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Owls are nearly noiseless hunters, swooping down on prey without any warning whoosh.
身為無聲的獵人，貓頭鷹是總能俯沖向獵物而不發出任何聲響。
How do they do it?
這是怎么做到的呢？
We’ve known that the leading edge of an owl's wing has a comb of stiff feathers.
我們已經了解到貓頭鷹的翅膀前端有一縷冠狀的堅硬羽毛。
And the trailing edge has a flexible fringe, unlike the rigid trailing edge of a conventional bird wing.
而接下去的尾端則是一小段柔韌的彎曲，不像是一般的羽翼末端那樣堅硬。
These two features contribute to a structure that produces almost no noise as it rushes through the air.
這兩個特點成就了貓頭鷹從天而降幾乎無聲無息的特點。
Now it appears that these predators have a third trick up their sleeves—or rather, wings—that allow them to be so silent but deadly.
而現在看上去似乎這種捕食者還有第三種獨門工具使得它們的行動隱秘而且致命，那就是翅膀。
Researchers modeled the effect of the layer of down on the wing’s top surface.
研究人員們對于貓頭鷹在俯沖時羽翼頂端表面上的一層結構的反應進行了模擬。
And it looks like that fluffy stuff absorbs sound too.
這些看上去毛茸茸的物質也能夠吸收聲音。
The work was presented at a meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics.
這項研究已在《美國物理協會流體動力學分會會刊》雜志上發表。
Mimicking owl wing down may lead to new sound-proofing materials.
模擬貓頭鷹俯沖也許能有助于開發新型消音材料。
Down and the other silencing features could inspire wind turbines and plane engines that produce less noise and fewer vibrations.
鳥類絨毛和其它消音結構可以啟發風力渦輪機和飛機引擎裝置的改進，以起到降噪減震的作用。
So that all we hear is silence.
如果成功我們聽到的將只有靜謐之聲。
