Tenthings39;InvisibleWorlds39;hastaughtme转

ReadRichardHammondsbioghttp://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/team/richard_hammond.shtmlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rmrmm1.Thehumaneyeisnotallit’scrackeduptobe.Humanvisionisprettymiraculous,butoureyesaren’tquiteaspowerfulasyoumightimagine.Whatwecanseeisstuffthatreflectsoremitslightwithwavelengthsinaverynarrowband(sinceyouask,fromabout750to400nanometres).Whatwecan’tseeistherest.That’sallmatterthatreflectsoremitslightovertheother99.99999999999%percentofthespectrum.Infact,we’realmostblind.2.IfIwasahoneybee,mygardenwouldlooklikeapsychedelicacidflashback…Honeybeesareoneofafewrarebeastswhocanseeinultra-violet.Thiswasnewstome,butnottotheflowersinmybackgardenwhoexploitthisfactruthlesslybyadvertisingtheirpresencetothebeeswithallsortsofinventivepatternsinordertoluretheminforpollination.CompletelyinvisibletousbutnotI’venowlearnt,tothebees…3.Whensomething’sonfire,itisn’t.Well,notexactly.Watchingsomethingburn,it’seasytothinktheflamesareactuallyonthethingthat’sburning,eatingawayatit.That’swhatitlookslike.Butit’snotthatsimple.Intheinvisibleinfra-redspectrumwecanseethatwhat’sactuallyhappeningistheheatiscausingtheobjecttogiveoffcombustiblegases,andastheyescapeit’sthosecombustiblegasesincontactwiththeoxygenintheairthatcausethefire.Sotheflamesarenotonthethingthat’sburning,they’reintheairaroundit.4.Continuedincontinencecanbeverydangeroustoyourhealth…ifyou’reafieldvole.Volespiddlecontinuouslyastheygoabouttheirbusiness.Notaverynicenotionbutapparentlyratheruseful,asittellsthemrelevant‘vole’thingslikewho’sbeenontheirpatchofgrass,whatsextheywereandwhatdirectiontheywentoffin(thoughsadlynothowcutetheywere).But,thosehandypeetrailsalsoreflectultravioletlightandoneofourvole’smainenemiesisthekestrel,which–sadlyforMrVole-canseeinultraviolet.Soallithastodoisfollowthepeetrailallthewaytothedinnertable.5.Thehumblecommoncoldisactuallythesourceofamasterfulfeatofengineering…thesneeze.Youknowhowweallcringewhensomeonesneezesanywherenearus?‘Stayathome!’wethink,‘don’tcomenearmewithyournastyinfectiousnose…’Well–I’mafraidit’sevenworsethanyoumighthaverealised.Thatsneezeshootsoutofthatnoseatupto100milesanhour,containsaround40,000separatedropletsofhorridnessandcantravelvastdistancesthroughtheair.Andtheworstbitis–thedropsyoucansee(andsoavoid)makeupjust4%ofthetotalvolume.Sothatleaves…wellquitealotofinvisiblesnot…6.Geckoshavetheworstcaseofsplitendsinnature,butit’sthesecretoftheirsuccess.On‘InvisibleWorlds’ittookasmallstuntteamandhalfaday’sriggingtogetmetowalkupaverticalwall.Butgeckoscanscamperupthemwithoutasecondthought,andthenclingfromtheceilingwithasingletoe.Thesecretoftheirsuperheropowersliesintheinvisiblehairsthatcovereachtoe.Eachoftheseistentimesthinnerthanahumanhairandtherearemillionsoneachtoe.Butlookabitcloser,around40,000timesmagnification,andyoucanbegintomakeoutthesplitendsonthosehairs.Itturnsoutthatatthenanoscaleeachofthembranchesoffintohundredsoffurthertinyhairsoftheirown.It’sthesesplitendsthatholdthekeytogecko’samazinggrip.7.Youcanfindthefastestthingonearth……livinginacowpat.Thefastestthingonearthisn’tUssainBolt,itisn’tacheetah,itisn’tevenaFerrari.It’safungalspore.Cowpatsarehometohundredsofthem,andcourtesyofanewgenerationofultrahighspeedcameras,capableoftakingover250,000imagespersecond,wecannowactuallyseethosesporesinaction.Onemomentthey’restationary,andthenonemillionthofasecondlaterthey’retravellingat25metresasecond,sustainingaforceequivalentto180,000g.Astronautsonthespaceshuttlehavetocopewithjust4g.Anythingpast5gandwestartblackingout.Sowhydotheygotosuchtrouble?Well,it’sallaboutsurvival.Inordertoreproduce,theyneedtogetthemselvesasfarawayfromthedungaspossible–sotheycangeteatenagain.8.Imustn’tputmyfingerinatankcontainingapistolshrimpPistolshrimpsarelessthananinchlong,butwithanoversizedclaw,shapedlikeaboxingglove,they’renottobemessedwith.Inrealtimeitlooksliketheyseeoffopponentssuchascrabsbysimplyjabbingatthem.Butusehigh-speedcamerasandyoucantellsomethingfarstrangerisgoingon.Theywintheirfightswithouteverlandingapunch.Alltheirdamageisdoneatadistance,astheirclosingclawsforceajetofwatertospurtoutatcloseto70milesperhour,creatingalowpressure‘bubble’initswake.Whenthiscollapses,massivelight,heatandenergyarebrieflycreated.Insidethebubbleitmomentarilyreachestemperaturesashotasthesurfaceofthesun,soaringtomorethan4,000C.It’sthisinvisibleforcethatcausesmuchofthedamage.Sotheknockoutpunchcomesfromthebubble,nottheclaw.9.Ifyou’reworriedaboutcellulite,don’tswiminthepresenceofahighspeedcamera.Dolphinsaretheperfectshapeforswimming.Sloweddown40timestheirtorpedo-shapedsmoothbodiesjustscythethroughit.There’slittledrag,thewaterissimplydisplacedandthedolphinsappearstobegliding,cruisingalongat20mph.Incontrast,inwaterit’snotjustourshapethatlimitsourspeed,it’salsoourskinitself.Ifyoucanfaceseeingthefulleffectdraghasonthehumanbody,youneedtofilmaswimmerwithastateofthearthighspeedcamerathatcanofferthousandsofimagesasecondatHDresolution.Thenyoubegintoseethewaywateractuallybuffetstheskinanddistortsitssurface.Eventhefittestswimmeristransformed.Anditreallyputsorangepeelthighsintoperspective.Andfinally……10.Myphobiaofspidersisserious.In20yearsI’vedonesomefrighteningthingsfortv.I’vestoodonthesummitoftheworld’stallestroadbridge,I’veclimbedtothetopoftheSydneyOperaHouse,I’veabseiledoffabunchofbuildings,I’vedrivenat300mph(youmightrememberthat)…TopGearevenkindlyarrangedformetobeinacarthatthengotstruckby800,000volts…andI’vegonealongwitheverything…absolutelyeverything,withoutfuss,withouthesitation.ButwhenInvisibleWorldsaskedmetomilkaspiderItotallybottledit.