《那些古怪又讓人憂心的問題》第55期:星級塞斯納(4)
In fact, humans on Titan could fly by muscle power. A human in a hang glider could comfortably take off and cruise around powered by oversized swim-flipper boots-or even take off by flapping artificial wings. The power requirements are minimal-it would probably take no more effort than walking.
The downside (there's always a downside) is the cold. It's 72 kelvin on Titan, which is about the temperature of liquid nitrogen. Judging from some numbers on heating requirements for light aircraft, I estimate that the cabin of a Cessna on Titan would probably cool by about 2 degrees per minute.
但弊端（總有一個弊端的啦）在於寒冷的溫度。泰坦上的溫度只有-201℃，和液氮的溫度差不多。從輕型飛機上加熱裝置的一些參數來看，我估計在泰坦上塞斯納的駕駛艙溫度會以每分鐘2℃的速率下降。The batteries would help to keep themselves warm for a little while, but eventually the craft would run out of heat and crash. The Huygens probe, which descended with batteries nearly drained, taking fascinating pictures as it fell, succumbed to the cold after only a few hours on the surface. It had enough time to send back a single photo after landing-the only one we have from the surface of a body beyond Mars.
飛機上的電池能夠用來維持片刻的溫暖，但最終飛機還是會因爲消耗完熱源而墜毀。還記得“惠更斯號”探測器嗎？它在下降的過程中電池已經用得差不多了（在下落的過程中拍了許多漂亮的照片），在降落到泰坦表面僅僅26秒之後就屈服於低溫的侵襲。不過在降落之後的那麼幾十秒裏它還是成功發回了照片——只來得及發回一張——這是我們所擁有的唯一一張比火星更遠的天體表面的照片。
If humans put on artificial wings to fly, we might become Titanian versions of the Icarus story-our wings could freeze, fall apart, and send us tumbling to our deaths.
如果我們穿上人工翅膀在空中飛行，那我們將是泰坦版本的伊卡洛斯——我們的翅膀將會結冰、散架，然後帶着我們去見上帝。But I've never seen the Icarus story as a lesson about the limitations of humans. I see it as a lesson about the limitations of wax as an adhesive. The cold of Titan is just an engineering problem. With the right refitting, and the right heat sources, a Cessna 172 could fly on Titan-and so could we.
但我從未把伊卡洛斯的故事視爲人類侷限性的教訓——我把它看作是蠟作爲黏合劑的侷限性的教訓。泰坦上的低溫只是個工程問題而已，只要經過正確改裝，配上正確的熱源，一架塞斯納172就可以在泰坦上飛行——當然我們也行。1 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk, probably the most common plane in the world.
1． 塞斯納172天鷹估計是全世界最常見的飛機了。2 Also, our gasoline is MADE of ancient plants.
2． 而且我們使用的汽油也來自遠古生物。3 Who uses capslock a lot when talking about planes.
3． 那些人一談到飛機就喜歡用大寫字母。4 I'm not selling this well, am I?
4． 我推銷得不太好，是吧？5 Motto: “The Slightly Bluer One.”
5． 座右銘：“稍微藍一點兒的那個。”Q. What is the total nutritional value (calories, fat, vitamins, minerals, etc.) of the average human body?-Justin Risner
Q．一個人身體的總營養價值（算上卡路里、脂肪、維生素、礦物質）一共是多少？——賈斯廷•里斯納Q. What temperature would a chainsaw (or other cutting implement) need to be at to instantly cauterize any injuries inflicted with it?
Q．鏈鋸（或者其他切割設備）的溫度需要達到多高，才能立刻把它切割出來的傷口高溫消毒？
