弹簧机制可以让人们用正确的材料跑得更快50%
弹簧机制可以让人们用正确的材料跑得更快50%
Have you ever wanted to outrun the reigning Olympic Champion? Of course you have. Now scientists have shown it's theoretically possible for many of us, perhaps with modest training for couch potatoes, if we can enhance the materials from which we make springs.
你有没有想过要超越卫冕奥运冠军?你当然有。现在，科学家们已经证明，如果我们能够增强制造弹簧的材料，那么对我们许多人来说，理论上是可能实现的，或许只要对电视迷进行适当的训练就可以实现。
The dream that springs could enhance our natural athleticism is an old one. Victorian England was terrorized with stories of “Spring-heeled Jack”, whose reported abilities to leap over 2.7-meter (9-foot) walls were attributed to some unknown device in his shoes. Not only that but advertising for sports-wear suggests that buying their products will give you an edge, with recent trials of one particular pair of running shoes leading some to question whether it should be allowed.
弹簧可以增强我们天生的运动能力的梦想已经不新鲜了。维多利亚时代的英国被“穿弹簧跟鞋的杰克”的故事吓坏了，据说他能跳过2.7米(9英尺)高的墙是因为他的鞋子里有某种未知的装置。不仅如此，运动服装的广告也表明，购买他们的产品会给你带来优势，最近对某双跑步鞋的试用让一些人质疑是否应该允许这样做。
Stephen Luntz
Vanderbilt University PhD student Amanda Sutrisno and supervisor Dr David Braun have much bigger dreams however, although it is unlikely anyone will allow their device into the Olympics. They propose a spring exoskeleton that would capture more of a runner's energy and catapult them on their way.
范德比尔特大学的博士生阿曼达·苏特里斯诺和导师大卫·布劳恩博士有更大的梦想，尽管不太可能有人会允许他们的设备进入奥运会。他们提出了一种弹簧外骨骼，可以捕捉更多的跑步者的能量，并在他们跑步的路上弹射他们。
In some ways the idea is more like a bicycle or roller skates than a better pair of runners, reducing energy lost between the foot and the ground, but it would be less affected by an uneven surface.
在某些方面，这个想法更像是自行车或轮滑，而不是一双更好的跑步者，减少了脚部和地面之间的能量损失，但不太受不平整表面的影响。
By having a spring operate in parallel with legs, rather than in series, and programming the spring for optimum energy storage, the maximum speed of running could close much of the gap to bicycles. Amanda Sutrisno and David J. Braun/Vanderbilt University
The idea is, as yet, theoretical. Not only can you not buy one at a store, there isn't even a tested prototype. Nevertheless, Sutrisno and Braun have modeled the idea in sufficient detail to win publication in Science Advances. Their model allows for air-resistance and the loss of energy when the foot hits the ground.
到目前为止，这个想法还只是理论上的。你不仅不能在商店里买到，甚至连经过测试的原型机都没有。尽管如此，Sutrisno和Braun已经为这个想法建立了足够详细的模型，并在《科学进展》杂志上发表。他们的模型考虑了空气阻力和脚着地时能量的损失。
Olympic runners using the springs would take longer to accelerate, the authors found, giving a substantial initial lead to someone of similar ability without the springs. Eventually, however, the springs allow their wearers to reach a speed 1.5 times as fast as those without them. A 100-meter champion would catch their counterpart at around the 68-meter mark and cruise on to an easy victory.
作者发现，使用弹簧的奥运选手需要更长的时间来加速，这给了他们一个很大的初步优势，让他们在没有弹簧的情况下获得类似的能力。然而，最终，这些弹簧可以使佩戴者的速度达到不佩戴者的1.5倍。一个100米冠军可以在68米左右追上对手，然后轻松取胜。
Catching the gold medal holder over 100 meters might be hard for ordinary mortals, even if given the springs advantage, but longer races might be a different matter. Since part of the spring's effect is to greatly extend the length of a stride, a little like running on the Moon, the long jump would probably just require staying upright to win.
对于普通人来说，即使拥有弹簧的优势，要在100米以上的比赛中夺金可能也很困难，但长距离比赛可能就不一样了。由于弹簧的部分作用是大大延长步幅的长度，有点像在月球上跑步，所以跳远很可能只需要保持直立就能获胜。
Unfortunately, we are not yet ready to start manufacturing such devices. As part of their calculations, Sutrisno and Braun worked out the necessary stiffness and energy capacity for such springs. Existing carbon fiber is the closest, but still doesn't make the grade, so we will need a new generation of materials capable of storing more energy when compressed if the dream is to become a reality.
不幸的是，我们还没有准备好开始制造这样的设备。作为计算的一部分，Sutrisno和Braun计算出了这种弹簧所需的刚度和能量。现有的碳纤维是最接近的，但仍然没有达到标准，所以如果我们的梦想要成为现实，我们将需要新一代的材料，在压缩时能够储存更多的能量。
