How to Reduce Equipment Noise Inside the Space Station? 如何降低空间站内的设备噪音?

No sound can be heard in space because theres no medium for it to travel through. But inside Chinas space station， which serves taikonauts as they live and work in space， the buzzing from equipment can be a nuisance.

Luckily， the noise is not a problem. To provide a quiet and comfortable living and working environment for the diligent taikonauts， the research team on the ground has put in quite an effort to turn it down.

When the manned spacecraft is launched into space， the noise outside the craft can hit 140—160 decibels—110 decibels is the pain threshold for the average human.

To check if the noise outside the spaceship will affect the taikonauts and operation inside， the research team developed a large testing environment to simulate all the deafening noise that may be generated during the flight and placed the newly built spaceship in the testing environment for a thorough test.

在太空中听不到声音，因为没有传播介质。但是在中国的空间站里——航天员在太空中生活和工作的地方，设备发出的嗡嗡作响声是一个麻烦。

幸运的是，噪音不是问题。为了降低噪音，给辛苦的航天员提供一个安静舒适的生活和工作环境，地面上的研究团队付出了很大的努力。

当载人飞船发射到太空时，飞船外部的噪音可以达到140—160分贝——110分贝是普通人的疼痛阈值。

为了检测飞船外部的噪音是否会影响航天员和飞船内部的运行，研究团队开发了一个大型的测试环境，来模拟飞行过程中可能产生的所有震耳欲聋的噪音，并将新建的飞船置于测试环境中进行全面的测试。

The Wentian lab module has three sleeping areas and multiple cabinets for experiments. Its also equipped with numerous apparatus， including compressors， pumps， fans， refrigerators for experiments and control facilities to manage the spaceships position. When these machines start working， they generate a large amount of noise， which creates a complex sound environment.

The researchers used science to single out all the equipment that are too loud. For example， the refrigerator is one of the noisy equipment inside the Wentian module because it has as many integrated functions as possible.

Many noise-reduction materials cannot be used for noise-proofing in space because they may affect the air quality in the space station in the long run. The researchers had to design a new pump and noise-reduction materials.

As the equipment are different in aspects， including the size， location and the cause of the noise， the research team had to use diverse methods to reduce the noise， such as covering them with rubber or placing them inside soundproof boxes.

Thanks to their efforts， the noise in the work area in the Wentian module is maintained at under 60 decibels. It is 50 decibels in the sleeping area， which offers taikonauts a quiet environment to rest as they continue their work in space.

問天实验舱有三个睡眠区和多个实验柜。它还配备了许多设备，包括压缩机、泵、风扇，以及用于实验的冰箱和操控飞船位置的控制设施。当这些机器开始工作时，它们会产生大量的噪音，这就会创造一个复杂的声音环境。

研究员利用科学方法找出了所有声音太大的设备。例如，冰箱是问天舱内噪音较大的设备之一，因为它具有很多的集成功能。

许多降噪材料不能在太空中使用，因为它们可能会长期影响空间站的空气质量。研究员必须设计一种新的泵和降噪材料。

由于设备的大小、位置、产生噪音的原因等各不相同，研究团队不得不采用各种方法来降低噪音，比如用橡胶覆盖设备或将设备放置在隔音盒内。

在他们的努力下，问天舱工作区域的噪音保持在60分贝以下。睡眠区域的噪音为50分贝，这为航天员提供了一个安静的休息环境，这样他们可以继续在太空中工作。

Word Bank

simulate /'s?mjule?t/ v. （用计算机或模型等）模拟

Computer software can be used to simulate conditions on the seabed.

multiple /'m?lt?pl/ adj. 数量多的；多种多样的

apparatus /'?p?'re?t?s/ n. 设备；装置；仪器

integrate /'?nt?ɡre?t/ v. 使合并；使成为一体

These programs will integrate with your existing software.