At the dawn of the 19th century,
在19世纪来临之际，
in a cellar in Mayfair,
在梅费尔的一个地窖里，
the most famous scientist of the time, Humphry Davy,
那个时代最著名的科学家 汉弗里·戴维，
built an extraordinary piece of electrical equipment.
建立了一块不同寻常的电气设备。
Four metres wide, twice as long
4米宽，长两倍
and containing stinking stacks of acid and metal,
包含一堆堆臭哄哄的酸和金属，
it had been created to pump out more electricity
建立它是为了泵出更多的电
than had ever been possible before.
在此之前从来没有这么多。
It was in fact the biggest battery
其实这是世界上从未见过的
the world had ever seen.
最大的电池。
With it, Davy was about to propel us
有了它，戴维即将推动我们
into a new age.
进入一个新的时代。
That moment would take place at a lecture at the Royal Institution,
那一刻会发生在英国皇家学院的一次演讲中
in front of hundreds of London's great and good.
在数百位伦敦的伟人和精英面前。
Filled with anticipation, they packed the seats,
他们满怀期待，挤满了座位，
hoping to witness a new and exciting electrical wonder.
希望见证一个新的和激动人心的电气奇迹。
But what they would see that night would be something truly unique.
但是，那晚他们看到的将是真正独特的事件。
Something they would remember for the rest of their lives.
这件事将会令他们永生难忘。
Using just two simple carbon rods,
只用两个简单的炭棒，
Humphry Davy was about to unleash the true potential of electricity.
汉弗里·戴维即将释放电的真正潜力。
Electricity is one of nature's most awesome phenomena,
电是自然界最可怕的现象之一，
and the most powerful manifestation of it we ever see
我们见到的电的最强大的展示
is lightning.
就是闪电。
This is the story of how we first dreamed of controlling
这个故事讲述的是我们最初怎样梦想控制
this primal force of nature,
这种自然的原始力量，
and how we would ultimately become its master.
以及我们如何最终成为它的主人。
It's a 300-year tale
这是一个300年的故事，
of dazzling leaps of imagination and extraordinary experiments.
由让人眩目的想象力的飞跃，以及非凡的实验所组成。
Tens of thousands of volts passed across his body
数万伏跨越他的身体
and through the end of a lamp that he was holding.
传递到他握着的一盏灯。
It's a story of a maverick geniuses
这是一个特立独行的天才的故事
who used electricity to light our cities,
就是他，用电照亮了我们的城市，
to communicate across the seas and through the air,
用电跨越海洋，穿过空气进行通讯，
to create modern industry and to give us the digital revolution.
用电创建现代工业并带给我们数字化革命。
But in this film, we'll tell the story of the very first scientists
但在这部影片中，我们将讲述第一批科学家们的故事
who started to unlock the mysteries of electricity.
就是他们开始解密电的奥秘。
It's as though there's something alive in there.
好象有什么活的东西在那儿。
They studied its curious link to life,
他们研究电与生命的奇特联系，
built strange and powerful instruments to create it
建造古怪而强大的装置来产生电
and even tamed lightning itself.
甚至驯服闪电本身。
It was these men who truly laid the foundations of the modern world.
就是这些人真正奠定了现代世界的基础。
And it all started with a spark.
而这一切都开始于一粒星火。
震撼 与 敬畏
—— 电 的 故 事
第一集
火 花
Imagine our world without electricity.
想象一下，如果我们的世界没有电。
It would be dark,
这个世界就会暗淡，
cold and quiet.
寒冷和宁静。
In many ways, it would be like the beginning of the 18th century,
在许多方面，它会像18世纪初，
where our story begins.
我们的故事就开始于那个年代。
中文字幕翻译校对：马成长 旧语新思 一家讲坛：http://growupsoft.blog.163.com
This is the Royal Society in London.
这是伦敦的英国皇家学会。
In the early 1700s, after years in the wilderness,
在18世纪初，经过多年在野，
Isaac Newton finally took control of it
在他的头号敌人罗伯特·胡克死亡后，
after the death of his arch-enemy, Robert Hooke.
艾萨克·牛顿终于控制了英国皇家学会。
Newton brought in his own people to the key jobs,
牛顿将自己的人安排在关键岗位，
to help shore up his new position.
以帮衬他的新职务。
The new head of demonstrations there was 35-year-old Francis Hauksbee.
负责演示实验的新掌门人是35岁的弗朗西斯·霍克斯比。
Notes from the Royal Society in 1705
英国皇家学会1705年的笔记
reveal how hard Hauksbee tried
表明了霍克斯比如何努力试图
to stamp his personality on its weekly meetings,
将他的特长带到皇家学会每周例会，
producing ever more spectacular experiments to impress his masters.
制作更加引人注目的实验来打动观众。
In November, he came up with this -
在11月份，他想出了这个 -
a rotating glass sphere.
旋转的玻璃球。
He was able to remove the air from inside it using a new machine -
他能够消除球中的空气，因为他使用了一种新机器 -
the air pump.
空气泵。
On his machine, a handle allowed him to spin the sphere.
在他的机器上，有一个把手让他旋转球体。
One by one, the candles in the room were put out
一根接一根，房间里的蜡烛被熄灭
and Francis placed his hand against the sphere.
弗朗西斯把他的手放在球体上。
The audience were about to see something amazing.
观众将会看到一些令人惊讶的事情。
'Inside the glass sphere,
“玻璃球内，
'a strange ethereal light began to form,
“一种奇特的缥缈的光开始形成，
'dancing around his hand.
“围绕着他的手舞动。
'A light no-one had ever seen before.'
“这种光以前从来没有人见过。”
That's fantastic.
这太棒了。
You see a beautiful blue glow, it's just marking out
你看到一个美丽的蓝色辉光，它刚好标示出
the shape of my hands, but then going right round the ball.
我的手的形状，但随后马上就绕着球体。
It's as though there's something alive in there.
好象有什么活的东西在那儿。
It's difficult to really understand
很难真正理解
why this dancing blue light meant so much,
为什么这个跳舞的蓝光其意味如此之多，
but we have to bear in mind that at the time,
但我们要牢记在当时，
natural phenomena like this were seen to be the work of the Almighty.
这样的自然现象被看着是全能的上帝的工作。
This was still a period when, even in Isaac Newton's theory,
在这个年代，即使在牛顿的理论中，
God was constantly intervening in the conduct of the world.
上帝也还是不断干预世界的行为。
It made sense for a lot of people
对很多人来说，把自然现象
to interpret natural phenomena as acts of God.
解释为上帝的行为是很有道理的。
So when a mere mortal meddled with God's work,
所以，当区区凡人插手神的工作时，
it was almost beyond rational comprehension.
它几乎超越理性的理解能力。
Hauksbee never realised the full significance of his experiment.
霍克斯比从来没有意识到他的实验的全部意义。
He lost interest in his glowing sphere
他对他的发光球体失去了兴趣
and spent the last few years of his life
用他生命的最后几年
building ever more spectacular experiments
制作更加引人注目的实验
for Isaac Newton to test his other theories.
以测试艾萨克·牛顿的其他理论。
He never realised that he had unwittingly started
他从来没有意识到他不知不觉地
an electrical revolution.
开启了一场电气革命。
Before Hauksbee, electricity had been merely a curiosity.
在霍克斯比之前，电只是一种古玩。
The ancient Greeks rubbed amber, which they called electron,
古希腊人涂擦琥珀，他们称其为电子，
to get small shocks.
获得小小的电击。
Even Queen Elizabeth I marvelled
甚至伊丽莎白一世也惊叹于
at static electricity's power to lift feathers.
静电的力量能提起羽毛。
But now Hauksbee's machine
但现在霍克斯比的机器
could make electricity at the turn of a handle,
可以通过摇动把手来制造电，
and you could see it.
而且你还能看到它。
Perhaps even more importantly, his invention coincided
或许更重要的是，他的发明正好
with the birth of a new movement sweeping across Europe
与席卷欧洲的一场新运动诞生的时间一致
called the Enlightenment.
这就是启蒙运动。
Enlightened intellectuals used reason to question the world
开明的知识分子利用理性来审问世界，
and their legacy was radical politics,
他们的传统就是激进的政治，
iconoclastic art
特立独行的艺术
and natural philosophy, or science.
以及自然哲学,或科学。
But ironically, Hauksbee's new machine
但具有讽刺意味的​​是，霍克斯比的新机器
wasn't immediately embraced by most of these intellectuals.
并没有被大多数这些知识分子所接受。
But instead, by conjurers and street magicians.
而接受它的是巫师和街头魔术师。
Those with an interest in electricity
这些人对电有兴趣
called themselves electricians.
并称他们自己是电气师。
One story tells of a dinner party attended by an Austrian Count.
有一个故事讲的是一位奥地利伯爵出席的晚宴。
The electrician had placed some feathers on the table
电气师将一些羽毛放在桌上
and then charged up a glass rod with a silk handkerchief.
然后用一块丝绸手帕使玻璃棒带上电。
He then astonished the guests by lifting up the feathers
随后用玻璃棒提起羽毛，
with the rod.
使客人惊讶不已。
He then went on to charge himself up
接着，他使自己带上电
using one of Hauksbee's electrical machines.
用的就是霍克斯比的电气设备。
He gave the guests electric shocks, presumably to squeals of delight.
他给客人来个电击，大概是为了发出兴奋的尖叫。
But for his piece de resistance,
但为了展示他的最得意之作，
he placed a glass of cognac in the centre of the table,
他放了一杯白兰地在桌子的中央，
charged himself up again
再次使自己带上电
and lit it with a spark from the tip of his finger.
从他的手指尖端迸出的火花点燃了白兰地。
There was a trick called the electrical beatification,
还有一招叫电气赐福，
in which the victim sits on an insulated chair
受骗者坐在绝缘的椅子上
and above his head hangs a metal crown
在他的头顶上挂着一个金属王冠
that doesn't quite touch his head.
几乎紧挨着他的头。
And then if the crown is electrified,
然后，如果王冠被电气化，
then you get an electric discharge around the crown
然后你会你得到一个放电的皇冠
that looks exactly like a halo,
看起来酷似圣像的光轮，
which is why it's called the electric beatification.
这就是为什么它被称为电动赐福。
As England and the rest of Europe went electricity crazy,
由于英国和欧洲其他国家为电疯狂，
the spectacles grew bigger.
演出场面搞得越来越大。
The more curious electricians
更好奇的电气师,
started to ask more profound questions,
开始问更深刻的问题，
not only how can we make our shows bigger and better,
不只是我们怎样才能使我们的演示更大，更好，
but how can we control this amazing power?
还有如何才能使我们控制这种神奇的力量？
And for some, can this incredible electrical fire
而对于某些人而言，这个令人难以置信的电火花
do more than just entertain?
能否不只是用来娱乐？
One of the first early breakthroughs would never have happened
如果不是因为一场可怕的事故
had it not been for a terrible accident.
最早期的突破之一就不可能发生。
This is Charterhouse in the centre of London.
这是位于伦敦市中心的卡尔特济贫院。
Over the past 400 years, it's been a charitable home
在过去400年来，这是一个慈善之家
for young orphans and elderly gentleman.
收容年幼的孤儿和年长的贫困绅士。
And sometime in the 1720s,
在18世纪20年代的某个时候，
it also became home to one Stephen Gray.
它也成为一个叫斯蒂芬·格雷的人的家。
Stephen Gray had been a successful
斯蒂芬·格雷曾经是一个成功的
silk dyer from Canterbury.
来自坎特伯雷的丝绸染色业主。
He was used to seeing electric sparks leap from the silk
他看惯了在丝绸上跳跃的电火花
and they fascinated him.
这使他着迷。
Unfortunately, a crippling accident ended his career
不幸的是，一次严重的事故结束了他的职业生涯
and left him destitute.
让他一贫如洗。
But then he was offered a new life here at Charterhouse
但随后在卡尔特济贫院这里他开始了一种全新的生活
and with it the time to perform his own electrical experiments.
而且有时间来完成他自己的电学实验。
Here at Charterhouse, possibly in this very room, the Great Chamber,
在卡尔特济贫院，可能就是在这个屋子，大房间，
Stephen Gray built a wooden frame
斯蒂芬·格雷建造了一个木框
and from the top beam he suspended two swings using silk rope.
他从顶梁上悬挂了两个使用丝绳的秋千。
He also had a device like this, a Hauksbee machine
他还有一个这样的设备，一台霍克斯比机
for generating static electricity.
用来生成静电。
Now, with a large audience in attendance,
现在，随着大量的观众出席，
he got one of the orphan boys who lived here at Charterhouse
他叫一个住在济贫院的孤儿男孩
to lie across the two swings.
横卧在两个秋千之间。
Gray placed some gold leaf in front of him.
格雷把一些金箔放在他的面前。
He then generated electricity
然后，他产生的电
and charged the boy through a connecting rod.
通过一根连杆使男孩带电。
Gold leaf, even feathers, leapt to the boy's fingers.
金箔，甚至羽毛，跃上男孩的手指。
Some of the audience claimed they could even see sparks
有些观众声称他们甚至可以看到小火花
flying out from his fingertips. Show business indeed.
从他的指尖飞了出去。演出确实精彩。
But to the curious and inquiring mind of Stephen Gray,
但对斯蒂芬·格雷的好奇心和探索精神而言，
this said something else as well -
这个演示还说明了一些别的东西 -
electricity could move,
电是可移动的，
from the machine to the boy's body, through to his hands.
从起电机传到男孩的身体，再传到他的双手。
But the silk rope stopped it dead.
但丝绳却让电停滞。
It meant the mysterious electrical fluid
这意味着神秘的电流体
could flow through some things...
能流过某些东西...
..but not through others.
...却不能通过其他一些东西。
It led Gray to divide the world into two different kinds of substances.
这促使格雷将世界划分为两种不同种类的物质。
He called them insulators and conductors.
他把它们称为绝缘体和导体。
Insulators held electric charge within them
绝缘体将电荷保持在其上
and wouldn't let it move, like the silk or hair,
不会让它移动，就像丝绸或毛发，
glass and resin.
玻璃和树脂。
Whereas conductors allowed electricity to flow through them,
反之，导体允许电荷流过它们，
like the boy or metals.
就像那个男孩或金属。
It's a distinction which is still crucial even today.
这种区分即使到了今天仍然很关键。
Just think of these electric pylons.
试想，这些电动吊架。
They work on the same principle that Gray deduced
它们的工作所基于的
nearly 300 years ago.
就是格雷近300年前演绎出的同样的原理。
The wires are conductors.
电线导体。
The glass and ceramic objects
玻璃和陶瓷物体
between the wire and the metal of the pylon are insulators
在导线与金属挂钩之间是绝缘体
that stop the electricity leaking from the wires
防止电从电线
into the pylon and down to the earth.
泄漏到吊架，进入地面。
They're just like the silk ropes in Gray's experiment.
他们就像格雷的实验中的丝绳。
Back in the 1730s,
回到1730年代，
Gray's experiment may have astounded all who saw it,
格雷的实验可能震惊了所有看到它的人，
but it had a frustrating drawback.
但它有一个令人沮丧的缺点。
Try as he might, Gray couldn't contain the electricity he was generating for long.
尽管他试过多次，格雷还是不能长期容纳他产生的电。
It leapt from the machine to the boy and was quickly gone.
它从起电机泄漏到男孩身上，很快就消失了。
The next step in our story came
当我们了解了如何储存电时
when we learnt how to store electricity.
我们的故事的下一章就到来了。
But that would take place not in Britain,
但是，这件事不是发生在英国，
but across the Channel in mainland Europe.
而是在海峡对岸的欧洲大陆。
Across the Channel, electricians were just as busy
海峡对岸的电气师也很忙，
as their British counterparts and one centre for electrical research
跟他们的英国同行一样，电气研究中心之一
was here in Leiden, Holland.
就在这里，荷兰的莱顿。
And it was here that a professor came up with an invention
而正是在这里，一个教授想出了一个发明
that many still regard as the most significant of the 18th century,
许多人仍视其为18世纪最重要的发明，
one that in some form or another can still be found
这个发明仍然以各种形式存在于
in almost every electrical device today.
今天的几乎每一个电气设备。
That professor was Pieter van Musschenbroek.
这个教授就是彼得·范·穆森布罗克。
Unlike Hauksbee and Gray,
与霍克斯比和格雷不同，
Musschenbroek was born into academia.
穆森布罗克出生于学术界。
But ironically enough, his breakthrough
但讽刺的是，他的突​​破的到来
came not because of his rigorous science,
不是因为他严谨的科学，
but because of a simple human mistake.
而是由于一个简单的人为错误。
He was trying to find a way to store electrical charge,
他试图找到一种方法存储电荷，
ready for his demonstrations. And you can almost hear
为他的演示做准备。当他试图解决这个问题时，
his train of thought as he tries to figure this out.
你几乎可以听到他的思路。
If electricity is a fluid that flows, a bit like water,
如果电是一种流动的流体，有点像水，
then maybe you can store it in the same way that you can store water.
那么也许你可以用存储水同样的方式，来储存电。
So Musschenbroek went to his laboratory
所以穆森布罗克去他的实验室
to try to make a device to store electricity.
试图制造一个设备来储存电。
Musschenbroek started to think literally.
穆森布罗克就这样开始思考。
He took a glass jar and poured in some water.
他把一个玻璃广口瓶灌上一些水。
He then placed inside it a length of conducting wire...
然后，他放了一段长导线到里面...
..which was connected at the top to a Hauksbee electric machine.
... ...导线连接到一个霍克斯比起电机的顶部。
'Then he put the jar on an insulator to help keep the charge in the jar.'
“然后，他把广口瓶放在绝缘体上以便把电荷留在瓶里。”
He then tried to pour the electricity into the jar
然后，他试着把电注入到瓶里
produced by the machine via the wire
电由这台机器产生并通过导线
down through into the water.
传递到水中。
'But whatever he tried, the charge just wouldn't stay in the jar.
“但是，不管他怎样试，电荷就是不留在瓶子里。
'Then one day, by accident,
“后来有一天，很偶然地，
'he forgot to put the jar on the insulator,
“他忘了把瓶子放在绝缘体上，
'but charged it instead while it was still in his hand.'
“瓶子还拿在手上，就给它充电。”
Finally, holding the jar with one hand,
最后，一手拿着瓶子，
he touched the top with the other
他用另一只手摸瓶的顶部
and received such a powerful electric shock,
马上感受到一个如此强大的电击，
he was almost thrown to the ground.
以至于他几乎被掀翻在地。
He writes, "It's a new but terrible experiment
他写道:“这是一个新但可怕的实验
"which I advise you never to try. Nor would I, who've experienced it
“我劝你永远不要尝试。我也不再尝试了，因为我已经体验了它
"and survived by the grace of God, do it again
“只因上帝的恩典才得救，请你再做一遍这实验
"for all the kingdom of France."
“为了整个法兰西王国”。
So I'm going to heed his advice, not touch the top,
所以我会听取他的意见，不去触摸顶部，
and instead see if I can get a spark off of it.
而是看看我是否能从它得到一个火花。
The sheer power of the electricity which flew from the jar
纯粹的电力从瓶子释放出来
was greater than any seen before.
其强大超过任何以前见到的情况。
And even more surprisingly,
而更令人惊讶的是，
the jar could store that electricity for hours, even days.
这种瓶子可以储电数小时，甚至几天。
So in honour of the city where Musschenbroek made his discovery,
所以为了纪念穆森布罗克提出他的发现时所在的城市
they called it the Leiden jar.
人们把它称为莱顿瓶。
And its fame swept across the world.
随后它的名声席卷了整个世界。
And very rapidly, from 1745 through the rest of the 1740s,
很快，从1745年开始余下的1740年代的几年里，
the news of this - it's called the Leiden jar - goes global.
这个消息 - 这就是所谓的莱顿瓶 - 走向全球。
It spreads from Japan in East Asia
从东亚的日本
to Philadelphia in eastern America.
到美国东部的费城。
It became one of the first quick, globalised, scientific news items.
它成为了最早的快速的，全球化的，科学新闻条目之一。
But although the Leiden jar became a global electrical phenomenon,
不过，尽管莱顿瓶成为一个全球性的电气现象，
no-one had the slightest idea how it worked.
对于它如何工作的人们毫无头绪。
You have a jar of electric fluid,
你有一个电液瓶，
and it turns out that you get a bigger shock from the jar
事实证明，你会从莱顿瓶得到一个更大的打击
if you allow the electric fluid to drain away to the earth.
只要你把电液流失到地面就行。
Why is the shock bigger if the jar's leaking?
为什么如果莱顿瓶有泄漏会有更大的冲击？
Why isn't the shock bigger if you make sure all the electric fluid
如果你确保所有的电液保留在莱顿瓶中
stays inside the jar?
为什么就没有更大的冲击？
That was how mid-18th century electrical philosophers
18世纪中叶的电气哲学家们就这样
were faced with this challenge.
被置于这一挑战面前的。
Electricity was without doubt a fantastical wonder.
毫无疑问，电是一个梦幻般的奇迹。
It could shock and spark.
它可以打击并放出火花。
It could now be stored and moved around.
现在，它可以存储和移动。
Yet what electricity was, how it worked,
然而，电是什么，它是如何工作的，
and why it did all these things
它为什么能做到所有这些事情，
was nothing less than a complete mystery.
这是一个完整的谜题。
Within 10 years, a new breakthrough was to come
在10年内，一个新的突破即将到来
from an unexpected quarter,
只是来自于一个意想不到的区域，
from a man politically and philosophically at war
来自于一个人这个人从政治和哲学意义上
with the London establishment.
与伦敦当权派处于战争状态。
And even more shockingly for the British electrical elite,
对英国电气精英来说甚至更令人震惊的是，
that man was merely a colonial.
那个人只是一个殖民地居民。
An American.
一个美国人。
This painting of Benjamin Franklin
这副本杰明·富兰克林的油画
hangs here at the Royal Society in London.
挂在这里，在英国伦敦皇家学会。
Franklin was a passionate supporter of American emancipation
富兰克林是美国解放的一个热情的支持者
and saw the pursuit of rational science,
喜欢追求理性科学，
and particularly electricity,
尤其是电学，
as a way of rolling back ignorance, false idols
作为一种手段来击退无知，虚假的偶像，
and ultimately his intellectually elitist colonial masters.
以及最终击退他的智力精英主义殖民地主子。
And this is mixed with a profoundly egalitarian democratic idea
这又与富兰克林和他的盟友
that Franklin and his allies have,
所具有的深刻的平等民主理念相结合，
which is this is a phenomenon open to everyone.
这种理念就是：电现象是所有的人都可以研究的现象。
Here's something that the elite doesn't really understand
这里的东西，精英们没有真正理解，
and we might be able to understand it.
而我们也许能去理解它。
Here's something that the elite can't really control
这里的东西，精英们不能真正控制
but we might be able to control.
但我们也许能控制。
And here's something above all which is the source of superstition.
而这里的东西全都是迷信的根源。
And we, rational, egalitarian,
而我们，理性的,平等的，
potentially democratic, intellectuals,
有潜力的民主的知识分子，
we will be able to reason it out,
我们将能够把它推理出来，
without appearing to be the slaves of magic or mystery.
而不是看上去好像是魔术或神话的奴隶。
So Franklin decided to use the power of reason
所以富兰克林决定用理性的力量
to rationally explain what many
合理解释很多人都认为的
considered a magical phenomenon...
一个神奇的现象... ...
Lightning.
闪电。
THUNDER BOOMS
(雷震声)
This is probably one of the most famous scientific images
这可能是18世纪
of the 18th century.
最著名的科学图像之一。
It shows Benjamin Franklin, the heroic scientist,
它表现了本杰明·富兰克林，英雄的科学家，
flying a kite in a storm,
在风暴中放风筝，
proving that lightning is electrical.
来证明闪电就是电。
But although Franklin proposed this experiment,
尽管富兰克林提出了这个实验，
he almost certainly never performed it.
但是，几乎可以肯定他从来没有付诸行动。
Much more likely is that his most significant experiment
更可能的是，他最著名的实验
was another one which he proposed but didn't even conduct.
又是一个由他提出但又没有实施的实验。
In fact, it didn't even happen in America.
事实上，就是在美国它也没有被实施。
It took place here in a small village north of Paris
它发生在巴黎北边的一个小村庄
called Marly La Ville.
叫做 Marly La Ville。
The French adored Franklin, especially his anti-British politics,
法国人喜爱富兰克林，尤其是他的反英政治，
and they took it upon themselves to perform
他们自己动手完成
his other lightning experiments without him.
他的其他闪电实验而他本人没有参与。
I've come to the very spot where that experiment took place.
我来到的地方正是当年进行实验的地方。
In May 1752, George Louis Leclerc,
在1752年的5月，乔治·路易斯·勒克莱尔，
known across France as the Compte de Buffon,
也就是法国知名的布丰伯爵，
and his friend Thomas Francois Dalibard,
和他的朋友Thomas Francois Dalibard，
erected a 40-ft metal pole, more than twice as high as this one,
竖起了一根40英尺长的金属杆，比现在这个高两倍以上，
held in place by three wooden staves,
用三块木制狭板支撑，
just outside Dalibard's house here in the Marly La Ville.
就在这里，位于Marly La Ville的Dalibard的房子外面。
The metal pole rested at the bottom inside an empty wine bottle.
金属杆底部放在一个空酒瓶里面。
Franklin's big idea had been that the long pole
富兰克林的意图是，
would capture the lightning, pass it down the metal rod
长杆会捕获闪电，将它向下传递到金属棒
and store it in the wine bottle at the base
并将电保存在在底部的酒瓶中，
which worked as a Leiden jar.
酒瓶起着一个莱顿瓶的作用。
Then, he could confirm what lightning actually was.
然后，他就能证实闪电究竟是什么。
All his French followers had to do was wait for a storm.
他所有的法国追随者不得不做的就是等待风暴。
And then on May 23rd, the heavens opened.
然后在5月23日，天开了。
THUNDER
（雷声）
At 12.20, a loud thunderclap was heard
12时20分，只听得霹雳一声巨响
as lightning hit the top of the pole.
雷电击中了杆的顶端。
An assistant ran to the bottle,
一个助理跑向瓶子，
a spark leapt across
一个火花随着一声爆响
between the metal and his finger with a loud crack
跃出在金属和他的手指之间
and a sulphurous smell, burning his hand.
同时还有硫磺的气味，烧着了他的手。
The spark revealed lightning for what it really was.
电火揭示了闪电的真面目。
It was the same as the electricity made by man.
它与人造的电是一样的。
It is hard to overestimate the significance of this moment.
这一时刻的意义评价再高也不过分。
Nature had been mastered, not only that but the wrath of God itself
大自然已经被掌握了,不仅如此,上帝的震怒本身,
had been brought under the control of mankind.
已经在人类的控制之下。
It was a kind of heresy.
它是一种异端邪说。
Franklin's experiment was very important because it showed that
富兰克林的实验非常重要，因为它表明，
lightning storms produce or are produced by electricity
风暴产生的闪电也许是由电产生的,
and that you can bring this electricity down,
你可以把这种电引导下来，
that electricity is a force of nature
电是一种自然的力量
that's waiting out there to be tapped.
等待着人们去挖掘。
Next, Franklin turned his rational mind to another question.
接下来，富兰克林把他的理性思维投向另一个问题。
Why the Leiden jar made the biggest sparks when it was held in the hand?
为什么把莱顿瓶握在手上时它制造的火花最大？
Why didn't all the electricity just drain away?
为什么不是所有的电都流尽？
In drawing on his experience as a successful businessman,
通过借鉴他作为一个成功的商人的​​经验，
he saw something no-one else had.
他看到了其他人没有看到的东西。
That like money in a bank,
这就像在银行的钱，
electricity can be in credit, what he called positive,
电可以有结余，他称其为正的，
or debit, negative.
或负债，负的。
For him, the problem of the Leiden jar is one of accountancy.
对于他来说，莱顿瓶的问题就是一种会计工作。
Franklin's idea was every body has around an electrical atmosphere.
富兰克林的想法是，每一个物体都有电气体包围。
And there is a natural amount of electric fluid around each body.
而有一定量的天然电液包围每个物体。
If there is too much, we will call it positive.
如果电液太多，我们就称它为正的。
If there is too little, we will call it negative.
如果太少，我们将它称为负的。
And nature is organised so the positives and negatives
自然界的组成，正电和负电
always want to balance out,
总是要平衡，
like an ideal American economy.
就像一种理想的美国经济。
Franklin's insight was that electricity was actually just positive charge
富兰克林的见解是，电实际上只是
flowing to cancel out negative charge.
正电荷流动抵消了负电荷。
And he believed this simple idea
他相信这个简单的想法
could solve the mystery of the Leiden jar.
能够解开莱顿瓶之谜。
As the jar is charged up,
当瓶子充上电时，
negative electrical charge is poured down the wire and into the water.
负电荷流下导线进入水中。
If the jar rests on an insulator, a small amount builds up in the water.
如果瓶子置于绝缘体上，就只有少量电荷积聚在水中。
But, if instead the jar is held by someone as it is being charged,
反之，如果在充电时瓶子被某人拿着，
positive electric charge
正电荷
is sucked up through their body from the ground
通过他们的身体从地面吸纳到
to the outside of the jar,
瓶子外面，
trying to cancel out the negative charge inside.
试图抵消瓶里面的负电荷。
But the positive and negative charges
但正电荷与负电荷
are stopped from cancelling out
却不能相互抵消，
by the glass which acts as an insulator.
因为玻璃是一种绝缘体。
Instead, the charge just grows and grows on both sides of the glass.
这样，电荷就会越来越多堆积在玻璃的两侧。
Then, touching the top of the jar with it the other hand,
然后，用另一只手接触瓶子的顶部，
completes a circuit allowing the negative charge on the inside
就构成一个回路，允许瓶内的负电荷
to pass through the hand to the positive on the outside,
通过手传递到外面的正电荷，
finally cancelling it out.
最后相互抵消了。
The movement of this charge causes a massive shock and often a spark.
这一电荷的运动就导致一个巨大的冲击，常导致一个火花。
The modern equivalent of the Leiden jar is this - the capacitor.
现代的莱顿瓶的等效物就是这个 - 电容器。
It is one of the most ubiquitous of electronic components.
它是最常见的电子元件之一。
It is found everywhere.
到处都能找到它。
There are a number of smaller ones scattered around on this circuit board from a computer.
有一些更小的电容器散布在这个计算机的电路板上。
They help smooth out electrical surges,
它们帮助平缓电涌，
protecting sensitive components,
保护敏感元件，
even in the most modern electric circuit.
即使在最现代化的电路中也是如此。
Solving the mystery of the Leiden jar
解开莱顿瓶之谜
and recognising lightning as merely a kind of electricity
并认识到闪电只是一种电
were two great successes for Franklin
是富兰克林的，也是新启蒙运动的
and the new Enlightenment movement.
两个伟大成就。
But the forces of trade and commerce,
但贸易和商业的力量，
which helped fuel the Enlightenment,
帮助推动了启蒙运动，
were about to throw up a new
也将会抛出了一个新的
and even more perplexing electrical mystery.
甚至更令人费解的电的奥秘。
A completely new kind of electricity.
这是一种全新的电。
This is the English Channel.
这是英吉利海峡。
By the 17th and 18th centuries,
到了17和18世纪，
a good fraction of the world's wealth flowed up this stretch of water
世界上的相当一部分财富沿着这片水域
from all corners of the British Empire
从大英帝国和帝国以外的各个角落
and beyond, on its way to London.
流向伦敦。
Spices from India, sugar from the Caribbean,
来自印度的香料，加勒比地区的糖，
wheat from America, tea from China.
来自来自美国小麦，中国的茶叶。
But, of course, it wasn't just commerce.
但是，当然，不只是贸易。
New plants and animal specimens
来自世界各地的新的植物和动物标本
from all over the world came flooding into London,
涌入伦敦，
including one that particularly fascinated the electricians.
其中包括一类特别迷人的电气师。
Called the torpedo fish, it had been the stuff of fishermen's tales.
所谓的电鳐鱼，它曾经是渔民的故事中的素材。
Its sting, it was said, was capable of knocking a grown man down.
有人说，它的螫痛能够击倒一个成年男子。
But as the electricians started to investigate the sting,
但当电气师开始调查这种螫痛时，
they realised it felt strangely similar to a shock
他们意识到这种感觉很奇怪地类似于
from a Leiden jar.
莱顿瓶的电击。
Could its sting actually be an electric shock?
这种螫痛确实是一种电击吗？
At first, many people dismissed the torpedo fish's shock as occult.
起初，很多人认为电鳐鱼的打击是超自然的而不予理会。
Some said it was probably just the fish biting.
有人说，这可能只是鱼咬了一下。
Others that it could not be a shock because, without a spark,
另有人认为它不可能是一个电击，因为没有火花，
it just wasn't electricity.
所以它就不是电。
But, for most, it was a very strange
但是，对于大多数人来说，这是一个非常奇怪的
and inexplicable new mystery.
令人费解的新谜题。
It would take one of the oddest
这就轮到英国科学界最古怪的
yet most brilliant characters in British science
但又最有才气的人物
to begin to unlock the secrets of the torpedo fish.
来着手解开电鳐鱼的秘密。
This is the only picture in existence
这是仅存的一副
of the pathologically shy but exceptional Henry Cavendish.
病态的，腼腆而卓越的亨利·卡文迪许的图画。
This one only exists because an artist sketched his coat
这副画之所以存在，只是由于一个艺术家勾勒出他的大衣
as it hung on a peg, then filled in the face from memory.
大衣挂在挂钩上，然后凭记忆补画上他的面部。
His family were fantastically rich.
他的家族非常富有。
They were the Devonshires
他们是德文郡家族
who still own Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.
仍然拥有德比郡的查斯沃斯庄园。
Henry Cavendish decided to turn his back
亨利·卡文迪许决定放弃
on his family's wealth and status
他家族的财富和地位
to live in London near his beloved Royal Society
住到伦敦他挚爱的英国皇家学会附近
where he could quietly pursue his passion for experimental science.
在那里他可以静静地追求他对实验科学的酷爱。
When he heard about the electric torpedo fish, he was intrigued.
当他听到有关带电的电鳐鱼时，他很感兴趣。
A friend wrote to him...
一位朋友写信给他... ...
"On this, my first experience of the effect of the torpedo,
“在这一点上，根据我对电鳐效果的第一次体验，
"I exclaimed that this is certainly electricity.
“我强烈地认为，这当然是电。
"But how?"
“但是，如何才会这样的呢？”
And to work out how a living thing could produce electricity,
为了搞清楚一个活的东西如何能够产生电，
he decided to make his own artificial fish.
他决定做一个他自己的人工鱼。
These are his plans.
这些就是他的平面图。
Two Leiden jars shaped like the fish which were buried under sand.
外形像鱼的莱顿瓶被埋在沙里。
When the sand was touched, they discharged, giving a nasty shock.
当人们接触沙子时，沙子放电，给人一次难受的冲击。
His model helped convince him that the real torpedo fish was electric.
他的模型使他确信真正的电鳐就是电。
But it still left him with a nagging problem.
但这仍然给他留下一个恼人的问题。
Although both the real fish and Cavendish's artificial one
虽然真正的鱼和卡文迪许的人工鱼
gave powerful electric shocks,
都放出强大的电击，
the real fish never sparked.
真正的鱼从来没有火花。
Cavendish was perplexed.
卡文迪许感到困惑。
How could it be the same kind of electricity
如果它们不做同样的事
if they didn't both do the same kinds of things?
它怎么可能是同样种类的电？
Cavendish spent the winter of 1773 in his laboratory
卡文迪许1773年的整个冬天都在他的实验室里
trying to come up with an answer.
试图想出一个答案。
In the spring, he had a brainwave.
到了春天，他灵机一动。
Cavendish's ingenious answer was to point out a subtle distinction
卡文迪许的巧妙回答就是指出
between the amount of electricity and its intensity.
在电量和电的强度之间有一个微妙的区别。
The real fish produced the same kind of electricity.
真鱼产生的是同样的电。
It is just that it was less intense.
只是它的强度要小一些。
For a physicist like me, this marks a crucial turning point.
对于像我这样的物理学家，这标志着一个重要的转折点。
But it is the moment when two genuinely innovative scientific ideas first crop up.
两个真正创新的科学思想在这一时刻第一次出现了。
What Cavendish refers to as the amount of electricity,
卡文迪许所说的电量，
we now call "electric charge".
就是我们现在所说的“电荷”。
His intensity is what we call
他提出的电的强度，也就是我们所说的
the potential difference or "voltage".
电势差或“电压”。
So the Leiden jar's shock was high-voltage but low charge
所以莱顿瓶的电击电压高，但电荷量低
whereas the fish was low voltage and high charge.
而电鳐是低电压，高电荷量。
It's possible to actually measure that.
对它们进行准确测量也是可能的。
Hiding at the bottom of this tank under the sand
躲藏在水箱底部的沙子下面的
is the Torpedo marmorata and it's an electric ray.
是石纹电鳐它也是一种电鳐。
You can just see its eyes protruding from the sand.
你可以看到它的眼睛从沙子里凸出来。
This is a fully grown female
这是一个完全长大的雌性鱼
and I am going to try and measure
我将去尝试测量
the electricity it gives off with this bait.
它发出的电，用这个做诱饵。
I have a fish connected to a metal rod and hooked up
我把一条鱼连接到一根金属棒
to an oscilloscope
并连接到一台示波器
to see if I can measure the voltage as it catches its prey.
看看它捕获猎物时我是否能测量它的电压。
Here goes!
开始啰！
Oh! There's one!
哦！这里有一次！
There's another one.
又来一次。
The fish gave a shock of about 240 volts,
鱼放出一个约240伏的电击，
the same as mains electricity, but still roughly 10 times less
与市电电压一样，但仍然
than the Leiden jar.
比莱顿瓶少大约10倍。
That would have given me quite a nasty shock
这会给我一次相当难受的电击
and I can only try and imagine what it must have been like
我只能试着想象一下18世纪的科学家
for scientists in the 18th century to witness this.
目睹这一场景后会是什么样子。
An animal, a fish, producing its own electricity.
一只动物，一条鱼，可以产生它自己的电。
Cavendish had shown that the torpedo fish made electricity
卡文迪许证明了，电鳐能制造电
but he didn't know if it was the same kind of electricity
但他不知道，它是否
as that made from an electrical machine.
与从起电机产生的电是同一类电。
Is the electrical shock that a torpedo produces
电鳐产生的电击
the same as produced by an electrical machine?
与起电机产生的电击是否相同？
Or are there two kinds?
或者有两种电？
A kind generated artificially or is there a kind of animal electricity
一类是人工产生的或者还有一类动物电
that only exists in living bodies?
只存在于活体中？
This was a huge debate that divided opinion for several decades.
这是一个极大的争议，意见分歧持续几十年。
Out of that bitter debate came a new discovery.
激烈的辩论导致一个新发现的到来。
The discovery that electricity needn't be a brief shock or spark.
这个发现就是，电不必是一个简短的冲击或火花。
It could actually be continuous.
它实际上可以是连续的。
And the generation of continuous electricity
持续的电的生成
would ultimately propel us into our modern age.
最终将推动我们进入我们的现代社会。
But the next step in the story of electricity would come about
但电的故事的下一步的到来
because of a fierce personal and professional rivalry
起因于两个意大利学者之间
between two Italian academics.
激烈的个人和专业竞争。
BELL RINGS
（钟声）
This is Bologna University, one of the oldest in Europe.
这是博洛尼亚大学，欧洲最古老的大学之一。
In the late 18th century,
在18世纪后期，
the city of Bologna was ruled from papal Rome
博洛尼亚城市被罗马教皇统治
which meant that the university was powerful
这意味着这所大学很有势力
but conservative in its thinking.
但其思想保守。
It was steeped in traditional Christianity,
他浸泡在传统的基督教教义中，
one where got ruled earth from heaven
教义从天上统治了地球
but that the way he ran the world
但是，他运行世界的方式
was hidden from us mere mortals
却对我们这些凡人隐藏着
who were not meant to understand him,
这意味着我们凡人不能理解他，
only to serve him.
只是为他服务。
One of the university's brightest stars
这所大学的耀眼的明星之一
was the anatomist Luigi Aloisio Galvani.
就是解剖学家路易吉·Aloisio·伽伐尼。
But, in a neighbouring city,
但是，在邻近的城市，
a rival electrician was about to take Galvani to task.
一个电气师对手即将对伽伐尼提出责难。
This is Pavia, only 150 miles from Bologna,
这是帕维亚离博洛尼亚只有150英里，
but by the end of the 18th century,
但在18世纪末，
worlds apart politically.
从政治上讲，两地有天壤之别。
It was part of the Austrian empire which put it
它是奥地利帝国的一部分
at the very heart of the European Enlightenment.
位于欧洲启蒙运动的中心地带。
Liberal in its thinking, politically radical
在这里思想自由，政治激进
and obsessed with the new science of electricity.
沉迷于新的电气科学。
It was also home to Alessandro Volta.
它也是亚历山德罗·伏特的家乡。
Alessandro Volta couldn't have been more unlike Galvani.
亚历山德罗·伏特与伽伐尼完全不同。
From an old Lombardi family, he was young, arrogant, charismatic,
来自于古老的隆巴迪家族，他年轻，傲慢，富有魅力，
a real ladies' man,
是一个非常有女人缘的男子，
and he courted controversy.
并且颇受非议。
Unlike Galvani, he liked to show off his experiments
与伽伐尼​​不同，他喜欢在国际性舞台上
on an international stage to any audience.
对任何观众炫耀他的实验。
Volta's ideas were unfettered by Galvani's religious dogma.
伏特的思想不受伽伐尼的宗教教条约束。
Like Benjamin Franklin and the European Enlightenment,
与本杰明·富兰克林和欧洲启蒙运动一样，
he believed in rationality -
他相信理性 -
that scientific truth,
科学真理，
like a Greek god, would cast ignorance to the floor.
就像希腊神，将无知掷于脚下。
Superstition was the enemy. Reason was the future.
迷信就是敌人。推理就是未来。
Both men were fascinated by electricity.
这两个人都对电着迷。
Both brought their different ways of seeing the world to bear on it.
这两个人以各自不同的方式对待遭逢电气的世界。
Galvani had been attracted to the use of electricity
伽伐尼所关注的是把电用于
in medical treatments.
医学治疗。
For instance, in 1759, here in Bologna,
例如，在1759年，在博洛尼亚这里，
electricity was used on the muscles of a paralysed man.
电被用于一个瘫痪病人的肌肉。
One report said,
有一份报告说，
"It was a fine sight to see the mastoid rotate the head,
“看到乳突转动头部，
"the biceps bend the elbow.
“二头肌弯曲肘部，真是美丽的场景。
"In short, to see the force and vitality of all the motions
“总之，每一块瘫痪的肌肉在遭受刺激时
"occurring in every paralysed muscle subjected to the stimulus."
“都会看到产生各种动作的力量和活性”
Galvani believed these kinds of examples
伽伐尼认为这些例子
revealed that the body worked using animal electricity,
揭示了身体利用动物电工作，
a fluid that flows from the brain,
就是一种从大脑流出的流体，
through the nerves, into the muscles,
通过神经，进入肌肉，
where it's turned into motion.
在那里它转化成动作。
He devised a series of grisly experiments to prove it.
他设计了一系列令人毛骨悚然的实验来证明这一点。
Now, he first prepared a frog.
现在，他先准备一只青蛙。
He writes, "The frog is skinned and disembowelled.
他写道，“将青蛙剥皮开膛。
"Only their lower limbs are left joined together,
“只有它们的下肢留着连接在一起，
"containing just the crural nerves."
“只包含小腿神经。”
I've left my frog mostly intact,
我已经让我的青蛙尽可能完整，
but I've exposed the nerves that connect to the frog's legs.
但我将连接到青蛙腿的神经暴露出来。
Then he used Hauksbee's electrical machine
接着，他用霍克斯比起电机
to generate electrostatic charge,
产生静电荷，
that would accumulate and travel along this arm
静电荷累积并沿着这条臂行进
and out through this copper wire.
通过这根铜线。
Then he connected the charge-carrying wire to the frog
然后他将带电的导线连接到青蛙
and another to the nerve just above the leg.
另外一根连接到蛙腿上的神经。
Let's see what happens.
让我们看看会发生什么。
Ooh! And the frogs leg twitches, just as it makes contact.
噢！青蛙腿抽搐了，只要一接触就抽搐。
There we go!
就是这样！
For Galvani, what was going on there was that there's a strange,
对于伽伐尼来说，所发生的事情是，
special kind of entity in the animal muscle,
有一种奇怪的特殊的物质在动物的肌肉中，
which he calls animal electricity.
他称其为动物电。
It's not like any other electricity. It's intrinsic to living beings.
它不象任何其他的电。它是有机体所固有的。
But for Volta, animal electricity smacked of superstition and magic.
但对伏特来说，动物电有点迷信和魔法的味道。
It had no place in rational and enlightened science.
在理性和进步的科学中没有它的容身之地。
Volta saw the experiment completely differently to Galvani.
伏特对实验的理解完全不同于伽伐尼。
He believed it revealed something totally new.
他认为，它揭示了全新的东西。
For him, the legs weren't jumping as a result
对于他来说，蛙腿的跳动
of the release of animal electricity from within them,
不是肌体中动物电释放的结果，
but because of the artificial electricity from outside.
而是来自于外部的人工电。
The legs were merely the indicator.
蛙腿只是指示器而已。
They were only twitching because of the electricity from the Hauksbee machine.
它们抽搐只是因为霍克斯比起电机的电。
Back in Bologna, Galvani reacted furiously to Volta's ideas.
回到博洛尼亚，伽伐尼对伏特的思想作出激烈的反应。
He believed Volta had crossed a fundamental line -
他认为伏特已经跨过了基本的底线 -
from electrical experiments into God's realm,
从电学实验进入到上帝的领地，
and that was tantamount to heresy.
无异于异端邪说。
To have a kind of spirit like electricity,
有一种像电的精灵​​，
to have that produced artificially
人造的精灵
and to say that spirit, that living force,
并说这种精灵，这种活力，
that agency was the same as something produced by God,
这种力量，与上帝产生的放到活的人或青蛙的身体
that God had put into a living human body or a frog's body,
的某种东西一样，
that seemed sacrilegious to them,
对他们来说就是亵渎神灵，
because it was eliminating this boundary
因为它消除了
between God's realm of the divine
上帝的神圣领地
and the mundane realm of the material.
与世俗凡尘的界限。
Spurred on by his religious indignation,
在他的宗教义愤激励下，
Galvani announced a new series of experimental results,
伽伐尼宣布了一系列新实验结果，
which would prove Volta was wrong.
这些结果将证明伏特是错误的。
During one of his experiments, he hung his frogs on an iron wire
在他的一个实验中，他将青蛙挂在铁丝上
and saw something totally unexpected.
并观察到了完全出乎意料的东西。
If he connected copper wire to the wire the frog was hanging from,
如果他将铜线连接到青蛙被吊着的那根线，
and then touched the other end of the copper to the nerve...
然后把铜线的另一端触碰青蛙的神经...
..it seemed to him he could make the frog's legs twitch
...似乎他可以使青蛙的腿抽动
without any electricity at all.
完全没有任何电。
Galvani came to the conclusion that it must have been
伽伐尼得到的结论是一定有某种东西
something inside the frogs, even if dead,
在青蛙的身体里面，即使青蛙死了，
that continued for a while after death
也会持续一段时间
to produce some kind of electricity.
来产生某种电。
And the metal wires were somehow releasing that electricity.
金属导线在某种程度上就是释放这种电。
Over the next months,
接下来的几个月里，
Galvani's experiments focused on isolating this animal electricity
伽伐尼的实验集中在分离这种动物电，
using combinations of frog and metal,
办法是将青蛙和金属组合起来，
Leiden jars and electrical machines.
组成莱顿瓶和电气设备。
For Galvani, these experiments were proof the electricity
对于伽伐尼而言，这些实验证明了电
was originating within the frog itself.
来源于青蛙本身。
The frog's muscles were Leiden jars, storing up the electrical fluid
青蛙的肌肉就是莱顿瓶，存储了电液
and then releasing it in a burst.
然后突然释放它。
On 30th October, 1786, he published his findings in a book,
1786年10月30日，他在一本书中发表了他的研究结果，
Animali Electricitate - Of Animal Electricity.
Animali Electricitate -动物电。
Galvani was so confident of his ideas,
伽伐尼对自己的想法是如此自信，
he even sent a copy of his book to Volta.
他甚至把这书送了一本给伏特。
But Volta just couldn't stomach Galvani's idea of animal electricity.
但伏特根本无法忍受伽伐尼所谓动物电的想法。
He thought the electricity just had to come from somewhere else.
他认为这电一定是来自于某个其他地方。
But where?
但究竟来自于哪里呢？
In the 1790s, here at the University of Pavia,
18世纪90年代，在帕维亚大学这里，
almost certainly in this lecture theatre, which still bears his name,
几乎可以肯定就是在这个在演讲厅，它现在以他的名字命名，
Volta began his search for the new source of electricity.
伏特开始了他寻找新电源的工作。
His suspicions focused on the metals
他的怀疑集中在
that Galvani had used to make his frog's legs twitch.
伽伐尼使青蛙腿抽搐时所使用的金属
His curiosity had been piqued by an odd phenomenon he come across -
他遇到一个奇怪的现象激起了他的好奇心 -
how combinations of metals tasted.
把金属组合在一起尝起来会怎样。
He found that if he took two different metal coins
他发现，如果他取两种不同金属的硬币
and placed them on the tip of his tongue,
放在他的舌尖，
and then placed a silver spoon on top of both...
然后把一个银勺放在两个硬币上面... ...
..he got a kind of tingling sensation,
... ...他感受到一种刺痛感，
rather like the tingling you'd get from the discharge of a Leiden jar.
而不是像从一个莱顿瓶放电你会得到的那种刺痛。
Volta concluded he could taste the electricity
伏特得出结论他可以品尝电的味道
and it must be coming from the contact between the different metals in the coins and spoon.
它必须是来自硬币和勺子的不同金属之间的接触。
His theory flew in the face of Galvani's.
他的理论全然违背伽伐尼的想法。
The frog's leg twitched, not because of its own animal electricity,
青蛙腿的抽动，不是因为其自己的动物电，
but because it was reacting to the electricity from the metals.
而是对来自于金属的电作出的反应。
But the electricity his coins generated was incredibly weak.
但他的硬币产生的电令人难以置信地微弱。
How could he make it stronger?
他怎么能让它更强呢？
Then an idea came to him as he revisited the scientific papers
随后在他重读科学论文时他有了一个想法，
from the great British scientist, Henry Cavendish,
这些论文的作者是伟大的英国科学家，亨利·卡文迪许，
and in particular, his famous work on the electric torpedo fish.
尤其是他著名的关于电鳐鱼的工作。
He went back and took a closer look at the torpedo fish
他回去仔细观察电鳐鱼
and in particular, the repeating pattern of chambers in its back.
特别是它的背部腔室的重复模式。
He wondered whether it was this repeating pattern
他不知道是否正是这种重复模式
that held the key to its powerful electric shock.
才是它强大电击的关键所在。
Perhaps each chamber was like his coins and spoon,
或许每个腔室就像他的硬币和勺子，
each generating a tiny amount of electricity.
每个腔室产生一点微小的电。
And, perhaps, the fish's powerful shock
并且，有可能鱼的强大电击
results from the pattern of chambers repeating over and over again.
是一遍又一遍重复的腔室模式导致的。
With growing confidence in his new ideas, Volta decided to fight back
随着他对自己的新想法信心不断增强，
by building his own artificial version of the torpedo fish.
伏特决定建立自己的人工电鳐来捍卫自己的观点。
So, he copied the torpedo fish by repeating its pattern,
于是，他摹仿电鳐的重复模式，
but using metal.
只不过用的是金属。
Here's what he did - he took a copper metal plate
这就是他做的 -他取来一块铜金属板
and then placed above it a piece of card soaked in dilute acid.
然后在它上面放一块在稀酸中浸泡过的卡片。
Then above that, he took another metal and placed it on top.
然后，在上面，他拿另一种金属放在它的最上面。
What he had here was exactly the same thing as Galvani's two wires.
到此为止他具有的东西与伽伐尼的两根线一样。
But now Volta repeated the process.
但现在伏特重复这个过程。
What he was doing here was building a pile of metal.
他这里正在做的是建立一个金属堆。
In fact, his invention became known as the pile.
事实上，他的发明就以电堆之名为人所知。
But it's what it could do that was the really incredible revelation.
但它所能做的事真是不可思议地出人意料。
Volta tried his pile out on himself by getting two wires
伏特亲自试验他的电堆，用两根导线
and attaching them to each end of the pile
分别连接到电堆的两端
and bringing the other ends to touch his tongue.
把两根导线的另一端碰触他的舌头。
He could actually taste the electricity.
他能够品尝电的味道。
This time, it was more powerful than normal and it was constant.
这一次，它比通常的要强大，并且很稳定。
He'd created the first battery.
他创建了第一个电池。
The machine was no longer an electrical and mechanical machine,
这个装置已不再是电和机械机器，
it was just purely an electrical machine.
它只是纯粹的电机器。
So he proved that a machine imitating the fish could work,
这样，他就证明了一个模仿电鳐鱼的机器是可以运转的，
that what he called the metal or contact electricity
他证明了他所说的金属或不同金属的接触电
of different metals could work,
是可以工作的，
and that he regarded as his final,
他把这看作他与伽伐尼的争议中
winning move in the controversy with Galvani.
最后的，决胜性的行动。
What Volta's pile showed was that you could develop all the phenomena
伏特的电堆显示你可以复现动物电的所有现象
of animal electricity without any animals being present.
而用不着任何动物。
So, from the Voltaic point of view, it seemed as if Galvani was wrong,
所以，从伏特的观点来看，似乎伽伐尼是错的，
there's nothing special about the electricity in animals.
动物中的电没有什么特别的。
It's electricity and it can be completely mimicked
它就是电并且可以被完全模仿出来，
by this artificial pile.
只要用这种人造的电堆。
But the biggest surprise for Volta was that the electricity it generated was continuous.
但是，伏特最大的惊喜是它所产生的电是持续的。
In fact, it poured out like water in a stream.
事实上，电就像流水一样流出。
And just as in a stream, where the measure of the amount of water
就像在一条小溪中，对流过的水量的测量
flowing is called a current, so the electricity flowing
叫水流量，所以，从电堆中流出的电
out of the pile became known as an electrical current.
就以电流之名为人们所熟知。
200 years after Volta,
在伏特之后200年，
we finally understand what electricity actually is.
我们终于明白电实际上是什么。
The atoms in metals, like all atoms, have electrically charged
金属中的原子，像所有原子一样，
electrons surrounding a nucleus.
有带电的电子在原子核周围。
But in metals, the atoms share their outer electrons
但在金属中，原子以一种独特的方式
with each other in a unique way,
共享它们的外层电子，
which means they can move from one atom to the next.
这意味着它们可以从一个原子移动到下一个原子。
If those electrons move in the same direction at the same time,
如果这些电子在同一时间沿同一方向移动，
the cumulative effect is a movement of electric charge.
累积的效果就是电荷的运动。
This flow of electrons is what we call an electric current.
这种电子的流动就是我们所说的电流。
Within weeks of Volta publishing details of his pile,
在伏特发表了他的电堆的细节的几个星期之内，
scientists were discovering something incredible about what it could do.
科学家们就发现电堆能做的事令人不可思议。
Its effect on ordinary water was completely unexpected.
它作用于普通的水的效应完全出乎意料。
The constant stream of electric charge into the water
持续的电荷流动到水中
was ripping it up into its constituent parts -
将水撕碎成水的构成成份 -
the gases, oxygen and hydrogen.
气体，氧和氢。
Electricity was heralding the dawn of a new age.
电正预示着一个新时代曙光的来临。
A new age where electricity ceased being a mere curiosity
在这个新时代电将不再止于好奇
and started being genuinely useful.
而是开始真正有用。
With constant flowing current electricity,
随着持续的电的流动
new chemical elements could be isolated with ease.
新的化学元素可以轻松分离出来。
And this laid the foundations for chemistry, physics and modern industry.
这奠定了化学，物理和现代工业的基础。
Volta's pile changed everything.
伏特的电堆改变了一切。
The pile made Volta an international celebrity,
电堆使伏特成为国际名人，
feted by the powerful and the rich.
受到权贵和富人们的赞誉。
In recognition,
为表示对他的认可，
a fundamental measure of electricity was named in his honour.
一种电的基本测量以他的名字命名。
The volt.
电压单位，伏。
But his scientific adversary didn't fare quite so well.
但他的科学对手就没有这么好的遭遇了。
Luigi Aloisio Galvani died on 4th December 1798,
路易吉·Aloisio·伽伐尼在1798年12月4日
depressed and in poverty.
于消沉和贫困中去世。
For me, it's not the invention of the battery
对于我来说，电池的发明
that marked the crucial turning point in the story of electricity,
并不是电的故事的关键的转折点的标志，
it's what happened next.
接下来发生的事情才是。
It took place in London's Royal Institution.
它发生在伦敦的英国皇家学院。
It was the moment that marked the end of one era
这一时刻，标志着一个时代的结束
and the beginning of another.
和另一个时代的开始。
It was overseen by Humphry Davy,
它被汉弗里·戴维眺望到
the first of a new generation of electricians.
他是第一位新一代的电气专家。
Young, confident and fascinated by the possibilities of continuous electrical current.
年轻，自信和着迷于持续电流的可能性。
So, in 1808, he built the world's largest battery.
因此，在1808年，他建造了世界上最大的电池。
It filled an entire room underneath the Royal Institution.
它充满了英国皇家学院底层的一整间房屋。
It had over 800 individual voltaic piles attached together.
它有超过800个伏特电堆连接在一起。
It must have hissed and breathed sulphurous fumes.
它一定是发出嘶嘶声散发出硫磺烟雾的气味。
In a darkened room, lit by centuries-old technology, candles and oil lamps,
在一间黑暗的房子里，用数百年的老技术，蜡烛和油灯照亮，
Davy connected his battery to two carbon filaments
戴维将他的电池连接到两根碳棒
and brought the tips together.
将它们的尖端碰到一起。
The continuous flow of electricity from the battery
连续流动的电从电池
through the filaments leapt across the gap,
通过碳棒跨越间隙，
giving rise to a constant and blindingly bright spark.
发出持续的眩目的明亮的火花。
Out of the darkness came the light.
光明冲破黑暗。
Davy's arc light truly symbolises the end of one era
戴维的电弧光真正象征着一个时代的结束
and the beginning of our era.
我们这个时代的开始。
The era of electricity.
电的时代。
中文字幕翻译校对：马成长 旧语新思 一家讲坛：http://growupsoft.blog.163.com
But there's a truly grisly coda to this story.
但这个故事有一个真正恐怖的尾声。
In 1803, Galvani's nephew, one Giovanni Aldini,
1803年，伽伐尼的外甥，另一个伽伐尼·Aldini
came to London with a terrifying new experiment.
带着一个可怕的新实验来到伦敦。
A convicted murderer called George Forster
一个杀人犯乔治·福斯特
had just been hanged in Newgate.
刚刚在新门监狱被绞死。
When the body was cut down from the gallows,
当他的尸体被从绞刑架上放下来时，
it was brought directly to the lecture theatre,
它被直接带到了演讲厅，
where Aldini started his macabre work.
在那里Aldini开始了他那令人毛骨悚然的工作。
Using a voltaic pile,
利用一个伏特电堆，
he began to apply an electric current to the dead man's body.
他开始把电流通到死人的尸体。
Then Aldini put one electrical conductor in the dead man's anus
随后Aldini把一个电导体放到死者的肛门
and the other at the top of his spine.
另一个放到他的脊椎顶部
Forster's limp, dead body sat bolt upright
福斯特的软绵绵的尸体突然坐直
and his spine arched and twisted.
他的脊椎弓背和扭曲。
For a moment, it seemed as though the dead body
一时间，似乎尸体
had been brought back to life.
又获得了生命。
It appeared as though electricity might have the power of resurrection.
看起来好像电能有起死回生的力量。
And this made a profound impact on a young writer called Mary Shelley.
这深刻地影响了一个年轻的作家玛丽·雪莱。
Mary Shelley wrote one of the most powerful and enduring stories ever.
玛丽·雪莱写出了有史以来最有影响的不朽故事。
(即《弗兰肯斯坦》或译《科学怪人》)
Based partly here on Lake Como,
部分场景就在这里的科莫湖上，
Frankenstein tells the story of a scientist,
弗兰肯斯坦讲述了一个科学家的故事，
a Galvanist probably based on Aldini,
其中一个流电学者可能就是基于Aldini
who brings a monster to life using electricity.
是他用电给一个怪物赋予生命。
And then, disgusted by his own arrogance, he abandons his creation.
然后，由于反感自己的傲慢，他遗弃了他的创造物。
Just like Davy's arc lamp, this book symbolises changing times.
就像戴维的弧光灯，这本书象征着时代的变迁。
The end of the era of miracles and romance
创造奇迹与浪漫的时代的结束
and the beginning of the era of rationality, industry and science.
理性，工业和科学时代的开始。
And it's that new age we explore in the next programme,
而这个新时代我们在下一期节目中探究，
because at the start of the 19th century,
因为在19世纪开始时，
scientists realised electricity was intimately connected
科学家们认识到电与自然界中另一种神秘的力
with another of nature's mysterious forces...
有着密切的联系... ...
magnetism.
磁力。
And that realisation would completely transform our world.
这种认识将彻底改变我们的世界。
To find out more about the story of electricity
要了解更多有关电的故事
and to put your power knowledge to the test,
并测试把你的电力知识，
try the Open University's interactive energy game.
试一下开放大学的互动能源游戏。
Go to...
请到...
..and follow links to the Open University.
...顺着链接到开放大学网站。
中文字幕翻译校对：马成长 旧语新思 一家讲坛：http://growupsoft.blog.163.com
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
英语字幕：红蜂传媒有限公司
E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk
电子邮箱subtitling@bbc.co.uk