Justin Hall-Tipping: Freeing energy from the grid

譯者: Ching-Yuan Chen 審譯者: Josie Chen

Why can't we solve these problems?

為何我們無法解決這些問題？

We know what they are.

我們知道問題在那

Something always seems to stop us.

但會有困難阻撓著我們

Why?

為什麼?

I remember March the 15th, 2000.

我記得2000年的三月十五日

The B15 iceberg broke off the Ross Ice Shelf.

B15冰山從羅斯冰架斷落

In the newspaper it said

報紙中這樣寫著

"it was all part of a normal process."

這是正常過程的一部份

A little bit further on in the article

文章接著提到

it said "a loss that would normally take

這樣的冰正常需要

the ice shelf 50-100 years to replace."

50到100年來復原

That same word, "normal,"

正常

had two different,

有兩個不同

almost opposite meanings.

幾乎相反的意思

If we walk into the B15 iceberg

如果我們走入B15冰山

when we leave here today,

我是說在今日會後的時候

we're going to bump into something

我們會見到

a thousand feet tall,

一千英呎高

76 miles long,

76英里長

17 miles wide,

17英哩寬

and it's going to weigh two gigatons.

且重達兩億頓的冰

I'm sorry, there's nothing normal about this.

這一點都不正常

And yet I think it's this perspective of us

而我們人類就是用這樣的觀點

as humans to look at our world

在看我們的世界

through the lens of normal

把所有事物看作正常

is one of the forces

就是這股力量

that stops us developing real solutions.

阻止了我們來找出真正的解決方案

Only 90 days after this,

冰山斷落3個月後

arguably the greatest discovery

可能是本世紀

of the last century occurred.

最偉大的發現出現了

It was the sequencing for the first time

人們第一次排序出

of the human genome.

人的基因

This is the code that's in every single one

這是我們體內50兆細胞中的

of our 50 trillion cells

密碼

that makes us who we are and what we are.

這個密碼決定了人的一切

And if we just take one cell's worth

如果我們了解了一個細胞

of this code and unwind it,

攤開其中的密碼

it's a meter long,

它長約一公尺

two nanometers thick.

兩奈米寬

Two nanometers is 20 atoms in thickness.

兩奈米是20個原子的厚度

And I wondered,

我就在想

what if the answer to some of our biggest problems

如果大問題的解答

could be found in the smallest of places,

可以在最小的地方找到

where the difference between what is

且小到由幾個原子就能決定

valuable and what is worthless

一件事的價值

is merely the addition or subtraction

那會是怎樣的

of a few atoms?

一個情況呢?

And what

要是

if we could get exquisite control

我們能夠精確得控制

over the essence of energy,

能量的精髓

the electron?

電子呢?

So I started to go around the world

於是我走遍世界各地的大學

finding the best and brightest scientists

尋找最優秀的科學家

I could at universities

希望他們的合作

whose collective discoveries have the chance

希望他們共同的研究可以

to take us there,

幫助我們達成

and we formed a company to build

我們成立了一家公司

on their extraordinary ideas.

來將他們的想法付諸行動

Six and a half years later,

六年半後

a hundred and eighty researchers,

一共180位研究人員

they have some amazing developments

在實驗室中有了

in the lab,

驚人的發展

and I will show you three of those today,

我今天會給各位看其中三個

such that we can stop burning up our planet

如此我們就能停止燃燒地球

and instead,

而且

we can generate all the energy we need

我們能產生所需的所有電力

right where we are,

不論你在那裡

cleanly, safely, and cheaply.

乾淨、安全、廉價

Think of the space that we spend

想一想我們大部份時間身處

most of our time.

的空間

A tremendous amount of energy

有大量的能源從太陽

is coming at us from the sun.

正射向我們

We like the light that comes into the room,

我們喜歡屋裡有光線

but in the middle of summer,

但是在夏天最炎熱時

all that heat is coming into the room

當這些熱氣一直進到屋裡時

that we're trying to keep cool.

我們卻想保持屋內涼爽

In winter, exactly the opposite is happening.

冬天時則完全相反

We're trying to heat up

我們會想讓我們身處的

the space that we're in,

空間抱持溫暖

and all that is trying to get out through the window.

而這些暖氣卻又從窗子溜走

Wouldn't it be really great

如果我們能

if the window could flick back the heat

需要熱氣時

into the room if we needed it

將它留在屋內或在它進來前

or flick it away before it came in?

折射回去，這會有多好?

One of the materials that can do this

有一個材料就可以做得到

is a remarkable material, carbon,

這個了不起的材料就是碳

that has changed its form in this incredibly beautiful reaction

碳經過一個美妙的反應後改變了它的樣貌

where graphite is blasted by a vapor,

它被蒸氣衝擊而汽化

and when the vaporized carbon condenses,

然後當它冷凝後

it condenses back into a different form:

它凝結成不一樣的外貌，看起來像

chickenwire rolled up.

圈起來的鐵絲網

But this chickenwire carbon,

但這個網狀的鐵絲網

called a carbon nanotube,

叫做奈米碳管

is a hundred thousand times smaller

它比你的毛髮

than the width of one of your hairs.

還細上10萬倍

It's a thousand times

而導電性又比銅

more conductive than copper.

高上一千倍

How is that possible?

怎麼可能有這樣的東西?

One of the things about working at the nanoscale

東西在奈米大小時

is things look and act very differently.

功能與外觀都非常不一樣

You think of carbon as black.

你認為碳是黑的

Carbon at the nanoscale

但是奈米碳

is actually transparent

其實是透明的

and flexible.

且具彈性的

And when it's in this form,

當碳在這個狀態時

if I combine it with a polymer

將它與聚合物結合

and affix it to your window

黏到你的窗上時

when it's in its colored state,

在有色的狀態下

it will reflect away all heat and light,

它會將光熱隔絕在外

and when it's in its bleached state

而在無色的狀態下

it will let all the light and heat through

光與熱卻能穿透它

and any combination in between.

及中間的任何物質

To change its state, by the way,

順道一提，只需要

takes two volts from a millisecond pulse.

從1毫秒脈衝中提取2伏特電力即可改變它的狀態。

And once you've changed its state, it stays there

而一旦你改變了它的狀態，它就會維持在那個狀態

until you change its state again.

一直到你再改變它為止

As we were working on this incredible

當我們在佛羅里達大學進行這項

discovery at University of Florida,

不可思議的研究時

we were told to go down the corridor

有人叫我們到同樣在那裡做研究的

to visit another scientist,

另外一名科學家

and he was working

他在研究的是

on a pretty incredible thing.

相當了不起的東西

Imagine

相像一下

if we didn't have to rely

如果我們在夜晚時

on artificial lighting to get around at night.

不再須要仰賴人工照明了

We'd have to see at night, right?

但是我們又要能看得見，對吧?

This lets you do it.

用這個就做得到

It's a nanomaterial, two nanomaterials,

這是兩種奈米材料組成的

a detector and an imager.

偵測器及顯像器

The total width of it

它們的總寬度比

is 600 times smaller

小數點還小上

than the width of a decimal place.

600倍

And it takes all the infrared available at night,

它會將夜間的紅外線

converts it into an electron

在這兩片薄膜間

in the space of two small films,

轉變成電子

and is enabling you to play an image

它不只能播放影像

which you can see through.

它還是透明的

I'm going to show to TEDsters,

我現在要展示給在TED的各位

the first time, this operating.

這是它第一次運作

Firstly I'm going to show you

首先你們看到的是

the transparency.

透明薄膜

Transparency is key.

這透明性是關鍵

It's a film that you can look through.

你能完全看透它

And then I'm going to turn the lights out.

然後我要把燈關掉

And you can see, off a tiny film,

你透過這個薄膜

incredible clarity.

看的非常清楚

As we were working on this, it dawned on us:

而在研究它時，我們突然想到

this is taking infrared radiation, wavelengths,

它會將紅外線及波長

and converting it into electrons.

轉換成電子

What if we combined it

要是我們將它與這個

with this?

結合呢?

Suddenly you've converted energy

如此你就能將能源

into an electron on a plastic surface

在你黏於窗上的塑料上

that you can stick on your window.

轉換成電子

But because it's flexible,

但是因為它是有彈性的

it can be on any surface whatsoever.

它可以附著於任何表面

The power plant of tomorrow

未來的發電廠

is no power plant.

不在是ㄧ座座的工廠

We talked about generating and using.

我們已經聊了發電跟應用

We want to talk about storing energy,

我們現在要聊如何蓄電

and unfortunately

很不幸的是

the best thing we've got going

我們手上最好的蓄電器材

is something that was developed in France

是法國在ㄧ百五十年前

a hundred and fifty years ago,

所發展出來的

the lead acid battery.

鉛蓄電池

In terms of dollars per what's stored,

從成本來考量的話

it's simply the best.

這是最好的選擇

Knowing that we're not going to put fifty of

雖然這樣，但我們不想要放五十個鉛蓄電池

these in our basements to store our power,

在我們的地下室來存儲電力

we went to a group at University of Texas at Dallas,

我們在德州大學找到ㄧ個研究小組

and we gave them this diagram.

然後我們給他們看了這張設計圖

It was in actually a diner

當時我們其實是在

outside of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.

達拉斯的沃斯堡機場外的ㄧ個小餐廳

We said, "Could you build this?"

我們問：「你們能建造這個東西嗎?」

And these scientists,

而這些科學家

instead of laughing at us, said, "Yeah."

非但沒嘲笑我們的想法，反而回答：「可以」

And what they built was eBox.

他們作出來的東西叫做電子盒

EBox is testing new nanomaterials

目前正在測試新的奈米材料

to park an electron on the outside,

用以存儲戶外的電子

hold it until you need it,

直到我們要用的時候

and then be able to release it and pass it off.

再把電子釋放出來

Being able to do that means

擁有這樣的能力代表

that I can generate energy

我能在任何地方

cleanly, efficiently and cheaply

乾淨的、有效的、便宜的

right where I am.

發電

It's my energy.

這是我的能源

And if I don't need it, I can convert it

如果我不需要它，我可以將它

back up on the window

放回窗上，並轉變成

to energy, light, and beam it,

電與光，甚至傳送它

line of site, to your place.

到你所見之處、到你的地方

And for that I do not need

傳送電力時我們之間

an electric grid between us.

是不需要有電纜的

The grid of tomorrow is no grid,

以後就不會有電纜了

and energy, clean efficient energy,

而乾淨又有效能的能源

will one day be free.

電將會是免費的

If you do this, you get the last puzzle piece,

如果你做到了，那我們就只剩一個問題

which is water.

水

Each of us, every day,

我們每天

need just eight glasses of this,

需要8杯的水

because we're human.

因為我們是人類

When we run out of water,

當我們沒有水的時候

as we are in some parts of the world

世界上有些地方是沒有水的

and soon to be in other parts of the world,

而世界上其它地方也將面臨這樣的問題

we're going to have to get this from the sea,

我們將必須從海中取水

and that's going to require us to build desalination plants.

屆時，我們將必須建造海水淡化廠

19 trillion dollars is what we're going to have to spend.

到時我們需要花費19兆美元

These also require tremendous amounts of energy.

這些淡化廠也需要用到非常大量的能源

In fact, it's going to require twice the world's

事實上，我門需要目前石油蘊藏量的兩倍

supply of oil to run the pumps

才能讓這些幫浦運轉

to generate the water.

來淨化水

We're simply not going to do that.

而我們不需要這麼做

But in a world where energy is freed

當世界上的能源是免費的

and transmittable

且能便宜又簡單的

easily and cheaply, we can take any water

傳送時，我們在任何地方都能

wherever we are

將水

and turn it into whatever we need.

轉變成我們所需的任何東西

I'm glad to be working with

我很高興能夠與

incredibly brilliant and kind scientists,

這些聰明又親切的科學家共事

no kinder than

雖然還不是

many of the people in the world,

世界上最親切的人

but they have a magic look at the world.

但他們用獨到的眼光來看這個世界

And I'm glad to see their discoveries

我很高興能夠看到他們的研究

coming out of the lab and into the world.

能夠走出實驗室並進到這個世界

It's been a long time in coming for me.

這對我來說是一段非常漫長的等待

18 years ago,

十八年前

I saw a photograph in the paper.

我在報紙上看到一張照片。

It was taken by Kevin Carter

那是凱文･卡特

who went to the Sudan

在蘇丹進行

to document their famine there.

當地飢荒紀實時所拍攝下來的。

I've carried this photograph with me

從那時起我每天都

every day since then.

把這張照片帶在身上。

It's a picture of a little girl dying of thirst.

照片裡是一個因乾荒而瀕臨死亡的小女孩。

By any standard this is wrong.

不管用什麼標準來看這都不對

It's just wrong.

這種事是不該發生的。

We can do better than this.

我們可以做得更好

We should do better than this.

我們應該要做得更好

And whenever I go round

不論我去到哪裡

to somebody who says,

都會有人對我說：

"You know what, you're working on something that's too difficult.

「你研究的東西太困難了，

It'll never happen. You don't have enough money.

你不會成功的。你的資金不夠，

You don't have enough time.

你也沒有那麼多時間。

There's something much more interesting around the corner,"

還有其它更有趣的東西可以研究吧。」

I say, "Try saying that to her."

我想說：「對照片裡的小女孩說吧！」

That's what I say in my mind. And I just say

當然這些話只是在心裡想想而已。我真正說的是：

"thank you," and I go on to the next one.

「謝謝。」然後繼續我的研究。

This is why we have to solve our problems,

這就是為什麼我們需要解決我們的問題

and I know the answer as to how

而我知道答案就是

is to be able to get exquisite control

精確的掌握自然界中

over a building block of nature,

簡單的東西

the stuff of life:

生命所需的

the simple electron.

那就是電子

Thank you.

謝謝

(Applause)

(掌聲)