《時代》周刊評出2014年度最佳發明

Hoverboards, intelligent space craft, edible food wrappers, and much much more— Welcome to TIME’s annual round-up of the best inventions making the world better, smarter and—in some cases—a little more fun.

歡迎來到《時代周刊》年終最佳發明匯總，這里有懸浮滑板，智能航天器，可食用的食物包裝以及其他更多的發明，這些發明讓我們的生活更美好、更智能、甚至有時候變得更有趣。

1. The Real-Life Hoverboard

現實版磁懸滑板

The hoverboard—a type of skateboard that levitates like a magic carpet—had been a pipe dream since its fictional debut in 1989’sBack to the Future Part II. Now California-based tech firm Hendo has built the real thing.

懸浮滑板——一種像魔毯一樣懸浮在空中的滑板——自從在1989年的科幻影片《回到未來2》中出現以來就一直讓人可望而不可即。現在美國加州技術公司Hendo已造出了實物。

Hondo’s hoverboard can float only an inch or so above the ground, and even then only over conductive material like copper or aluminum. Just 10 are being made to order (so far). And battery life is 15 minutes—barely enough time to zoom past your enemies à la Marty McFly. But the technology that powers it could be revolutionary. Hendo founders Jill and Greg Henderson plan to develop magnetic “hovering” tech to stabilize buildings during earthquakes, protect valuable works of art and more. “The hoverboard is the first step to bringing this technology to the world,” says Greg.

Hendo公司的懸浮滑板只能離地大約一英寸(2.54厘米)，即使這么低的高度也必須是在導電材料如銅質或鋁質的表面才行。目前為止，Hendo公司只定制了10臺。電池的續航時間為15分鐘——這點時間勉強夠從敵人à la Marty McFly身邊快速逃離。Hendo公司創始人吉爾和格雷格?亨德森計劃對磁“懸浮”技術進行開發，以達到在地震中穩定建筑物以及保護價值連城的藝術品等目的。格雷格稱：“懸浮滑板是把這項技術推向世界的第一步。”

2. The Supersmart Spacecraft

超智能太空船

Nobody gets Mars right on the first try. The U.S. didn’t, Russia didn’t, the Europeans didn’t. But on Sept.24, India did. Building the craft cost India just $74million, less than the budget for the film Gravity. It portends great things for the country’s space program—and for science in general.

印度空間研究組織研制的“曼加里安”號火星探測器。還沒有人第一次嘗試就能到達火星的。美國沒有，俄羅斯沒有，歐洲也沒有。但9月24日，印度卻做到了。制造該探測器只花了印度7400萬美元，還不及電影《地心引力》的預算。這對于印度航天計劃以及整個科學界具有重要的象征意義。