读英语文章 远程电力传输

A solar panel in space is collecting energy that could one day be beamed to anywhere on Earth

太空中的一块太阳能电池板正在收集能量，这些能量有一天可能会被发射到地球上的任何地方

Scientists working in the US have successfully tested a solar panel the size of a pizza box in space, designed as a prototype for a future system to send electricity from space back to any point on Earth.

美国的科学家们成功地在太空中测试了一块披萨盒大小的太阳能电池板，该电池板被设计为未来系统的原型，可以将太空中的电力发送回地球上的任何地方。

The panel -- known as a Photovoltaic Radiofrequency Antenna Module (PRAM) -- was first launched in May 2020, attached to the Pentagon's X-37B unmanned drone, to harness light from the sun to convert to electricity. The drone is looping Earth every 90 minutes.

该电池板被称为光伏射频天线模块(PRAM)，于2020年5月首次发射，连接在五角大楼的X-37B无人机上，利用来自太阳的光转化为

电能。无人机每90分钟在地球上空盘旋一次。

The panel is designed to make best use of the light in space, which doesn't pass through the atmosphere, and so retains the energy of blue waves, making it more powerful than the sunlight that reaches Earth. Blue light diffuses on entry into the atmosphere, which is why the sky appears blue.

这种电池板的设计是为了充分利用太空中的光线，因为太空光线不会穿过大气层，所以它保留了蓝波的能量，使其比到达地球的阳光更有能量。蓝光进入大气层时会扩散，这就是为什么天空看起来是蓝色的。

\"We're getting a ton of extra sunlight in space just because of that,\" said Paul Jaffe, a co-developer of the project.

“正因为如此，我们在太空中获得了大量额外的阳光，”该项目的联合开发商保罗·贾菲(Paul Jaffe)说。

The latest experiments show that the 12x12-inch panel is capable of producing about 10 watts of energy for transmission, Jaffe told repoter. That's about enough to power a tablet computer.

杰夫在接受记者采访时表示，最新的实验表明，这种12x12英寸

的面板能够产生约10瓦的能量用于传输。这足以支撑一台平板电脑。

But the project envisages an array of dozens of panels and, if scaled up, its success could revolutionize both how power is generated and distributed to remote corners of the globe. It could contribute to the Earth's largest grid networks, Jaffe said.

但该项目设想了几十个电池板阵列，如果扩大规模，它的成功可能会彻底改变电力的产生方式，以及向全球偏远角落输送电力的方式。贾菲说，它可以为地球上最大的电网做出贡献。

\"Some visions have space solar matching or exceeding the largest power plants today -- multiple gigawatts -- so enough for a city,\" he said.

他说:“有些愿景的空间太阳能发电能力与目前最大的发电厂相当，甚至超过了它们的发电能力——数万亿瓦——足够一个城市使用。”

The unit has yet to actually send power directly back to Earth, but that technology has already been proven. If the project develops into huge kilometers-wide space solar antennae, it could beam microwaves that would then be converted into

fuel-free electricity to any part of the planet at a moment's notice.

该装置还没有直接向地球发送电力，但这项技术已经得到验证。如果该项目发展成宽达数公里的太空太阳能天线，它就可以将微波发射到地球上的任何地方，并将其转化为无燃料电力。

\"The unique advantage the solar power satellites have over any other source of power is this global transmissibility,\" Jaffe said. \"You can send power to Chicago and a fraction of a second later, if you needed, send it instead to London or Brasilia.\"

贾菲说:“太阳能卫星相对于任何其他能源的独特优势是其全球传播能力。”“你可以把电力发送到芝加哥，如果你需要，几秒钟后就可以把它发送到伦敦或巴西利亚。”