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When they hear the name Ben Franklin, many folks think of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress and things like that. Not as many people remember that Franklin was an inventor . . . and a good one, too! He also did some pioneering work in physics.
當人們聽到本杰明-富蘭克林這個名字時，獨立宣言，大陸會議等事件立即浮現在眼前。而作為發(fā)明家的富蘭克林卻不大為人所知。其實他是一名優(yōu)秀的發(fā)明家，并曾在物理學方面做過一些開創(chuàng)性的工作。
Sure, sure, you say. You think I’m about to tell that old story about flying a kite in a thunderstorm. I can see you reaching for the knob on your radio. But wait!
你連忙說“是是是”，你認為我還是要給你講老掉牙的電閃雷鳴放風箏的故事。我可以看到你的手伸向電臺準備換頻道。請等等！
Forget about the kite and think fur instead. Franklin took some fur and rubbed it across a rubber rod. He had suspended the rod by a thin string. Then he tried it with a glass rod. Then he used silk instead of fur. What was he up to?
忘掉風箏的事情吧，思考一下皮毛。富蘭克林拿一些皮毛與一根橡膠棒進行摩擦。他用一根細繩將橡膠棒懸空掛起。然后他用一根玻璃棒又試了一下。然后他用絲巾代替了皮毛。他到底想干什么呢？
He was experimenting with electric charge. The glass rod rubbed with silk repelled another glass rod rubbed with silk. The rubber rod rubbed with fur attracted the glass rod. That’s why he was hanging them by strings; when they are free to move, you can easily see the attraction and repulsion at work.
他在做電荷實驗。用絲巾摩擦過的玻璃棒相互排斥，但是皮毛摩擦過的橡膠棒卻與玻璃棒相互吸引。這是他將棒子用細繩懸空而掛的原因。當它們可以自由運動時，你很容易就可以看到它們相吸和相斥的場景。
Nowadays we know that what Franklin was doing was finding different ways to change the net electrical charge on various substances by knocking around electrons. Electrons are tiny, negatively charged particles. Since objects start out with equal amounts positive and negative charge, rubbing electrons off a glass rod with silk will give the glass net positive charge.
如今我們懂得富蘭克林實驗的目的是通過摩擦電子，通過各種不同的途徑在不同的物質上轉移電子以改變凈電荷。電子是微小的帶負電荷的粒子。由于媒介起初帶有相等數量的正負電子，玻璃棒與絲巾的摩擦會使得玻璃棒只帶有凈正電子。
Franklin didn’t know about electrons, but using only very simple materials, he had shown that opposite charges attract and like charges repel! He even coined the terms “positive” and “negative.”
富蘭克林并不知道電子，但是僅僅使用非常簡單的材料，他證明了異性電荷相互吸引，同性電荷相互排斥！他甚至創(chuàng)造了專有名詞“正”和“負”。
Not bad for someone who was helping found new countries in his spare time.
在建立新國家的同時，業(yè)余時間做點新鮮事也是個不錯的選擇。
