最大太阳能飞机完成环球之旅

Solar-Powered Plane Completes Trip Around the World 最大太阳能飞机完成环球之旅

For the first time, a solar-powered airplane has completed a trip around the world.

The Solar Impulse¹ 2 landed in Abu Dhabi before sunrise on Tuesday, after a trip that took 17 months and covered more than 42,000 kilometers.

Although poor weather conditions delayed the flight many times, energy from the sun provided all of the power required for the long and difficult journey.

Solar Impulse chairman Bertrand Piccard flew the plane during the final hours of the flight. Fellow pilot Andre Borschberg joined him in Abu Dhabi. The Swiss explorers hugged in excitement on completing the journey.

Piccard spoke² to reporters after landing the plane. His words pointed³ not so much to the accomplishment⁴ of the long-distance flight, but to the future of the technologies involved.

“The future is clean. The future is you. The future is now. Let’s take it further,” Piccard told a crowd.

From the beginning, the project was meant to bring attention to clean energy and the technologies it requires.

In a statement, Picard said, “Our mission now is to continue to motivate people, corporations and government to use these same solutions on the ground wherever they make sense.”

He also spoke about the need to create an international agency for clean technologies. He said such a group could bring together policymakers and companies that develop solar, wind and fuel cell technologies

The around-the-world flight was divided into 17 parts. The longest and most difficult part was from Nagoya, Japan, to Kalaeloa, in the American state of Hawaii. That trip took nearly five days. Co-pilot Borschberg set a world record for an uninterrupted flight alone.

A trip that was part exploration part, part technology test

The Solar Impulse 2 brings together several technologies that researchers are working to improve. The plane’s body is made of very light, but strong carbon fiber⁵. The carbon design keeps the weight of the plane low. The whole aircraft weighs about as much as a car.

Yet, its wingspan is huge, measuring 72 meters from wing tip to wing tip. That is greater than a 747 passenger Jet.

Most of the Solar Impulse 2’s wings and body are covered with more than 17,000 photovoltaic cells. Four batteries keep the plane’s four engines operating for nighttime flight.

The plane set several records for distance and time in the air. However, traveling at 45 to 90 kilometers an hour, the aircraft is anything but fast.

The flight began in Abu Dhabi, one of the United Arab Emirates, on March 9, 2015. But the effort started more than 10 years earlier. The first test flight took place in 2009.

Since then, there have been several versions of the Solar Impulse plane.

Piccard and his team faced many technical problems, especially with the design of the batteries. The batteries permit energy to be stored when the sun is not shining.

Growing costs also threatened the project. Last year, Picard told the Guardian⁶ newspaper that the solar plane project cost about $170 million dollars.

The project showed many of the difficulties facing solar flight. Weather and equipment failures kept the plane grounded for long periods of time.

Some experts believe these problems can be solved with further research.

Ron Bishop⁷ is an aviation⁸ expert with Central Queensland University in Australia. He told VOA’s Victor Beattie that there were ways to design solar airplanes to overcome the technical problems.

One way might be to use hybrid⁹ technology. Hybrid means bringing two power sources into one system.

“What we could probably see is a hybrid, so possibly an aircraft that takes off with a jet engine and then once it gets to altitude it can run on the solar or on batteries.”

Earlier this week, co-pilot Andre Borschberg said the flight had already proven that long distance air travel is possible without creating pollution.

"By flying around the world thanks to renewable energy and clean technologies, we have demonstrated that we can now make our world more energy efficient,'' he said.

Words in This Story

journey –n. a trip, to travel from one place to another

accomplishment –n. to have reached a goal, to have accomplished¹⁰ something

motivate –v. to give a reason to do something

photovoltaic –adj. related to making electricity from light

aviation –n. related to flying devices

hybrid –adj. something formed by combining two or more things

1 impulse   

n.（一时的）冲动，冲力，脉冲，神经冲动

参考例句：

• She wrote that letter on impulse.她一时冲动写了这封信。
• I don't know how to resist my impulse.我不知道怎样抑制自己的感情冲动。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

5 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

6 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

7 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

8 aviation   

n.航空，航空学，飞机制造业

参考例句：

• Ten years ago,they began to develop the aviation. 十年前，他们开始发展航空工业。
• Pilots of large aircraft are masters of aviation.大型飞行器的驾驶员是航空学方面的专家。

9 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

10 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。