ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Woody Norris - Inventor
Woody Norris is a serial inventor of electronics, tools and cutting-edge sonic equipment -- such as the LRAD acoustic cannon.

Why you should listen

When Woody Norris won the Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2005, his official prize bio called him "a classic independent inventor ... self-educated, self-funded and self-motivated." His mind seems to race toward things the world needs, though we don't know it yet: a nonlethal acoustic weapon that has been used to ward off pirates, a bone-induction headset, radar that can scan the human body, a tapeless tape recorder ...

Norris' educational background is a key to his restless mind. He is not quite "self-educated" -- he's taken many classes, but always at his own speed and in his own style, studying the things he knew he wanted to know and working closely with professors. Ironically, it's a model that cutting-edge colleges are now embracing.

His inventions have seeded several public companies. Recently he has been working on the AirScooter -- a sort of propeller-powered counterpart to the Moller SkyCar.

More profile about the speaker
Woody Norris | Speaker | TED.com
TED2004

Woody Norris: Hypersonic sound and other inventions

Woody Norris 的新奇發明

Filmed:
1,368,299 views

Woody Norris 展示了他的兩項處理聲音的新發明,並談論他不同於一般人接觸發明與教育的過程。他說:"幾乎什麼都還沒被發明出來。" 那麼 -- 下一個發明會是什麼呢?
- Inventor
Woody Norris is a serial inventor of electronics, tools and cutting-edge sonic equipment -- such as the LRAD acoustic cannon. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:18
I became成為 an inventor發明者 by accident事故.
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我在偶然的情況下變成了發明家。
00:20
I was out of the air空氣 force in 1956. No, no, that's not true真正:
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1956年我從空軍退伍。不對,我記錯了:
00:25
I went in in 1956, came來了 out in 1959,
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我在1956年進去,1959年離開的,
00:28
was working加工 at the University大學 of Washington華盛頓,
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之後在華盛頓大學工作,
00:30
and I came來了 up with an idea理念, from reading a magazine雜誌 article文章,
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當我看雜誌文章時,想到了一個點子,
00:32
for a new kind of a phonograph留聲機 tone arm.
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用於留聲機的新型唱臂上。
00:35
Now, that was before cassette暗盒 tapes磁帶, C.D.s, DVDsDVD光盤 --
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那是在卡式錄音帶,CD,DVD --
00:38
any of the cool stuff東東 we've我們已經 got now.
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任何現在很酷的新玩意出來之前的事。
00:40
And it was an arm that,
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那是一種當它在唱片上移動時
00:42
instead代替 of hinging鉸鏈 and pivoting旋轉 as it went across橫過 the record記錄,
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不靠鏈條移動, 不繞著中樞軸旋轉的唱臂,
00:46
went straight直行: a radial徑向, linear線性 tracking追踪 tone arm.
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講明白一點,就是一種在半徑上作線性循跡的唱臂。
00:50
And it was the hardest最難 invention發明 I ever made製作, but it got me started開始,
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這是我做過最困難的發明,但也是它讓我走上了這條路,
00:54
and I got really lucky幸運 after that.
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這之後我就一直滿順利的。
00:56
And without giving you too much of a tirade長篇大論,
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長篇大論就不多說了,
00:58
I want to talk to you about an invention發明 I brought with me today今天:
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我們直接來談我今天帶來的發明:
01:01
my 44th invention發明. No, that's not true真正 either.
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這是我第44項發明。不對,又錯了。
01:05
Golly發誓, I'm just totally完全 losing失去 it.
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天啊,我已經搞混了。
01:07
My 44th patent專利; about the 15th invention發明.
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這是我第44項專利,大概是第15項發明吧。
01:10
I call this hypersonic高超音速 sound聲音.
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我稱它為超級超音波。(超越超音波)
01:13
I'm going to play it for you in a couple一對 minutes分鐘,
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我會用它來播放幾分鐘給各位聽,
01:15
but I want to make an analogy比喻 before I do
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不過在這之前要先跟各位
01:17
to this.
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說聲抱歉。
01:20
I usually平時 show顯示 this hypersonic高超音速 sound聲音 and people will say,
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我常常秀這個超級超音波,可是大家都會問,
01:23
That's really cool, but what's it good for?
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那東西真酷,不過有什麼用啊?
01:26
And I say, What is the light bulb燈泡 good for?
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我說,燈泡有什麼用處呢?
01:29
Sound聲音, light: I'm going to draw the analogy比喻.
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我們來比較一下聲音和光線。
01:32
When Edison愛迪生 invented發明 the light bulb燈泡, pretty漂亮 much looked看著 like this.
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當愛迪生發明燈泡,看起來大概就像這樣。
01:35
Hasn't有沒有 changed that much.
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這並沒有改變太多。
01:37
Light came來了 out of it in every一切 direction方向.
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光線從各個角度散放出來。
01:40
Before the light bulb燈泡 was invented發明,
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在燈泡發明之前,
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people had figured想通 out how to put a reflector反射器 behind背後 it,
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人們就知道它後面放個反射鏡,
01:45
focus焦點 it a little bit;
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讓光線更集中;
01:47
put lenses鏡頭 in front面前 of it,
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在前面放個透鏡,
01:49
focus焦點 it a little bit better.
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讓它更加集中。
01:51
Ultimately最終, we figured想通 out how to make things like lasers激光器
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最終我們發現怎麼去做出雷射
01:54
that were totally完全 focused重點.
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這種完全聚集的光線。
01:57
Now, think about where the world世界 would be today今天
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現在想想,如果我們有燈泡,
01:59
if we had the light bulb燈泡,
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但是無法集中光線時,
02:03
but you couldn't不能 focus焦點 light;
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世界會變成怎麼樣;
02:05
if when you turned轉身 one on it just went wherever哪裡 it wanted to.
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當你點亮燈泡,光線四散的時候。
02:10
That's the way loudspeakers擴音器 pretty漂亮 much are.
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那和喇叭差不多。
02:13
You turn on the loudspeaker喇叭,
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當你打開喇叭時,
02:15
and after almost幾乎 80 years年份 of having those gadgets小工具,
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即使在它們已經發明了將近80年之後,
02:18
the sound聲音 just kind of goes where it wants.
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聲音仍然會隨便亂跑。
02:21
Even when you're standing常設 in front面前 of a megaphone擴音器,
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即使你在站擴音器前面,
02:23
it's pretty漂亮 much every一切 direction方向.
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它還是幾乎往各個方向跑。
02:25
A little bit of differential微分, but not much.
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會有些許不同,但差不多。
02:28
If the light bulb燈泡 was the way the speaker揚聲器 is,
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如果燈泡和喇叭一樣,
02:31
and you couldn't不能 focus焦點 or sharpen削尖 the edges邊緣 or define確定 it,
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你沒辦法把光線聚集,讓邊界變小或是限制它,
02:34
we wouldn't不會 have that, or movies電影 in general一般,
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我們就不可能擁有,比如說電影,
02:39
or computers電腦, or T.V. sets,
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或是電腦,或是電視機,
02:42
or C.D.s, or DVDsDVD光盤 -- and just go down the list名單
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或是 CD, DVD -- 想想看
02:45
of what the importance重要性 is
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把光線聚集起來
02:47
of being存在 able能夠 to focus焦點 light.
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有多麼重要。
02:50
Now, after almost幾乎 80 years年份 of having sound聲音,
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在擁有聲音將近80年後的今日,
02:54
I thought it was about time that we figure數字 out
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我想差不多是時候去發覺
02:56
a way to put sound聲音 where you want to.
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如何將聲音導向你希望的位置。
03:00
I have a couple一對 of units單位.
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我這兒有一些設備。
03:02
That guy there was made製作 for a demo演示 I did yesterday昨天 early in the day
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那是我昨天在底特律的一家汽車工廠做示範用的,
03:04
for a big car汽車 maker製作者 in Detroit底特律 who wants to put them in a car汽車 --
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他們想把這個裝在車子裡 --
03:07
small version, over your head --
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用小的型號,裝在你的頭頂上方 --
03:09
so that you can actually其實 get binaural雙耳 sound聲音 in a car汽車.
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這樣你就可以在車上聽見雙聲道。
03:13
What if I could aim目標 sound聲音 the way I aim目標 light?
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如果我能夠將聲音像是光線一樣的去瞄準呢?
03:18
I got this waterfall瀑布 I recorded記錄 in my back yard.
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我在我的後院錄了這段瀑布的聲音。
03:21
Now, you're not going to hear a thing unless除非 it hits點擊 you.
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除非它朝向你,否則你不會聽見這個聲音。
03:25
Maybe if I hit擊中 the side wall it will bounce彈跳 around the room房間.
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如果我讓它傳到邊牆上,也許它會產生一點回音。
03:28
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
03:31
The sound聲音 is being存在 made製作 right next下一個 to your ears耳朵. Is that cool?
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聲音就在你的耳朵旁邊。很酷吧?
03:35
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
03:43
Because I have some limited有限 time, I'll cut it off for a second第二,
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因為我的時間有限,所以暫時先展示到這裡,
03:45
and tell you about how it works作品 and what it's good for.
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接下來要跟大家說明它的原理和用途。
03:48
Course課程, like light, it's great to be able能夠 to put sound聲音
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當然, 如果可以把聲音像光一樣
03:51
to highlight突出 a clothing服裝 rack, or the cornflakes玉米片, or the toothpaste牙膏,
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用來突顯衣架, 或是玉米片, 或是牙膏,
03:54
or a talking plaque牌匾 in a movie電影 theater劇院 lobby前廳.
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或是在戲院大廳的看板, 那就太好了。
03:57
Sony's索尼公司 got an idea理念 -- Sony's索尼公司 our biggest最大 customers顧客 right now.
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Sony 有一個點子 -- Sony 現在是我們最大的客戶。
04:01
They tried試著 this back in the '60s
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早在1960年代他們就在嘗試這個,
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and were too smart聰明, and so they gave up.
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不過當時人們的接受度不高,所以放棄了。
04:05
But they want to use it -- seriously認真地.
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但是他們很認真的想要去使用它。
04:08
There's a mix混合 an inventor發明者 has to have.
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對一個發明家而言,必須要有多元性。
04:10
You have to be kind of smart聰明,
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你必須要有點小聰明,
04:12
and though雖然 I did not graduate畢業 from college學院 doesn't mean I'm stupid,
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雖然我大學沒畢業,但不表示我很笨,
04:16
because you cannot不能 be stupid and do very much in the world世界 today今天.
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因為如果你很笨,你就沒辦法做太多事。
04:19
Too many許多 other smart聰明 people out there. So.
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外頭有一大堆聰明的傢伙。
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I just happened發生 to get my education教育 in a little different不同 way.
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所以我用了不同的方式來進行我的學習。
04:23
I'm not at all against反對 education教育.
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我不反對接受教育。
04:26
I think it's wonderful精彩; I think sometimes有時 people,
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我覺得這很棒。只是我覺得有些人,
04:28
when they get educated博學, lose失去 it:
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當他們畢業之後就忘光了。
04:31
they get so smart聰明 they're unwilling不甘 to look at things that they know better than.
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因為他們太聰明了,所以不願意去看他們已經知道的東西。
04:35
And we're living活的 in a great time right now,
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我們生活在一個很棒的時代,
04:38
because almost幾乎 everything's一切的 being存在 explored探討 anew重新.
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因為幾乎所有東西都是全新設計的。
04:41
I have this little slogan口號 that I use a lot, which哪一個 is:
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我有一個座右銘,
04:44
virtually實質上 nothing --
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事實上大部分的東西 --
04:46
and I mean this honestly老老實實 --
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都還沒有被發明出來 --
04:48
has been invented發明 yet然而.
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我很認真的這麼想。
04:50
We're just starting開始.
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我們才剛剛開始而已。
04:52
We're just starting開始 to really discover發現 the laws法律 of nature性質 and science科學 and physics物理.
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我們才剛開始發現自然, 科學和物理的法則。
04:56
And this is, I hope希望, a little piece of it.
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而這只是,我希望,其中的一小部份而已。
04:58
Sony's索尼公司 got this vision視力 back -- to get myself on track跟踪 --
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Sony 找回了這個想法 -- 讓我步上這條路 --
05:02
that when you stand in the checkout查看 line in the supermarket超級市場,
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當你在超級市場結帳處排隊時,
05:05
you're going to watch a new T.V. channel渠道.
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你將會看見一個全新的電視頻道。
05:07
They know that when you watch T.V. at home,
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他們知道你在家看電視時,
05:09
because there are so many許多 choices選擇
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因為有太多選擇,
05:11
you can change更改 channels渠道, miss小姐 their commercials廣告.
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你會轉台而跳過他們的廣告了。
05:15
A hundred and fifty-one五十一 million百萬 people every一切 day stand in the line at the supermarket超級市場.
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全球每天有一億五千萬人在超級市場中排隊。
05:20
Now, they've他們已經 tried試著 this a couple一對 years年份 ago and it failed失敗,
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他們幾年前曾經試過這個方法但失敗了,
05:22
because the checker檢查 gets得到 tired of hearing聽力 the same相同 message信息
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因為結帳人員會厭倦於每隔20分鐘就聽見同樣的東西,
05:24
every一切 20 minutes分鐘, and reaches到達 out, turns off the sound聲音.
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結果就會去把聲音給關掉。
05:28
And, you know, if the sound聲音 isn't there, the sale拍賣 typically一般 isn't made製作.
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你知道,如果沒聲音,生意通常就做不成了。
05:31
For instance, like, when you're on an airplane飛機, they show顯示 the movie電影,
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例如,當你坐飛機時,他們會放電影,
05:34
you get to watch it for free自由;
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你可以看免費的電影,
05:36
when you want to hear the sound聲音, you pay工資.
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當你想聽音樂時,你卻必須付錢。
05:38
And so ABCABC and Sony索尼 have devised設計 this new thing
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於是 ABC 和 Sony 想到這個新點子,
05:42
where when you step in the line in the supermarket超級市場 --
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當你在超級市場排隊時 --
05:45
initially原來 it'll它會 be SafewaysSafeways. It is SafewaysSafeways;
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頭一家將會是在 Safeways,
05:48
they're trying this in three parts部分 of the country國家 right now --
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他們正在國內三個分店試用 --
05:50
you'll你會 be watching觀看 TV電視.
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你會在那兒看他們的電視廣告。
05:52
And hopefully希望 they'll他們會 be sensitive敏感
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所幸他們很細心,
05:54
that they don't want to offend得罪 you with just one more outlet出口.
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聲音只會在你站的那條結帳隊伍中出現。
05:56
But what's great about it, from the tests測試 that have been doneDONE, is,
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而在這個測試裡最棒的事情是,
05:59
if you don't want to hear it,
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如果你不想聽的話,
06:01
you take about one step to the side and you don't hear it.
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你只要往旁邊站一步,你就不會聽見了。
06:04
So, we create創建 silence安靜 as much as we create創建 sound聲音.
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於是,如同我們創造聲音一般,我們也創造出寧靜。
06:08
ATMs自動取款機 that talk to you; nobody沒有人 else其他 hears就听 it.
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提款機對你說的事情,旁邊的人不會聽見。
06:11
Sit in bed, two in the morning早上, watch TV電視;
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半夜兩點做在床上看電視時,
06:13
your spouse伴侶, or someone有人, is next下一個 to you, asleep睡著;
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你的另一半或其他睡在你旁邊的人,
06:17
doesn't hear it, doesn't wake喚醒 up.
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不會聽見聲音,更不會被吵醒。
06:19
We're also working加工 on noise噪聲 canceling取消 things like snoring打鼾, noise噪聲 from automobiles汽車.
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我們同時也在努力進行噪音消除,例如打鼾或手機的雜音。
06:25
I have been really lucky幸運 with this technology技術:
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關於這項技術,我的運氣挺好的,
06:29
all of a sudden突然 as it is ready準備, the world世界 is ready準備 to accept接受 it.
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當它完成的同時,這個世界已經準備好去使用它了。
06:34
They have literally按照字面 beat擊敗 a path路徑 to our door.
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人們爭相找上門來。
06:36
We've我們已經 been selling銷售 it since以來 about last September九月, October十月,
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我們從去年九月十月左右就開始賣了,
06:39
and it's been immensely非常 gratifying可喜.
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大家的反應都很滿意。
06:42
If you're interested有興趣 in what it costs成本 -- I'm not selling銷售 them today今天 --
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如果你想知道價格的話 -- 我今天不是來賣這東西的 --
06:44
but this unit單元, with the electronics電子產品 and everything,
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這一台附帶這些電子配備和其他東西,
06:46
if you buy購買 one, is around a thousand bucks雄鹿.
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如果你想買的話,大概要一千美元左右。
06:48
We expect期望 by this time next下一個 year,
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我們希望到明天此時,
06:50
it'll它會 be hundreds數以百計, a few少數 hundred bucks雄鹿, to buy購買 it.
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價格能降到幾百塊美元。
06:52
It's not any more pricey昂貴的 than regular定期 electronics電子產品.
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它將不會再比一般家用電器貴很多。
06:56
Now, when I played發揮 it for you, you didn't hear the thunderous雷鳴 bass低音.
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當我播放給大家聽時,你不會聽見吵雜的低音。
07:00
This unit單元 that I played發揮 goes from about 200 hertz赫茲 to above以上 the range範圍 of hearing聽力.
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我播放的這個設備可以從200Hz到超音波。
07:05
It's actually其實 emitting發光 ultrasound超聲 -- low-level低級別 ultrasound超聲 --
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它可以發出超音波 --低頻的超音波 --
07:09
that's about 100,000 vibrations振動 per second第二.
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振動頻率大約每秒 10 萬次。
07:12
And the sound聲音 that you're hearing聽力,
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你所聽見的聲音,
07:14
unlike不像 a regular定期 speaker揚聲器 on which哪一個 all the sound聲音 is made製作 on the face面對,
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不會像一般喇叭直接對著你的臉來,
07:18
is made製作 out in front面前 of it, in the air空氣.
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而是在你面前的空氣中產生。
07:21
The air空氣 is not linear線性, as we've我們已經 always been taught.
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我們所了解的空氣是非線性的。
07:25
You turn up the volume just a little bit --
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當你把音量提高一點時 --
07:27
I'm talking about a little over 80 decibels分貝 --
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我指的是高過80分貝 --
07:30
and all of a sudden突然 the air空氣 begins開始 to corrupt腐敗 signals信號 you propagate傳播.
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空氣會導致聲音被扭曲。
07:34
Here's這裡的 why: the speed速度 of sound聲音 is not a constant不變. It's fairly相當 slow.
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因為,聲音並不是固定速度。它相當緩慢。
07:39
It changes變化 with temperature溫度 and with barometric氣壓 pressure壓力.
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它的速度會因為溫度和壓力而改變。
07:43
Now, imagine想像, if you will, without getting得到 too technical技術,
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想像一下,如果用簡單的技術原理來說明,
07:46
I'm making製造 a little sine正弦 wave here in the air空氣.
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當我在空氣中製造一個正弦波,
07:49
Well, if I turn up the amplitude振幅 too much,
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如果我把擴大器開太大,
07:52
I'm having an effect影響 on the pressure壓力,
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會因為壓力而產生干擾,
07:55
which哪一個 means手段 during the making製造 of that sine正弦 wave,
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就是說,當製造正弦波時,
07:58
the speed速度 at which哪一個 it is propagating傳播 is shifting.
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剛生成的波,移動速度會產生變化。
08:01
All of audio音頻 as we know it
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我們所知道的聲波
08:04
is an attempt嘗試 to be more and more perfectly完美 linear線性.
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全都會趨向於形成線性。
08:08
Linearity線性 means手段 higher更高 quality質量 sound聲音.
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線性代表高品質的聲音。
08:12
Hypersonic高超音速 sound聲音 is exactly究竟 the opposite對面:
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超級超音波則完全相反,
08:16
it's 100 percent百分 based基於 on non-linearity非線性.
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它是100%非線性的。
08:20
An effect影響 happens發生 in the air空氣, it's a corrupting腐敗 effect影響 of the sound聲音 --
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空氣造成的干擾,會將聲音扭曲 --
08:25
the ultrasound超聲 in this case案件 -- that's emitted發射,
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這裡的超音波會因此四散,
08:28
but it's so predictable可預測
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但這是可預期的,
08:30
that you can produce生產 very precise精確 audio音頻 out of that effect影響.
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所以你可以造出正確的聲音來導正這個干擾結果。
08:34
Now, the question is, where's哪裡 the sound聲音 made製作?
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現在的問題是,聲音在哪裡形成的呢?
08:37
Instead代替 of being存在 made製作 on the face面對 of the cone錐體,
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不同於原本由喇叭前面的振動膜發聲,
08:39
it's made製作 at literally按照字面 billions數十億 of little independent獨立 points
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它是在狹長的空氣柱中
08:43
along沿 this narrow狹窄 column in the air空氣,
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幾十億個獨立的小點所產生,
08:47
and so when I aim目標 it towards you,
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所以當我將它瞄準你時,
08:49
what you hear is made製作 right next下一個 to your ears耳朵.
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你所聽見的是在你耳邊所發出的聲音。
08:52
I said we can shorten縮短 the column,
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我們可以將這個空氣柱變小,
08:55
we can spread傳播 it out to cover the couch長椅.
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也可以將它擴大到覆蓋整張沙發。
08:57
I can put it so that one ear hears就听 one speaker揚聲器,
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我可以讓你一隻耳朵聽見一個喇叭的聲音,
09:00
the other ear hears就听 the other. That's true真正 binaural雙耳 sound聲音.
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另一隻耳朵聽到另一個喇叭的聲音。這才是真正的立體聲。
09:04
When you listen to stereo立體聲 on your home system系統,
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當你在家裡聽立體音效時,
09:07
your both ears耳朵 hear both speakers音箱.
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你的兩隻耳朵都能聽見兩個喇叭的聲音。
09:10
Turn on the left speaker揚聲器 sometime某時
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有時只開左邊的喇叭時,
09:12
and notice注意 you're hearing聽力 it also in your right ear.
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你的右耳還是會聽見聲音。
09:14
So, the stage階段 is more restricted限制 --
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在舞台上的話限制就更多了 --
09:17
the sound聲音 stage階段 that's supposed應該 to spread傳播 out in front面前 of you.
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因為聲音必須要傳到你的面前。
09:20
Because the sound聲音 is made製作 in the air空氣 along沿 this column,
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正因為聲音是在空氣柱中產生的,
09:23
it does not follow跟隨 the inverse square廣場 law,
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它不會遵循反平方定理,
09:25
which哪一個 says it drops滴劑 off about two thirds三分之二
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那是指當距離變成兩倍時,
09:28
every一切 time you double the distance距離:
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音量會減少二分之三:
09:30
6dBD b every一切 time you go from one meter儀表, for instance, to two meters.
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舉例來說,每移動一到兩公尺就會少 6 分貝。
09:35
That means手段 you go to a rock concert音樂會 or a symphony交響樂,
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也就是說,當你聽搖滾演唱會或交響樂時,
09:38
and the guy in the front面前 row gets得到 the same相同 level水平
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在後排的人所聽見的聲音,
09:40
as the guy in the back row, now, all of a sudden突然.
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現在突然之間就和前排的人一樣了。
09:42
Isn't that terrific了不起?
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這不是很棒嗎?
09:45
So, we've我們已經 been, as I say, very successful成功, very lucky幸運,
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因此,我們相當成功,也相當幸運,
09:48
in having companies公司 catch抓住 the vision視力 of this,
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能有許多公司願意採用這種概念,
09:51
from cars汽車 -- car汽車 makers製造商 who want to put a stereo立體聲 system系統 in the front面前 for the kids孩子,
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在車上 -- 汽車製造商想在前面替小孩們放一套立體聲系統,
09:55
and a separate分離 system系統 in the back --
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以及後面放置不同的立體聲系統 --
09:57
oh, no, the kids孩子 aren't driving主動 today今天.
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喔,不對,小孩子不能開車。
09:59
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
10:00
I was seeing眼看 if you were listening.
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我只是在試看看你有沒有注意聽。
10:02
Actually其實, I haven't沒有 had breakfast早餐 yet然而.
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事實上,我還沒吃早餐。
10:04
A stereo立體聲 system系統 in the front面前 for mom媽媽 and dad,
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在前面替爸爸媽媽放一套立體聲系統,
10:08
and maybe there's a little DVDDVD player播放機 in the back for the kids孩子,
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後面也許有個DVD播放器讓小孩子看,
10:11
and the parents父母 don't want to be bothered困擾 with that,
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而父母們不想被這個
10:13
or their rap敲擊 music音樂 or whatever隨你.
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或是rap音樂或其他的吵到。
10:15
So, again, this idea理念 of being存在 able能夠 to put sound聲音 anywhere隨地 you want to
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於是,可以讓你在任何想要的地方放音樂的概念
10:18
is really starting開始 to catch抓住 on.
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逐漸趕上需求了。
10:20
It also works作品 for transmitting發射 and communicating通信 data數據.
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這也可以用來傳輸或溝通資料。
10:24
It also works作品 five times better underwater水下.
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在水底的運作效果好上5倍。
10:27
We've我們已經 got the military軍事 -- have just deployed部署 some of these into Iraq伊拉克,
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國軍採購了這些 -- 用在伊拉克戰爭時,
10:31
where you can put fake troop部隊 movements運動
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你可以在山腰的1/4英里外
10:34
quarter25美分硬幣 of a mile英里 away on a hillside山坡.
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播放偽造的士兵走動聲音。
10:36
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
10:39
Or you can whisper耳語 in the ear of a supposed應該 terrorist恐怖分子 some Biblical聖經 verse.
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或者你可以在疑似恐怖份子的耳邊小聲的說一些聖經的詩句。
10:43
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
10:45
I'm serious嚴重. And they have these infrared紅外線 devices設備
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我是認真的。它們還有這些紅外線裝置,
10:51
that can look at their countenance面容,
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可以在一百碼外,
10:54
and see a fraction分數 of a degree Kelvin in temperature溫度 shift轉移
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看見他們的表情,
10:58
from 100 yards away when they play this thing.
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以及每一度絕對溫度的變化量。
11:01
And so, another另一個 way of hopefully希望 determining決定 who's誰是 friendly友善 and who isn't.
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希望這個能成為另一種判別敵我的方式。
11:05
We make a version with this which哪一個 puts看跌期權 out 155 decibels分貝.
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我們還製造了一種可以造出155分貝的機器。
11:10
Pain疼痛 is 120.
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120分貝就能讓人感到痛苦。
11:12
So it allows允許 you to go nearly幾乎 a mile英里 away and communicate通信 with people,
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它可以讓你和距離一英里左右的人交談,
11:16
and there can be a public上市 beach海灘 just off to the side,
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那可以是在公共海灘旁邊,
11:18
and they don't even know it's turned轉身 on.
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旁人甚至不會發現它已經被打開了。
11:20
We sell those to the military軍事 presently目前 for about 70,000 dollars美元,
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我們最近把這東西以7萬美金賣給軍方,
11:24
and they're buying購買 them as fast快速 as we can make them.
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我們才剛做好立刻就被他們買走了。
11:26
We put it on a turret砲塔 with a camera相機, so that when they shoot射擊 at you,
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我們將它裝置在砲塔上,並裝置了攝影機,當他們朝你射擊時,
11:31
you're over there, and it's there.
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你並不在他們瞄準的地方。
11:34
I have a bunch of other inventions發明.
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我還有許多其它發明。
11:36
I invented發明 a plasma等離子體 antenna天線, to shift轉移 gears齒輪.
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我發明了一個用來變速的電漿天線。
11:38
Looked看著 up at the ceiling天花板 of my office辦公室 one day --
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有天我看著天花板想事情時 --
11:41
I was working加工 on a ground-penetrating地面穿透 radar雷達 project項目 --
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我正在進行一個地底探測雷達的案子 --
11:45
and my physicist物理學家 CEOCEO came來了 in and said, "We have a real真實 problem問題.
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我的物理學CEO跑來跟我說,"我們遇到麻煩了。
11:49
We're using運用 very short wavelengths波長.
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我們用的是極短波長。
11:52
We've我們已經 got a problem問題 with the antenna天線 ringing鈴聲.
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這會產生天線鳴叫的問題。
11:54
When you run very short wavelengths波長,
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當使用極短波長時,
11:56
like a tuning調音 fork叉子 the antenna天線 resonates共振,
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就像是用音叉讓天線產生共鳴,
11:58
and there's more energy能源 coming未來 out of the antenna天線
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這會讓天線產生出
12:00
than there is the backscatter後向散射 from the ground地面
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比起地底反射獲得的還要更高的能量,
12:02
that we're trying to analyze分析, taking服用 too much processing處理."
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這樣會造成分析上更多的困難。"
12:05
I says, "Why don't we make an antenna天線 that only exists存在 when you want it?
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我說,"為什麼不做一個只有在需要時存在的天線?
12:10
Turn it on; turn it off.
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可以隨時打開或關閉。
12:13
That's a fluorescent tube refined精製."
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一種改良的螢光燈管。"
12:18
I just sold出售 that for a million百萬 and a half dollars美元, cash現金.
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我剛將它以150萬現金價賣出。
12:21
I took it back to the Pentagon五角大樓 after it got declassified解密,
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在它被解除機密等級後,我將它帶回五角大廈,
12:24
when the patent專利 issued發行, and told the people back there about it,
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在註冊專利以後,我告訴那些人關於它的故事,
12:28
and they laughed笑了, and then I took them back a demo演示 and they bought.
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他們笑了,並且在我進行一些示範後,他們就買了。
12:30
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
12:32
Any of you ever wore穿著 a Jabber嘰里咕嚕 headphone耳機 -- the little cell細胞 headphones頭戴耳機?
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你們有用過 Jabber 的耳機嗎? 那種小型手機耳機?
12:37
That's my invention發明. I sold出售 that for seven million百萬 dollars美元.
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那是我發明的。我將它以七百萬美金賣出。
12:39
Big mistake錯誤: it just sold出售 for 80 million百萬 dollars美元 two years年份 ago.
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那是一個大錯,兩年前它被人以八千萬美金轉賣了。
12:43
I actually其實 drew德魯 that up on a little crummy照出 Mac蘋果電腦 computer電腦
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我當時在家中閣樓裡
12:46
in my attic閣樓 at my house,
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用我那台破舊的麥金塔設計出來的,
12:49
and one of the many許多 designs設計 which哪一個 they have now
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而許多其他的設計
12:52
is still the same相同 design設計 I drew德魯 way back when.
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也都是在當時同樣情況下設計出來的。
12:54
So, I've been really lucky幸運 as an inventor發明者.
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所以,我在發明這部份還挺幸運的。
12:57
I'm the happiest最幸福 guy you're ever going to meet遇到.
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我應該是你們所遇過最快樂的人。
13:01
And my dad died死亡 before he realized實現 anybody任何人 in the family家庭
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我的父親在能夠知道,也許家裡每個人,
13:06
would maybe, hopefully希望, make something out of themselves他們自己.
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都能幸運地靠自己創出一片天地之前就過世了。
13:09
You've been a great audience聽眾. I know I've jumped跳下 all over the place地點.
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你們是很棒的聽眾。我知道我扯太遠了。
13:11
I usually平時 figure數字 out what my talk is when I get up in front面前 of a group.
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我通常在上台以後才知道我想說的是什麼。
13:14
Let me give you, in the last minute分鐘,
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最後幾分鐘讓我再次
13:16
one more quick demo演示 of this guy,
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替那些還沒聽見的人們
13:19
for those of you that haven't沒有 heard聽說 it.
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示範一下它的功能。
13:22
Can never tell if it's on.
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不過我沒辦法知道它是不是已經啟動了。
13:24
If you haven't沒有 heard聽說 it, raise提高 your hand.
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還沒聽見的人麻煩舉個手。
13:29
Getting入門 it over there?
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那邊聽見了嗎?
13:32
Get the cameraman攝影師.
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攝影師也來一下吧。
13:35
Yeah, there you go.
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好,來嚕。
13:37
I've got a Coke可樂 can opening開盤 that's right in your head; that's really cool.
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在腦中打開可樂罐的聲音,很酷吧。
13:40
Thank you once一旦 again.
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再次感謝大家。
13:42
Appreciate欣賞 it very much.
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非常謝謝各位。
Translated by kane tan
Reviewed by Shelley Krishna R. TSANG

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Woody Norris - Inventor
Woody Norris is a serial inventor of electronics, tools and cutting-edge sonic equipment -- such as the LRAD acoustic cannon.

Why you should listen

When Woody Norris won the Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2005, his official prize bio called him "a classic independent inventor ... self-educated, self-funded and self-motivated." His mind seems to race toward things the world needs, though we don't know it yet: a nonlethal acoustic weapon that has been used to ward off pirates, a bone-induction headset, radar that can scan the human body, a tapeless tape recorder ...

Norris' educational background is a key to his restless mind. He is not quite "self-educated" -- he's taken many classes, but always at his own speed and in his own style, studying the things he knew he wanted to know and working closely with professors. Ironically, it's a model that cutting-edge colleges are now embracing.

His inventions have seeded several public companies. Recently he has been working on the AirScooter -- a sort of propeller-powered counterpart to the Moller SkyCar.

More profile about the speaker
Woody Norris | Speaker | TED.com