【138-139】研究人员希望用钠来制造更好的电池&树木森林：新装置告诉科学家气候效应

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• SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• The Forest for the Trees: New Device Tells Scientists About Climate Effects

• January 21, 2019

A device called a TreeTalker is providing information about trees to people who oversee forests and woodlands.

The device aims to measure the growth and general health of trees.

Scientists say the new technology is important because trees are believed to be under increasing stress because of changes in the world’s climate.

Scientists say forests are important because they absorb, or take in, carbon dioxide. It is one of the gases released by burning oil and other fossil fuels.

Studies show that carbon dioxide is a heat-trapping gas. It has been linked to a general warming in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Antonio Brunori is Secretary-General of PEFC Italy. PEFC is short for the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. The organization says it works to support good methods for overseeing and developing forest resources.

Brunori says the world is at a historic period for climate change because the scientific world is on guard. He added that many scientists say ‘Be careful, the ecosystem of the forests is not able anymore, as it was before, to absorb all this carbon dioxide.’

Rising temperatures, Brunori noted, are placing forests under increased stress. He said that harmful insects and diseases are becoming more of a threat to trees.

This is bad for the environment, but also bad for the timber industry.

The TreeTalker devices serve as an early warning system for people overseeing forests. Brunori said TreeTalker turns "eco-physiological signals, such as growth, absorption of carbon dioxide, liquid flow from roots to leaves – into scientific information.”

This information can help show if a tree is under attack from insects or other organisms.

The TreeTalker sends its information to forest managers.

Riccardo Valentini invented the new device. He also is head of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change.

“The TreeTalker device transmits data via radio and it can transmit data actually a very long distance, up to one kilometer,” Valentini said.

The information lets forestry officials take action immediately to control threats.

The TreeTalker is able to measure the width of the bottom of a tree. Timber industry workers can use this information to know how much wood they are growing compared to how much they are harvesting.

Another goal is to give scientists the information they need to understand how climate affects forests and the part trees play in a healthy environment.

“So forests are important, and forests are made by trees. So we need to study the individuals to understand the forest,” Valentini added.

About 300 TreeTalker devices are being tested in Italy and other countries, such as China and Russia.

Valentini expects another 1,700 devices to be tested worldwide this year.

I’m Mario Ritter Jr.

Steve Baragona reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in This Story

ecosystem – n. everything that exists in a particular environment

stress – n. a physical or chemical force that causes something to become tense or weak

resource - n. something that provides a supply of something or support

timber – adj. of or related to growing trees or their wood

physiological – adj. related to the science of how living things operate

transmit – v. to send in the form of electrical signals

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Researchers Look to Sodium to Make Better Batteries

January 21, 2019

Scientists have long attempted to find materials to make batteries that are more powerful, but cost less to build.

In the United States, researchers are experimenting with sodium to see whether it can power much-improved batteries in the future.

Sodium is a soft, silvery metal. It is plentiful and found in seawater.

The most common battery used today is made of lithium ion. These batteries power everything from smartphones to computers to electric vehicles.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego are attempting to build a new generation of batteries powered by sodium instead of lithium. The U.S. National Science Foundation is providing financial support for the experiments.

Shirley Meng is a member of the research team.

“At a society level, I think people really think that a battery is a done deal - like it’s (an) old subject.”

But Meng says the process of developing better batteries is still a work in progress. In fact, she says the energy density of batteries in use today “can still be doubled or tripled.”

The California researchers are studying lithium ion batteries, but in the next few years plan to begin testing new sodium batteries. Team member Hayley Hirsh says she looks forward to working more with sodium development in the future.

“We want to use sodium instead of lithium because it has different properties. And also, sodium is much more abundant."

Lithium is costly and not easy to collect because it is widely spread across many parts of the world. Large amounts of water and energy are also required to gather lithium.

But sodium is found in the world’s oceans, with a seemingly limitless supply. This would lead to much lower costs to produce sodium ion for batteries.

Hirsh says she is examining different ways to make batteries that last longer and can store more power.

“Right now it’s just in the lab and we're working on figuring out how to make it hold more energy and last longer so that it can be used in your phone, in your car or even to store energy for solar, for wind.”

Finding better ways to store more energy at a lower price has been one of the major barriers to developing more powerful batteries.

Today it is not really cost effective for power companies to use batteries. This is because it would cost hundreds of dollars per kilowatt hour to operate.

However, using sodium ion batteries could bring that cost way down. The researchers say it could then make economic sense for people to have storage containers at home to save energy produced by the sun or wind.

“They have solar on the roof. They could store the electrons during the day and use them at night,” Meng said.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Kevin Enochs reported this story for VOA News. Bryan Lynn adapted his report for Learning English, with additional information from the National Science Foundation. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

battery – n. object that provides and stores electricity for things

density – n. the relationship between the weight of a substance and its size

abundant – adj. existing in large quantities

cheap – adj. not costing a lot of money

solar – n. relating to or involving the sun

kilowatt – n. a unit for measuring electrical power

roof – n. the top or covering of something

ion – n. an atom or atomic group that carries an electric charge

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