It's easy to appreciate the inventive process

我們很容易領會這發明過程

by which those elements are made to add up to something so useful and entertaining.

是把這些東西加起來 做成有用又有趣的物品

But there's another story we don't hear about as much.

但另有一種我們不常聽到的事

How did we get our raw ingredients in the first place

首先，我們如何從許多混亂物質 所構成的自然界中取出原料呢？

from the chaotic tangle of materials that is nature?

答案就在一組聰明的小技巧， 所謂的「分離技術」

The answer is a group of clever hacks known as separation techniques.

它們是利用物質的基本特性運作

They work by taking advantage of the fundamental properties of things

將物質內的原料彼此分開

to disentangle them from each other.

簡單的分離技術 可用在許多物理情況

Simple separation techniques apply to many physical scenarios,

例如從牛奶中分離奶油

like separating cream from milk,

從土壤裡抽取水

extracting water from soil,

甚至從河砂中篩出黃金微粒

or even sifting out flecks of gold from river sand.

但並非所有混合物都如此容易分開

But not all mixtures are so easy to unravel.

在某些情況

In some of those cases,

我們可利用混合物成分間 不同的物理特性

we can exploit the differences between physical properties within a mixture,

像顆粒大小、密度或沸點

like particle size,

以分離出我們所需

density,

例如石油

or boiling point

是一種不同烴類（碳氫化合物）的混合物

to extract what's required.

其中有些是極有價值的燃料

Take petroleum,

而其他可做為生產電力的上等原料

a mixture of different types of hydrocarbons.

要將它們分開， 專家利用一種重要特性：

Some of these are valuable as fuels,

不同烴類在不同溫度達到沸點

and others make good raw materials for generating electric power.

在煮沸過程， 每一種會在其精確溫度下蒸發

To separate them, experts rely on one important feature:

然後分別匯集到儲油罐

different hydrocarbons boil at different temperatures.

當冷卻時就結成液體

During the boiling process, each type vaporizes at a precise point,

分離技術也讓我們的話題轉到海洋

then gets separately funneled into a container

一些深受乾旱之苦的國家

and collected as a liquid as it cools.

唯一可用的水源就是海洋

Separation techniques also take us to the sea.

但當然，人不能飲用鹽水

In some drought-stricken countries,

處理這問題的一個方法

the ocean is the only available water source.

就是用逆滲透 (Reverse osmosis, RO) 從海水中除去鹽

But of course, humans can't drink salt water.

RO 是依水中成分大小不同 將其分離的步驟

One way to get around this problem

一個具有孔隙比水分子大， 比鹽分子小的薄膜

is to remove salt from sea water with reverse osmosis,

只容淡水通過

a process that separates water's ingredients by size.

將原先不能喝的水變成維生用水

A membrane with pores bigger than water particles,

同時，在醫學界

but smaller than salt particles,

血液檢查 是評估一個人健康的重要方法

only lets fresh water pass through,

但醫師通常無法檢驗血液檢體

transforming what was once undrinkable into a life saver.

除非將固態的血球細胞

Meanwhile in the medical world,

和其溶入的液態血漿分開

blood tests are a vital tool for evaluating a person's health,

為此，會在檢驗試管上 施加強勁的旋轉力

but doctors typically can't examine blood samples

造成密度較高的較重物質

until they've separated the solid blood cells

如血液細胞

from the liquid plasma they're dissolved in.

遠離旋轉軸

To do that, a powerful rotational force is exerted on the test tube,

同時，密度較低的較輕物質

causing heavier substances with higher density,

如血漿

like blood cells,

移向試管中心

to move away from the rotational axis.

試管內容物會清楚地分開

Meanwhile, lighter substances with lower density,

因此血液細胞及液態血漿 可各自被檢測

like plasma,

但有時，不同於油、海水及血液

move to its center.

我們要分離的混合物成分

The tube's contents divide clearly,

有著相同的物理特性

and the blood cells and liquid plasma can be tested independently.

這情況下，分開成分的唯一方法 就是化學分離法

But sometimes, unlike oil, seawater, and blood,

它是一種複雜程序， 需依賴混合物的成分

the parts of mixtures that we want to separate

與另一物質的成分之間 特有的相互作用

share the same physical properties.

其中一種方法就是 色譜法 (chromatography)

In these cases, the only way to isolate ingredients is by chemical separation,

一種法醫科學家 用以檢驗犯罪現場的方法

a complex process that relies on unique interactions

他們將採集的証據溶於一種氣體中

between components within a mixture and another material.

並檢測及分析其中成分 ──

One of these methods is chromatography,

由於每種成分有獨特化學特性， 會分離並且以不同速度移動

a tool forensic scientists use to examine crime scenes.

這訊息讓科學家知道 留在犯罪現場的到底是何物

They dissolve gathered evidence in a gas,

這常協助辨識罪犯

and can monitor and analyze the ingredients

分離技術不只和工業、

as they separate and move at varying speeds

基礎結構、醫學及法律制裁有關

due to their unique chemical properties.

在人類史上 對技術最有雄心的計畫之一

That information then tells scientists precisely what was present at the scene,

是分離技術旨在 回答最根本的問題：

often helping to identify the culprit.

「宇宙是什麼組成的？」

Separation techniques are not just about industry,

藉著將粒子加到極高速

infrastructure,

而後讓它們互撞碎裂

medicine,

我們能讓這些粒子 短暫性分解成組成成分

and justice.

若我們在這方面成功了， 那下一步是什麼？

One of the most technically ambitious projects in human history

有最基本的粒子嗎？

is a separation technique aimed at answering the fundamental question,

若有，它是由什麼構成的？

"What is the Universe made of?"

翻譯：Ann Chen

By accelerating particles to extremely high speeds

and smashing them into each other,

we can break them into their constituent parts ever so briefly.

And if we succeed at that, what's next?

Is there a most elementary particle?

And if so, what's it made of?