英語沙龍十年合集珍藏版第三輯Vaunted1) Technology: Stealth2) Avionics3)
Vaunted1) Technology: Stealth2) Avionics3)
Northrop Grumman Corp．（NGC）boasts4) on its Web site the B－２spirit stealth bomber5) is nearly invisible．Because the plane’s composite materials and bat－shaped design make it hard for radar6) to pick up．However，in １９９９，an F－１１７，which also has a stealthy shape and materials，was blasted out of the sky over the Balkans．Stealth technology is hardly a sham．It shrinks the radar“signature”of a plane．If a conventional aircraft makes a blip on radar screens at ２００kilometers，a stealthy plane wouldn’ t appear until it was ３４km away．The point is，radar does eventually detect the plane．Weather can also present a problem．The B－２’s materials were tested at Edwards Air Force Base，where it rarely rains．But when the high－tech bombers got drenched7) during missions in the Balkans，the tape used to fill seams in the composite skin often came loose．That en larges the radar signature．
□by Stan Crock
高科技神話：隱形航空電子技術(shù)
諾思羅普-格魯曼公司在自己的網(wǎng)站上吹噓說，“精靈”B-２隱形轟炸機(jī)幾乎是看不見的，因?yàn)樵摍C(jī)的復(fù)合材料和蝙蝠形狀的設(shè)計(jì)使其難以被雷達(dá)發(fā)現(xiàn)。然而以相同形狀和材料制造的一架F-１１７戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)卻于１９９９年在巴爾干半島上空被擊落。隱形技術(shù)絕不是假的。它能縮小飛機(jī)在雷達(dá)屏幕上的信號(hào)特征。假如普通飛機(jī)在２００公里以外時(shí)在雷達(dá)屏幕上形成一個(gè)光點(diǎn)，那么隱形飛機(jī)要到３４公里時(shí)才會(huì)在雷達(dá)屏幕上顯現(xiàn)。問題是，雷達(dá)最終還是會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)飛機(jī)。天氣也會(huì)帶來問題。對(duì)B －２材料的測(cè)試工作是在很少下雨的愛德華茲空軍基地開展的。但當(dāng)該機(jī)在巴爾干半島執(zhí)行任務(wù)時(shí)，遭到雨淋后，用于填充復(fù)合材料外殼接縫的膠帶往往會(huì)松脫，從而擴(kuò)大了飛機(jī)的雷達(dá)信號(hào)特征。
NOTE 注釋：
1. vaunted [vC:ntid] 自夸的，吹噓的
2. stealth [stelW] n. 秘密行動(dòng)
3. avionics [7eivi5Cniks] n. 航空電子技術(shù)
4. boast [bEust] v. 自夸，自吹
5. bomber [5bCmE] n. 轟炸機(jī), 轟炸員
6. radar [5reidE] n. 雷達(dá), 電波探測(cè)器
7. drenched [drentFt] adj.濕透的
