有了“不耗電屏幕”：手機每週只充一次電

The hassle of having to charge your smartphone for hours a day could become a thing of the past.
今後你可能不需要每天都給手機充幾小時的電了。

British scientists have created a material that replaces the screen glass for phones, tablets and smartwatches, but uses no power – meaning they could be charged weekly.
英國科學家發明了一種物質，它可以替代手機、平板電腦和智能手錶的玻璃屏幕，因爲該物質不耗電，所以意味着這種屏幕的手機每週充一次電即可。

The discovery is significant because more than 90 per cent of a device’s battery power illuminates the screen.
這項發明十分有意義，因爲電子設備90%的電量都是用來爲屏幕提供亮度的。

Technology firms have focused on improving battery life. But the British experts say tackling the main drain on a gadget’s power may give better results.
各家技術公司一直在專注提升電池的續航能力。但從事這項技術的英國專家稱，找到耗電的主要部件並着手解決，才能取得更好的結果。

Oxford University engineer Dr Peiman Hosseini, who invented the material, told the Sunday Telegraph: ‘You have to charge smartwatches every night. But if you had smart glass, you could recharge it just once a week.’
牛津大學工程師胡賽尼博士發明了這種物質。他在接受《星期日電訊報》採訪時稱：“你不得不每天晚上爲智能手錶充電。但如果你有了這種智能玻璃屏幕，那你一週充一次電就可以了。”

The innovation uses electrical pulses to create displays that require no power and can be viewed even in direct sunlight. Dr Hosseini’s company, Bodle Technologies, hopes to have a prototype in a year.
這項發明利用電脈衝讓屏幕能在不需要電的情況下顯示內容，在陽光直射下也能看得清。胡賽尼博士在博德爾技術公司任職，該公司希望一年後能擁有該屏幕的原型。

‘This is the right moment to be an academic at Oxford,’ Dr Hosseini said.
胡賽尼博士說：“作爲牛津學者，此時做這項研究很合適。”

Battery life is seen as a major stumbling block for modern computing and technology.
電池續航能力被視爲現代計算機技術的一個主要絆腳石。

While the power of technology and lifestyle gadgets has improved exponentially in recent years, batteries have not kept pace.
儘管近幾年科技發展越來越強大，各種生活工具呈爆發式增長，但電池領域仍沒有顯著提高。

The success of smart watches, including Apple’s version, is thought to hinge on solving this problem - because few users are willing to charge a watch every day.
人們普遍認爲，蘋果手錶等智能手錶的成功與否取決於能否解決電池這個問題——因爲幾乎沒有人願意每天爲手錶充電。

Gadget firms are also desperate to solve the problem.
各家科技產品公司也都在努力想要解決這一問題。

Apple, for example, is investigating using fuel cells to power its phones and laptops, and this year was granted a patent for a system it claimed could power its devices for weeks.
例如蘋果公司就在研究爲其手機和筆記本電腦配備燃料電池。公司今年還獲得了一項系統專利，該系統據稱可以連續幾周爲蘋果設備供電。

In 2012 US energy secretary Steven Chu called for a big push to improve batteries, challenging scientists to produce a battery with five times the capacity within five years.
2012年，美國能源部長朱棣文呼籲大力幫扶電池領域，希望科學家能在五年內研究出五倍電量的電池。

Aside from mobile gadgets, improving battery technology is seen as being key to the success of electric cars, which currently have a limited mileage before they must stop to be recharged.
除了移動設備，提升電池技術也是電動汽車發展的關鍵。目前的電動汽車均有里程上限，因爲要時常停下來充電。

Vocabulary
drain：消耗
electrical pulse：電脈衝
stumbling block：絆腳石；障礙