5.E-Cigarettes5.电子烟E-cigarettes first started becoming popular in 2012. They work by heating a nicotine fluid to mimic a real cigarette. Their invention is usually credited to Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik, who reportedly created it after he dreamed that he was drowning in a cloud of vapor. His father had died of lung cancer caused by cigarettes. He himself was an unrepentant smoker who had unsuccessfully tried quitting by using a nicotine patch.2012年，电子烟开始风行，它们的工作原理是通过冷却尼古丁的液体，仿真现实的烟。很多人指出电子烟是中国的制药商韩力发明者的，他说道梦到自己在烟雾云雾的蒸气中将要窒息而死后，发明者了电子烟。他的父亲杀于吸烟者引发的肺癌。他自己也是一个不折不扣的瘾君子，他曾尝试用于尼古丁贴片来戒烟，但告终了。

The fact is, Hon Lik is not the first person to invent the e-cigarette. Way back in 1963, Herbert Gilbert made the worlds first device that could be used to inhale tobacco-flavored air. In Gilberts original version, there was no form of combustion and it was free of nicotine. He later designed a prototype that used a battery to create heat. He also used different flavors of water to create steam. He presented his prototypes to different chemical, pharmaceutical, and tobacco companies, but they simply turned down his prototypes.事实是，韩力不是第一个发明者电子烟的人。早在1963年，赫尔伯特·吉尔伯特就生产出有了世界上第一个可以用来排出香烟味儿空气的装置。

他最初的发明者装置，不必自燃，也不不含尼古丁。他后来设计出有了一个用电池去冷却的模型，他也用了有所不同味道的水去生产蒸气。他把他的电子烟模型展出给有所不同的化工、制药以及烟草公司，但是他们都没理会他的模型。

4.Autonomous Cars4.无人驾驶的汽车Also called self-driving cars, autonomous cars have been making the news recently. Chief among them are Googles self-driving cars. Googles driverless cars have traveled over 480,000 kilometers (300,000 mi) with only two accidents, both of which were caused by humans. But self-driving cars arent new. In fact, their concepts have arguably been around since the days of Leonardo da Vinci, who invented a spring-powered cart with a programmable steering device.最近，无人驾驶汽车的新闻屡见报端，它也叫作自动驾驶汽车。谷歌的自动驾驶汽车是此行业的领头羊，已行经48万千米（30万英里），仅有再次发生过两次交通事故，还都是人为因素导致的。事实上，无人驾驶汽车并不是新奇事物，早在约·芬奇发明者以弹簧发条不作驱动带上内置预设程序的马车时，自动驾驶的概念之后名噪一时。More recently, however, General Motors made a self-driving car in 1958 that adjusted its steering wheel based on the alternating currents given off by a wire placed inside the road. While the vehicle did actually drive itself, it does not qualify as the first autonomous vehicle because it depended on wires placed inside the ground. The worlds first autonomous vehicle was made by S. Tsugawa and several of his colleagues at Japans Tsukuba Mechanical Engineering Laboratory. However, German engineer Ernst Dickinson is regarded as the pioneer of the autonomous car. In 1987, he developed the VaMoRs which was capable of traveling more than 90 kilometers per hour (55 mph) for about 20 kilometers (12 mi). Seven years later, he made the VaMP, which could recognize road signs, know its own position in a lane, detect other vehicles, and even decide when to change lanes. And a year after that, he and his team made another autonomous vehicle which traveled from Germany to Denmark. The vehicle had a maximum speed of 180 kilometers per hour (111 mph) and was controlled by a human for about 5 percent of the journey.后来，通用汽车在1958年设计出有一款无人驾驶汽车，其原理是：由线圈感官道路中所映射电线的交流电信号，并适当地调整方向盘。

然而汽车显然能自律驾驶员，但并无法称作第一辆仅有自动驾驶汽车，因为它必需倚赖金字在地面的电线。在日本的阪机械工程实验室，津川和他的几个同事发明者了世界上第一辆自动驾驶汽车。然而，德国工程师恩斯特·迪克斯被称作无人驾驶汽车的先驱。

1987年，他发明者的公里／小时，时速多达90千米（56英里/小时），行经了约20千米（12分钟）。7年后，他发明者的VaMP，不但可以辨识道路标记，而且能定位自己在车道内的方位，还能勘测其他车辆，甚至能辨别何时该变道。一年后，他和他的团队发明者的自动驾驶汽车，从德国行经到丹麦，最低时速为180千米（111英里/小时）。整段旅程中，仅有5%左右的路程是人为驾驶员。

3.Flying Bicycles3.不会飞来的自行车A few years back, a flying bicycle called the Paravelo was invented. And it isnt called a flying bicycle for fun. It is a bicycle (with a large parachute on top) that actually flies. It travels around 25 kilometers per hour (15 mph) on land and 40 kilometers per hour (25 mph) in the air. It can also fly up to a height of 1,200 meters (4,000 ft). The best part? You dont need a pilots license. The Paravelo has been called the worlds first flying bicycle, a title we must point out it does not really own.几年前，有人发明者了一辆不会飞来的自行车，叫作Paravelo。称之为一辆自行车不会飞来，并不是打趣，而是这辆自行车知道不会飞来（车头有一个极大的降落伞）。它在陆地和空中的时速分别为25千米（15英里）和40千米（25英里），可飞至1200米（4000英尺）高空。

最篮的地方是什么呢？那就是你不必须有飞行中驾驶执照。Paravelo堪称世界上第一辆不会飞来的自行车，但我们必需认为它并不是第一辆不会飞来的自行车。

The worlds first flying bicycle flew on November 9, 1961, when Derek Pigott of the University of Southampton flew in a bicycle with an airplane-like body. It was called the Southampton University Man Powered Aircraft (sumpac). Derek furiously pedaled the air-bike to get it off the ground. It then flew 1.8 meters (about 6 ft) above the ground over a distance of 64 meters (210 ft). While the flight was short and slow, it still does not change the fact that it was the first bicycle to fly and at the same time, the first human-powered flight.1961年11月9日，扬妮克里德在南安普顿大学海面骑着一辆形状十分像飞机的自行车——世界上第一辆不会飞来的自行车问世了。这辆自行车被称作南安普顿大学的人力飞机（里斯桑普顿大学号）。

为使自行车飞离地面，德里克刚开始猛烈地踩脚踏板，然后自行车在离地面1.8米（6英尺）的低处飞行中，最后飞行中了64米（210英尺）。即使飞行速度很较慢，飞行中距离也很短，但这仍是第一辆不会飞来的自行车，同时，也是第一辆人力飞车。2.Jetpacks2.喷气背包In 2010, the Martin Aircraft Company introduced a jetpack it called the worlds first piratical jetpack. The jetpack even won a spot in Times Top 50 Inventions of 2010. While its development has been on since 1981, the worlds first jetpack is known to have flown in 1958. It was designed by Wendell Moore, a researcher at Bells Aerosystems. Early prototypes of Wendells jetpack could reach a height of 5 meters (16 ft) and remain airborne for three minutes. This attracted the attention of the US Army, which funded the project with $150,000. Several test flights were later done for the US Army and even for JFK himself. The army later stopped paying for more research into the project because the flight time and distance were not convincing enough. NASA also wanted to use the jetpack for their Apollo 11 mission to serve as backups in case their lunar module malfunctioned. They later changed their minds, going for the lunar rover instead. After this setback, Bell discontinued further research on the jetpack.2010年，马丁飞行器公司发售的喷气背包堪称世界上第一个正版喷气背包。

这个喷气背包甚至还被列为《时代周刊》2010年度50强劲发明者之一，因为众所周知世界上第一个喷气背包是在1958年发明者的，且自1981年来仍然在发展。喷气背包由温德尔·穆尔设计，他是贝尔空间系统公司的研究员。温德尔设计的喷气背包的早期模型飞行高度平均5米（16英尺），飞行中时间为3分钟。这一点引发了美国军队的留意，美国军队之后为这一项目投资了15万美元。

后来，还特地为美国军队做到了些首飞飞行器，也为肯尼迪总统做到了飞行器。之后，因为飞行中时间和飞行中距离受限，美国军队中止了对这个项目先前研究的投资。美国航天局也想要喷气背包为阿波罗11号任务做到提供支援，防止安机舱出有故障。但之后还是转变了点子，转用了月球车。

贝尔经历了这个挫折后，暂停了对飞行器的更进一步研究。1.Bladeless Fans1.无叶风扇Simply put, bladeless fans are fans without blades. They work by sucking in air at their base and then blowing them out through several holes in their ring. The fan is reported to have been invented by James Dyson, who calls it the Air Multiplier. Just like the flying jetpack, it earned a spot in Times list of notable inventions of 2009. And just like the jetpack, it was not the first of its kind. The first bladeless fan was actually patented in 1981 by a Japanese company called Tokyo Shiba Electric. Although Tokyo Shibas bladeless fan was never manufactured, James Dysons initial design of a bladeless fan design looked so similar to that of Tokyo Shiba Electric that the patent office refused to grant him a patent. The patent granted to Tokyo Shiba had already expired, but the patent office still required something substantially different before it could grant a new patent to James Dyson. Dysons patent manager, Gill Smith, did not deny the similarities between both bladeless fans but said the difference between them was the technology.简言之，无叶风扇就是没叶片的风扇。它的工作原理是再行将空气排出风扇基座内部，然后通过扇头环形上的洞将空气刮起出有。

这款风扇据传是詹姆斯·戴森发明者的，并命名为气流倍增器。就像可以飞行中的喷气背包一样，无叶风扇被《时代周刊》选为2009年度最出色发明者之一，某种程度它也不是世界上第一个无叶风扇。

实质上，第一个无叶风扇于1981年被日本的东京芝区电力公司取得专利。尽管东京芝区电力公司的无叶风扇并没用作生产生产，但詹姆斯的无叶风扇的完整设计与其设计相近，所以专利局拒绝接受颁发詹姆斯这个专利。尽管颁发东京芝区电力公司的专利早已过期，但在颁发詹姆斯这项新的专利之前，专利局必须他获取该设计的创意之处。詹姆斯的经理吉尔·斯密斯并没坚称这两种无叶风扇间的相似性，只是说道两者间的差异在于所用科技有所不同。

本文来源：开云(中国)Kaiyun-www.hua-ru.cn