美國發明:利用空氣爲手機充電
研究人員們相信，他們已經研製出了一種新型的裝置，可以利用空氣中的能量爲你的手機和其他的電子設備充電。
They have found that by harnessing energy from the air around us could potentially power wireless sensors, microprocessors and communications chips.
他們發現，存在於你我周圍的空氣裏所具有的完全無公害的能量具有一種潛力，可以爲無線傳感設備，微型處理器以及通信電腦芯片補充電量。
These 'energy scavenging' devices could even be stored in places like our shoes and can be used by itself or with other generating technologies.
這樣的“能量收集”設備可以被放置於任何的空間環境之下，甚至於是我們的鞋子之中，它能夠自給自足補充電量，或者與其他的發電裝置相連。
Manos Tentzeris, professor in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said: 'There is a large amount of electromagnetic energy all around us, but nobody has been able to tap into it.'
Manos Tentzeris教授就職於美國坐支亞洲工業大學的電氣和計算機工程學院，他說：“在我們大家的周圍便存在着大量的電磁能源，不過卻從沒有人能夠將其很好的利用起來。”
If a battery or a solar-collector or battery package failed completely, scavenged energy could allow the system to transmit a wireless distress signal while also maintaining critical functionalities, according to a Georgia Tech statement.
據佐治亞理工學院所發表的一份申明稱，一旦當電池、太陽能集熱器、電池組失效或故障時，能量收集器便能發出提醒的求救型號，於此同時，保持着電器關鍵性的功能正常運轉。Mr Tentzeris and his team have used inkjet printers to combine sensors, antennas and energy scavenging capabilities on paper or flexible polymers.
Tentzeris教授和他的團隊已經運用噴墨打印機的將傳感器、天線和能源的搜尋捕捉的能效聯合在了紙張或柔軟的聚合物之上。
So far, the energy captured is minute - measured in microwatts and milliwatts, not megawatts - but is able to gather enough juice to power small sensors and RFID tags.
目前爲止，該能量捕捉器的功效還十分之效，小到計量單位運用的是毫瓦，而不是兆瓦，不過當其收集到足夠的能量時，它能夠爲小型的傳感器和RFID裝置補給電量。
For example, the researchers last week said they had managed to gather enough energy from a TV station a half-kilometre away to power a small temperature sensor.
例如，研究人員們在上週採集了一臺電視機周圍的電磁能量，並使用其爲一臺遠在半公里之外的溫度傳感器提供電能、
They believe that self-powered, wireless paper-based sensors will soon be widely available at very low cost.
研究人員們相信，這種電量自給自足，無限的紙質傳感器將在不久的將來被大範圍的運用，並且還造價低廉。
Researchers hope that when it’s combined with advanced capacitor technology, the device could provide up to 50 milliwatts.
研究人員們希望，當這種設備與高級先進的能量捕捉技術聯姻之後，設備可以提供的電量可以提升至50毫瓦。
These dual factors make them a natural environment for large numbers of wireless sensors capable of detecting potential threats such as explosives or smuggled nuclear material.
設備的特性也能夠使其爲用來監測例如爆炸物和走私核武器這樣大規模的傳感器提供先決條件。
Sensors on food could scan for chemicals that indicate spoilage and send out an alert when detected, increasing food safety.
當傳感器被運動到了食品安全方面，他們能夠掃描可能變質的化學物質，並且發出警告，從而提高了食品的安全。
It’s not exactly the dream of wireless power envisioned by Nikola Tesla, who proposed vast tower networks transmitting electric fields, but more akin to siphoning juice from someone else’s battery.
不過這與Nikola Tesla所提出的無線能量的設想的夢想還是有所區別的，他提出了架構一個巨大的電力傳輸網絡，不過事實很可能是從某人的電池中“竊取”電量。
When the antenna receives a signal, the electromagnetic energy is converted from AC to DC.
當天線接收到信號時，電磁能量將從AC轉換到DC。
