改变世界的17种物质

　　Iron accounts for at least 90 per cent of metal production. Without it we wouldn't have power lines or oil refineries. Iron is a key component of cars, trains, planes, ships, fridges, dishwashers and computers. As a chemical it's also used in insecticides, water purification, sewage treatment and the production of ammonia. Iron was first smelted 3,500 years ago, but it wasn't until English engineer Henry Bessemer's invention in 1856 of an inexpensive way to mass-produce steel from iron that its use skyrocketed. In 2007 alone, 1,900 million tones of iron ore were produced, with 98 per cent of that used to make steel.

　　铁Fe

　　钢铁在金属产量中至少占到百分之九十份额。没有它，我们就不会有各种电力线或炼油厂。钢铁是各类汽车、火车、飞机、轮船、冰箱、洗碗机以及计算机的主要组件。作为一种化学原料，它也被用于制造杀虫剂、提纯水、净化污水和制氨。铁首次被使用已有三千五百年历史，但直到1856年，英国工程师亨利·贝西默找到丛铁中廉价提炼钢材的方法，它才被大规模应用。仅2007年就有十九亿吨铁矿石被提炼，其中百分之九十八被用于炼钢。

　　ETHANOL — C2H6O

　　If your head is swimming, you're seeing double and suddenly finding everyone attractive, chances are that ethanol is to blame. Worldwide, about two billion people enjoy ethanol, the intoxicant in alcohol. The average Australian, for example, drinks about 10 L of pure alcohol each year. Historians suspect that it was accidentally discovered when our ancestors' grain stores were drenched with rain and fermented by the Sun. The liquor reduces inhibitions, alters moods, impairs judgment and boosts sexual desire. Alcohol consumption is the third largest risk factor for disease in developed countries.

　　乙醇C2H6O

　　如果你正感到头晕，眼前出现重影，而且突然感觉每个人都那么可亲，这八成是乙醇的功劳。在全球范围，大约有二十亿人享用乙醇，这种可致醉的醇类化合物。例如，在澳大利亚，平均每人每年饮用十升纯酒精。历史学家们怀疑，由于我们的祖先存储的谷物被雨淋湿后又被阳光发酵，因此偶然发现了这种物质。这种液体可以减少抑制，调节心境，影响判断力，并增进性欲。酒精消费是发达国家第三大危险的致病因素。

　　SULPHURIC ACID — H2SO4

　　A country's production of sulphuric acid is a good indication of its industrial might, because at some stage nearly every manufactured good comes into contact with this highly corrosive stuff. It's used in mining, steel production, oil refining and chemical synthesis, and in the manufacture of fertilizers, detergents and plastics. No wonder it's nicknamed "the king of chemicals". Sulphuric acid was discovered in the 8th century, but it only became economically viable in 1746, when English chemist John Roebuck developed a way to produce it in bulk. In 2005 world production of sulphuric acid was estimated at 193 million tones.

　　硫酸H2SO4

　　一个国家的硫酸产能是其工业能力的良好指针，因为在某些阶段，几乎各个制造行业都要用到这种高度腐蚀性的原材料。它被用于采矿、炼钢、石油精炼化工，以及制造化肥、洗涤剂和塑料。它的绰号“化学品之王”不容置疑。硫酸早在八世纪就被发现，但它真正用于经济领域是在1746年，当时英国化学家约翰·罗巴克发现了一种批量制造它的方法。据估计，2005年全球硫酸产量达到一亿九千三百万吨。

　　PROGESTIN — C21H30O2

　　As the principal component of the pill, progestin allowed women to separate sex from procreation, giving them uNPRecedented freedom and control over their lives. First synthesized in 1951 by Austrian Carl Djerassi, progestin stops ovulation by imitating the hormone progesterone. Between 1965 and 1995 global fertility rates fell from 4.9 to 2.8 children per woman, largely due to the pill. Today, more than 70 million women around the world use this oral contraceptive.

　　孕酮C21H30O2

　　作为一种小药丸的主要成分，孕酮把妇女的性行为从生育中解放出来，为她们的生活带来史无前例的自由。1951年，奥地利人卡尔·杰罗西首次合成了这种药物，它通过模仿孕酮激素的作用制止卵子产生。1965年到1995年，全球每位妇女平均从生育4.9个胎儿降低至2.8个胎儿，这其中绝大多数功劳属于这种小药丸。如今，全球有超过七千万妇女使用这种口服避孕药。

　　CARBON DIOXIDE — CO2

　　Scottish chemist Joseph Black discovered and isolated this potent greenhouse gas in the 1750s. At that time, man-made CO2 emissions were about three million tones per year. But by 2005, emissions from fossil fuels alone were 7.9 billion tones, with another 1.5 billion tones caused by forest clearing. Carbon dioxide is the second most important greenhouse gas (after water vapor), trapping heat in our atmosphere and increasing global temperatures via the greenhouse effect. Emissions continue to climb, so unless there's a drastic turnaround, expect the sea level rises, extreme weather events and mass extinctions associated with a rapidly warming globe.

　　二氧化碳CO2

　　十八世纪五十年代，苏格兰化学家约瑟夫·布莱克发现并分离了这种强有力的温室气体。当时，人造二氧化碳排放每年约有三百万吨。但到2005年，仅矿物质燃烧一项就造成七十九亿吨二氧化碳被排放，另外森林砍伐也产生十五亿吨。排在水蒸气之后，二氧化碳是第二大重要的温室气体，它阻止我们的大气散热，并通过温室效应增加全球温度。目前其排放量还在上升，因此，除非有急剧转变，否则迅速变暖的地球将遭遇海平面上升，极端气候增加和大规模物种灭绝等一系列难题。