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最复杂的分子结

最复杂的分子结(科学60S) 0:00/0:00
最新发布时间: 2017-10-02
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Chemists have synthesized the most complex molecular knot ever, using a strand just 192 atoms long. The advance could lead to new tougher materials. Christopher Intagliata reports.

据克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔(Christopher Intagliata),化学家仅仅使用了192个原子长的链式结构就合成了迄今最复杂的分子结,这项进步将促进更坚韧材料的发展。

撰文\播音:克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔(Christopher Intagliata)

翻译:杨枭

审校:丁可含

Of the many puzzles mathematicians ponder, one is new ways to tie knots. "There are more than six billion different types of knots that have been tabulated by mathematicians. Six billion." David Leigh, a chemist at the University of Manchester in the U.K.

在众多数学家思考的谜题中,其中之一便是打结的新方法。英国曼彻斯特大学的化学家大卫·利(David Leigh)说:“数学家已经列举了超过60亿种不同的结。60亿啊!”

The hard part, he says, is actually making them. "Just because I can see a knitted jumper doesn't mean I can actually make one." Because what Leigh and his colleagues are interested in, is tying molecular knots—using strands that are 10,000 times thinner than a human hair.

他表示,困难的是如何打这些结。“就像我能看到一件针织毛衣,却不意味着我就织。”利和他的同事感兴趣的是编织分子结——通过使用比头发细一万倍的链式结构。

"With a molecule you can't just grab hold of the ends and tie them like you would a shoelace. They're too small for that. Instead you've got to use chemistry to make the molecules fold themselves round into the precise way you need to form the knot."

“对于分子,你不能像系鞋带一样抓住两端绑在一起。他们太小了。你反而需要利用化学作用使分子精确地按照你的方式自行折叠成结。”

Continuing the shoelace analogy—remember when you were learning to tie your shoes, your mom or dad put a finger in the middle of the knot, to make it easier to tie? Leigh and his team did something similar, but used metal ions as the "fingers" to keep the knot tying organized. Then tiny molecular strands, just 192 atoms long, assembled themselves around the ions.

继续鞋带的类比——当你学习绑鞋带时,是否记得你的妈妈或爸爸把一根手指放在结中间,以使它更容易打结?利和他的团队做的事情类似,但他们使用金属离子作为“手指”。然后,只有192个原子长的小分子链在离子周围连接起来。

"And then mum pulls her finger out—we extract the metal ions out—and you're left with just the knot at the end." The most complex molecular knot ever synthesized. The study is in the journal Science. [Jonathan J. Danon et al., Braiding a molecular knot with eight crossings]

“然后妈妈撤出手指——我们取出金属离子——最后只剩下了那个结。”迄今为止最复杂的分子结合成了。这项研究发表在期刊《科学》上。

Knots were hugely useful to our ancestors in the stone age: "fishing nets, axes with blades tied to the handles, how to weave fabrics to keep him warm." And Leigh says knots could be just as helpful in the molecular world—like for stronger braided polymers—maybe a better Kevlar.

在石器时代,结对我们的祖先非常重要:“渔网,绑在斧子把手上的刀片,保暖的针织物。”利说结在分子世界一样有用——例如更强韧的辫状聚合物——或许是更好的克维拉(一种高强度人工纤维)。

After all, we do have six billion knots to choose from. "As every Boy Scout knows, different types of knots have different characteristics that make them more or less suited to particular tasks." And yes, Leigh himself was once a Scout. "I found knots difficult to tie then, and it hasn't gotten easier as I've gotten older."

毕竟,我们有60亿种节可供选择。“每个童子军都知道,不同类型的结有不同的特点,使他们或多或少适合于特定的用处。”是的,利自己曾经是童子军。“我那时觉得结很难打,长大了也没有觉得打结容易。”

 


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