It all began with a TED Talk in Long Beach, California
太陽能新創公司 緣起於美國加州長灘的一場TED 演說
Los Angeles-based Heliogen, backed by Bill Gates and AOL founder Steve Case, just announced that it has found a way to replace fossil fuels in industrial plants. Those plants produce more than 20 percent of the world's carbon emissions, but Heliogen's new concentrated solar technology may change that. It can create heat over 1000 degrees Celsius, potentially replacing much of the fossil fuels these plants currently use.
For decades, the solar industry has been trying to produce the high temperatures needed for such manufacturing with concentrated solar.
Concentrated solar companies have traditionally used hundreds of mirrors to reflect the sun's beams onto a single spot. It requires a great deal of precision and engineering skill to determine the precise angle of each mirror in order to point the beam at exactly the right spot, and then to keep changing the mirror's position as the sun moves across the sky. Despite its best efforts, the concentrated solar industry was never able to create temperatures higher than 600 degrees Celsius, which is certainly very hot, but hot enough for things like steel or cement manufacture.
Info Cloud
Fahrenheit or Celsius
Hello, friends. And welcome to Info Cloud. Anne Marie, something funny happened to me the other day.
Tell us about it.
Well, I was on the phone with a friend from the States, and he asked me what the weather was like. I told him that it was a beautiful 25 degrees outside.
And he was shocked that I thought 25 degrees was nice.
Oh. That's because in the States we use Fahrenheit to measure temperature. 25 degrees is below freezing on that scale.
You would need a hat, coat and boots to go out and would probably still feel cold.
You know, the U.S. is one of only a few countries in the world to use the Fahrenheit scale to measure temperature.
Actually, in 1975, American Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act. This was supposed to start the process of converting over to the metric system.
Right. The problem was that this was deemed voluntary. So it was up to individuals to decide if they wanted to switch over or not.
Obviously, nothing changed too much.
Yeah. Most Americans I know still use Fahrenheit.
So, Anne Marie, which do you use now, Fahrenheit or Celsius?
That really depends on who I'm talking to. If it's someone in the States, I always use Fahrenheit.
當你到美國旅遊的時候，可能會有一個不太習慣的地方，那就是氣溫的測量方式是用 Fahrenheit 華氏的溫標，在亞洲我們用的是 Celsius 攝氏。當你跟美國朋友說天氣很好，氣溫二十五度剛剛好，他可能會一時轉不過來，因為華氏二十五度在美國等於是我們的零下三度。曾經在1975年，美國國會試圖要全國轉換成 metric system 公制的量度系統，但是老百姓卻不接受，因為不習慣。目前只有美國和少數幾個國家還在用 Fahrenheit 華氏的溫標。
Language Lab
plant n. 植物
a living thing that grows in the ground, usually has leaves or flowers, and needs sun and water to survive
- Some of the plants in the garden look interesting to me.
花園裡有一些植物看起來很有趣。
plant n. 工廠
a building or factory where something is made
- There is a rumor that the boss wants to sell the plant because he wants to retire.
聽說老闆想把工廠賣掉，因為他想退休。
- There will be some guests visiting the plant today.
今天會有一些訪客到工廠參觀。
plant v. 栽種
to put (a seed, flower, or plant) in the ground to grow
- William planted a tree in his yard.
William 在院子裡種了一棵樹。
plant v. 灌入想法、主意
to cause (an idea, feeling, etc.) to be in someone's mind
- I don’t want the kids to be with Uncle Joe because he is always planting funny ideas in their heads.
我不要小朋友跟Joe 叔叔一起，因為他老是給他們腦子灌入奇怪的想法。
potentially adv. 很有可能地
capable of becoming real : possible
- It is best not to walk through that neighborhood because it is a potentially dangerous place.
最好不要經過那個社區，因為那是一個可能不太安全的地方。
- The drug might cure the sickness, but there are some potentially harmful side effects.
這個藥品也許會治好病，但是它有一些會造成其他傷害的負作用。
potential adj. 可能的
capable of becoming real : possible
- The plan might seem like a good one to you, but there is a potential problem.
你也許認為這項計畫是好的，但是它有一個潛在的問題。
potential n. 潛力
an ability that someone has that can be developed to help that person become successful
- Bobby has a lot of potential but the coach doesn’t think he is ready to join the basketball team.
Bobby 有很多潛力，但是教練不認為他可以加入籃球隊。
beam n. 光束、光線
a line of light coming from a source (such as the sun or a headlight)
- As we were standing by the road, the beam from the headlights of a car almost blinded us.
當我們站在路旁時，眼睛因為被一輛車的照明燈光束照到幾乎無法看見。
beam n. 樑 (木頭、水泥鋼筋)
a long and heavy piece of wood or metal that is used as a support in a building or ship
- Matthew sees a big machine lift up large heavy wooden beams to the top of a building.
Matthew 有看到一台大機器，把又重又大的木梁拉到建築物的上方。
beam v. 微笑
to smile happily
- Allyson is beaming, but she’s not telling us why she is so happy.
Allyson 一直微笑，但是她不跟我們說她為什麼這麼高興。
precision n. 準確性
/prɪˈsɪʒən/
the quality of being precise : exactness or accuracy
- The golfer aimed and hit the ball with such precision that the ball landed straight into the hole.
高爾夫球手瞄準，然後擊球精準，讓球直接一竿進洞。
- The chef cut the fish with great precision.
主廚切魚切得很好、很仔細。
precise adj.精準的、準確的
/prɪˈsaɪs/
very accurate and exact
- It was at that precise moment that Marilyn realized someone was listening to her phone conversation.
就在那一剎那，Marilyn 才發覺有人在偷聽她的電話。
precise adj.仔細、對細節很謹慎的
very careful and exact about the details of something
- Lisa is a very careful person and is always very precise with her work.
Lisa 是一個很嚴謹的人，她做事都很仔細。
