Technology flies out of our imagination

Sometimes it takes a work of art to give the inspiration for advances in science. For example, Elon Musk’s dream of humans living on other planets was first inspired by Isaac Asimov’s Foundation book series. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is similarly a massive fan of the Star Trek television series. The series inspired him to found his very own space company Blue Origin, according to Forbes magazine.
有时，文艺作品会给科学发展带来灵感。例如，埃隆·马斯克关于人类移居其他星球的梦想最初受到艾萨克·阿西莫夫《基地》系列小说启发。亚马逊首席执行官杰夫·贝佐斯也是电视剧集《星际迷航》的忠实粉丝。据《福布斯》杂志报道，《星际迷航》剧集激励他创立了自己的太空公司蓝色起源。

Let’s explore some of the technologies from science fiction that have been brought to life.
让我们来探究一下一些由科幻小说变为现实的技术。

Remote control
远程操控

Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel Dune features a small flying robot device that is piloted remotely, one of the earliest appearances of drones in science fiction. With the first permit for commercial drone use in the US given in 2006, drones became a reality, and can now be found taking on multiple roles. They provide new angles for photography, help farmers maintain their crops and are used in the military.
弗兰克·赫伯特在1965年的小说《沙丘》中描述了一个可以远程操控的小型飞行机械装置，这是科幻小说中最早出现无人机的例子之一。随着2006年美国首次批准使用商用无人机，无人机变为现实，且如今已承担起多种角色。无人机为摄影提供了新的视角，帮助农民照看庄稼，并被应用于军事中。

Jeff Bezos has even supported the use of drones to deliver packages for his company Amazon, unveiling a delivery drone back in 2019.
杰夫·贝佐斯甚至使用无人机为自己的公司亚马逊送货，早在2019年亚马逊就公布使用了一款无人机送货。

From thin air
无中生有

The television show Star Trek, first appearing on screens in 1966, inspired science. One of the most unexpected examples may be the 3D printer. In the program, a device can create any object desired within a matter of seconds.
1966年首次在荧屏上播出的电视节目《星际迷航》启迪了科学，其中让人最意想不到的一个例子也许是3D（三维）打印机。在《星际迷航》中，有一种设备可以在几秒钟内创造任何想要的物体。

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, US, developed a 3D printer in 2019 that shapes objects using rays of light. They have named the printer the “replicator”, the same name as the device in the program to show their inspiration. The device uses light to alter the density of resin, changing the material from a liquid to a solid in order to shape the desired object.
2019年，美国加州大学伯克利分校的研究人员开发了一种利用光线塑造物体形状的3D打印机，并将其命名为“复制机”，这与《星际迷航》中的设备同名，用以表明是受到了剧集的启发。复制机用光改变树脂密度，将材料从液体变为固体，以塑造所需的对象。

Starting the heart
起搏心脏

One of the first sci-fi novels, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has had a huge impact on science. Earl Bakken, the inventor of the pacemaker, a device placed into the chest that helps the heart to pump blood using small electrical impulses, was inspired by the 1931 movie adaptation of the book. “What intrigued me the most … was the creative spark of Dr Frankenstein’s electricity,” Bakken told the Atlantic.
由玛丽·雪莱创作的《弗兰肯斯坦》是最早的科幻小说之一，对科学产生了巨大的影响。心脏起搏器的发明者厄尔·巴肯，就从1931年改编的同名电影《弗兰肯斯坦》中获得了灵感。心脏起搏器是一种植入胸腔的装置，通过微小的电脉冲刺激心脏泵血。巴肯在接受《大西洋月刊》采访时表示，“最吸引我的……是弗兰肯斯坦博士充满创造力的电火花。”

Defibrillators, which restart the heart with an electrical current after a cardiac arrest, also resemble the electric shock that gave the monster life.
除颤仪可以在心脏骤停后通过电流使心脏重新启动，这也与赋予怪物生命的电击类似。

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高三780期