(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Researchers Look to Sodium to Make Better Batteries
Scientists have long attempted to find materials to make batteries that are more powerful, but cost less to build.
In the United States, researchers are experimenting with sodium to see whether it can power much-improved batteries in the future.
Sodium is a soft, silvery metal. It is plentiful and found in seawater.
The most common battery used today is made of lithium ion. These batteries power everything from smartphones to computers to electric vehicles.
Researchers from the University of California, San Diego are attempting to build a new generation of batteries powered by sodium instead of lithium. The U.S. National Science Foundation is providing financial support for the experiments.
Shirley Meng is a member of the research team.
"At a society level, I think people really think that a battery is a done deal — like it's (an) old subject."
But Meng says the process of developing better batteries is still a work in progress. In fact, she says the energy density of batteries in use today "can still be doubled or tripled."
The California researchers are studying lithium ion batteries, but in the next few years plan to begin testing new sodium batteries. Team member Hayley Hirsh says she looks forward to working more with sodium development in the future.
"We want to use sodium instead of lithium because it has different properties. And also, sodium is much more abundant."
Lithium is costly and not easy to collect because it is widely spread across many parts of the world. Large amounts of water and energy are also required to gather lithium.
But sodium is found in the world's oceans, with a seemingly limitless supply. This would lead to much lower costs to produce sodium ion for batteries.
Hirsh says she is examining different ways to make batteries that last longer and can store more power.
"Right now it's just in the lab and we're working on figuring out how to make it hold more energy and last longer so that it can be used in your phone, in your car or even to store energy for solar, for wind."
Finding better ways to store more energy at a lower price has been one of the major barriers to developing more powerful batteries.
Today it is not really cost effective for power companies to use batteries. This is because it would cost hundreds of dollars per kilowatt hour to operate.
However, using sodium ion batteries could bring that cost way down. The researchers say it could then make economic sense for people to have storage containers at home to save energy produced by the sun or wind.
"They have solar on the roof. They could store the electrons during the day and use them at night," Meng said.
I'm Bryan Lynn.
重点解析
重点讲解：
1. be made of （由…）构成的；（由…）制成的；
Some bowls were made of pottery and wood.
一些碗是用陶土和木头制成的。
2. in progress 正在进行中；
The game was already in progress when we took our seats.
我们坐下来的时候，比赛已经开始了。
3. look forward to sth./doing sth. 期待；盼望；
I'm looking forward to the weekend.
我盼着过周末呢。
4. figure out 想出；理解；弄清；
Try to figure out what feeling underlies your anger.
努力找出你的愤怒之下潜藏的情感。
参考译文
研究人员希望用钠开发出更好的电池
科学家一直试图找到既能使电池更强效又能降低生产成本的材料。
美国研究人员正在用钠进行试验，看看钠能否在未来为大幅改进的电池提供动力。
钠是一种银色的软金属。钠广泛分布于海水中。
如今人们使用的电池中，最常见的是锂离子电池。这种电池为智能手机、计算机和电动汽车等所有产品提供动力。
加州大学圣地亚哥分校的研究人员正试图开发新一代电池，这种电池将由钠而不是锂离子提供动力。美国国家科学基金会将为这项试验提供资金支持。
Shirley Meng是该研究团队的成员。
“从社会层面来说，我认为人们认为电池是不能更改的东西，就好像这是一个古老的话题。”
但是Meng表示，开发更好的电池这项工作仍在进行之中。她说，实际上，如今所使用电池的能量密度“仍可以翻倍或翻三倍”。
加州研究人员目前正在研究锂离子电池，但计划在未来几年开始测试新型钠电池。团队成员海莉·赫什表示，她期待未来能参与更多开发钠元素的项目。
“我们希望用钠而不是锂离子来制造电池，因为钠拥有不同的特性。而且，钠资源远比锂资源丰富。”
锂元素费用昂贵而且不易收集，因为它广泛分布于全世界许多地方。收集锂元素需要大量的水和能源。
但是钠元素分布于世界各地的海洋中，而且似乎拥有无限的供应。这可以大幅降低生产钠离子电池的成本。
赫什表示，她正在测试不同的方法，目的是生产出使用寿命更长且能储存更多能量的电池。
“目前我们还只是在实验室进行试验，我们正在努力寻找让电池存储更多能量并持续更长时间的方法，然后就能将电池应用于手机、汽车甚至用来储存太阳能和风能。”
寻找能以较低成本储存更多能量的方法，一直是开发更强效电池的主要障碍之一。
今天，对电力企业来说使用电池并不划算。因为每千瓦时电量要耗费数百美元。
但是，使用钠离子电池可以大幅削减成本。研究人员表示，对在家里用存储容器储存太阳能或风能的人们来说，这同样具有经济意义。
Meng表示，“他们可以在屋顶上收集太阳能。他们可以在白天储存电量，然后晚上使用。”
布莱恩·林恩报道。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
