科學家用激光造雨 人類科學史上的一大進步

Scientists claim that they will soon be able to create the washout conditions.

據英國《每日郵報》8月31日報道，科學家稱，他們很快就可以創造出降雨的條件了。

Using a powerful laser, researchers have created water droplets in the air.

研究人員用一個強大的激光發射器在空氣中製造出水滴。

The technique, called laser-assisted water condensation, could one day unlock the secrets of weather cycles and enable humans to decide where and when it rains.

這項名爲激光助水凝結的技術有一天將揭開氣象週期的祕密，並幫助人類決定下雨的事件和地點。

While “cloud seeding” has existed for some time it is not considered a safe way of creating rainclouds because it involves filling the atmosphere with small particles such as dry ice and silver iodide.

雖然“雲的催化”技術已存在一段時間了，但一般認爲製造雨雲不太安全，因爲這需要向大氣中噴灑像乾冰和碘化銀這樣的小粒子。

This means that while raindrops can form, chemicals are often spread far and wide and potentially damage the environment.

這意味着在製造雨滴的同時要大範圍地噴灑化學物質，從而有可能對環境造成破壞。

The new laser method is different because it uses natural humidity levels and atmospheric conditions to create water droplets.

而新的激光技術就不同了，因爲它是利用自然的溼度和大氣的條件來製造水滴的。

Physicist Jerome Kasparian, of the University of Geneva, said: “The laser can run continuously, you can aim it well, and you don't disperse huge amounts of silver iodide in the atmosphere.”

日內瓦大學的物理學家熱羅姆-卡斯帕裏安說：“激光能持續發射，可以很好地瞄準，這樣我們就不需要向大氣噴灑大量的碘化銀了。”

“You can also turn the laser on and off at will, which makes it easier to assess whether it has any effect. When you disperse silver iodide into the sky, it is very hard to know whether it would have rained anyway,” Kasparian added.

“你可以隨時開關激光，這樣就能更容易地評估它是否有效了。而在天空中噴灑碘化銀則很難判斷其降雨效果。” 卡斯帕裏安補充說。

Researchers showcased the new technique on the banks of the Rhone near Lake Geneva after constructing the gigantic mobile laser.

研究人員用一個巨大的移動激光器在日內瓦湖附近的羅納河岸試驗了這種技術。

Following 133 hours of firing a beam of intense laser light which created nitric acid particles in the air it resulted in binding the water molecules together to create droplets.

在連續133小小時向空中發射密集激光束從而在空中製造出硝酸粒子後，空氣中的水分子凝聚在一起形成了小水滴。

Although it didn't form into actual rainfall, scientists remain positive they can soon manipulate weather conditions and even prevent showers.

儘管最後沒有形成實際的降雨，但科學家仍然認爲他們很快就能控制天氣條件，甚至阻止降雨。

“Maybe one day this could be a way to attenuate the monsoon or reduce flooding in certain areas,” Kasparian said.

卡斯帕裏安說：“也許有一天這種方法將能夠減弱季風，或將少某些地方的洪水氾濫。”