Time-bombing the future Part I 定時未來[第一部分]
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Working chemical factory 工作中化工廠
- 這是一篇探討現代合成材料及新興技術帶來遺留汙染物問題的深度文章，由E.T 編譯整理。此為第一部分，隨後將發佈其餘部分，敬請關注。
Synthetics created in the 20th century have become an evolutionary force, altering human biology and the web of life - Rebecca Altmansynthetics / sɪˈnθɛtɪks / N-PLURAL You can refer to synthetic clothing, fabric, or materials as synthetics. 合成纖維織物; 合成纖維; 合成物 e.g: Natural fabrics like silk and wool are better insulators than synthetics. 絲綢和羊毛之類的純天然織物比合成纖維更加保暖
20世紀創造的合成材料已然成為一種進化動力，不斷改變著人類生物學及生命之網。- 黎貝卡阿爾特曼
Time Capsule Cupaloy 1938
In September 1938, the fall before the New York World's Fair opened, a 5,000 - year time capsule was planted 50 feet beneath the Flushing Meadows fairgrounds. The capsule was 7.5 feet long, made of Pyrex glass and alloyed copper (called Cupaloy), and shaped like a torpedo - a long, thin metal shaft with a cone-shaped nose.Flushing Meadows– often referred to as Flushing Meadows Park, or simply Flushing Meadows, is a public park in the northern part of Queens, New York City. 法拉盛草地公園，或簡稱法拉盛草地，是紐約市皇后區的一個開放公園。time capsule N a container holding articles, documents, etc, representative of the current age, buried in the earth or in the foundations of a new building for discovery in the future 時空膠囊; 內存具有時代特徵的文章、文件等的密藏容器，埋在地下或新建建築物地基下供後人發現並瞭解現代情況fairground /ˈfɛəˌɡraʊnd/ N-COUNT A fairground is an area of land where a fair is held. 展銷會場地, 遊樂場Pyrex (trademarked as PYREX) is a brand introduced by Corning Inc. in 1915 for a line of clear, low-thermal-expansion borosilicate glass used for laboratory glassware and kitchenware. 派熱克斯玻璃（Pyrex），又名百麗耐熱玻璃是抗熱性能極佳的一種玻璃，它被廣泛應用於廚房用品、化學實驗室儀器及光學設備等，它已經成為其原材料硼化玻璃的通用性商標。
一九三八年九月，那是紐約世博會即將舉行的秋天，一個定時5000年的時空膠囊被樹立在法拉盛草地公園遊樂場底下50英尺處。時空膠囊長7.5英尺，使用派瑞克斯耐熱玻璃及合金銅（也稱可鍛銅合金）鑄造，外形很像一枚魚雷 - 一根又長又細的合金軸上帶著錐形鼻。
This wasn't the first example of a time capsule. But it was the first use of the term, although its mastermind, G Edward Pendray, briefly- and, as it turns out, tellingly - had considered calling it a 'time bomb' instead. Pendray was the publicist for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, and his time bomb was a master stroke of public relations, a clever scheme to retool Westinghouse's image as forward-thinking, and to best its rival, General Electric, founded by the showman-scientist Thomas Edison.mastermind /ˈmɑːstəˌmaɪnd/V-T If you mastermind a difficult or complicated activity, you plan it in detail and then make sure that it happens successfully. 策劃e.g: There are many theories as to who masterminded the attacks. 關於誰策劃了這些攻擊，有許多的猜測。N-COUNT The mastermind behind a difficult or complicated plan, often a criminal one, is the person who is responsible for planning and organizing it. 幕後操縱者e.g.: He was the mastermind behind the plan to acquire the explosives. 他是獲取炸藥計劃的幕後操縱者。publicist /ˈpʌblɪsɪst/N-COUNT A publicist is a person whose job involves getting publicity for people, events, or things such as movies or books. 宣傳員
這並不是歷史上第一個時空膠囊，但卻是第一次使用這個稱呼的，其實它背後的策劃人格 愛德華彭德勒還曾考慮把它叫做“定時炸彈” - 簡潔而又傳神。彭德勒當時是西屋電氣公司的公關, 他策劃的 “定時炸彈” 是公關上的重磅出擊，這非常明智的一舉重塑了西屋電氣前衛的形象，並助它力壓對手-由雜耍科學家湯姆遜愛迪生創辦的通用電氣。
Our scientists have shifted the atoms in their lattices... [creating] stuffs that nature herself forgot to make," wrote Pendray in The Book of Record of the Time Capsule of Cupaloy (1938), his missive to the ‘futurians’ of 6939 CE, the year of the capsule's intended unearthing. Within, he noted, they would fire a light bulb, a safety pin, a slide rule, a telephone, Elizabeth Arden cosmetics, $2.91 in cash, a plastic Mickey Mouse cup, the 14th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica inscribed onto acetate film, and also 75 samples of the era's most advanced materials, including technologies such as Tungsten filaments, asbestos shingling and DuPont's just invented synthetic fibre, Nylon. Millions visited the time capsule, peering by periscope into what Pendray called its " immortal well". On the autumnal equinox of 1940, the month before the fair closed, Westinghouse sponsored a private send-off. Speeches were made. A gong sounded. At high noon, 500 more pounds of hot sealant - a proprietary blend of pitch, mineral oil and a chemical compound called chlorinated diphenyl, known today as polychlorinated biphenyls (or PCBs) - were poured into the well.lattice /ˈlætɪs/N-COUNT A lattice is a pattern or structure made of strips of wood or another material which cross over each other diagonally leaving holes in between. 格狀結構 e.g.: We were crawling along the narrow steel lattice of the bridge. 我們沿著大橋窄窄的鋼製格子爬行著。N-COUNT an array of objects or points in a periodic pattern in two or three dimensions, especially an array of atoms, ions, etc, in a crystal or an array of points indicating their positions in space 點陣; 原子晶格missive /ˈmɪsɪv/N-COUNT A missive is a letter or other message that someone sends. 書信; 函件 [HUMOROUS, LITERARY] e.g.：...the customary missive from your dear mother. ...你親愛的母親如常寄來的一封家書。The Futurians were a group of science fiction (SF) fans, many of whom became editors and writers as well. The Futurians were based in New York City and were a major force in the development of science fiction writing and science fiction fandom in the years 1937–1945. 未來人是一個科幻小說愛好者群體, 他們大多也成了編輯或作家。未來人的根據地是紐約市，1937-1945 年期間未來人是推動科幻小說寫作和科幻影迷運動的主要力量。CE：公元是公曆紀元的簡稱，是國際通行的紀年體系。以耶穌的生年為公曆元年（相當於中國西漢平帝元年）。公元常以 C.E.（英文 Common Era 的縮寫）表示，公元前則以 B.C.E.（英文 Before Common Era 的縮寫）表示。這種紀年體系被各國採用。inscribe /ɪnˈskraɪb/V-T If you inscribe words on an object, you write or carve the words on the object. 題寫; 刻 e.g.: Some galleries commemorate donors by inscribing their names on the walls. 一些展覽館把捐贈者的名字刻在牆上以紀念他們。V-T If you inscribe something in the front of a book or on a photograph, you write it there, often before giving it to someone. 題贈 e.g.: On the back I had inscribed the words: "Here's to Great Ideas! John." 在背面我題寫了這樣的話：“獻給偉大的思想！約翰“.filament /ˈfɪləmənt/N-COUNT A filament is a very thin piece or thread of something, for example, the piece of wire inside a light bulb. 細絲tungsten filament [電]鎢絲 asbestos /æsˈbɛstɒs, æz-/N-UNCOUNT Asbestos is a grey material that does not burn and that was used in the past as a protection against fire or heat. Clothing and mats are sometimes made from it. 石棉 asbestos shingle 石棉瓦 periscope /ˈpɛrɪˌskəʊp/N-COUNT A periscope is a vertical tube that people inside submarines can look through to see above the surface of the water. 潛望鏡autumnal equinox N the time at which the sun crosses the plane of the equator away from the relevant hemisphere, making day and night of equal length. It occurs about Sept 23 in the N hemisphere (March 21 in the S hemisphere) 秋分點 gong /ɡɒŋ/ N-COUNT A gong is a large, flat, circular piece of metal that you hit with a hammer to make a sound like a loud bell. Gongs are sometimes used as musical instruments, or to give a signal that it is time to do something. 鑼 e.g.：On the stroke of seven, a gong summons guests into the dining room. 7點整，一聲鑼響召喚客人們進餐廳。 sealant /ˈsiːlənt/N-MASS A sealant is a substance that is used to seal holes, cracks, or gaps. 密封膠 Proprietary Blend 專有配方；獨家混釀chlorinated diphenyl 氯化二苯 chlorinated /ˈklɔːrɪˌneɪtɪd/ ADJ Chlorinated water, for example drinking water or water in a swimming pool, has been cleaned by adding chlorine to it. 氯化的diphenyl /daɪˈfiːnaɪl, -nɪl, -ˈfɛnɪl/ N → another name for biphenyl 聯苯；二苯基
“科學家已經實現原子在晶格內的移動，造出一些自然未曾製造的東西。” 彭德勒在《銅合金時空膠囊記錄書（1938）》裡寫道。這是他寫給公元6939年 “未來人” 科幻迷們的一封信，公元6939年時空膠囊就可以出土了。他還寫道，在時空膠囊裡，他們將放置一個燈泡，一個別針，一條計數尺，一個電話，伊麗莎白雅頓牌化妝品，2.91美元現金，一隻米奇塑料杯，刻寫在醋酸纖維膠片上的第十四版大英百科全書，還那個時代最先進的材料樣板75片, 包括鎢絲，石棉瓦，以及杜彭最新研發出的合成纖維-尼龍。成千上萬的人圍觀了時空膠囊，還有人通過潛望鏡凝視著彭德勒稱之為永恆的那口掩埋井。在一九四零年的秋分時節，世博會閉幕前一個月，西屋電氣贊助了一個私人歡送儀式。演講完畢，鑼也敲了，在正午的時候，500磅滾燙的密封膠 - 一種由瀝青，礦物油以及一種叫做氯化二苯（現稱多氯聯苯 Polychlorinated Biphenyls, 簡稱PCBs）的化合物製成的專有混合物，被澆灌到掩埋井裡。
Westinghouse engineers said that the compound would last for thousands of years. Indeed, Westinghouse saw its first 'time bomb' as a nod to legacy itself. To leave a legacy is to gift something of meaning or value. For Westinghouse, technology and legacy were entangled ideas.See something as a nod to… 視某事/某物為對…的首肯，對…的佐證
西屋電氣公司的工程師們說這種化合物可以保存數千年之久。也難怪，西屋電氣將首個“時空炸彈” 視作他們留給後世遺產的佐證。為後世留下遺產就是贈與後世有意義或是有價值的東西。對於西屋電氣來說，科技和遺產是不可分割的概念。
---------------------->> To be continued 未完待續<
- 這是一篇探討現代合成材料及新興技術帶來遺留汙染物問題的深度文章，由E.T 編譯整理。此為第一部分，隨後將發佈其餘部分，敬請關注。
Translated and Edited by E.T March 3rd, 2019
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