《时代》周刊评出2014年度最佳发明 （一）

Hoverboards, intelligent space craft, edible food wrappers, and much much more— Welcome to TIME’s annual round-up of the best inventions making the world better, smarter and—in some cases—a little more fun.

欢迎来到《时代周刊》年终最佳发明汇总，这里有悬浮滑板，智能航天器，可食用的食物包装以及其他更多的发明，这些发明让我们的生活更美好、更智能、甚至有时候变得更有趣。

1. The Real-Life Hoverboard

现实版磁悬滑板

 

 

The hoverboard—a type of skateboard that levitates like a magic carpet—had been a pipe dream since its fictional debut in 1989’sBack to the Future Part II. Now California-based tech firm Hendo has built the real thing.

悬浮滑板——一种像魔毯一样悬浮在空中的滑板——自从在1989年的科幻影片《回到未来2》中出现以来就一直让人可望而不可即。现在美国加州技术公司Hendo已造出了实物。

Hondo’s hoverboard can float only an inch or so above the ground, and even then only over conductive material like copper or aluminum. Just 10 are being made to order (so far). And battery life is 15 minutes—barely enough time to zoom past your enemies à la Marty McFly. But the technology that powers it could be revolutionary. Hendo founders Jill and Greg Henderson plan to develop magnetic “hovering” tech to stabilize buildings during earthquakes, protect valuable works of art and more. “The hoverboard is the first step to bringing this technology to the world,” says Greg.

Hendo公司的悬浮滑板只能离地大约一英寸(2.54厘米)，即使这么低的高度也必须是在导电材料如铜质或铝质的表面才行。目前为止，Hendo公司只定制了10台。电池的续航时间为15分钟——这点时间勉强够从敌人à la Marty McFly身边快速逃离。Hendo公司创始人吉尔和格雷格•亨德森计划对磁“悬浮”技术进行开发，以达到在地震中稳定建筑物以及保护价值连城的艺术品等目的。格雷格称：“悬浮滑板是把这项技术推向世界的第一步。”

2. The Supersmart Spacecraft

超智能太空船

 

 

Nobody gets Mars right on the first try. The U.S. didn’t, Russia didn’t, the Europeans didn’t. But on Sept.24, India did. Building the craft cost India just $74million, less than the budget for the film Gravity. It portends great things for the country’s space program—and for science in general.

印度空间研究组织研制的“曼加里安”号火星探测器。还没有人第一次尝试就能到达火星的。美国没有，俄罗斯没有，欧洲也没有。但9月24日，印度却做到了。制造该探测器只花了印度7400万美元，还不及电影《地心引力》的预算。这对于印度航天计划以及整个科学界具有重要的象征意义。

3. A Reactor that Could Realize Nuclear Fusion

可实现核聚变的反应堆

 

 

Nuclear fusion has always been the holy grail of energy: it’s endlessly productive and largely clean—and so far, it’s remained elusive. But in October, Lockheed Martin said it had achieved a technological breakthrough that will enable it to make compact fusion reactors small enough to fit on the back of a truck within a decade. The design uses “magnetic mirror confinement” to control the reaction. Absent further details on how it works, some outside scientists are skeptical. But if Lockheed really can produce a workable fusion reactor, the world of energy may never be the same.

核聚变一直是能源中的圣杯：它取之不尽且基本上是洁净的，而且到目前为止仍然难以把握。但在今年10 月，洛克希德•马丁公司(Lockheed Martin)表示其实现了技术突破，从而将能在10年内制造出小得足以安装在卡车后部的紧凑型聚变反应堆。其设计利用了“磁镜约束”来控制反应过程。由于缺乏有关其工作原理的更多细节，外部科学家持怀疑态度。但如果该公司真的能制造出可正常工作的聚变反应堆，能源世界可能会为之彻底改观。

4. Wireless Electricity

无线电力

 

 

We already have wireless Internet and wireless phones. Why, then, are everyday appliances still shackled to the wall? WiTricity’s technology—involving a plug-in coil that creates a magnetic field, which in turn powers objects as far away as 2.4 m — has been tested on Toyota electric cars, Intel PCs and more. Within 10 years, says CEO Alex Gruzen, rooms could be wired so that all appliances—lamps, TVs, stereos—pull power from a central charging base.

我们已有了无线网络和无线电话。那么为什么日常家电仍要插入墙上的电源插座中?美国无线电力公司的技术——利用插入式线圈产生磁场为最远距离达2.4米的目标供电——已在丰田电动汽车、英特尔电脑及其他装置上进行了试验。无线电力公司首席执行官阿历克斯•格鲁森称，在10年之内，房间里可以布设导线，这样所有的电器(电灯、电视、音响等)都可以靠一个中央充电基座供电。