ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Saul Griffith - Inventor
Inventor Saul Griffith looks for elegant ways to make real things, from low-cost eyeglasses to a kite that tows boats. His latest projects include open-source inventions and elegant new ways to generate power.

Why you should listen

Innovator and inventor Saul Griffith has a uniquely open approach to problem solving. Whether he's devising a way to slash the cost of prescription eyeglasses or teaching science through cartoons, Griffith makes things and then shares his ideas with the world.

A proponent of open-source information, he established Instructables , an open website showing how to make an array of incredible objects. He is the co-founder of numerous companies including Squid Labs, Low Cost Eyeglasses, Potenco and Makani Power, where he is President and Chief Scientist. His companies have invented a myriad of new devices and materials, such as a "smart" rope that senses its load, or a machine for making low-cost eyeglass lenses through a process inspired by a water droplet. He is a columnist at Make magazine and co-writes How Toons! He's fascinated with materials that assemble themselves, and with taking advantage of those properties to make things quickly and cheaply.

More profile about the speaker
Saul Griffith | Speaker | TED.com
TED2009

Saul Griffith: High-altitude wind energy from kites!

索格里芬斯视风筝为未来的可再生能源

Filmed:
724,502 views

在这个简要的演讲里,索格里芬斯揭示了他的发明,以及他的新公司马卡倪能源所开发的:巨大的可以提供惊人的干净和可再生能源的风筝涡轮。
- Inventor
Inventor Saul Griffith looks for elegant ways to make real things, from low-cost eyeglasses to a kite that tows boats. His latest projects include open-source inventions and elegant new ways to generate power. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:22
If you're at all like me,
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如果你像我一样,
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this is what you do with the sunny晴朗 summer夏季 weekends周末 in San Francisco弗朗西斯科:
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那这就是你会在旧金山夏天的每个周末所干的事:
00:26
you build建立 experimental试验 kite-powered风筝供电 hydrofoils水翼
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你会建造实验性的风筝动力水翼船
00:29
capable of more than 30 knots.
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时速在30海里以上。
00:31
And you realize实现 that there is incredible难以置信 power功率 in the wind,
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随后你就会认识到蕴藏在风里的不可思议的能量,
00:34
and it can do amazing惊人 things.
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而且它可以用于很奇妙的事情上。
00:36
And one day, a vessel船只 not unlike不像 this
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有一天,一艘和这个像似的船型
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will probably大概 break打破 the world世界 speed速度 record记录.
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将可能会打破世界速度记录。
00:40
But kites风筝 aren't just toys玩具 like this.
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但是风筝并不仅仅是像这样的玩具。
00:43
Kites风筝: I'm going to give you a brief简要 history历史,
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关于风筝,我会给你们一个简要的历史,
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and tell you about the magnificent华丽的 future未来
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以及告诉你们神奇的未来
00:47
of every一切 child's孩子的 favorite喜爱 plaything玩物.
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这都是小孩最喜欢的风筝的事情。
00:50
So, kites风筝 are more than a thousand years年份 old,
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那么,风筝已经有1000多年的历史,
00:52
and the Chinese中文 used them for military军事 applications应用,
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中国用他们作为过军队装备,
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and even for lifting吊装 men男人.
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甚至是载人的。
00:56
So they knew知道 at that stage阶段 they could carry携带 large weights权重.
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所以他们在那个时候就知道了风筝可以承载较大重量。
00:59
I'm not sure why there is a hole in this particular特定 man.
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我不确定为什么那个人身上有个洞。
01:01
(Laughter笑声)
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01:03
In 1827, a fellow同伴 called George乔治 Pocock波科克
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在1827年,一个叫做乔治朴考克的家伙
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actually其实 pioneered首创 the use of kites风筝 for towing拖带 buggies越野车
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实际上先锋般的用风筝来牵动车辆
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in races比赛 against反对 horse carriages车厢 across横过 the English英语 countryside农村.
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这样来和马匹做横跨英国的比赛。
01:14
Then of course课程, at the dawn黎明 of aviation航空,
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随后,理所当然的,在航空时代即将到来之际,
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all of the great inventors发明家 of the time --
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那个时代所有的伟大发明家们--
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like Hargreaves哈格里夫斯, like Langley兰利,
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像哈格里夫斯,像兰利,
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even Alexander亚历山大 Graham格雷厄姆 Bell, inventor发明者 of the telephone电话, who was flying飞行 this kite风筝 --
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甚至是亚历山大格雷厄姆贝尔,电话的发明着,都会像这样放风筝--
01:23
were doing so in the pursuit追求 of aviation航空.
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这样做是为了追求航空能力。
01:26
Then these two fellows研究员 came来了 along沿,
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然后这两个家伙出现了,
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and they were flying飞行 kites风筝 to develop发展 the control控制 systems系统
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他们在风筝上开发了制动系统
01:31
that would ultimately最终 enable启用 powered动力 human人的 flight飞行.
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那样会最终让人类的飞行梦想成真。
01:34
So this is of course课程 Orville奥维 and Wilbur威尔伯 Wright赖特,
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这当然是恩奎斯特和莱特兄弟,
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and the Wright赖特 Flyer传单.
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以及莱特飞行器。
01:39
And their experiments实验 with kites风筝 led to this
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他们对风筝的实验引发了这个
01:41
momentous重大 occasion场合, where we powered动力 up and took off for the
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重要时刻,那就是我们可以从起飞到降落
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first-ever史无前例的 12-second human人的 flight飞行.
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第一个12秒的人类飞行。
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And that was fantastic奇妙 for the future未来 of commercial广告 aviation航空.
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而且那是一个美妙的商业航空的未来。
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But unfortunately不幸, it relegated降级 kites风筝 once一旦 again to be considered考虑 children's儿童 toys玩具.
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但是不幸的是,风筝再一次被低估为儿童的玩具。
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That was until直到 the 1970s, where we had the last energy能源 crisis危机.
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直到19世纪70年代,当我们上一次经济危机的时候。
02:00
And a fabulous极好 man called Miles万里 Loyd劳埃德
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一个叫做迈尔斯劳埃德的神话般的人
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who lives生活 on the outskirts郊区 of San Francisco弗朗西斯科,
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他住在旧金山的郊区。
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wrote this seminal paper that was completely全然 ignored忽视
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写了这样一篇完全被遗忘的论文,
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in the Journal日志 of Energy能源
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能量之旅,
02:08
about how to use basically基本上 an airplane飞机 on a piece of string
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这是关于怎样用一根绳子去操控飞机
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to generate生成 enormous巨大 amounts of electricity电力.
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来产生超乎强大的电力。
02:15
The real真实 key observation意见 he made制作 is that
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他做到的最关键的观察是
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a free-flying自由飞行 wing翅膀 can sweep through通过 more sky天空 and generate生成 more power功率
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一个自由飞行翼可以扫过更多的天空和创造更多的能量
02:21
in a unit单元 of time than a fixed-wing固定翼 turbine涡轮.
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这是在一定的时间内和固定翼涡轮相比。
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So turbines涡轮机 grew成长. And they can now span跨度 up to three hundred feet at the hub枢纽 height高度,
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所以涡轮那时在不断的被开发。现在他们可以跨越跨度长达三百英尺的枢纽高度,
02:29
but they can't really go a lot higher更高,
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但是他们确实在也不能比那再高了,
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and more height高度 is where the more wind is, and more power功率 --
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不过更高的地方有更多的风,以及更多的能量 --
02:34
as much as twice两次 as much.
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两倍高的能量。
02:36
So cut to now. We still have an energy能源 crisis危机,
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所以直到现在,我们仍然还有能量危机,
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and now we have a climate气候 crisis危机 as well. You know,
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现在我们还同时有环境危机,你知道的。
02:42
so humans人类 generate生成 about 12 trillion watts,
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所以人类生产了大概十二万亿瓦特,
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or 12 terawatts太瓦, from fossil化石 fuels燃料.
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或12兆瓦,从化石燃料中。
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And Al Gore血块 has spoken to why we need to hit击中 one of these targets目标,
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然后戈尔已经讲解了我们为什么要达到这些目标,
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and in reality现实 what that means手段 is in the next下一个 30 to 40 years年份,
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以及在今后的30到40年里那到底意味着什么,
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we have to make 10 trillion watts or more of new clean清洁 energy能源 somehow不知何故.
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我们必须制造10亿瓦特或者更多的干净能源,不管怎么样都要。
03:01
Wind is the second-largest第二大 renewable可再生 resource资源 after solar太阳能:
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风能是在太阳能之后的第二大可再生能源:
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3600 terawatts太瓦, more than enough足够 to supply供应 humanity人性 200 times over.
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3600兆瓦特,足以维持比现在多200倍的人。
03:09
The majority多数 of it is in the higher更高 altitudes高度, above以上 300 feet,
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大多数风能是在高海拔,300英尺以上,
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where we don't have a technology技术 as yet然而 to get there.
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我们现有的科技还无法到达那个高度。
03:17
So this is the dawn黎明 of the new age年龄 of kites风筝.
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这样就到了风筝新舞台开始的时候。
03:19
This is our test测试 site现场 on Maui毛伊岛, flying飞行 across横过 the sky天空.
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这是我们在茂宜岛上的一个测试点,在空中翱翔着。
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I'm now going to show显示 you
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我现在将要为你们展示
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the first autonomous自主性 generation of power功率
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第一自主发电机
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by every一切 child's孩子的 favorite喜爱 plaything玩物.
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由所有小孩最爱的玩具所提供。
03:31
As you can tell, you need to be a robot机器人 to fly this thing for thousands数千 of hours小时.
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你可以想象,你需要一个机器人来几千小时的放飞这个东西。
03:35
It makes品牌 you a little nauseous恶心.
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这可能让你有点眩晕。
03:37
And here we're actually其实 generating发电 about 10 kilowatts千瓦 --
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而且这样我们实际上可以生产大概10千瓦--
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so, enough足够 to power功率 probably大概 five United联合的 States状态 households --
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所以,足够维持5个美国家庭用电--
03:42
with a kite风筝 not much larger than this piano钢琴.
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就用一个不大于钢琴大小的风筝。
03:45
And the real真实 significant重大 thing here
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不过最有意义的事情是
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is we're developing发展 the control控制 systems系统,
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我们正在开发控制系统,
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as did the Wright赖特 brothers兄弟, that would enable启用 sustained持续, long-duration长时间 flight飞行.
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就像莱特兄弟那样,这样会提供可持续,长时间的飞行。
03:54
And it doesn't hurt伤害 to do it in a location位置 like this either.
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而也不会去破坏像这样的环境。
03:59
So this is the equivalent当量 for a kite风筝 flier传单 of peeing撒尿 in the snow --
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这样的话,这样放风筝就像在雪地里撒尿一样。
04:02
that's tracing追踪 your name名称 in the sky天空.
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这是在天空中画上你的名字。
04:04
And this is where we're actually其实 going.
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这也是我们将要做的事。
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So we're beyond the 12-second steps脚步.
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我们将会翱翔在12秒之上。
04:08
And we're working加工 towards megawatt-scale兆瓦级 machines
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我们正着手建造着兆瓦级机发电机
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that fly at 2000 feet and generate生成 tons of clean清洁 electricity电力.
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这会在2000英尺的高度飞翔,以及产生大量的电力。
04:14
So you ask, how big are those machines?
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那么你会问到,这些机器有多大呢?
04:16
Well, this paper plane平面 would be maybe a -- oop接力!
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好的,这个纸飞机大概会是,哟!
04:19
That would be enough足够 to power功率 your cell细胞 phone电话.
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这个大概有足够的能量去提供你手机所需的动力。
04:22
Your Cessna塞斯纳 would be 230 killowattskillowatts.
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你们的塞斯纳就会是230千瓦。
04:25
If you'd loan贷款 me your Gulfstream湾流, I'll rip安息 its wings翅膀 off and generate生成 you a megawatt兆瓦.
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如果你能把湾流喷射机借我,我会把它的翅膀折掉,然后为你生产一千瓦特。
04:29
If you give me a 747, I'll make six megawatts兆瓦,
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如果你有一个747,我可以生产6万千瓦,
04:32
which哪一个 is more than the largest最大 wind turbines涡轮机 today今天.
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这比今天最大的涡流翼所生产的还要多。
04:35
And the Spruce云杉 Goose would be a 15-megawatt-megawatt wing翅膀.
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史普鲁斯之鹅的翼大概是15万千瓦。
04:38
So that is audacious胆大, you say. I agree同意.
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所以这是十分大胆的构想,你会说道。我同意。
04:41
But audacious胆大 is what has happened发生 many许多 times before in history历史.
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但是着这样的大胆构想在我们的历史上重复了无数次了。
04:44
This is a refrigerator冰箱 factory,
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这是一个电冰箱工厂,
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churning翻腾 out airplanes飞机 for World世界 War战争 IIII.
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在二战时生产飞机。
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Prior to World世界 War战争 IIII, they were making制造 1000 planes飞机 a year.
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在二战之前,他们每年生产1000架飞机。
04:52
By 1945, they were making制造 100,000.
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在1945年,他们生产100000架。
04:55
With this factory and 100,000 planes飞机 a year,
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像这样年产100000架飞机的工厂,
04:57
we could make all of America's美国 electricity电力 in about 10 years年份.
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我们可以生产维持美国10年的电力。
05:01
So really this is a story故事 about the audacious胆大 plans计划 of young年轻 people
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所以,真的,这是一个关于年轻人的大胆计划
05:04
with these dreams. There are many许多 of us.
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有着这些梦想的。我们其中有很多。
05:06
I am lucky幸运 enough足够 to work with 30 of them.
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我很幸运的能和他们中的30个在一起工作。
05:08
And I think we need to support支持 all of the dreams
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我想我们必须支持所有的梦想
05:10
of the kids孩子 out there doing these crazy things.
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孩子们的梦想,让他们去做一些疯狂的事情。
05:13
Thank you.
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谢谢。
05:14
(Applause掌声)
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掌声
Translated by Halei Liu
Reviewed by Tony Yet

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Saul Griffith - Inventor
Inventor Saul Griffith looks for elegant ways to make real things, from low-cost eyeglasses to a kite that tows boats. His latest projects include open-source inventions and elegant new ways to generate power.

Why you should listen

Innovator and inventor Saul Griffith has a uniquely open approach to problem solving. Whether he's devising a way to slash the cost of prescription eyeglasses or teaching science through cartoons, Griffith makes things and then shares his ideas with the world.

A proponent of open-source information, he established Instructables , an open website showing how to make an array of incredible objects. He is the co-founder of numerous companies including Squid Labs, Low Cost Eyeglasses, Potenco and Makani Power, where he is President and Chief Scientist. His companies have invented a myriad of new devices and materials, such as a "smart" rope that senses its load, or a machine for making low-cost eyeglass lenses through a process inspired by a water droplet. He is a columnist at Make magazine and co-writes How Toons! He's fascinated with materials that assemble themselves, and with taking advantage of those properties to make things quickly and cheaply.

More profile about the speaker
Saul Griffith | Speaker | TED.com