George Putic
May 23, 2014 1:29 PM
A relatively new substance called graphene is being hailed as the wonder material of the 21st century, but no one has developed a way to mass produce it.
石墨烯 (graphene) 還是相當新穎的物質，被譽為 (. . .is being hailed as . . .) 二十一世紀的神 奇材料，其量產(mass produce)方式還在研發階段。
However, one Irish scientist says he may have a solution. Graphite is another name for pure carbon, a well-known material used for - among other things - pencil lead. But when the layers of graphite are separated into sheets only one atom thick, the material, known as graphene, behaves quite differently. At that level, the atoms form strict geometric patterns, making it not only stronger than steel but also the best conductor of heat and electricity.
石墨 (graphite) 是純碳的別名。在其眾多用途中(among other things)，最有名的就是作成鉛筆芯(pencil lead)了。 
把石墨層分離成一個原子厚度的薄片時，便成了石墨烯這種材質，但其表現卻與石墨相當不同。在此時，石墨的原子會呈現緊密的幾何(geometric)結構形態，強度不僅高過於鋼，但同時也是最佳的導熱與導電的導體(conductor)。
Theoretically, graphene could radically change the way we manufacture batteries, computer chips and flexible screens, or approach cancer therapy.
Industry experts say separating and manipulating extremely thin sheets of graphene is a huge challenge.
“One of the things that's been holding this back is a supply of large scale, large quantities of graphene, good quality graphene, at reasonably low cost,” said Keith Paton of chemical manufacturer Thomas Swan.
石墨烯在理論上來說(theoretically)，將徹底 (radically) 改變電池、電腦晶片，和具彈性的(flexible)軟性顯示螢幕的製造方式，也可能改變我們現在處理(approach)癌症的療法。(按：這個句子中approach是當成動詞，表示以「某一種態度或方式來處理」；原句的結構可還原成 “the way we manufacture . . . or the way we approach . . . .”)
工業專家認為，要分離與操弄(manipulate)極薄的石墨烯是個極大的挑戰。一名化學製造廠的人員表示：「阻礙目前石墨烯發展(hold . . .back)的一個因素就是，要用合理且低廉的成本(at reasonably low cost)來大規模生產，提供大量的、品質好的石墨烯。」
But Jonathan Coleman, at the materials science center of Trinity College in Dublin, says it can be done by mixing graphite with water and a surfactant, a form of soap, in an ordinary kitchen blender. The rapidly rotating blade separates the layers, which stick to the blender’s wall.
但都柏林(Dublin)聖三一大學的材料科學研究所的一位研究人員表示，只要用普通的廚房用打果汁機(blender)把石墨和界面活性劑(surfactant)打混，就可以生產石墨烯了(界面活性劑是一種肥皂的形式)。石墨層會被快速旋轉的(rotating)刀片(blade)分開，然後黏附在(stick to . . .)果汁機壁上。
“At this early stage there's also graphite in there, so we have to go through a processing stage where we separate the graphite from the graphene and when we do that we get this nice black liquid here and what this is, is graphene in water with surfactant,” Coleman said.
Coleman, the project's principal investigator, says once this process is perfected and adjusted for large-scale production, graphene will begin to change the way we manufacture many items - from high-strength plastic to printed electronic circuits.
“There will be many applications that will involve its conductivity, so if you make a very very thin layer of graphene on a surface that layer is conductive and so, for example, it can be used as electrodes in solar cells or batteries,” he said.
研究人員表示：「在這一開始的階段(at this early stage)還是含有石墨，所以必須再經過一個加工階段(processing stage)把石墨從石墨烯中分離出來(separate . . . from . . .)。這個階段完成後，我們就得到這個漂亮的黑色液體，也就是在水裡混有界面活性劑的石墨烯。」
計畫主持人 (principal investigator)說，這個流程在優化調整後，如果能開始大規模生產(large-scale production)的話，石墨烯將改變許多物品的製造方式，像是高張力塑膠(high-strength plastic)或是印刷電路板(printed electronic circuits)都是影響的範圍。
「許多石墨烯可能的運用(application)都會跟它的傳導性有關，例如在某個表面上鋪了薄薄的一層具有傳導性的(conductive)石墨烯，就可以在太陽能電池或電池上當成電極(electrode)使用。」
Scientists say this wonder material could be also used in water treatment plants and for cleaning up oil spills. Large scale production may start by the end of this year.
科學家們也認為這個神奇材料將可用在水處理廠(water treatment plant)，也可清理漏油(oil spill)。預計在年底前將能開始大規模生產。
Language Notes 
hail (v) 向…歡呼；為…喝采 xxxxxxxxx mass produce (v) 大量製造
graphite (n) 石墨 xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxlead (n) 鉛XXX本字作為「鉛」的意思時，發音要特別注意：
geometric (a) 幾何(學)的 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ix
conductor (n) 導體；傳導體XXXXX*新聞中跟這個字相關的還有conductivity 「傳導性(導熱或導電)」 跟conductive 「具傳導性的」
blender (n) (做菜用)攪拌機；混合器 xxxapplication (n) 應用；運用
spill (n) 溢出；濺出
Source：http://www.voanews.com/content/kitchen-blender-mixes-up-wonder-material-/1921212.html
編譯：簡嘉呈
館藏介紹
英語宅急便 
