Three university students in Santiago, Chile have developed a plant-powered device to charge their mobile phones.

在智利首都圣地亚哥, 3名智利大学生已经研发一种植物充电设备来为他们的手机充电。

The three engineering students got the idea for the device while sitting in their school's courtyard. Their invention is a small biological circuit they call E-Kaia. It captures the energy plants produce during photosynthesis.

As free as they make us, mobile phones still need to stay close to a power source. Soon that may change with “green” power. VOA’s Jessica Berman reports.

这三名工程专业的学生在间歇坐在学校的户外庭院休息时萌发出用植物为手机充电的创意。这3位在校学生的发明是一种名为E-Kaia的生物充电器，原理是利用植物在光合作用中产生的能量。

A plant uses only a small part of the energy produced by that process. The rest goes into the soil. E-Kaia collects that energy. The device plugs into the ground and then into a mobile phone.

植物只会用掉一小部分—而E-Kaia则会收集其余进入土壤的能量。将这种设备埋入土壤之中,然后与你的手机相连接。

The E-Kaia solved two problems for the engineering students. They needed an idea for a class project. They also needed an outlet to plug in their phones. visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

E-Kaia为工程系的学生们解决了两个难题,首先完成了他们的课程项目,其次是手机也有了充电设备。

One of the student inventors, Camila Rupcich, says the device changes the energy released from the plant into low-level power to charge phones.

其中一个学生发明者，卡米拉声称该设备将植物释放的能量转化为低功耗电力以供手机充电。

The E-Kaia is able to fully recharge a mobile phone in less than two hours.

E-Kaia足以在不到2个小时内为手机充满电力。

I'm Jonathan Evans.

我是乔纳森·埃文斯。

VOA's Jessica Berman reported this story from Washington. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

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Words in This Story

courtyard – n. an open space that is surrounded completely or partly by a building or group of buildings

circuit – n. the complete path that an electric current travels along

photosynthesis – n. the process by which a green plant turns water and carbon dioxide into food when the plant is exposed to light

Three university students in Santiago, Chile have developed a plant-powered device to charge their mobile phones.

The three engineering students got the idea for the device while sitting in their school's courtyard. Their invention is a small biological circuit they call E-Kaia. It captures the energy plants produce during photosynthesis.

A plant uses only a small part of the energy produced by that process. The rest goes into the soil. E-Kaia collects that energy. The device plugs into the ground and then into a mobile phone.

The E-Kaia solved two problems for the engineering students. They needed an idea for a class project. They also needed an outlet to plug in their phones. visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

One of the student inventors, Camila Rupcich, says the device changes the energy released from the plant into low-level power to charge phones.

The E-Kaia is able to fully recharge a mobile phone in less than two hours.

I'm Jonathan Evans.

VOA's Jessica Berman reported this story from Washington. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

courtyard – n. an open space that is surrounded completely or partly by a building or group of buildings

circuit – n. the complete path that an electric current travels along

photosynthesis – n. the process by which a green plant turns water and carbon dioxide into food when the plant is exposed to light