Water, water, everywhere
水，水，到处有水
How to harvest moisture from the atmosphere
如何从空气中取水
New technologies could provide water to Earth’s most arid climates
新技术可为地球上最干旱的地区提供水源
EVEN IN THE most speculative reaches of science fiction, there is no escaping humanity’s dependence on liquid water. Luke Skywalker, the hero of the original “Star Wars” trilogy, grows up on his uncle’s moisture farm, extracting water from Tatooine’s arid atmosphere. The residents of the desert world Arrakis, accessible to anyone with a copy of Frank Herbert’s novel “Dune” (or with three hours to kill at their nearest cinema), likewise use windtraps to steal precious liquid from the air.
即使在最具想象力的科幻小说中，人类也同样离不开液态水。《星球大战》正传三部曲的主角卢克·天行者（Luke Skywalker）在他叔叔的湿气农场长大，他们从塔图因星球（Tatooine）干燥的空气中提取水分。只要你有一本弗兰克·赫伯特（Frank Herbert）的小说《沙丘》（Dune）（或者在离你最近的电影院消磨三个小时），就可以走近沙漠星球阿拉基斯（Arrakis），那里的居民同样使用捕风器从空气中收集宝贵的液态水。
- speculative 推测的；猜测的；推断的
- trilogy （书籍、电影等的）三部曲；三部剧
Engineers on Earth, too, are increasingly looking to the atmosphere for water. They have good reason to do so. Even in the depths of Chile’s Atacama Desert, often called the driest place on Earth, estimates suggest that fog and dew can generate some 200ml of water per square metre. Elsewhere, the atmosphere is even more generous. Worldwide, it is estimated to contain 12,900 cubic kilometres of water, roughly the volume of Lake Superior. Moreover, models indicate that evaporation driven by global warming will increase these levels by 27% over the course of the next 50 years.
如今，地球上的工程师也越来越多地转向从空气中取水。他们这么做是有充分理由的。据估计，即使在有地球最干燥地区之称的智利阿塔卡马沙漠（Atacama Desert）的腹地，雾气和露水也可以产生每平方米约200毫升的水。而在其他地方，空气能提供的水分就更多了。据估计，全世界空气中的含水量达12,900立方公里，相当于一个苏必利尔湖。此外，多个模型显示，在接下来的50年里，全球变暖导致的水体蒸发会让空气中的含水量增加27%。
- roughly 大约；大致；差不多
- 拓展学习：为何《银河护卫队3》的片名要加“Vol.”？
