TED-Ed Weekend
Ashton Cofer: A plan to recycle the unrecyclable
애쉬튼 코퍼: 어린 발명가의 스티로폼 재활용 계획
Filmed:
Readability: 4.9
1,379,778 views
포장용충전재에서부터 일회용 커피컵까지, 매년 미국에서만 20억 파운드의 스티로폼이 생산되지만 하나도 재활용되지 못합니다. 자원낭비와 매립지 문제에 실망한 애쉬튼 코퍼와 그의 과학프로젝트 팀원들은 사용된 스티로폼을 분해하여 유용한 것으로 만들기 위해 가열실험을 해나갔습니다. FIRST 레고 리그 세계혁신상과 구글 과학박람회로부터 미국 과학혁신가상을 수상한 그들의 독창적인 아이디어를 확인해보세요.
Ashton Cofer - Youth inventor
Ashton Cofer and his FIRST Robotics team won the Google Science Fair for developing a process to convert Styrofoam waste into activated carbon for purifying water. Full bio
Ashton Cofer and his FIRST Robotics team won the Google Science Fair for developing a process to convert Styrofoam waste into activated carbon for purifying water. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
It was just an ordinary Saturday.
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어느 평범한 토요일이었어요.
00:15
My dad was outside mowing the lawn,
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아빠는 밖에서 잔디를 깎고
00:17
my mom was upstairs folding laundry,
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엄마는 위층에서 빨래를 개었어요.
00:19
my sister was in her room doing homework
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여동생은 방에서 숙제를 했고
00:22
and I was in the basement
playing video games.
playing video games.
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그리고 저는 지하에서
비디오 게임 중이었죠.
비디오 게임 중이었죠.
00:25
And as I came upstairs
to get something to drink,
to get something to drink,
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마실 것 찾아 위층으로 올라왔는데
00:27
I looked out the window
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창 밖을 보면서
00:28
and realized that there was something
that I was supposed to be doing,
that I was supposed to be doing,
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내가 했어야 할 일이 문득 생각났어요.
00:32
and this is what I saw.
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이게 제가 봤던 모습이죠.
00:35
No, this wasn't
my family's dinner on fire.
my family's dinner on fire.
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이건 저녁식사에
불이 붙은 게 아니예요.
불이 붙은 게 아니예요.
00:39
This was my science project.
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제 과학 프로젝트였어요.
00:42
Flames were pouring out,
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불길이 치솟고
00:43
smoke was in the air
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연기가 피어오르고
00:44
and it looked like our wooden deck
was about to catch fire.
was about to catch fire.
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나무 판에 불이 옮겨
붙을 것처럼 보였어요.
붙을 것처럼 보였어요.
00:48
I immediately started yelling.
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곧바로 소리를 질렀는데
00:50
My mom was freaking out,
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엄마는 당황했고
00:51
my dad ran around to put out the fire
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아빠는 불을 끄러 뛰어다니시고
00:53
and of course my sister
started recording a Snapchat video.
started recording a Snapchat video.
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여동생은 물론
스냅챗 영상을 찍고 있었죠.
스냅챗 영상을 찍고 있었죠.
00:57
(Laughter)
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(웃음)
00:59
This was just the beginning
of my team's science project.
of my team's science project.
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이건 우리팀의 과학 프로젝트의
시작에 불과했어요.
시작에 불과했어요.
01:03
My team is composed of me
and three other students
and three other students
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저희 팀은 저와
세 명의 학생으로 되어있어요.
세 명의 학생으로 되어있어요.
01:06
who are here in the audience today.
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오늘 이자리에 나와있고요.
01:08
We competed in FIRST LEGO League
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우리는 퍼스트 레고 리그에 참가했는데
01:10
which is an international
LEGO robotics competition for kids,
LEGO robotics competition for kids,
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아이들의 국제 레고 로봇 대회이자
01:13
and in addition to a robotics game,
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로봇 경기 외에도
01:15
we also worked
on a separate science project,
on a separate science project,
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우리는 각각의
과학 프로젝트를 수행했고
과학 프로젝트를 수행했고
01:18
and this was the project
that we were working on.
that we were working on.
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이것이 우리의 프로젝트였어요.
01:20
So the idea for this project all started
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프로젝트에 대한 아이디어는
01:22
when a few months earlier,
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몇 달 전에 시작되었어요.
01:24
a couple of my teammates
took a trip to Central America
took a trip to Central America
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팀원 몇 명이
중앙 아메리카로 여행을 가서
중앙 아메리카로 여행을 가서
01:27
and saw beaches littered with Styrofoam,
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스티로폼과 폴리스틸렌폼으로
01:29
or expanded polystyrene foam.
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오염된 해변을 보았어요.
01:32
And when they came back
and told us about it,
and told us about it,
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애들이 돌아와서 우리에게 얘기해줬을 때
01:34
we really started thinking about the ways
in which we see Styrofoam every day.
in which we see Styrofoam every day.
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우리가 일상적으로 스티로폼을 보는
방식에 대해 생각해 봤어요.
방식에 대해 생각해 봤어요.
01:37
Get a new flat-screen TV?
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평면 TV를 사면요
01:39
You end up with a block of Styrofoam
bigger than the TV itself.
bigger than the TV itself.
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TV보다 더 큰
스티로폼 덩어리가 생기고요.
스티로폼 덩어리가 생기고요.
01:43
Drink a cup of coffee?
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커피 한 잔 마시면
01:44
Well, those Styrofoam coffee cups
are sure going to add up.
are sure going to add up.
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스티로폼 커피컵이 쌓이게 되요.
01:47
And where do all these items go
after their one-time use?
after their one-time use?
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이런 물건들은 한 번 쓴 뒤
어디로 갈까요?
어디로 갈까요?
01:51
Since there aren't any good
existing solutions for used Styrofoam,
existing solutions for used Styrofoam,
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사용된 스티로폼에 대한
좋은 처리 방안이 없어서
좋은 처리 방안이 없어서
01:54
almost all of them
end up right in the landfill,
end up right in the landfill,
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대부분은 매립지로 가요.
01:57
or the oceans and beaches,
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바다나 해변으로도요.
01:58
taking over 500 years to degrade.
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분해되는데는 500년이 넘게 걸려요.
02:01
And in fact, every year, the US alone
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사실, 매년 미국에서만
02:03
produces over two billion
pounds of Styrofoam,
pounds of Styrofoam,
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20억 파운드의 스티로폼이 생산되어
02:06
filling up a staggering
25 percent of landfills.
25 percent of landfills.
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매립지의 25%를 차지해요.
02:09
So why do we have these ghost
accumulations of Styrofoam waste?
accumulations of Styrofoam waste?
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우리는 왜 스티로폼 쓰레기를
쓸데없이 쌓아만 놓을까요?
쓸데없이 쌓아만 놓을까요?
02:13
Why can't we just recycle them
like many plastics?
like many plastics?
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플라스틱처럼 재활용할 수는 없을까요?
02:16
Well, simply put, recycled
polystyrene is too expensive
polystyrene is too expensive
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간단히 말해,
재활용된 스티로폼은 비싸고
재활용된 스티로폼은 비싸고
02:19
and potentially contaminated,
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오염되어 있을지 몰라요.
02:21
so there is very little market demand
for Styrofoam that has to be recycled.
for Styrofoam that has to be recycled.
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그래서 재활용 스티로폼
시장의 수요가 매우 적고
시장의 수요가 매우 적고
02:25
And as a result, Styrofoam
is considered a nonrenewable material,
is considered a nonrenewable material,
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그 결과, 스티로폼은 재활용이
안 되는 물질로 여겨지는데
안 되는 물질로 여겨지는데
02:29
because it is neither feasible
nor viable to recycle polystyrene.
nor viable to recycle polystyrene.
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폴리스틸렌 재사용은 실현가능성과
성공가능성이 없다고 보는거죠.
성공가능성이 없다고 보는거죠.
02:33
And in fact, many cities across the US
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사실, 미국의 많은 도시들은
02:36
have even passed ordinances
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폴리스틸렌이 들어간 제품생산을
02:37
that simply ban the production
of many products containing polystyrene,
of many products containing polystyrene,
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금지하는 조례들을 통과시켰어요.
02:41
which includes disposable utensils,
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여기에는 일회용 식기와
02:43
packing peanuts, takeout containers
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포장용충전재, 테이크아웃용기
02:45
and even plastic beach toys,
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심지어 플라스틱 장난감도 있어요.
02:47
all products that are very useful
in today's society.
in today's society.
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현대사회에 매우 유용한 제품들이에요.
02:50
And now France
has become the first country
has become the first country
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지금 프랑스는 모든 플라스틱 식기를
02:52
to completely ban all plastic utensils,
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완전 금지한 첫 국가에요.
02:55
cups and plates.
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컵과 접시도요.
02:57
But what if we could keep using Styrofoam
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그런데 만약 우리가
스티로폼을 계속 사용하여
스티로폼을 계속 사용하여
02:59
and keep benefiting
from its cheap, lightweight, insulating
from its cheap, lightweight, insulating
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싸고, 가볍고, 단열되고,
03:03
and excellent packing ability,
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잘 포장하는 혜택을 누리면서도
03:05
while not having to suffer
from the repercussions
from the repercussions
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처리가 힘든 단점이
03:07
of having to dispose of it?
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없다면 어떨까요?
03:09
What if we could turn it into
something else that's actually useful?
something else that's actually useful?
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스티로폼을 정말 유용한
것으로 바꿀 수 있고
것으로 바꿀 수 있고
03:12
What if we could make
the impossible possible?
the impossible possible?
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불가능한 것을 가능한 것으로
만든다면 어떨까요?
만든다면 어떨까요?
03:16
My team hypothesized that we could use
the carbon that's already in Styrofoam
the carbon that's already in Styrofoam
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우리팀은 오늘날 거의 모든
정수기 필터에 사용되고 있는
정수기 필터에 사용되고 있는
03:21
to create activated carbon,
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활성탄을 만드는 데에
스티로롬 속 탄소를
스티로롬 속 탄소를
03:22
which is used in almost
every water filter today.
every water filter today.
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활용할 수 있다고 가정했어요.
03:25
And activated carbon works
by using very small micropores
by using very small micropores
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활성탄은 아주 미세한 구멍으로
03:29
to filter out contaminants
from water or even air.
from water or even air.
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물과 공기의 오염 물질을
걸러내는 역할을 해요.
걸러내는 역할을 해요.
03:32
So we started out
by doing a variety of heating tests,
by doing a variety of heating tests,
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우리팀은 다양한
가열시험을 시작했는데
가열시험을 시작했는데
03:36
and unfortunately, we had many failures.
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불행히도, 실패가 많았어요.
03:39
Literally, nothing worked.
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정말로, 완전 실패였어요.
03:42
Besides my dad's grill catching on fire,
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아빠 그릴을 태워먹은 것 말고도
03:44
most of our samples
vaporized into nothing,
vaporized into nothing,
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대부분의 샘플이 연기 속으로 사라지거나
03:47
or exploded inside expensive furnaces,
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비싼 화로 속에서 폭발하고
03:49
leaving a horribly sticky mess.
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지독하게 끈적한 자국을 남겼어요.
03:52
In fact, we were so saddened
by our failures that we almost gave up.
by our failures that we almost gave up.
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우리는 실패로 의기소침해져
거의 포기상태였어요.
거의 포기상태였어요.
03:57
So why did we keep trying
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그런데도 왜 계속
시도했을까요?
시도했을까요?
03:58
when all the adults
said it was impossible?
said it was impossible?
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모든 어른이 안 될거라고 말했는데도요.
04:01
Well, maybe it's because we're kids.
We don't know any better.
We don't know any better.
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아마 우리가 애들이기 때문이겠죠.
잘 모르니까요.
잘 모르니까요.
04:04
But the truth is, we kept trying
because we thought it was still possible.
because we thought it was still possible.
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하지만 진실은, 우리는
가능하다고 믿었기 때문이에요.
가능하다고 믿었기 때문이에요.
04:08
We knew that if we were successful,
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우리가 성공만 한다면
04:10
we would be helping the environment
and making the world a better place.
and making the world a better place.
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환경을 돕고 세상을 더 나은
곳으로 바꿀 수 있으니까요.
곳으로 바꿀 수 있으니까요.
04:13
So we kept trying
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우리는 계속 시도했고
04:15
and failing
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실패했고
04:16
and trying
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시도했고
04:18
and failing.
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실패했어요.
04:20
We were so ready to give up.
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포기할 생각도 했어요.
04:22
But then it happened.
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그 때 일어난 거예요.
04:24
With the right temperatures,
times and chemicals,
times and chemicals,
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알맞은 온도, 시간, 화학물질로
04:26
we finally got that successful test result
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성공적인 실험결과를 얻게 되었어요.
04:29
showing us that we had created
activated carbon from Styrofoam waste.
activated carbon from Styrofoam waste.
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스티로폼 쓰레기로 활성탄을
만들었다는 것을 보여주었어요.
만들었다는 것을 보여주었어요.
04:33
And at that moment,
the thing that had been impossible
the thing that had been impossible
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그 순간, 불가능했던 무언가가
04:35
all of a sudden wasn't.
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갑자기 가능해진 거예요.
04:37
It showed us that although we had
many failures at the beginning,
many failures at the beginning,
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처음에 수많은 실패를 했지만
04:40
we were able to persevere through them
to get the test results that we wanted.
to get the test results that we wanted.
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원하는 실험결과를 얻기까지
실패를 참아낸다는 걸 보여준거죠.
실패를 참아낸다는 걸 보여준거죠.
04:44
And moreover, not only were we able
to create activated carbon
to create activated carbon
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게다가, 활성탄을 만들어
04:47
for purifying water,
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물을 정수할 수 있었고
04:48
but we were also able
to reduce Styrofoam waste,
to reduce Styrofoam waste,
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스티로폼 쓰레기도 줄일 수 있었어요.
04:51
solving two global problems
with just one solution.
with just one solution.
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두 가지 세계문제를
한 가지 해결책으로 푼거예요.
한 가지 해결책으로 푼거예요.
04:54
So from then on, we were inspired
to take our project further,
to take our project further,
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그 때부터, 자극을 받아
프로젝트가 한 발 더 나아갔어요.
프로젝트가 한 발 더 나아갔어요.
04:57
performing more tests
to make it more effective
to make it more effective
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더 효과적으로 만들고자
더 많은 실험을 거치고
더 많은 실험을 거치고
04:59
and testing it in real world situations.
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실제 환경에서 실험을 했어요.
05:01
We then proceeded to receive funding
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저희는 미육군에서 후원하는
05:03
from the NSTA's eCYBERMISSION
STEM-in-Action program
STEM-in-Action program
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전미 과학교사협회의 사이버미션
STEM 프로그램과
STEM 프로그램과
05:06
sponsored by the US Army,
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XPRIZE 에서 후원하는
05:08
as well as FIRST Global Innovation Awards
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FIRST 세계 혁신상에서
지원을 받을 수 있도록
지원을 받을 수 있도록
05:10
sponsored by XPRIZE.
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계속 진행했어요.
05:12
And we were also honored
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우리는 또 받았던 건
05:13
with the Scientific American
Innovator Award
Innovator Award
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미국 과학혁신가상을
05:16
from Google Science Fair.
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구글 과학박람회에서 받았어요.
05:18
And using these funds, we plan
to file a full patent on our process
to file a full patent on our process
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후원자금을 사용해서 과정에 대한
특허권을 신청할 계획이에요.
특허권을 신청할 계획이에요.
05:21
and to continue to work on our project.
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그리고 프로젝트를 계속할 거예요.
05:24
So yes, although we started
with catching my dad's grill on fire
with catching my dad's grill on fire
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그래요, 아빠 그릴을
태워먹으면서 시작을 했고
태워먹으면서 시작을 했고
05:28
and failing so many times
that we almost quit,
that we almost quit,
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너무 많이 실패해서
거의 그만 둘 뻔했지만
거의 그만 둘 뻔했지만
05:31
it was well worth it
when we look back at it now.
when we look back at it now.
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지금 돌이켜 보면
해볼만한 일이었어요.
해볼만한 일이었어요.
05:33
We took a problem
that many people said was impossible
that many people said was impossible
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우리는 많은 사람들이
불가능하다고 말하던 문제를
불가능하다고 말하던 문제를
05:36
and we made it possible,
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가능하도록 만들었어요.
05:38
and we persevered when it looked
like nothing that we did would work.
like nothing that we did would work.
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전혀 될 것 같지 않아 보여도
우리는 참아냈어요.
우리는 참아냈어요.
05:41
We learned that you can't have success
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우리가 배운 것은
05:43
without a little,
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적은 실패나
05:45
or a lot, of failure.
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혹은 수많은 실패없이는
성공할 수 없다는 것을요.
성공할 수 없다는 것을요.
05:47
So in the future, don't be afraid
if your grill goes up in flames,
if your grill goes up in flames,
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앞으로 여러분의 그릴에 불이
붙더라도 두려워하지 마세요.
붙더라도 두려워하지 마세요.
05:51
because you never know
when your idea might just catch fire.
when your idea might just catch fire.
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여러분의 아이디가 활활
타오를 때는 알 수 없으니까요.
타오를 때는 알 수 없으니까요.
05:55
Thank you.
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고맙습니다.
05:57
(Applause)
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(박수)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ashton Cofer - Youth inventorAshton Cofer and his FIRST Robotics team won the Google Science Fair for developing a process to convert Styrofoam waste into activated carbon for purifying water.
Why you should listen
Ashton Cofer has several patents pending, including a method to convert polystyrene foam waste into activated carbon for purifying water. He and his teammates recently won the 2016 Google Science Fair’s Scientific American Innovator Award. Ashton has a passion for science and technology, and in addition to inventing, he also competed in FIRST LEGO League robotics and teaches robotics workshops to local area youth in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
Ashton Cofer | Speaker | TED.com