Name: 防毒面具究竟是如何工作的？- 喬治-扎伊丹 (How do gas masks actually work? - George Zaidan)
Uploaded: 2025-04-05T14:56:01.000Z
Duration: 4 min 31 s

關係子句

The two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.

所有生命賴以生存的兩種基本液體已成為全球垃圾桶。

You might think of gas masks as clunky, spooky, military looking devices only found in spy movies or World War One museums.

你可能會認為防毒面具是間諜電影或第一次世界大戰博物館中才會出現的笨重、詭異的軍用設備。

But you probably already own a mask that uses remarkably similar technology.

不過，你可能已經擁有了一個使用非常類似技術的面具。

And in the near future, we may need to rely on these filters as part of our everyday lives.

在不久的將來，我們的日常生活可能需要依賴這些過濾器。

In addition to emerging diseases, wildfire frequency has more than tripled from 1996 to 2021.

除了新出現的疾病，野火的發生頻率從 1996 年到 2021 年也增加了兩倍多。

As fires burn longer and cover more land, their smoke affects more people each year.

由於火災燃燒的時間更長，覆蓋的土地更多，每年受其煙霧影響的人也更多。

Climate change is also causing more hot, sunny days, which accelerates the production of toxic ground level ozone.

氣候變化還導致晴熱天增多，加速了有毒地面臭氧的產生。

So how do these masks work and can they protect us from new and old airborne threats?

那麼，這些口罩是如何工作的，它們能保護我們免受新舊空氣傳播的威脅嗎？

Well, the first rule of filters is making sure you have a tight seal.

過濾器的第一條規則就是確保密封性。

Without that, even the best mask in the world is useless.

沒有這一點，即使是世界上最好的面具也毫無用處。

So, assuming your mask is on tight, this technology can capture pollutants in one of two ways: filtering them out by size or attracting specific chemical compounds.

是以，假設你的口罩戴得很緊，這項技術可以通過兩種方式之一捕捉汙染物：按大小過濾或吸引特定的化學物質。

For an example of the first approach, let's look at wildfire smoke. At close range, there are so many different pollutants at such high concentrations that no filter could help you.

以野火煙霧為例說明第一種方法。在近距離內，各種汙染物的濃度如此之高，以至於任何過濾器都幫不了你。

This is why firefighters travel with their own air supply.

這就是消防員旅行時自帶供氣設備的原因。

But further away, the situation is different.

但在更遠的地方，情況就不同了。

While there's still a range of chemicals, they've mostly aggregated into tiny solid or liquid particles smaller than two and a half microns in diameter.

雖然仍有各種化學物質，但它們大多聚集成直徑小於 2.5 微米的微小固體或液體顆粒。

This particulate matter is much of what you're seeing and smelling in smoke, and it's especially dangerous for children, the elderly, and those with respiratory or cardiovascular diseases.

您在煙霧中看到和聞到的大部分就是這種微粒物質，它對兒童、老人以及患有呼吸道或心血管疾病的人尤其危險。

Luckily, the majority of these particulates are still large enough to be captured by the most basic filters, which are made of polypropylene or glass strands, roughly 1/10 the width of a human hair.

幸運的是，這些微粒中的大部分仍然足夠大，可以被最基本的過濾器捕獲，這些過濾器由聚丙烯或玻璃絲製成，寬度大約是頭髮絲的 1/10。

Under a microscope, they look like a thick forest, and at this scale, these branches have a special property.

在顯微鏡下，它們看起來就像一片茂密的森林，在這種比例下，這些樹枝具有一種特殊的性質。

Typically, when you use a sieve, you're filtering out objects larger than the sieve's holes.

通常情況下，當您使用篩子時，您要過濾掉比篩孔大的物體。

But these polypropylene branches can catch particles much smaller than the gaps between them. That's because when a particle collides with a thread, Van der Waals forces cause it to stick as if it were made of Velcro.

但是，這些聚丙烯樹枝可以抓住比它們之間的間隙小得多的微粒。這是因為當粒子與線碰撞時，範德華力會使粒子粘住，就像粘扣帶一樣。

Plus, size-based filters can use electrically charged fibers that attract particles not already on a collision course.

此外，基於尺寸的過濾器可以使用帶電纖維，吸引尚未發生碰撞的顆粒。

This is how even a simple N95 mask can catch at least 95% of particulate matter.

是以，即使是簡單的 N95 口罩也能捕捉至少 95% 的微粒物質。

And why an N100 mask or an air purifier with a high efficiency particulate air filter can catch at least 99.97% of particulates.

為什麼 N100 口罩或帶有高效微粒空氣過濾器的空氣淨化器可以捕捉至少 99.97% 的微粒？

With a tight seal, this level of protection will filter out most airborne pollution.

由於密封嚴實，這種保護級別可以過濾掉大部分空氣汙染。

Unfortunately, some pollutants are still too small for this approach, including ozone molecules.

遺憾的是，對於這種方法來說，一些汙染物仍然太小，包括臭氧分子。

These are barely bigger than the oxygen that we need to breathe, and exposure is associated with asthma, respiratory conditions, and even premature death.

這些物質幾乎比我們呼吸所需的氧氣還小，接觸這些物質會導致哮喘、呼吸系統疾病，甚至過早死亡。

Our best chance to filter them are activated carbon masks.

活性炭口罩是我們過濾它們的最好工具。

At the microscopic level, activated carbon looks like a vast black honeycomb, and its highly microporous structure can trap tiny ozone molecules.

從微觀上看，活性炭就像一個巨大的黑色蜂窩，其高度微孔結構可以捕獲微小的臭氧分子。

But this material still needs help to capture other pollutants like hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, and ammonia.

但這種材料在捕捉硫化氫、氯和氨等其他汙染物時仍需要幫助。

For these threats, we need to combine the activated carbon with some simple chemistry. If the pollutant is acidic, we can infuse the filter with a basic chemical.

對於這些威脅，我們需要將活性炭與一些簡單的化學物質結合起來。如果汙染物呈酸性，我們可以在過濾器中加入鹼性化學物質。

Then when the two meet, they react and the gas is trapped.

當兩者相遇時，就會發生反應，氣體就會被截留。

Similarly, we can use acids to trap basic pollutants.

同樣，我們也可以用酸來捕捉鹼性汙染物。

Even with the right mask, it's still smart to check air quality indicators and to stay indoors when the threat level is high.

即使戴上了合適的口罩，檢查空氣質量指標並在威脅級別較高時留在室內仍然是明智之舉。

And just like a mask, you'll want to make sure your house is well sealed.

就像戴口罩一樣，您也要確保房屋密封良好。

You can do this by closing windows, turning off fans that vent outside, and using HEPA filter equipped air purifiers or their cheaper DIY cousin, the Corsi-Rosenthal box.

要做到這一點，您可以關閉窗戶，關掉向外通風的風扇，使用裝有 HEPA 過濾器的空氣淨化器或價格更低廉的 DIY 親兄弟--科西-羅森塔爾箱。

Following these guidelines can help us breathe easy as we work on preventing these pollutants in the first place.

在我們努力防止這些汙染物的同時，遵循這些準則可以幫助我們輕鬆呼吸。

Speaking of pollutants, why isn't there a better way to recycle plastic? Explore how recycling guidelines were designed to be confusing and what we can do to fix them with this video.

說到汙染物，為什麼沒有更好的塑膠回收方法？請觀看本視頻，瞭解回收準則是如何設計得令人困惑的，以及我們可以做些什麼來解決這些問題。

And learn what other exciting efforts are underway to clean up our planet by visiting ed.ted.com/earthschool.

訪問 ed.ted.com/earthschool，瞭解為清潔地球正在進行的其他令人興奮的努力。