彈簧機(jī)制可以讓人們用正確的材料跑得更快50%

彈簧機(jī)制可以讓人們用正確的材料跑得更快50%

Have you ever wanted to outrun the reigning Olympic Champion? Of course you have. Now scientists have shown it's theoretically possible for many of us, perhaps with modest training for couch potatoes, if we can enhance the materials from which we make springs.

你有沒有想過要超越衛(wèi)冕奧運(yùn)冠軍?你當(dāng)然有。現(xiàn)在，科學(xué)家們已經(jīng)證明，如果我們能夠增強(qiáng)制造彈簧的材料，那么對我們許多人來說，理論上是可能實(shí)現(xiàn)的，或許只要對電視迷進(jìn)行適當(dāng)?shù)挠?xùn)練就可以實(shí)現(xiàn)。

The dream that springs could enhance our natural athleticism is an old one. Victorian England was terrorized with stories of “Spring-heeled Jack”, whose reported abilities to leap over 2.7-meter (9-foot) walls were attributed to some unknown device in his shoes. Not only that but advertising for sports-wear suggests that buying their products will give you an edge, with recent trials of one particular pair of running shoes leading some to question whether it should be allowed.

彈簧可以增強(qiáng)我們天生的運(yùn)動(dòng)能力的夢想已經(jīng)不新鮮了。維多利亞時(shí)代的英國被“穿彈簧跟鞋的杰克”的故事嚇壞了，據(jù)說他能跳過2.7米(9英尺)高的墻是因?yàn)樗男永镉心撤N未知的裝置。不僅如此，運(yùn)動(dòng)服裝的廣告也表明，購買他們的產(chǎn)品會給你帶來優(yōu)勢，最近對某雙跑步鞋的試用讓一些人質(zhì)疑是否應(yīng)該允許這樣做。

Stephen Luntz

Vanderbilt University PhD student Amanda Sutrisno and supervisor Dr David Braun have much bigger dreams however, although it is unlikely anyone will allow their device into the Olympics. They propose a spring exoskeleton that would capture more of a runner's energy and catapult them on their way.

范德比爾特大學(xué)的博士生阿曼達(dá)·蘇特里斯諾和導(dǎo)師大衛(wèi)·布勞恩博士有更大的夢想，盡管不太可能有人會允許他們的設(shè)備進(jìn)入奧運(yùn)會。他們提出了一種彈簧外骨骼，可以捕捉更多的跑步者的能量，并在他們跑步的路上彈射他們。

In some ways the idea is more like a bicycle or roller skates than a better pair of runners, reducing energy lost between the foot and the ground, but it would be less affected by an uneven surface.

在某些方面，這個(gè)想法更像是自行車或輪滑，而不是一雙更好的跑步者，減少了腳部和地面之間的能量損失，但不太受不平整表面的影響。

By having a spring operate in parallel with legs, rather than in series, and programming the spring for optimum energy storage, the maximum speed of running could close much of the gap to bicycles. Amanda Sutrisno and David J. Braun/Vanderbilt University

The idea is, as yet, theoretical. Not only can you not buy one at a store, there isn't even a tested prototype. Nevertheless, Sutrisno and Braun have modeled the idea in sufficient detail to win publication in Science Advances. Their model allows for air-resistance and the loss of energy when the foot hits the ground.

到目前為止，這個(gè)想法還只是理論上的。你不僅不能在商店里買到，甚至連經(jīng)過測試的原型機(jī)都沒有。盡管如此，Sutrisno和Braun已經(jīng)為這個(gè)想法建立了足夠詳細(xì)的模型，并在《科學(xué)進(jìn)展》雜志上發(fā)表。他們的模型考慮了空氣阻力和腳著地時(shí)能量的損失。

Olympic runners using the springs would take longer to accelerate, the authors found, giving a substantial initial lead to someone of similar ability without the springs. Eventually, however, the springs allow their wearers to reach a speed 1.5 times as fast as those without them. A 100-meter champion would catch their counterpart at around the 68-meter mark and cruise on to an easy victory.

作者發(fā)現(xiàn)，使用彈簧的奧運(yùn)選手需要更長的時(shí)間來加速，這給了他們一個(gè)很大的初步優(yōu)勢，讓他們在沒有彈簧的情況下獲得類似的能力。然而，最終，這些彈簧可以使佩戴者的速度達(dá)到不佩戴者的1.5倍。一個(gè)100米冠軍可以在68米左右追上對手，然后輕松取勝。

Catching the gold medal holder over 100 meters might be hard for ordinary mortals, even if given the springs advantage, but longer races might be a different matter. Since part of the spring's effect is to greatly extend the length of a stride, a little like running on the Moon, the long jump would probably just require staying upright to win.

對于普通人來說，即使擁有彈簧的優(yōu)勢，要在100米以上的比賽中奪金可能也很困難，但長距離比賽可能就不一樣了。由于彈簧的部分作用是大大延長步幅的長度，有點(diǎn)像在月球上跑步，所以跳遠(yuǎn)很可能只需要保持直立就能獲勝。

Unfortunately, we are not yet ready to start manufacturing such devices. As part of their calculations, Sutrisno and Braun worked out the necessary stiffness and energy capacity for such springs. Existing carbon fiber is the closest, but still doesn't make the grade, so we will need a new generation of materials capable of storing more energy when compressed if the dream is to become a reality.

不幸的是，我們還沒有準(zhǔn)備好開始制造這樣的設(shè)備。作為計(jì)算的一部分，Sutrisno和Braun計(jì)算出了這種彈簧所需的剛度和能量。現(xiàn)有的碳纖維是最接近的，但仍然沒有達(dá)到標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，所以如果我們的夢想要成為現(xiàn)實(shí)，我們將需要新一代的材料，在壓縮時(shí)能夠儲存更多的能量。