For many years after this episode, the modern lead-lead type of battery thus brought forward with so great a flourish of trumpets21 had a hard time of it. Edison's attitude toward it, even as a useful supplement to his lighting22 system, was always one of scepticism, and he remarked contemptuously that the best storage battery he knew was a ton of coal. The financial fortunes of the battery, on both sides of the Atlantic, were as varied23 and as disastrous24 as its industrial; but it did at last emerge, and "made good." By 1905, the production of lead-lead storage batteries in the United States alone had reached a value for the year of nearly $3,000,000, and it has increased greatly since that time. The storage battery is now regarded as an important and indispensable adjunct in nearly all modern electric-lighting and electric-railway systems of any magnitude; and in 1909, in spite of its weight, it had found adoption25 in over ten thousand automobiles27 of the truck, delivery wagon28, pleasure carriage, and runabout types in America.
Edison watched closely all this earlier development for about fifteen years, not changing his mind as to what he regarded as the incurable29 defects of the lead-lead type, but coming gradually to the conclusion that if a storage battery of some other and better type could be brought forward, it would fulfil all the early hopes, however extravagant30, of such men as Kelvin (Sir William Thomson), and would become as necessary and as universal as the incandescent lamp or the electric motor. The beginning of the present century found him at his point of new departure.
Generally speaking, non-technical and uninitiated persons have a tendency to regard an invention as being more or less the ultimate result of some happy inspiration. And, indeed, there is no doubt that such may be the fact in some instances; but in most cases the inventor has intentionally32 set out to accomplish a definite and desired result—mostly through the application of the known laws of the art in which he happens to be working. It is rarely, however, that a man will start out deliberately33, as Edison did, to evolve a radically34 new type of such an intricate device as the storage battery, with only a meagre clew and a vague starting-point.
In view of the successful outcome of the problem which, in 1900, he undertook to solve, it will be interesting to review his mental attitude at that period. It has already been noted35 at the end of a previous chapter that on closing the magnetic iron-ore concentrating plant at Edison, New Jersey36, he resolved to work on a new type of storage battery. It was about this time that, in the course of a conversation with Mr. R. H. Beach, then of the street-railway department of the General Electric Company, he said: "Beach, I don't think Nature would be so unkind as to withhold37 the secret of a GOOD storage battery if a real earnest hunt for it is made. I'm going to hunt."
Frequently Edison has been asked what he considers the secret of achievement. To this query38 he has invariably replied: "Hard work, based on hard thinking." The laboratory records bear the fullest witness that he has consistently followed out this prescription40 to the utmost. The perfection of all his great inventions has been signalized by patient, persistent41, and incessant42 effort which, recognizing nothing short of success, has resulted in the ultimate accomplishment43 of his ideas. Optimistic and hopeful to a high degree, Edison has the happy faculty44 of beginning the day as open-minded as a child—yesterday's disappointments and failures discarded and discounted by the alluring45 possibilities of to-morrow.
Of all his inventions, it is doubtful whether any one of them has called forth46 more original thought, work, perseverance47, ingenuity48, and monumental patience than the one we are now dealing49 with. One of his associates who has been through the many years of the storage-battery drudgery50 with him said: "If Edison's experiments, investigations52, and work on this storage battery were all that he had ever done, I should say that he was not only a notable inventor, but also a great man. It is almost impossible to appreciate the enormous difficulties that have been overcome."
From a beginning which was made practically in the dark, it was not until he had completed more than ten thousand experiments that he obtained any positive preliminary results whatever. Through all this vast amount of research there had been no previous signs of the electrical action he was looking for. These experiments had extended over many months of constant work by day and night, but there was no breakdown53 of Edison's faith in ultimate success—no diminution54 of his sanguine55 and confident expectations. The failure of an experiment simply meant to him that he had found something else that would not work, thus bringing the possible goal a little nearer by a process of painstaking56 elimination57.
Now, however, after these many months of arduous58 toil59, in which he had examined and tested practically all the known elements in numerous chemical combinations, the electric action he sought for had been obtained, thus affording him the first inkling of the secret that he had industriously60 tried to wrest61 from Nature. It should be borne in mind that from the very outset Edison had disdained62 any intention of following in the only tracks then known by employing lead and sulphuric acid as the components63 of a successful storage battery. Impressed with what he considered the serious inherent defects of batteries made of these materials, and the tremendously complex nature of the chemical reactions taking place in all types of such cells, he determined64 boldly at the start that he would devise a battery without lead, and one in which an alkaline solution could be used—a form which would, he firmly believed, be inherently less subject to decay and dissolution than the standard type, which after many setbacks had finally won its way to an annual production of many thousands of cells, worth millions of dollars.
Two or three thousand of the first experiments followed the line of his well-known primary battery in the attempted employment of copper65 oxide3 as an element in a new type of storage cell; but its use offered no advantages, and the hunt was continued in other directions and pursued until Edison satisfied himself by a vast number of experiments that nickel and iron possessed66 the desirable qualifications he was in search of.
This immense amount of investigation51 which had consumed so many months of time, and which had culminated67 in the discovery of a series of reactions between nickel and iron that bore great promise, brought Edison merely within sight of a strange and hitherto unexplored country. Slowly but surely the results of the last few thousands of his preliminary experiments had pointed68 inevitably69 to a new and fruitful region ahead. He had discovered the hidden passage and held the clew which he had so industriously sought. And now, having outlined a definite path, Edison was all afire to push ahead vigorously in order that he might enter in and possess the land.
It is a trite70 saying that "history repeats itself," and certainly no axiom carries more truth than this when applied71 to the history of each of Edison's important inventions. The development of the storage battery has been no exception; indeed, far from otherwise, for in the ten years that have elapsed since the time he set himself and his mechanics, chemists, machinists, and experimenters at work to develop a practical commercial cell, the old story of incessant and persistent efforts so manifest in the working out of other inventions was fully72 repeated.
Very soon after he had decided73 upon the use of nickel and iron as the elemental metals for his storage battery, Edison established a chemical plant at Silver Lake, New Jersey, a few miles from the Orange laboratory, on land purchased some time previously74. This place was the scene of the further experiments to develop the various chemical forms of nickel and iron, and to determine by tests what would be best adapted for use in cells manufactured on a commercial scale. With a little handful of selected experimenters gathered about him, Edison settled down to one of his characteristic struggles for supremacy75. To some extent it was a revival76 of the old Menlo Park days (or, rather, nights). Some of these who had worked on the preliminary experiments, with the addition of a few new-comers, toiled77 together regardless of passing time and often under most discouraging circumstances, but with that remarkable78 esprit de corps79 that has ever marked Edison's relations with his co-workers, and that has contributed so largely to the successful carrying out of his ideas.
The group that took part in these early years of Edison's arduous labors80 included his old-time assistant, Fred Ott, together with his chemist, J. W. Aylsworth, as well as E. J. Ross, Jr., W. E. Holland, and Ralph Arbogast, and a little later W. G. Bee, all of whom have grown up with the battery and still devote their energies to its commercial development. One of these workers, relating the strenuous81 experiences of these few years, says: "It was hard work and long hours, but still there were some things that made life pleasant. One of them was the supper-hour we enjoyed when we worked nights. Mr. Edison would have supper sent in about midnight, and we all sat down together, including himself. Work was forgotten for the time, and all hands were ready for fun. I have very pleasant recollections of Mr. Edison at these times. He would always relax and help to make a good time, and on some occasions I have seen him fairly overflow82 with animal spirits, just like a boy let out from school. After the supper-hour was over, however, he again became the serious, energetic inventor, deeply immersed in the work at hand.
"He was very fond of telling and hearing stories, and always appreciated a joke. I remember one that he liked to get off on us once in a while. Our lighting plant was in duplicate, and about 12.30 or 1 o'clock in the morning, at the close of the supper-hour, a change would be made from one plant to the other, involving the gradual extinction83 of the electric lights and their slowly coming up to candle-power again, the whole change requiring probably about thirty seconds. Sometimes, as this was taking place, Edison would fold his hands, compose himself as if he were in sound sleep, and when the lights were full again would apparently84 wake up, with the remark, 'Well, boys, we've had a fine rest; now let's pitch into work again.'"
Another interesting and amusing reminiscence of this period of activity has been gathered from another of the family of experimenters: "Sometimes, when Mr. Edison had been working long hours, he would want to have a short sleep. It was one of the funniest things I ever witnessed to see him crawl into an ordinary roll-top desk and curl up and take a nap. If there was a sight that was still more funny, it was to see him turn over on his other side, all the time remaining in the desk. He would use several volumes of Watts's Dictionary of Chemistry for a pillow, and we fellows used to say that he absorbed the contents during his sleep, judging from the flow of new ideas he had on waking."
Such incidents as these serve merely to illustrate85 the lighter86 moments that stand out in relief against the more sombre background of the strenuous years, for, of all the absorbingly busy periods of Edison's inventive life, the first five years of the storage-battery era was one of the very busiest of them all. It was not that there remained any basic principle to be discovered or simplified, for that had already been done; but it was in the effort to carry these principles into practice that there arose the numerous difficulties that at times seemed insurmountable. But, according to another co-worker, "Edison seemed pleased when he used to run up against a serious difficulty. It would seem to stiffen87 his backbone88 and make him more prolific89 of new ideas. For a time I thought I was foolish to imagine such a thing, but I could never get away from the impression that he really appeared happy when he ran up against a serious snag. That was in my green days, and I soon learned that the failure of an experiment never discourages him unless it is by reason of the carelessness of the man making it. Then Edison gets disgusted. If it fails on its merits, he doesn't worry or fret90 about it, but, on the contrary, regards it as a useful fact learned; remains91 cheerful and tries something else. I have known him to reverse an unsuccessful experiment and come out all right."
To follow Edison's trail in detail through the innumerable twists and turns of his experimentation92 and research on the storage battery, during the past ten years, would not be in keeping with the scope of this narrative93, nor would it serve any useful purpose. Besides, such details would fill a big volume. The narrative, however, would not be complete without some mention of the general outline of his work, and reference may be made briefly94 to a few of the chief items. And lest the reader think that the word "innumerable" may have been carelessly or hastily used above, we would quote the reply of one of the laboratory assistants when asked how many experiments had been made on the Edison storage battery since the year 1900: "Goodness only knows! We used to number our experiments consecutively95 from 1 to 10,000, and when we got up to 10,000 we turned back to 1 and ran up to 10,000 again, and so on. We ran through several series—I don't know how many, and have lost track of them now, but it was not far from fifty thousand."
From the very first, Edison's broad idea of his storage battery was to make perforated metallic containers having the active materials packed therein; nickel hydrate for the positive and iron oxide for the negative plate. This plan has been adhered to throughout, and has found its consummation in the present form of the completed commercial cell, but in the middle ground which stands between the early crude beginnings and the perfected type of to-day there lies a world of original thought, patient plodding96, and achievement.
The first necessity was naturally to obtain the best and purest compounds for active materials. Edison found that comparatively little was known by manufacturing chemists about nickel and iron oxides of the high grade and purity he required. Hence it became necessary for him to establish his own chemical works and put them in charge of men specially97 trained by himself, with whom he worked. This was the plant at Silver Lake, above referred to. Here, for several years, there was ceaseless activity in the preparation of these chemical compounds by every imaginable process and subsequent testing. Edison's chief chemist says: "We left no stone unturned to find a way of making those chemicals so that they would give the highest results. We carried on the experiments with the two chemicals together. Sometimes the nickel would be ahead in the tests, and then again it would fall behind. To stimulate98 us to greater improvement, Edison hung up a card which showed the results of tests in milliampere-hours given by the experimental elements as we tried them with the various grades of nickel and iron we had made. This stirred up a great deal of ambition among the boys to push the figures up. Some of our earliest tests showed around 300, but as we improved the material, they gradually crept up to over 500. Just about that time Edison made a trip to Canada, and when he came back we had made such good progress that the figures had crept up to about 1000. I well remember how greatly he was pleased."
In speaking of the development of the negative element of the battery, Mr. Aylsworth said: "In like manner the iron element had to be developed and improved; and finally the iron, which had generally enjoyed superiority in capacity over its companion, the nickel element, had to go in training in order to retain its lead, which was imperative99, in order to produce a uniform and constant voltage curve. In talking with me one day about the difficulties under which we were working and contrasting them with the phonograph experimentation, Edison said: 'In phonographic work we can use our ears and our eyes, aided with powerful microscopes; but in the battery our difficulties cannot be seen or heard, but must be observed by our mind's eye!' And by reason of the employment of such vision in the past, Edison is now able to see quite clearly through the forest of difficulties after eliminating them one by one."
The size and shape of the containing pockets in the battery plates or elements and the degree of their perforation were matters that received many years of close study and experiment; indeed, there is still to-day constant work expended100 on their perfection, although their present general form was decided upon several years ago. The mechanical construction of the battery, as a whole, in its present form, compels instant admiration101 on account of its beauty and completeness. Mr. Edison has spared neither thought, ingenuity, labor39, nor money in the effort to make it the most complete and efficient storage cell obtainable, and the results show that his skill, judgment102, and foresight103 have lost nothing of the power that laid the foundation of, and built up, other great arts at each earlier stage of his career.
Among the complex and numerous problems that presented themselves in the evolution of the battery was the one concerning the internal conductivity of the positive unit. The nickel hydrate was a poor electrical conductor, and although a metallic nickel pocket might be filled with it, there would not be the desired electrical action unless a conducting substance were mixed with it, and so incorporated and packed that there would be good electrical contact throughout. This proved to be a most knotty104 and intricate puzzle—tricky and evasive—always leading on and promising105 something, and at the last slipping away leaving the work undone106. Edison's remarkable patience and persistence107 in dealing with this trying problem and in finally solving it successfully won for him more than ordinary admiration from his associates. One of them, in speaking of the seemingly interminable experiments to overcome this trouble, said: "I guess that question of conductivity of the positive pocket brought lots of gray hairs to his head. I never dreamed a man could have such patience and perseverance. Any other man than Edison would have given the whole thing up a thousand times, but not he! Things looked awfully108 blue to the whole bunch of us many a time, but he was always hopeful. I remember one time things looked so dark to me that I had just about made up my mind to throw up my job, but some good turn came just then and I didn't. Now I'm glad I held on, for we've got a great future."
The difficulty of obtaining good electrical contact in the positive element was indeed Edison's chief trouble for many years. After a great amount of work and experimentation he decided upon a certain form of graphite, which seemed to be suitable for the purpose, and then proceeded to the commercial manufacture of the battery at a special factory in Glen Ridge109, New Jersey, installed for the purpose. There was no lack of buyers, but, on the contrary, the factory was unable to turn out batteries enough. The newspapers had previously published articles showing the unusual capacity and performance of the battery, and public interest had thus been greatly awakened110.
Notwithstanding the establishment of a regular routine of manufacture and sale, Edison did not cease to experiment for improvement. Although the graphite apparently did the work desired of it, he was not altogether satisfied with its performance and made extended trials of other substances, but at that time found nothing that on the whole served the purpose better. Continuous tests of the commercial cells were carried on at the laboratory, as well as more practical and heavy tests in automobiles, which were constantly kept running around the adjoining country over all kinds of roads. All these tests were very closely watched by Edison, who demanded rigorously that the various trials of the battery should be carried on with all strenuousness111 so as to get the utmost results and develop any possible weakness. So insistent112 was he on this, that if any automobile26 should run several days without bursting a tire or breaking some part of the machine, he would accuse the chauffeur113 of picking out easy roads.
After these tests had been going on for some time, and some thousands of cells had been sold and were giving satisfactory results to the purchasers, the test sheets and experience gathered from various sources pointed to the fact that occasionally a cell here and there would show up as being short in capacity. Inasmuch as the factory processes were very exact and carefully guarded, and every cell was made as uniform as human skill and care could provide, there thus arose a serious problem. Edison concentrated his powers on the investigation of this trouble, and found that the chief cause lay in the graphite. Some other minor114 matters also attracted his attention. What to do, was the important question that confronted him. To shut down the factory meant great loss and apparent failure. He realized this fully, but he also knew that to go on would simply be to increase the number of defective115 batteries in circulation, which would ultimately result in a permanent closure and real failure. Hence he took the course which one would expect of Edison's common sense and directness of action. He was not satisfied that the battery was a complete success, so he shut down and went to experimenting once more.
"And then," says one of the laboratory men, "we started on another series of record-breaking experiments that lasted over five years. I might almost say heart-breaking, too, for of all the elusive116, disappointing things one ever hunted for that was the worst. But secrets have to be long-winded and roost high if they want to get away when the 'Old Man' goes hunting for them. He doesn't get mad when he misses them, but just keeps on smiling and firing, and usually brings them into camp. That's what he did on the battery, for after a whole lot of work he perfected the nickel-flake117 idea and process, besides making the great improvement of using tubes instead of flat pockets for the positive. He also added a minor improvement here and there, and now we have a finer battery than we ever expected."
In the interim118, while the experimentation of these last five years was in progress, many customers who had purchased batteries of the original type came knocking at the door with orders in their hands for additional outfits119 wherewith to equip more wagons120 and trucks. Edison expressed his regrets, but said he was not satisfied with the old cells and was engaged in improving them. To which the customers replied that THEY were entirely121 satisfied and ready and willing to pay for more batteries of the same kind; but Edison could not be moved from his determination, although considerable pressure was at times brought to bear to sway his decision.
Experiment was continued beyond the point of peradventure, and after some new machinery122 had been built, the manufacture of the new type of cell was begun in the early summer of 1909, and at the present writing is being extended as fast as the necessary additional machinery can be made. The product is shipped out as soon as it is completed.
The nickel flake, which is Edison's ingenious solution of the conductivity problem, is of itself a most interesting product, intensely practical in its application and fascinating in its manufacture. The flake of nickel is obtained by electroplating upon a metallic cylinder123 alternate layers of copper and nickel, one hundred of each, after which the combined sheet is stripped from the cylinder. So thin are the layers that this sheet is only about the thickness of a visiting-card, and yet it is composed of two hundred layers of metal. The sheet is cut into tiny squares, each about one-sixteenth of an inch, and these squares are put into a bath where the copper is dissolved out. This releases the layers of nickel, so that each of these small squares becomes one hundred tiny sheets, or flakes124, of pure metallic nickel, so thin that when they are dried they will float in the air, like thistle-down.
In their application to the manufacture of batteries, the flakes are used through the medium of a special machine, so arranged that small charges of nickel hydrate and nickel flake are alternately fed into the pockets intended for positives, and tamped125 down with a pressure equal to about four tons per square inch. This insures complete and perfect contact and consequent electrical conductivity throughout the entire unit.
The development of the nickel flake contains in itself a history of patient investigation, labor, and achievement, but we have not space for it, nor for tracing the great work that has been done in developing and perfecting the numerous other parts and adjuncts of this remarkable battery. Suffice it to say that when Edison went boldly out into new territory, after something entirely unknown, he was quite prepared for hard work and exploration. He encountered both in unstinted measure, but kept on going forward until, after long travel, he had found all that he expected and accomplished126 something more beside. Nature DID respond to his whole-hearted appeal, and, by the time the hunt was ended, revealed a good storage battery of entirely new type. Edison not only recognized and took advantage of the principles he had discovered, but in adapting them for commercial use developed most ingenious processes and mechanical appliances for carrying his discoveries into practical effect. Indeed, it may be said that the invention of an enormous variety of new machines and mechanical appliances rendered necessary by each change during the various stages of development of the battery, from first to last, stands as a lasting127 tribute to the range and versatility128 of his powers.
It is not within the scope of this narrative to enter into any description of the relative merits of the Edison storage battery, that being the province of a commercial catalogue. It does, however, seem entirely allowable to say that while at the present writing the tests that have been made extend over a few years only, their results and the intrinsic value of this characteristic Edison invention are of such a substantial nature as to point to the inevitable129 growth of another great industry arising from its manufacture, and to its wide-spread application to many uses.
The principal use that Edison has had in mind for his battery is transportation of freight and passengers by truck, automobile, and street-car. The greatly increased capacity in proportion to weight of the Edison cell makes it particularly adaptable130 for this class of work on account of the much greater radius131 of travel that is possible by its use. The latter point of advantage is the one that appeals most to the automobilist, as he is thus enabled to travel, it is asserted, more than three times farther than ever before on a single charge of the battery.
Edison believes that there are important advantages possible in the employment of his storage battery for street-car propulsion. Under the present system of operation, a plant furnishing the electric power for street railways must be large enough to supply current for the maximum load during "rush hours," although much of the machinery may be lying idle and unproductive in the hours of minimum load. By the use of storage-battery cars, this immense and uneconomical maximum investment in plant can be cut down to proportions of true commercial economy, as the charging of the batteries can be conducted at a uniform rate with a reasonable expenditure132 for generating machinery. Not only this, but each car becomes an independently moving unit, not subject to delay by reason of a general breakdown of the power plant or of the line. In addition to these advantages, the streets would be freed from their burden of trolley133 wires or conduits. To put his ideas into practice, Edison built a short railway line at the Orange works in the winter of 1909-10, and, in co-operation with Mr. R. H. Beach, constructed a special type of street-car, and equipped it with motor, storage battery, and other necessary operating devices. This car was subsequently put upon the street-car lines in New York City, and demonstrated its efficiency so completely that it was purchased by one of the street-car companies, which has since ordered additional cars for its lines. The demonstration134 of this initial car has been watched with interest by many railroad officials, and its performance has been of so successful a nature that at the present writing (the summer of 1910) it has been necessary to organize and equip a preliminary factory in which to construct many other cars of a similar type that have been ordered by other street-railway companies. This enterprise will be conducted by a corporation which has been specially organized for the purpose. Thus, there has been initiated31 the development of a new and important industry whose possible ultimate proportions are beyond the range of present calculation. Extensive as this industry may become, however, Edison is firmly convinced that the greatest field for his storage battery lies in its adaptation to commercial trucking and hauling, and to pleasure vehicles, in comparison with which the street-car business even with its great possibilities—will not amount to more than 1 per cent.
Edison has pithily135 summed up his work and his views in an article on "The To-Morrows of Electricity and Invention" in Popular Electricity for June, 1910, in which he says: "For years past I have been trying to perfect a storage battery, and have now rendered it entirely suitable to automobile and other work. There is absolutely no reason why horses should be allowed within city limits; for between the gasoline and the electric car, no room is left for them. They are not needed. The cow and the pig have gone, and the horse is still more undesirable136. A higher public ideal of health and cleanliness is working toward such banishment137 very swiftly; and then we shall have decent streets, instead of stables made out of strips of cobblestones bordered by sidewalks. The worst use of money is to make a fine thoroughfare, and then turn it over to horses. Besides that, the change will put the humane138 societies out of business. Many people now charge their own batteries because of lack of facilities; but I believe central stations will find in this work very soon the largest part of their load. The New York Edison Company, or the Chicago Edison Company, should have as much current going out for storage batteries as for power motors; and it will be so some near day."
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dilute
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| vt.稀释，冲淡；adj.稀释的，冲淡的 | |
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pastry
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| n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点 | |
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oxide
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| n.氧化物 | |
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metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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volts
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| n.（电压单位）伏特( volt的名词复数 ) | |
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sensational
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| adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的 | |
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dabbing
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| 石面凿毛，灰泥抛毛 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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incandescent
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| adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的 | |
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panegyric
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| n.颂词，颂扬 | |
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physicist
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| n.物理学家，研究物理学的人 | |
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realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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ardently
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aspiration
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| n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出 | |
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canny
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| adj.谨慎的，节俭的 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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disintegration
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inefficiency
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costliness
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tempting
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trumpets
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| 喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花 | |
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lighting
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varied
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disastrous
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adoption
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automobile
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automobiles
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wagon
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incurable
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| adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人 | |
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30
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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intentionally
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| ad.故意地，有意地 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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34
radically
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| ad.根本地，本质地 | |
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35
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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36
jersey
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| n.运动衫 | |
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37
withhold
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| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
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38
query
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| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 | |
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39
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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40
prescription
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| n.处方，开药；指示，规定 | |
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41
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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42
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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43
accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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44
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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45
alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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46
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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47
perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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48
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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49
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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50
drudgery
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| n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作 | |
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51
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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52
investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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53
breakdown
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| n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌 | |
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54
diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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55
sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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painstaking
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| adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的 | |
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57
elimination
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| n.排除，消除，消灭 | |
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58
arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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59
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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60
industriously
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61
wrest
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| n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲 | |
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62
disdained
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| 鄙视( disdain的过去式和过去分词 )； 不屑于做，不愿意做 | |
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63
components
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| （机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分 | |
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64
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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65
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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66
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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67
culminated
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| v.达到极点( culminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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69
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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70
trite
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| adj.陈腐的 | |
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71
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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72
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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73
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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74
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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75
supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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76
revival
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| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
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77
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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78
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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79
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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80
labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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81
strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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82
overflow
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| v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出 | |
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83
extinction
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| n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种 | |
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84
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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85
illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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86
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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87
stiffen
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| v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬 | |
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88
backbone
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| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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89
prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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90
fret
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| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
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91
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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92
experimentation
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| n.实验，试验，实验法 | |
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93
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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94
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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95
consecutively
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| adv.连续地 | |
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96
plodding
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| a.proceeding in a slow or dull way | |
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97
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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98
stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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99
imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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100
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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101
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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102
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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103
foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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104
knotty
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| adj.有结的，多节的，多瘤的，棘手的 | |
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105
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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106
undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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107
persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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108
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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109
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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110
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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111
strenuousness
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112
insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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113
chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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114
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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115
defective
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| adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的 | |
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116
elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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117
flake
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| v.使成薄片；雪片般落下；n.薄片 | |
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118
interim
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| adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间 | |
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119
outfits
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| n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 ) | |
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120
wagons
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| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
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121
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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122
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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123
cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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124
flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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125
tamped
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| v.捣固( tamp的过去式和过去分词 )；填充；（用炮泥）封炮眼口；夯实 | |
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126
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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127
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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128
versatility
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| n.多才多艺，多样性，多功能 | |
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129
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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130
adaptable
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| adj.能适应的，适应性强的，可改编的 | |
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131
radius
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| n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限 | |
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132
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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133
trolley
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| n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车 | |
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134
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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135
pithily
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| adv.有力地，简洁地 | |
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136
undesirable
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| adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子 | |
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137
banishment
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| n.放逐，驱逐 | |
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138
humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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