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This episode is supported by NordVPN.
本期节目由NordVPN赞助播出。
Start protecting your internet experience today with 66% off a 2-year plan by using code "SCISHOW" at NordVPN.com/SCISHOW
从今天开始保护你的互联网体验，登录NordVPN.com/SCISHOW输入“SCISHOW”享受2年6.6体验。
I don't know if you've noticed, but nature is kind of awesome.
我不知道大家是否注意到了自然真的很了不起。
That's why so much of our technology is inspired by it, from adhesives modeled after insects to early plane wings based on birds.
因此我们的科技也受大自然的启发，比如以昆虫为模型的粘合剂以及根据鸟类设计的早期的飞机机翼。
But just because we try to mimic nature doesn't mean we can do it perfectly,
但就算我们试着模仿自然，也并不代表我们能做的完美，
and birds and airplanes are a pretty good example of our limits. Take the vertical tails on most airplanes.
鸟类和飞机就很好地体现了我们的限制。以大部分飞机上的垂直尾翼为例。
We use them to keep our giant, metal contraptions in the air and going the right way — but birds get by fine without them.
我们在巨大的金属设计上使用了垂直尾翼保证飞机不会驶离正确方向—但是鸟类没有垂直尾翼就能很好的飞行。
That's because they're just way better at flying than we are, and for the most part, we can't keep up.
这是因为它们比人类更擅长飞行，在极大程度上，我们是比不了的。
The parts of an airplane all work together to keep the plane in the sky and facing the right direction.
飞机的各个部分共同协作保持飞机在空中飞行面朝正确方向。
And thanks to all kinds of invisible air currents, that isn't as simple as it looks from your window seat.
多亏了所有这些隐形的气流，这些可不像你从窗座里看到的那么简单。
The vertical tail's main job is to stabilize something called yaw.
垂直尾翼的主要工作是稳定偏航。
Yaw measures how much the plane is pointed to the left or right of the wind —
偏航测量飞机指向左右风向的尺度—
specifically, the relative wind, which is created by the plane zooming through the atmosphere at hundreds of kilometers an hour.
尤其是相对气流，飞机以数百千米每小时的速度猛然穿过大气时就会形成相对气流。
Yaw can change in lots of situations, like during turns or in unsteady air. And when it does, it occasionally leads to a condition called sideslip.
偏航可在很多情况下改变，比如在流入不稳定空气时。偏航的改变偶尔会导致侧滑的情况。
This is where the plane has yawed, but it hasn't completely changed its direction.
即飞机偏航了，但是却没有完全改变其方向。
Instead, it's still mostly moving in the direction it was, only at a funny angle. Kind of like a sports car drifting around a turn.
相反，飞机仍然主要朝一个方向移动，只是角度很搞笑。有点像是跑车在转角漂移一样。
Normally, this just leads to a little inefficiency. But if it's not corrected, sideslip can get out of hand.
通常这只会导致飞机飞行效率不高，但是如果不进行纠正，侧滑就会失控。
If the plane yaws too much, it starts to affect how the air flows over the wings.
如果飞机偏航太多，就会开始影响空气流过机翼的方式。
And if too much air flows parallel to the wings instead of perpendicular, the plane can lose lift.
如果太多空气平衡流过机翼而非垂直流过，那么飞机就会丧失浮力。
Which, is kind of important for keeping it in the sky! That's where the vertical tail comes in.
浮力很重要。所以就有了垂直尾翼。
See, as the plane starts to sideslip, the side of the tail will start to face into the relative wind and become more perpendicular to it.
明白了不，当飞机开始侧滑，尾翼的一边就会开始面对相对气流，并变得更加垂直于相对气流。
And as the wind pushes on the tail surface, it creates a force that ultimately nudges the whole plane back to face its original direction.
随着风推动尾翼表面，就会创造出一种力，最终推动这个飞机回到正确方向。
Birds, meanwhile, don't have to deal with all this because they're way better at flying than we are.
而鸟类就不需要处理这些问题，因为它们更擅长飞行。
Which makes sense, considering they've had millions of years to work on it.
这也是有道理的，毕竟它们已经飞了百万年了。
They don't need vertical tails for stability because they're constantly making fast,
它们不需要垂直尾翼保持稳定，因为它们不断对翅膀的形状和角度
tiny adjustments to the shape and angle of their wings, which lets them avoid sideslip.
做出快速微小的调整，避免侧滑。
Right now, that's just not something we can practically or easily do with airplanes, especially passenger jets.
现在有了机翼我们也不能轻易做出调整，尤其是客机。
And even though there have been some planes without vertical tails — like the B-2 stealth bomber —
即便很多飞机没有垂直尾翼，比如B-2隐形轰炸机
they come with plenty of stability challenges. Engineers are definitely working on it, but it looks like nature has one-upped us for now.
它们面临很多稳定挑战。工程师绝对还在攻克这些难题，但是似乎自然暂时领先。
One place nature doesn't have a leg up on engineers, though, is protecting your information online. I mean, obviously.
而有一个地方，自然是不占上风的，那就是保护你的在线信息。这是当然的。
Thanks to the engineers at NordVPN, you can set up a Virtual Private Network, to keep your sensitive information safe
感谢NordVPN的工程师，你可以建立一个虚拟专用网络，保护敏感信息安全
even when you're on an unprotected Wi-Fi network.
即便你用的是不受保护的wifi网络。
Whether you're online ordering a bird toy or a plane ticket, you want your private information to stay safe.
不论你是上网买玩具还是飞机票，你都希望保证私人信息的安全。
With a Virtual Private Network, your information is encrypted and sent via one of NordVPNs secure servers so it's always safe.
有了虚拟专用网络，你的信息经过加密，通过NordVPNs安控服务器传输总是很安全的。
NordVPN has nearly 5,000 super fast servers in 62 countries and they're always adding more.
NordVPN在62个国家设有有近五千个快速服务器。
Seriously, they might have gotten to over 5,000 since we filmed this episode.
讲真的，自我们拍摄本期视频以来，他们的服务器已经超过五千个了。
Head to NordVPN.com/SciShow and use the code "SciShow" to get 66% off a 2-year plan.
前往NordVPN.com/SciShow，使用“SciShow”码享受两年6.6折计划。
