ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Michael Pritchard - Inventor
With cutting-edge nanotech, Michael Pritchard's Lifesaver water-purification bottle could revolutionize water-delivery systems in disaster-stricken areas around the globe.

Why you should listen

During the twin tragedies of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, Ipswich water-treatment expert Michael Pritchard winced helplessly at televised coverage of throngs of refugees waiting for days for a simple drink of clean water. Stricken by the chronic failure of aid agencies to surmount this basic challenge, Pritchard decided to do something about it.

Using a non-chemical nano-filtration hollow fiber membrane with 15 nanometer pores (it is designed to block viruses), the Lifesaver bottle can make the most revolting swamp water drinkable in seconds. Better still, a single long-lasting filter can clean 6,000 liters of water. Given the astronomical cost of shipping water to disaster areas, Pritchard's Lifesaver bottle could turn traditional aid models on their heads.

More profile about the speaker
Michael Pritchard | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2009

Michael Pritchard: How to make filthy water drinkable

麦克‧普理查德: 将脏水净化成可饮用水

Filmed:
4,643,418 views

世界上有太多人无法获取饮用水。工程师麦克‧普理查德为此提供了一些贡献——发明可携带救生瓶过滤层,可以在瞬间解决大多数饮用水的问题。一个来自 TEDGlobla 2009 的美妙示范。
- Inventor
With cutting-edge nanotech, Michael Pritchard's Lifesaver water-purification bottle could revolutionize water-delivery systems in disaster-stricken areas around the globe. Full bio

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

00:18
Good morning早上 everybody每个人.
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大家早上好
00:20
I'd like to talk about a couple一对 of things today今天.
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我今天想谈谈几件事情。
00:22
The first thing is water.
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第一件事是水。
00:24
Now I see you've all been enjoying享受 the water
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我可以看到大家都十分享受
00:26
that's been provided提供 for you here at the conference会议,
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由大会所提供的饮用水,
00:28
over the past过去 couple一对 of days.
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在过去的几天里。
00:30
And I'm sure you'll你会 feel that it's from a safe安全 source资源.
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我确定你们都感觉那些水
是出自一个安全的水源。
00:34
But what if it wasn't?
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但是如果不是的呢?
00:36
What if it was from a source资源 like this?
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如果是出自这样的水源呢?
00:41
Then statistics统计 would actually其实 say
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数据会表明
00:43
that half of you would now be suffering痛苦
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你们其中的一半现在会
00:45
with diarrhea腹泻.
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在拉肚子了。
00:49
I talked a lot in the past过去 about statistics统计,
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我过去常常谈关于数据,
00:52
and the provision规定 of safe安全 drinking water for all.
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以及为所有的人提供安全的饮用水的问题。
00:56
But they just don't seem似乎 to get through通过.
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但是这似乎得不到重视。
00:59
And I think I've worked工作 out why.
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不过我觉得我搞清楚了这是为什么,
01:01
It's because, using运用 current当前 thinking思维,
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是因为,用当前的想法,
01:04
the scale规模 of the problem问题
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问题的程度
01:06
just seems似乎 too huge巨大 to contemplate沉思 solving.
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似乎大得我们难以想象可以解决。
01:10
So we just switch开关 off:
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所以我们干脆不想了。
01:12
us, governments政府 and aid援助 agencies机构.
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我们,政府,和援助机构,都放弃了。
01:17
Well, today今天, I'd like to show显示 you
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好吧,今天,我就要给你们看看
01:20
that through通过 thinking思维 differently不同,
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通过不同的思维方式,
01:22
the problem问题 has been solved解决了.
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把这个问题解决了。
01:26
By the way, since以来 I've been speaking请讲,
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但是,顺便说一声,就在我演讲的同时。
01:28
another另一个 13,000 people around the world世界
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世界上有13000人
01:31
are suffering痛苦 now with diarrhea腹泻.
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正在遭受腹泻的痛苦。
01:34
And four children孩子 have just died死亡.
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而4个孩子刚刚死去了。
01:39
I invented发明 Lifesaver救命稻草 bottle瓶子
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我发明了这个救生瓶
01:41
because I got angry愤怒.
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因为我真的生气了。
01:43
I, like most of you, was sitting坐在 down, the day after Christmas圣诞 in 2004,
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我,像你们其中的大多数人,在2004年的
圣诞节后的一天在电视机前坐了下来,
01:47
when I was watching观看 the devastating破坏性的 news新闻
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看到了那条灾难性的新闻 -
01:50
of the Asian亚洲 tsunami海啸 as it rolled热轧 in,
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电视里正在直播
01:52
playing播放 out on TV电视.
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亚洲海啸的登录。
01:54
The days and weeks that followed其次,
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在接下来的几天,几个星期里,
01:56
people fleeing逃离 to the hills丘陵,
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人们逃难到山上,
01:58
being存在 forced被迫 to drink contaminated污染 water
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被迫去喝被污染的水,
02:01
or face面对 death死亡.
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不然就会(因缺水)被死亡威胁。
02:04
That really stuck卡住 with me.
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那场景让我久久不能忘怀。
02:06
Then, a few少数 months个月 later后来,
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接下来,几个月后,
02:09
Hurricane飓风 Katrina卡特里娜 slammed抨击 into the side of America美国.
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卡特里娜飓风席卷了美国的海岸线。
02:13
"Okay," I thought, "here's这里的 a First World世界 country国家, let's see what they can do."
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“好吧,” 我想,“这里个第一世界国家,
让我们看看他们可以做些什么。”
02:17
Day one: nothing.
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第一天:什么都没有发生。
02:20
Day two: nothing.
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第二天:什么都没有发生。
02:23
Do you know it took five days to get water to the SuperdomeSuperdome服务器?
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你们可知道他们花了整整5天时间
才把水弄到新奥尔良体育馆(难民集中处)?
02:28
People were shooting射击 each other on the streets街道
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人们为了电视和水在街上
02:31
for TV电视 sets and water.
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用枪火拼。
02:34
That's when I decided决定 I had to do something.
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那时,我就决定我要做些什么了。
02:38
Now I spent花费 a lot of time in my garage车库, over the next下一个 weeks and months个月,
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在接下来的几个星期和几个月里,
我在我的车库里花费了不少时间。
02:41
and also in my kitchen厨房 -- much to the dismay沮丧 of my wife妻子. (Laughter笑声)
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也在我的厨房里花了不少时间,
使我的妻子看了摇头。
02:44
However然而, after a few少数 failed失败 prototypes原型,
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然而,就在几个失败的试验模型后,
02:49
I finally最后 came来了 up with this, the Lifesaver救命稻草 bottle瓶子.
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我终于做出了这个,救生瓶。
02:54
Okay, now for the science科学 bit.
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好了,现在来讲点科学背景。
02:56
Before Lifesaver救命稻草, the best最好 hand filters过滤器 were only capable
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在救生瓶发明前,最佳的手动过滤器只能
02:58
of filtering滤波 down to about 200 nanometers纳米.
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过滤200纳米左右的物体。
03:02
The smallest最少 bacteria is about 200 nanometers纳米.
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最小的细菌就有大约200纳米。
03:06
So a 200-nanometer- 纳米 bacteria
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所以一个200纳米的细菌
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is going to get through通过 a 200-nanometer- 纳米 hole.
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可以穿过这个200纳米的网孔。
03:12
The smallest最少 virus病毒, on the other hand,
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另外来说,最小的病毒,
03:14
is about 25 nanometers纳米.
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大概有25纳米。
03:17
So that's definitely无疑 going to get through通过 those 200 nanometer纳米 holes.
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所以那绝对会穿过那个200纳米的网孔。
03:22
Lifesaver救命稻草 pores毛孔 are 15 nanometers纳米.
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救生瓶的网孔只有15纳米。
03:27
So nothing is getting得到 through通过.
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所以没东西可以通过。
03:30
Okay, I'm going to give you a bit of a demonstration示范.
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好了,我将要给你们一个示范。
03:32
Would you like to see that?
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你们想看吗?
03:34
I spent花费 all the time setting设置 this up, so I guess猜测 I should.
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我花了好些时间把这个设置好,
所以我想我应该做个示范。
03:36
We're in the fine city of Oxford牛津.
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我们在美好的牛津市里。
03:39
So -- someone's谁家 doneDONE that up.
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哦,有人已经把这放好了。
03:41
Fine city of Oxford牛津, so what I've doneDONE is I've gone走了
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美好的牛津,我所做的是,我从彻韦尔河里
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and got some water from the River Cherwell彻韦尔,
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弄了点水,
03:45
and the River Thames泰晤士,
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里面还有泰晤士里
03:47
that flow through通过 here. And this is the water.
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流过来的水。这就是我弄来的水了。
03:49
But I got to thinking思维, you know,
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但是我就想了,你们知道的,
03:51
if we were in the middle中间 of a flood洪水 zone
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如果我们在洪水区里
03:53
in Bangladesh孟加拉国, the water wouldn't不会 look like this.
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在孟加拉国里,那水可不像这样。
03:57
So I've gone走了 and got some stuff东东 to add into it.
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所以我弄了这些东西来,把他们加进去。
03:59
And this is from my pond池塘.
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这是从我池塘里弄来的。
04:01
(Sniffs嗅着) (Coughs咳嗽) Have a smell of that, mister先生 cameraman摄影师.
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(嗅一下)(咳嗽)闻闻这个,摄影师。
04:05
Okay. (Laughs) Right.
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好了,(笑)可以了。
04:09
We're just going to pour that in there.
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我们就把这些倒入这个里面。
04:12
Audience听众: Ugh!
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听众:恶!
04:14
Michael迈克尔 Pritchard普里查德: Okay. We've我们已经 got some runoff径流
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麦克普理查德:好,我们还从污水处理厂
04:17
from a sewage污水 plant farm农场.
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的水流里弄了点水。
04:19
So I'm just going to put that in there.
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我们把这也放进去。
04:22
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑)
04:23
Put that in there. There we go.
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放进去,好的。
04:26
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑)
04:27
And some other bits and pieces, chuck夹头 that in there.
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和这些乱七八糟的东西,一起丢进去。
04:31
And I've got a gift礼品 here from a friend朋友 of mine's矿山 rabbit兔子.
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这是我朋友的兔子送给我的“礼物“。
04:35
So we're just going to put that in there as well.
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我们把这个也给放进去。
04:39
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑)
04:40
Okay. (Laughter笑声) Now.
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好了,(笑)现在。
04:44
The Lifesaver救命稻草 bottle瓶子 works作品 really simply只是.
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救生瓶的使用十分简单。
04:49
You just scoop the water up.
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你就把水舀起来。
04:51
Today今天 I'm going to use a jug坛子
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今天,我会使用一个罐子
04:53
just to show显示 you all. Let's get a bit of that poo便便 in there.
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就为了给你们瞧瞧,让我们放点粪便进去,
04:57
That's not dirty enough足够. Let's just stir搅拌 that up a little bit.
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那还不够脏,让我们搅一下。
05:03
Okay, so I'm going to take this really filthy污秽 water,
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好了,我就要把这极脏的水,
05:08
and put it in here. Do you want a drink yet然而?
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放进这里。你现在想喝这个水吗?
05:12
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑)
05:13
Okay. There we go.
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好了,这样。
05:17
Replace更换 the top最佳.
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换掉顶部。
05:22
Give it a few少数 pumps. Okay?
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抽动几下,好吧?
05:26
That's all that's necessary必要.
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这就可以了。
05:29
Now as soon不久 as I pop流行的 the teat乳头,
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现在一旦我打开这个瓶盖,
05:33
sterile无菌 drinking water is going to come out.
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可饮用水就会从这里冒出来。我可得做得快。
05:35
I've got to be quick. Okay, ready准备?
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好了,准备好了?
05:40
There we go. Mind心神 the electrics电气.
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这样。注意电器。
05:42
That is safe安全, sterile无菌 drinking water.
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这是安全的,无菌的可饮用水。
05:46
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
05:48
Cheers干杯.
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干杯。
05:50
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
05:53
There you go Chris克里斯.
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你来试试,克里斯。
05:55
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
06:00
What's it taste味道 of?
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尝起来怎么样?
06:02
Chris克里斯 Anderson安德森: Delicious美味的.
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克里斯安德森:美味极了。
06:04
Michael迈克尔 Pritchard普里查德: Okay.
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麦克普理查德:好了。
06:07
Let's see Chris's克里斯的 program程序 throughout始终 the rest休息 of the show显示. Okay?
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让我们看看克里斯接下来节目的表现怎么样。
好嘛?(意味克里斯会拉肚子)
06:10
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑)
06:13
Okay. Lifesaver救命稻草 bottle瓶子 is used by thousands数千 of people around the world世界.
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好了。救生瓶正在被世界各地上千人所使用。
06:18
It'll它会 last for 6,000 liters.
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它可以净化6000升水。
06:20
And when it's expired过期, using运用 failsafe故障安全 technology技术,
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当它过期后,应用故障自动保全技术,
06:23
the system系统 will shut关闭 off, protecting保护 the user用户.
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这个系统会自动关闭,从而保护了使用者。
06:26
Pop流行的 the cartridge盒式磁带 out. Pop流行的 a new one in.
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把净化盒取出,装进新的一个。
06:28
It's good for another另一个 6,000 liters.
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又可以处理6000升的水。
06:32
So let's look at the applications应用.
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让我们看看它的使用的范围。
06:34
Traditionally传统, in a crisis危机, what do we do?
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以往,在一个危机中,我们怎么做?
06:36
We ship water.
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我们运输饮用水。
06:38
Then, after a few少数 weeks, we set up camps营地.
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然后,几个星期后,我们架设起难民营。
06:42
And people are forced被迫 to come into the camps营地 to get their safe安全 drinking water.
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然后大众会被迫去难民营去取得饮用水。
06:47
What happens发生 when 20,000 people congregate集合 in a camp?
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你们想想,当20000人挤在
一个难民营里会发生些什么?
06:52
Diseases疾病 spread传播. More resources资源 are required需要.
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疾病会传播,更多的资源会被需要(控制疾病)。
06:55
The problem问题 just becomes self-perpetuating自我延续.
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这样问题就变成了自我持续的了。
06:59
But by thinking思维 differently不同,
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但是换一个角度去想问题,
07:01
and shipping运输 these,
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把这些运过去,
07:03
people can stay put.
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群众可以按兵不动,
07:05
They can make their own拥有 sterile无菌 drinking water,
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他们可以制造他们自己的可饮用水,
07:08
and start开始 to get on with rebuilding重建 their homes家园 and their lives生活.
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然后开始重建他们的家园和生活。
07:13
Now, it doesn't require要求 a natural自然 disaster灾害
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这不需要一个自然灾害
07:16
for this to work.
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让这来工作。
07:19
Using运用 the old thinking思维, of national国民 infrastructure基础设施
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用老眼光来看待问题,使用一个国家的基础设施,
07:23
and pipe work, is too expensive昂贵.
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以及管道系统,这(提供饮用水)太昂贵了。
07:26
When you run the numbers数字 on a calculator计算器,
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你用计算器来算算看,
07:28
you run out of noughts来玩圈.
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怎么算都不够。
07:30
So here is the "thinking思维 different不同" bit.
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所以,这里可以用不同的角度来看待问题。
07:33
Instead代替 of shipping运输 water,
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我们不要运输饮用水,
07:35
and using运用 man-made人造 processes流程 to do it,
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而要用人工的方法去制造饮用水,
07:38
let's use Mother母亲 Nature性质. She's got a fantastic奇妙 system系统.
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让我们依靠起大自然母亲。她有一个神奇的系统,
07:41
She picks精选 the water up from there,
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她把水从这里拿起来,
07:44
desalinates淡化 it, for free自由, transports运输 it over there,
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免费过滤,免费运输到另一个地方,
07:48
and dumps转储 it onto the mountains, rivers河流, and streams.
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然后在那边的山上,
河里和小溪里放下它(雨水)。
07:50
And where do people live生活? Near water.
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人类大多在那里居住?靠近水源的地方。
07:53
All we've我们已经 go to do
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我们只要
07:55
is make it sterile无菌. How do we do that?
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把水杀菌,变成可引用水。
07:57
Well, we could use the Lifesaver救命稻草 bottle瓶子.
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为此,我们可以使用救生瓶。
08:00
Or we could use one of these.
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或者我们可以用这个东西。
08:02
The same相同 technology技术, in a jerry杰瑞 can.
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它使用同样的技术,只是用在这种罐子上。
08:05
This will process处理 25,000 liters of water;
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这可以处理25,000升水。
08:10
that's good enough足够 for a family家庭 of four,
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这可足够维持一个4口之家,
08:14
for three years年份.
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用上3年。
08:17
And how much does it cost成本?
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那这需要多少钱?
08:19
About half a cent一分钱 a day to run.
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大概每天半美分。
08:21
Thank you.
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谢谢。
08:23
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
08:26
So, by thinking思维 differently不同, and processing处理 water
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所以,从不同的角度考虑问题,
08:29
at the point of use,
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在水源处处理水,
08:31
mothers母亲 and children孩子 no longer have to walk步行 four hours小时 a day
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这样母亲和孩子们每天不必走上4小时
08:35
to collect搜集 their water.
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去采集他们的水。
08:37
They can get it from a source资源 nearby附近.
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他们可以在附近的水源地取得。
08:41
So with just eight billion十亿 dollars美元,
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这样可用仅仅80亿美元,
08:44
we can hit击中 the millennium千年 goal's目标的 target目标
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让我们达成这个千年的发展目标,
08:47
of halving减半 the number of people
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使没有安全引用水
08:49
without access访问 to safe安全 drinking water.
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的人口减半。
08:52
To put that into context上下文,
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比较起来,
08:54
The U.K. government政府 spends about 12 billion十亿 pounds英镑
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英国政府一年所提供的外援资助
08:58
a year on foreign国外 aid援助.
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达到120亿磅。
09:01
But why stop there?
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但是为什么就此止步?
09:04
With 20 billion十亿 dollars美元, everyone大家 can have access访问 to safe安全 drinking water.
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我们可以用20亿磅,使每个人
都能有安全的可饮用水。
09:10
So the three-and-a-half三和半 billion十亿 people
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这样每年3亿半
09:12
that suffer遭受 every一切 year as a result结果,
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受苦受难的人民,以及,
09:15
and the two million百万 kids孩子 that die every一切 year,
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每年死亡的两百万的儿童,
09:19
will live生活.
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会继续生存下去。
09:23
Thank you.
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谢谢。
09:25
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Halei Liu
Reviewed by Diana Huang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Michael Pritchard - Inventor
With cutting-edge nanotech, Michael Pritchard's Lifesaver water-purification bottle could revolutionize water-delivery systems in disaster-stricken areas around the globe.

Why you should listen

During the twin tragedies of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, Ipswich water-treatment expert Michael Pritchard winced helplessly at televised coverage of throngs of refugees waiting for days for a simple drink of clean water. Stricken by the chronic failure of aid agencies to surmount this basic challenge, Pritchard decided to do something about it.

Using a non-chemical nano-filtration hollow fiber membrane with 15 nanometer pores (it is designed to block viruses), the Lifesaver bottle can make the most revolting swamp water drinkable in seconds. Better still, a single long-lasting filter can clean 6,000 liters of water. Given the astronomical cost of shipping water to disaster areas, Pritchard's Lifesaver bottle could turn traditional aid models on their heads.

More profile about the speaker
Michael Pritchard | Speaker | TED.com