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In 1989, Japan’s Shinkansen Bullet Train had a problem.
1989年，日本新干线高铁出现了问题。
It was fast — really fast — like, pushing 170 miles per hour fast.
这列高铁速度很快——是真的很快——时速差不多在170英里（约274km）左右。
But every time it exited a tunnel — it was loud.
但每次驶出隧道的时候——声音都很大。
The noise was coming from a variety of sources,
尽管这一噪音的来源有很多，
but whenever a train sped into a tunnel, it pushed waves of atmospheric pressure through the other end.
但列车每次驶入隧道时，都会将压力波向隧道出口方向推进。
The air exited tunnels with a sonic boom that could be heard 400 meters away.
而压力波到达出口会产生能传出足足400米远的爆破声。
In dense residential areas, that was a huge problem.
对人口密集的居民区而言，这就是个大问题。
So, an engineering team was brought in to design a quieter, faster, and more efficient train.
他们便请了一个工程团队为他们设计行驶起来更安静、更快也更高效的列车。
And they had one secret weapon: Eiji Nakatsu — the general manager of the technical development department — was a birdwatcher.
该团队刚好有个秘密武器：新干线技术开发部总经理中津英治是位观鸟爱好者。
Different components of the redesigned bullet train were based on different birds.
重新设计后的新干线各部位均以鸟类为设计灵感来源。
Owls inspired the pantograph — that’s the rig that connects the train to the electric wires above.
猫头鹰是受电弓——连接火车和上方电线的装置——的设计灵感来源。
Nakatsu modeled the redesign after their feathers,
中津以猫头鹰的羽毛为原型对受电弓进行了重新设计，
reducing noise by using the same serrations and curvature that allow them to silently swoop down to catch prey.
弯曲的锯齿状羽毛让猫头鹰能够悄无声息地俯冲下来抓捕猎物，中津利用同样的原理减小了受电弓产生的噪音。
The Adelie Penguin — whose smooth body allows it to swim and slide effortlessly —
阿德利企鹅光滑的身体让它们游起泳来或滑行起来都显得毫不费力，
inspired the pantograph’s supporting shaft, redesigned for lower wind resistance.
这点启发了受电弓臂杆的设计，减小了风的阻力。
And perhaps most notable of all was the Kingfisher.
最引人注目的灵感来源或许还数翠鸟。
The Kingfisher is a bird that dives into water to catch its prey.
翠鸟是一种需要潜入水中捕捉猎物的鸟。
The unique shape of its beak allows it to do that while barely making a splash.
其独特的喙形让它们能够在捕捉猎物的同时几乎不会溅起任何水花。
Nakatsu took that shape to the design table.
翠鸟的这一喙形也被中津带到了设计桌上。
The team shot bullets shaped like different train nose models down a pipe to measure pressure waves,
研究小组将不同弹头造型的车头模型射入一个管道，以测量它们产生的引力波，
and dropped them in water to measure the splash size.
然后把它们丢入水中测量溅起的水花的大小。
The quietest nose design was the one modeled most closely after the Kingfisher’s beak.
他们发现，噪声最小的车头设计是模仿翠鸟喙模仿得最像的那款。
When the redesign debuted in 1997, it was 10% faster, used 15% less electricity,
重新设计后的新干线在1997年首次露面时，不仅速度提高了10%，耗电量减少了15%，
and stayed under the 70 dB noise limit in residential areas.
对住宅区造成的噪音也降到了70分贝这一上限之内。
And it did all that with the wings of an owl, the belly of a penguin, and the nose of a Kingfisher.
而这一切都源自于猫头鹰的翅膀、企鹅的肚子和翠鸟的鼻子带来的灵感。
There’s a name for design like this. It’s called biomimicry.
这类设计还有个名字——仿生设计。
The people who design our world usually never take a biology class, believe it or not.
不管你信不信，那些设计了我们的世界的人往往都没上过生物课。
So they're novices in how the world works.
他们对这个世界是如何运作的这一问题的了解也仅限于新手水平。
That’s Janine Benyus.
这位是珍妮·班娜斯。
Back in 1997, she wrote the book that coined the term “Biomimicry”.
早在1997年，她就创作了那本首次提到“仿生学”这个词的书。
It told the story of the innovations in computing, energy, and health that were inspired by structures in the natural world.
书中讲述了计算机、能源和健康等领域，受到自然界各种构造启发的各项创新。
Stick like a gecko.
像壁虎一样牢牢吸住。
Compute like a cell.
像细胞一样计算。
Even run a business like a redwood forest.
甚至像红杉林一样经营企业。
Benyus has since worked as a consultant for various companies,
从那以后，班娜斯一直在各大企业当顾问，
trying to get them to understand how to take design ideas from nature.
设法让他们理解如何从自然中汲取设计灵感。
That might mean studying prairie dog burrows to build better air ventilation systems,
这可能就意味着研究土拨鼠的洞穴，以便设计出更好的通风系统，
mimicking shark skin to create bacteria-resistant plastic surfaces for hospitals,
模拟鲨鱼的皮肤，以便为医院设计出耐细菌的塑料表皮，
or arranging wind turbines in the same drag-reducing pattern that schools of fish swim in.
或者按照鱼群游动时的减阻模式来排放风力涡轮机。
