

比起地底反射獲得的還要更高的能量，

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

這樣會造成分析上更多的困難。"

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

我說，"為什麼不做一個只有在需要時存在的天線?

Turn it on; turn it off.

可以隨時打開或關閉。

That's a fluorescent tube refined."

一種改良的螢光燈管。"

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

我剛將它以150萬現金價賣出。

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

在它被解除機密等級後，我將它帶回五角大廈，

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

在註冊專利以後，我告訴那些人關於它的故事，

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

他們笑了，並且在我進行一些示範後，他們就買了。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

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

你們有用過 Jabber 的耳機嗎? 那種小型手機耳機?

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

那是我發明的。我將它以七百萬美金賣出。

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

那是一個大錯，兩年前它被人以八千萬美金轉賣了。

I actually drew that up on a little crummy Mac computer

我當時在家中閣樓裡

in my attic at my house,

用我那台破舊的麥金塔設計出來的，

and one of the many designs which they have now

而許多其他的設計

is still the same design I drew way back when.

也都是在當時同樣情況下設計出來的。

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

所以，我在發明這部份還挺幸運的。

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

我應該是你們所遇過最快樂的人。

And my dad died before he realized anybody in the family

我的父親在能夠知道，也許家裡每個人，

would maybe, hopefully, make something out of themselves.

都能幸運地靠自己創出一片天地之前就過世了。

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

你們是很棒的聽眾。我知道我扯太遠了。

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

我通常在上台以後才知道我想說的是什麼。

Let me give you, in the last minute,

最後幾分鐘讓我再次

one more quick demo of this guy,

替那些還沒聽見的人們

for those of you that haven't heard it.

示範一下它的功能。

Can never tell if it's on.

不過我沒辦法知道它是不是已經啟動了。

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

還沒聽見的人麻煩舉個手。

Getting it over there?

那邊聽見了嗎?

Get the cameraman.

攝影師也來一下吧。

Yeah, there you go.

好，來嚕。

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

在腦中打開可樂罐的聲音，很酷吧。

Thank you once again.

再次感謝大家。

Appreciate it very much.

非常謝謝各位。