TED2012
Taylor Wilson: Yup, I built a nuclear fusion reactor
Taylor Wilson: 沒錯，我蓋了一座核融合反應爐
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Taylor Wilson 認為核融合技術昰解決我們未來能源需求的最佳方案，並深信孩子們能夠改變世界。他對這兩樣事情可都有經驗: 他十四歲時在父母的車庫裡蓋了一座核融合反應爐。今年十七歲的泰勒來TED和我們分享他的故事(的精簡版)。
Taylor Wilson - Nuclear scientist
At 14, Taylor Wilson became the youngest person to achieve fusion -- with a reactor born in his garage. Now he wants to save our seaports from nuclear terror. Full bio
At 14, Taylor Wilson became the youngest person to achieve fusion -- with a reactor born in his garage. Now he wants to save our seaports from nuclear terror. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
So my name is Taylor Wilson.
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我的名字是泰勒‧威爾遜，
00:17
I am 17 years old
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今年 17 歲。
00:19
and I am a nuclear physicist,
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我是一個核子物理學家。
00:21
which may be a little hard to believe, but I am.
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這可能有點難以相信，但我真的昰。
00:24
And I would like to make the case
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我想要說服大家的第一點，
00:27
that nuclear fusion
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是核融合技術
00:29
will be that point,
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將會成為
00:31
that the bridge that T. Boone Pickens talked about
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T. Boone Pickens (美國能源泰斗) 曾提起
00:33
will get us to.
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讓我們連接未來的橋樑。
00:35
So nuclear fusion is our energy future.
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核融合將是未來的能源。
00:38
And the second point,
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第二點，
00:40
making the case that kids can really change the world.
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是證明孩子真的可以改變世界。
00:42
So you may ask --
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所以你可能會問-
00:44
(Applause)
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（掌聲）
00:48
You may ask me,
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你可能會問我，
00:50
well how do you know what our energy future is?
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你怎麼知道我們能源的未來是什麼？
00:52
Well I built a fusion reactor
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我已經蓋了一座核融合反應爐，
00:54
when I was 14 years old.
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當時我14歲。
00:56
That is the inside of my nuclear fusion reactor.
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這就是我的核反應爐的內部。
00:59
I started building this project
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我開始建造這個計畫時，
01:01
when I was about 12 or 13 years old.
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我大約12、13歲。
01:04
I decided I wanted to make a star.
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那時我決定我想做一顆星星。
01:06
Now most of you are probably saying,
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你們之中的大多數人或許會說，
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well there's no such thing as nuclear fusion.
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核融合這種東西是不存在的，
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I don't see any nuclear power plants with fusion energy.
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我從沒看到任何核融合發電廠。
01:14
Well it doesn't break even.
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我承認它無法收支平衡，
01:16
It doesn't produce more energy out than I put in,
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它不會產出比我原先提供還要更多的能量，
01:18
but it still does some pretty cool stuff.
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但它依然會做一些很酷的東西。
01:21
And I assembled this in my garage,
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而且我在我的車庫裡把它組裝完成的，
01:23
and it now lives in the physics department
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而現在它在內華達大學
01:25
of the University of Nevada, Reno.
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雷諾校區的物理系館內。
01:27
And it slams together deuterium,
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它能夠高速撞擊氘，
01:29
which is just hydrogen with an extra neutron in it.
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氘只是氫加一個額外的中子。
01:32
So this is similar to the reaction
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這個反應類似於
01:35
of the proton chain that's going on inside the Sun.
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在太陽裡面發生的質子鏈。
01:37
And I'm slamming it together so hard
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我將它們高速撞擊
01:40
that that hydrogen fuses together,
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直到它們融合在一起，
01:42
and in the process it has some byproducts,
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並在過程中產生一些副產品，
01:44
and I utilize those byproducts.
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而我就是利用這些副產品。
01:47
So this previous year,
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去年，
01:50
I won the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
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我贏了英特爾國際科學和工程展覽會。
01:54
I developed a detector that replaces the current detectors
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我開發了一個能夠替換當今國安局探測器
01:56
that Homeland Security has.
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更好的探測器。
01:58
For hundreds of dollars,
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我以數百美元，
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I've developed a system that exceeds the sensitivity
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開發了一個敏銳度超越
02:03
of detectors that are hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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上萬美元的探測器敏銳度的系統。
02:06
I built this in my garage.
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我在我的車庫裡製造出來的。
02:08
(Applause)
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（掌聲）
02:10
And I've developed a system
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我還有發明了一個系統
02:12
to produce medical isotopes.
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用來生產醫用同位素。
02:14
Instead of requiring multi-million-dollar facilities
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與其需要幾百萬美元的設施，
02:16
I've developed a device that, on a very small scale,
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我開發了一種設備，能夠以很小的規模，
02:19
can produce these isotopes.
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產生這些同位素。
02:21
So that's my fusion reactor in the background there.
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在後面那個就是我的核融合反應爐。
02:26
That is me at the control panel
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這是我在反應爐
02:28
of my fusion reactor.
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的控制台。
02:30
Oh, by the way, I make yellowcake in my garage,
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哦，順便說一句，我也在我的車庫裡作黃蛋糕(鈾235俗稱)，
02:33
so my nuclear program is as advanced as the Iranians.
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所以我的核計劃跟伊朗人一樣進步。
02:36
So maybe I don't want to admit to that.
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也許我不應該承認這點。
02:39
This is me at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland,
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這是我在瑞士日內瓦的歐洲粒子物理研究中心(CERN)
02:42
which is the preeminent particle physics laboratory in the world.
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它是世界上數一數二的粒子物理實驗室。
02:46
And this is me with President Obama,
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這是我和歐巴馬總統，
02:48
showing him my Homeland Security research.
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我在向他展示我的國土安全研究。
02:51
(Applause)
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（掌聲）
02:56
So in about seven years
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所以在我做核子研究
02:58
of doing nuclear research,
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的這七年，
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I started out with a dream
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我昰從一個夢想開始。
03:02
to make a "star in a jar," a star in my garage,
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想要在一個罐子裡做一顆星，在車庫裡的星星。
03:04
and I ended up meeting the president
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而我最後竟見到了總統，
03:06
and developing things that I think can change the world,
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並且發明我認為可以改變這個世界的東西，
03:09
and I think other kids can too.
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而且我認為其他的孩子也可以做到。
03:11
So thank you very much.
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謝謝大家。
03:13
(Applause)
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（掌聲）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Taylor Wilson - Nuclear scientistAt 14, Taylor Wilson became the youngest person to achieve fusion -- with a reactor born in his garage. Now he wants to save our seaports from nuclear terror.
Why you should listen
Physics wunderkind Taylor Wilson astounded the science world when, at age 14, he became the youngest person in history to produce fusion. The University of Nevada-Reno offered a home for his early experiments when Wilson’s worried parents realized he had every intention of building his reactor in the garage.
Wilson now intends to fight nuclear terror in the nation's ports, with a homemade radiation detector priced an order of magnitude lower than most current devices. In 2012, Wilson's dreams received a boost when he became a recipient of the $100,000 Thiel Prize. Wilson now intends revolutionize the way we produce energy, fight cancer, and combat terrorism using nuclear technology.
Taylor Wilson | Speaker | TED.com