Current Topics in Scientific Exploration Ivan Yeung CTL

Current Topics in Scientific Exploration Ivan Yeung CTL 3352 Technical and Scientific Translation

仙台地震 Sendai Earthquake CTL 3352 Scientific and Technical Translation Special Session

Fukushima Daiichi 福島第一核電站 n State of emergency declared: 20 km exclusion zone. n 宣佈進入緊急狀態： 20 公里疏散區

Fukushima Daiichi 福島第一核電站 n Reactor 1 ¡ 70% of rods ‘significantly damaged’. Core likely to have been at least partially melted. n 一號反應堆 ¡ 70% 的核燃料棒「受損 顯著」。堆芯可能已經 部分消熔。

Fukushima Daiichi 福島第一核電站 n Reactor 2 ¡ 33% of rods ‘significantly damaged’. Core likely to have been at least partially melted. n 二號反應堆 ¡ 33% 的核燃料棒「受損 顯著」。堆芯可能已經 部分消熔。

Fukushima Daiichi 福島第一核電站 n Reactor 3 ¡ Fire broke out where a fuel storage pool had overheated and may have let off radioactive steam ¡ 三號反應堆 n 核廢料貯存池過熱起火， 釋放出可能帶輻射的水 蒸氣。

Fukushima Daiichi 福島第一核電站 n try~ n Reactor 4 ¡ The spent fuel storage pool may be boiling after a fire that blew two holes in the outer building, raising the possibility that exposed rods will reach criticality ¡ 四號反應堆 n 反應堆起火，外牆炸出 兩個洞，核廢料貯存池 可能沸騰，增加外露燃 料棒到達安全臨界狀況 的可能。

Fukushima Daiichi 福島第一核電站 n n Although reactor number 1 was automatically shut down when the earthquake struck, a back up generator – designed to keep the reactor cool – failed when the tsunami struck. ¡ 雖然地震來襲時一號反應堆自動關閉，但海嘯來 襲卻令用於冷卻反應堆的後備發電機受損失靈。 As the water around the core boiled, pressure built up, eventually blowing the roof off the reactor building. Another explosion early on 15 March suggests that pressure is still rising. ¡ 當堆芯周圍的水沸騰時，壓力累積，最終引致反 應堆廠房頂部炸毀。3月15日早上另一次爆炸也 意謂反應爐壓力仍在持續上升。

How things should work 核電原理

Boiling Water Reactor 沸水式反應堆 n n In a Boiling Water Reactor operating normally, water is fed in to cool the fuel rods, steam builds up and is released through a turbine and generator and sent out as electricity. 正常運作的沸水式反應堆， 給水冷卻燃料棒，釋放積 聚的蒸氣驅動渦輪發電。

Boiling Water Reactor 沸水式反應堆 n But when the cooling breaks down, the fuel rods are exposed and temperatures rise. n 但冷卻失靈時，燃料棒外 露，令溫度上升。

Boiling Water Reactor 沸水式反應堆 n n In an attempt to control the pressure increase, workers vented some gas through the primary containment vessel. 作人員排放水蒸汽，試 著控制反應爐外殼增加的 壓力。

Boiling Water Reactor 沸水式反應堆 n n If the temperature increases further, the rods start to melt – and can continue to melt through the base of the reactor. 倘使溫度進一步上升，燃 料棒開始熔毀，亦可從反 應爐底部熔毀溢出。

In better times: 危機未發 n This file photo from Aug. 21, 2010, shows plutoniumuranium mixed oxide fuel rods being placed in a storage pool at the No. 3 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northern Japan n 位於北日本的福島第一 核電站正裝置鈈鈾混合 氧化物燃料棒到 3 號核 反應堆。檔案照片攝於 2010年 8月21日

Meltdown 101: What are spent-fuel pools and why are they a threat? n 核熔毀知識：廢燃料儲 存池是甚麼？為何構成 危險？ n Spent-fuel pools are shielded only by the buildings at Japan's Fukushimi 1 nuclear power plant, and three have now been damaged by explosions. n 日本福島第一核電站的乏 核燃料 / 廢燃料貯存池只 受到建築物 / 圍阻體遮蔽， 而其中三座建築已遭爆炸 損壞。

Meltdown 101: What are spent-fuel pools and why are they a threat? n n try~ Low-level radiation leaking from the pools could dramatically worsen if the water levels drop low enough for spent rods to burn.

Meltdown 101: What are spent-fuel pools and why are they a threat? n Four of the plant's six reactors have now overheated and sparked explosions since a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11 knocked out cooling systems. n 3月11日發生大規模地震 及海嘯後，核電站的冷卻 系統遭破壞，六個反應堆 中，目前有四個過熱，並 引發數起爆炸。

Meltdown 101: What are spent-fuel pools and why are they a threat? n With no shielding beyond the reactors' outer walls, spent-fuel pools are already leaking radioactive material, and could release more, if the water level drops too far. n 除了反應堆的外牆，廢燃 料儲存池別無屏障。廢燃 料池現已有放射性物質外 洩，假如水位下降太多， 將會有更多幅射洩漏。

Nuclear crisis: The ongoing struggle to cool Fukushima n 核危機一觸即發 力圖冷卻核電站 ¡ The government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said later in the day that white smoke was confirmed to be billowing from the nearby No. 2 unit at the power plant, suggesting that a spent nuclear fuel pool in the facility may also be boiling. n 日本政府原子力安全保安會當天稍後時間證實白煙 是由鄰近核電站的 2 號機組翻騰而出* / 湧出 / 冒 出，顯示該核電站設施中的乏燃料 / 廢燃料貯存池 可能也在沸騰中。

Nuclear Energy n try~ n It sounds nothing short of miraculous. One pellet of a nuclear fuel called MOX, weighing just 6 grams, can yield the same amount of energy as a tonne of coal. n Three pellets can provide a family with electricity for a year. All this and zero emissions of carbon dioxide. So what's the catch?

Nuclear Energy n n So how exactly do nuclear power stations perform their miraculous feat of splitting atoms to produce raw energy? ¡ 到底核電廠如何做到原子分裂產能的妙法？ All of them use uranium as fuel. With an atomic number of 92 (the number of protons in its nuclei), uranium is the heaviest element found in more than trace amounts in nature. ¡ 所有核電廠都使用鈾作為燃料。鈾的原子數 (即原 子核中的質子數目) 為 92，是除了痕量元素以外， 自然界中質量最重的元素。

Nuclear Energy n All the uranium on Earth was forged from lighter elements during supernova explosions billions of years ago. ¡ n 地球上所有的鈾都是在數十億年前的超新星爆炸中從較輕 的元素「冶煉」而成 / 生成。 Material from these exploded stars is strewn across space, and eventually some gets incorporated into new stars and their orbiting planets. So nuclear power here on Earth harnesses energy that has been stored in uranium for more than 4. 5 billion years. ¡ 這些星體爆炸產生的物質散布宇宙，最終併入新生的恆星 以及其周邊運行的行星裡。故地球利用的核能是貯存在鈾 裡超過 45 億年的能量。

Nuclear Energy n n Uranium is a fairly common element: at 2. 7 parts per million in the Earth's crust, it's more abundant than tin. ¡ 鈾是頗為普遍的元素，約佔地殼的百萬份之 2. 7，分 量比錫要多。 Geological processes have resulted in the formation of uranium-containing minerals such as pitchblende. These ores are typically less than 1 per cent uranium, though some hold 10 times that. ¡ 瀝青鈾礦 / 閃鈾礦 / 晶質鈾礦等鈾礦經由地質作用形 成。這些鈾礦含鈾量通常低於 1%，但有些含鈾量則 可高達常見值 10 倍。

Nuclear Energy n n Major uranium-mining countries include Canada, Niger, Australia and countries of the former Soviet Union such as Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. ¡ 主要鈾生產國包括加拿大、尼日、澳洲，以及俄羅斯、 哈薩克和烏克蘭等前蘇聯加盟國。 They extract uranium oxide from the ore in a process known as milling, which for every tonne of relatively pure oxide produced creates hundreds of tonnes of solid, liquid and gaseous radioactive waste. ¡ 產鈾國以研磨 / 選礦程序把鈾從鈾礦提取出來。生產 每一公噸純度較高的鈾氧化物的過程中，均連帶產生 數百公噸固態、液態以及氣態輻射廢物。

Nuclear Energy n n n try~ Uranium is fissile - its atomic nuclei can be split to release energy. Its two most common isotopes are U-238 (making up almost 99. 3 per cent of all natural uranium), and U-235 (0. 7 per cent). Unfortunately, only the rarer U-235 is fissile. This means that even refined uranium fuel is dilute, and for several types of nuclear reactor it must be enriched by removing some of the U-238 to increase the concentration of fissile material.

l l Imagine a world where microscopic medical implants patrol our arteries, diagnosing ailments and fighting disease; where military battle-suits deflect explosions; where computer chips are no bigger than specks of dust; and where clouds of miniature space probes transmit data from the atmospheres of Mars or Titan. 試想像這樣的一個世界：植入身體的微型醫學設施在 我們血管裡巡邏偵察，診症抗病；能抵禦爆炸的軍服； 大小不比一撮微塵的電腦晶片；成群的微型太空探測 器，能從火星或土衛六 / 泰坦星 (Titan) 大氣層傳送資 料回地球。

l Many incredible claims have been made about the future's nanotechnological applications, but what exactly does nano mean, and why has controversy plagued this emerging technology? l 納米技術應用的前景，有許多極妙的說法，但「 納米」指的到底是甚麼？為甚麼這門新興技術惹 來爭議？ l 科研人員指出納米技術諸般極妙的應用前景，但 「納米」指的到底是甚麼？為甚麼會惹來爭議， 讓這門新興技術前路蒙塵？

l time for fun~ l Nanotechnology is science and engineering at the scale of atoms and molecules. l It is the manipulation and use of materials and devices so tiny that nothing can be built any smaller.

l How small is small? l 有多小？ Nanomaterials are typically between 0. 1 and 100 nanometres (nm) in size - with 1 nm being equivalent to one billionth of a metre (10 -9 m). l 納米物料大小介於 0. 1 – 100 納米之間。1 納米 就是十億分之一米 (10 -9 m)。 l

l time for fun~ l This is the scale at which the basic functions of the biological world operate - and materials of this size display unusual physical and chemical properties.

l time for fun~ l These profoundly different properties are due to an increase in surface area compared to volume as particles get smaller - and also the grip of weird quantum effects at the atomic scale.

l If 1 nanometre was roughly the width of a pinhead, then 1 metre on this scale would stretch the entire distance from Washington, DC to Atlanta - around 1000 kilometres. l 假如 1 納米約像針頭般寬，按照這個比例，1 米的距離就像從華盛頓特區到阿特蘭大那麼遠。

time for fun~ l But a pinhead is actually one million nanometres wide. Most atoms are 0. 1 to 0. 2 nm wide, strands of DNA around 2 nm wide, red blood cells are around 7000 nm in diameter, while human hairs are typically 80, 000 nm across. l

l Other significant advances were made in 1985, when chemists discovered how to create a soccer-ball-shaped molecule of 60 carbon atoms, which they called buckminsterfullerene (also known as C 60 or buckyballs). l 1985 年作出了其他重大突破 ，化學家發現製造 足球狀碳分子的方法，該分子由 60 個碳原子組 成，稱為 C 60 或巴克球 (buckyball).

time for fun~ l In 1991, tiny, super-strong rolls of carbon atoms known as carbon nanotubes were created. These are six times lighter, yet 100 times stronger than steel. l

l l Both materials have important applications as nanoscale building blocks. 作為納米規模的建材，這兩種物料有重大的應用 價值。 Nanotubes have been made into fibres, long threads and fabrics, and used to create tough plastics, computer chips, toxic gas detectors, and numerous other novel materials. 納米管可用於製作纖維、長線和布料、堅硬的塑 材、電腦晶片、毒氣偵測器，以及其他無數的嶄 新物料。

l l time for fun~ In medicine, we are already seeing research on: New ways to deliver drugs with contact lenses; the directing of drugs to tumours with tiny "smart bombs"; gold "nano-bullets" that seek-anddestroy tumours; starving cancer with nanoparticles; diagnosing diseases such as Alzheimer's, monitoring health and fighting sickness with tiny probes; and growing new organs from scratch.

l Critics have called for a moratorium on research, arguing that we know little about the toxicological effects of nanoparticles, and that there are no regulations to control them - nanotechnology advocates simply call this scaremongering, and fail to understand what all the fuss is about. l 評論家* / 持批評意見的人要求擱置研究，理由是我們 對納米粒子毒性所知甚少，且亦缺乏法規管制。擁護 納米技術的人則指這些言論駭人聽聞、散播恐慌，不 明白有甚麼好大驚小怪的。

• Most of these are modified to be pest, disease or herbicide resistant, and include: soya, wheat, corn (maize), oilseed rape (canola), cotton, sugar beet, walnuts, potatoes, peanuts, squashes, tomatoes, tobacco, peas, sweet peppers, lettuce and onions, among others. – 大多數的作物改造是為了抗蟲、抗病或抗殺草 劑，包括：大豆、小麥、玉米、油菜、棉花、 甜菜、核桃、馬鈴薯、花生、南瓜、番茄、菸 草、豌豆、甜椒、萵苣和洋蔥等作物，以及許 多別的品種。

• Supporters of GM technology argue that engineered crops - such as vitamin A-boosted golden rice or protein-enhanced potatoes - can improve nutrition, that drought- or salt-resistant varieties can flourish in poor conditions and stave off world hunger, and that insect-repelling crops protect the environment by minimising pesticide use. – 基因改造技術的支持者認為，像補強維生素 A 的「 黃金米」或提高了蛋白質的馬鈴薯之類的轉基因作 物，能改善營養；抗旱抗鹽的品種能在惡劣條件下 生長，對抗饑荒；抗蟲作物可減少使用殺蟲劑，從 而保護環境。

• time for fun~ • Other plants have been engineered to improve flavour, increase shelf life, increase hardiness and to be allergen-free. • Geneticists have even created a no-tears onion to banish culinary crying, and novel caffeine-free coffee plants.

• Critics fear that what they call "Frankenstein foods" could have unforeseen, adverse health effects on consumers, producing toxic proteins (and allergens) or transferring antibiotic-resistance and other genes to human gut bacteria to damaging effect. – 批評的人稱這些作物為「怪魔食物」，擔心對消費者的 健康有難以預知的壞影響，例如產生有毒的蛋白質和致 敏原，或轉移抗生素抗藥基因以及其他基因至人類腸道 細菌，以致肇禍。 • But there has been little evidence to back up such risks so far. – 但到目前為止，並沒有甚麼證據證明這些風險存在。