2019诺贝尔化学奖揭晓

据诺贝尔奖官方网站最新消息，北京时间10月9日，瑞典皇家科学院宣布，将2019年诺贝尔化学奖联合授予美国科学家约翰·B·古迪纳夫、M·斯坦利·惠廷汉姆以及日本科学家吉野彰，以表彰他们在锂离子电池领域的研发工作。古迪纳夫是至今为止最年长的诺贝尔奖获得者。

 

 

 

Most 97-year-olds would probably feel accomplished just getting out of bed in the morning. John B. Goodenough, 97, just won the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

大多数97岁的老年人只要早上能起得了床就会充满成就感。而97岁的约翰·B·古迪纳夫刚刚获得了诺贝尔化学奖。

 

Goodenough won the award alongside Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for their contributions to the development of lithium-ion batteries.

今年的诺贝尔化学奖颁发给了古迪纳夫、斯坦利·惠廷汉姆和吉野彰三位获奖者，以表彰他们对锂离子电池发展的贡献。

They will receive equal shares of the 9m Swedish kronor prize, which was announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on last Wednesday.

上周三（10月9日），位于斯德哥尔摩的瑞典皇家科学院宣布，三位获奖者将平分900万瑞典克朗（约合人民币644万元）的奖金。

 

97岁的约翰·B·古迪纳夫是美国得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校机械工程系教授、著名固体物理学家，是钴酸锂、锰酸锂和磷酸铁锂正极材料的发明人，锂离子电池的奠基人之一，通过研究化学、结构以及固体电子/离子性质之间的关系来设计新材料解决材料科学问题，被业界称为“锂电池之父”。

 

Goodenough is the oldest person to win a Nobel Prize. Arthur Ashkin was the previous record holder, having won the Nobel Prize in physics in 2018 at age 96.

古迪纳夫是最年长的诺贝尔奖获得者。之前的纪录保持者是阿瑟·阿什金，他在2018年以96岁的高龄获得了诺贝尔物理学奖。

 

“Live to 97 (years old) and you can do anything,” Goodenough said in a statement. “I’m honored and humbled to win the Nobel Prize. I thank all my friends for the support and assistance throughout my life.”

古迪纳夫在一份声明中说：“活到97岁，你可以做任何事情。能获得诺贝尔奖，我感到既荣幸又受宠若惊。感谢所有的朋友一直以来对我的支持和帮助。”

 

 

 

Born in 1922 in Jena, Germany, Goodenough earned a PhD from the University of Chicago in 1952, according to the Nobel Foundation. He went on to work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then at the University of Oxford, where he served as the head of the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, according to the University of Texas at Austin, where he now works.

据诺贝尔奖基金会介绍，古迪纳夫1922年出生于德国耶拿，1952年获得芝加哥大学博士学位。据目前任职的得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校介绍，古迪纳夫先后在麻省理工学院和牛津大学工作，并曾担任牛津大学无机化学实验室负责人。

 

It was at Oxford that Goodenough made the groundbreaking discovery that helped him win the Nobel, UT Austin officials said in a news release.

校方在新闻稿中说，正是在牛津大学期间，古迪纳夫取得了突破性的发现，帮助他获得了诺贝尔奖。

 

Whittingham developed the first functional lithium battery in the early 1970s, but Goodenough was able to double the battery’s potential in 1980 by using lithium cobalt oxide as the cathode of a lithium-ion battery, the foundation said. Using Goodenough’s cathode as a basis, Yoshino created the first commercially viable lithium-ion battery five years later.

诺贝尔奖基金会称，惠廷汉姆在20世纪70年代初发明了第一块功能性锂电池，但是古迪纳夫在1980年使用钴酸锂作为锂离子电池的正极，使电池的电势翻了一番。五年后，吉野彰以古迪纳夫的发明为基础，制造出了第一块具有商业可行性的锂离子电池。

 

 

 

“Lithium-ion batteries have revolutionized our lives since they first entered the market in 1991,” the Nobel Foundation said in a statement. “They have laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society, and are of the greatest benefit to humankind.”

该基金会在一份声明中说：“自1991年首次进入市场以来，锂离子电池已经彻底改变了我们的生活，为无线、无化石燃料的社会奠定了基础，人们获益匪浅。”

 

Lithium-ion batteries have long been tipped for the award, not least since they have proved pivotal in the development of the high-tech world we inhabit.

锂离子电池一直是诺贝尔化学奖的热门，主要是因为锂离子电池在当今高科技世界的发展中起到了关键作用。

 

From laptops to smartphones, lithium-ion batteries power some of the most commonly used devices. Electric vehicles were made possible because of the development of these batteries, and wireless communication has flourished because of the technology.

从笔记本电脑到智能手机，锂离子电池为一些最常用的设备提供动力。正是由于锂离子电池的发展，人们研发出了电动汽车，无线通信也因为锂离子电池而蓬勃发展。

 

“The [electric car] batteries no longer weigh two tonnes, but 300kg,” said Prof Sara Snogerup Linse, a member of the Nobel committee for chemistry. “The ability to store energy from renewable sources, the sun, the wind, opens up for sustainable energy consumption,” she added.

诺贝尔化学奖评选委员会成员萨拉•斯诺格鲁普•林斯教授说：“这种（电动汽车）电池的重量不再是2吨，而是300公斤。锂离子电池储存来自太阳能、风能等可再生能源的能力为可持续的能源消费打开了大门。”

 

“I’m extremely happy the lithium-ion batteries (have) helped communications around the world,” Goodenough said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters. “We are indeed happy that people use this for good and not evil.”

古迪纳夫在周三（10月9日）的记者电话会议上说：“我非常高兴锂离子电池帮助全球的人们沟通交流。我们确实很高兴人们用它来做好事，而不是做坏事。”

 

Even at the age of 97, he continues to develop new polymers and battery concepts with researchers in his lab. He is now largely focused on developing all-solid-state batteries as they can offer better safety, according to Arumugam Manthiram, a longtime colleague from UT Austin.

即使在97岁的高龄，他仍然在实验室里和研究人员一起开发新的聚合物，研究新的电池概念。据他在该校的老同事阿鲁穆加姆·曼迪亚姆说，古迪纳夫现在主要专注于开发全固态电池，因为其安全性更佳。

 

不少国内网友称赞古迪纳夫获奖是实至名归。

 

 

 

还有网友评论说，John B. Goodenough的名字起得“足够好”，还有人称他为“棒约翰”。