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They're called button cells, coin cells or watch batteries.
它們被稱為紐扣式電池、硬幣電池或手表電池。
By any name, these tiny, round batteries pose a choking danger to small kids.
但無論名字如何，這些小圓電池極易造成兒童窒息。
And if a child succeeds in swallowing a button cell, the battery may short-circuit in the moist esophageal environment, burning the tissue.
而且如果兒童真的不幸吞下，電池可能會因?yàn)槭车赖某睗癍h(huán)境短路從而燒壞身體組織。
A few thousand kids wind up in emergency rooms each year after swallowing a button battery.
每年有幾千名兒童因吞咽電池而被送往急診室。
But a team of Harvard and M.I.T. researchers that includes prolific inventor Robert Langer thinks they have a partial solution: a protective coating.
但包括多產(chǎn)發(fā)明家羅伯特·蘭格在內(nèi)的哈佛大學(xué)和麻省理工的一組研究人員都認(rèn)為已經(jīng)找到了這個(gè)問題的部分解決方案：那就是保護(hù)涂層。
The scientists covered batteries with a material—technically a quantum-tunneling composite—in which microparticles of conductive metal are suspended in an insulating layer.
科學(xué)家們用一種名為QTC合成物的材料裹住電池從而使得導(dǎo)電的金屬微粒在絕緣層內(nèi)同外界隔離。
Under most circumstances, including inside of a child, the layer is nonconductive.
在包括兒童體內(nèi)的大多數(shù)試驗(yàn)情況下這種涂層都是絕緣的。
But when the material is subjected to high pressure, the microparticles are squeezed close enough together to carry a current.
但當(dāng)這種材料受到高壓影響其中的金屬微粒受到擠壓便會帶電。
One such pressurized environment is the typical battery compartment in a small device—you often have to force the battery into place.
其中一個(gè)理想的壓力環(huán)境正是小型設(shè)備的典型電池盒—人們通常都是按壓進(jìn)行放置。
So the same battery that remains inert when swallowed works just fine when it's jammed into its slot in a hearing aid.
因此，一塊被吞下的不活潑電池在放進(jìn)助聽器的電池槽里便可正常供電。
The waterproof design would also protect batteries from corrosion in high humidity.
而且附帶的防水設(shè)計(jì)也可使得電池在潮濕環(huán)境里免受腐蝕。
The research is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.
這項(xiàng)研究已經(jīng)在《美國國家科學(xué)院院刊》上發(fā)表。
Tests with pigs found the coated batteries to be gentle on the porcine esophagus.
通過動物檢測發(fā)現(xiàn)這種涂層的電池在豬的食道內(nèi)表現(xiàn)溫和。
Next step: figure out a way to keep kids from putting the batteries in their mouths in the first place.
科學(xué)家們的下一步首先是想出辦法不再讓兒童將電池放進(jìn)嘴里。
Can a quantum tunneling composite be made to taste terrible?
能讓這種材料嘗起來很難吃嗎?
