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We all have daily problems with technology, but how many of us can fix them?
我们常常遇到技术方面的问题，可是有多少人能处理这些问题呢？
Mya Le Thai is a scientist studying at the University of California, Irvine. She recently discovered a process that may result in batteries that last forever.VOA Learning English spoke with Thai about her discovery.
米娅·莱·泰是加州大学欧文分校的科学家。最近，她发现了一个可以保证电池永久使用的方法。VOA英语学习栏目就这一发现与她进行了谈话。
Thai said she had been frustrated that the batteries for her wireless devices degrade.Over time, they fail to charge fully.
泰说，她曾由于无线设备的电池退化问题而苦恼。电池使用时间变长后，就会有充不满电的问题。
Thai did not like to have to keep her wireless laptop connected to an electrical outlet.
泰不喜欢自己的无线笔记本电脑总是插着电源插座。
She decided to do something about that problem.
她决定解决这个问题。
At first, she and her team at UC Irvine thought about inventing a new battery.But as they experimented, Thai discovered something that might permit lithium-ion batteries to last forever.
首先，她和加州大学欧文分校的团队想到了发明一种新型电池。但是他们在实验过程中发现，某种物质可以让锂离子电池永久使用。
Lithium-ion batteries power most wireless devices.Over time, the batteries lose the ability to hold a charge.Most of these batteries have a life span of about 7,000 charging cycles before they die.
锂离子电池可以为大多数无线设备充电。但是这种电池使用时间久了之后，蓄电能力会下降。大多数锂离子电池可充电7000次左右，直到使用寿命结束。
One of the reasons lithium-ion batteries degrade is their use of nanowires to carry electricity.Nanowires are extremely thin.A human hair is thousands of times thicker, for example.
锂离子电池使用纳米线来输送电流，是导致电池退化的原因之一。纳米线极其纤细。人的头发要比纳米线粗上千倍。
Nanowires are extremely efficient carriers of electricity, which makes them useful in batteries.But Thai said their thinness also makes them weak.
纳米线可以高效地输送电流，因此可以在电池中发挥作用。但泰说，纳米线太过纤细，因此也很脆弱。
"Nanowires break and fracture over time," she said."That's why they lose capacity."
她说："纳米线用久了会折断或破裂"。"这也就是为什么它们的充电能力会退化的原因"。
But, Thai had a theory: The nanowires might last longer if covered with a gel.She and the team tested her theory.
但泰推测：如果用胶裹住纳米线，它的使用寿命可能会变长。她和她的团队对这一推测进行了试验。
"It was a long process and a lot of work," Thai said.
泰说："这个过程很漫长，我们需要做大量工作"。
The team tried many coverings for the wires.PMMA was one of them.
团队尝试了多种纳米线的覆盖物质。聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯（PMMA）是其中的一种。
The nanowires were coated with PMMA and cycled through charges 200,000 times.The PMMA coated nanowires showed no evidence of damage.
裹着PMMA的纳米线可支持充电20万次。并且PMMA不会对纳米线造成损害。
The results suggest that batteries could last forever, without losing charging ability.Thai said 200,000 cycles amount to about three months on just one device.
实验结果证明，这种电池可以永久使用，且不会失去充电能力。泰称，20万次充电周期相当于给一台设备充电3个月。
Thai hopes to continue her research to understand why this gel works so well and to see if any other gel could create better results.
泰希望继续她的研究，弄明白这种物质为何如此有效，并去研究是否其它物质可能达到更好的效果。
Mya Le Thai told VOA she is enjoying the publicity about her discovery.She said she never expected her research to get media coverage.
米娅·莱·泰告知VOA，她非常开心自己的发现能够引起公众的注意。她说，她从未料到媒体会报道自己的研究。
"It's kind of cool," she said."I'm really glad people are showing interest in my work and not just in the work itself, but also in technology and energy."
"感觉还挺不错的"，她说。"人们能够对我的工作感兴趣，并且不只对工作本身感兴趣，还对科技和能源领域感兴趣，我很开心"。
本栏目视频字幕与文本并不完全对应，且视频播放缓冲时间较长，敬请谅解！
