275 Radiation Affects Airline Navigation
275 辐射影响飞机导航
The biggest safety threat facing airlines today may not be a terrorist with a gun, but the man with the portable computer in business class. In the last 15 years, pilots have reported well over 100 incidents that could have been caused by electromagnetic interference. The source of this interference remains unconfirmed, but increasingly, experts are pointing the blame at portable electronic device such as portable computers, radio and cassette players and mobile telephones.
今天，许多航空公司面临的最大的安全威胁可能并不是一个持枪的恐怖分子，而是公务舱中一个带着便携式笔记本电脑的人。在过去的15年中，驾驶员就已经报告了一百多起本来可以由电磁干扰引发的事故。电磁干扰的来源是什么还不清楚，但是越来越多的专家开始归咎于乘客携带的电子设备，比如笔记本电脑，收音机，录音机和手机。
RTCA, an organization which advises the aviation industry, has recommended that all airlines ban such devices from being used during “critical” stages of flight, particularly take-off and landing. Some experts have gone further, calling for a total ban during all flights. Currently, rules on using these devices are left up to individual airlines. And although some airlines prohibit passengers from using such equipment during take-off and landing, most are reluctant to enforce a total ban, given that many passengers want to work during flights.
RTCA是一个向航空工业提供建议的组织，它建议所有的飞机都应该禁止在飞行的关键阶段，尤其是起飞和降落的时候，使用这些电子设备。还有一些专家的建议更极端，他们要求在飞行的所有时间内都禁止使用这些设备。目前，关于如何使用这些设备的规定是由航空公司自己制定的。尽管有一些航空公司禁止乘客在飞机起飞或降落的时候使用这些设备，但是大多数公司还是不愿意在飞行全过程都禁止使用这些设备，因为考虑到很多旅客在飞行中还是想要工作。
The difficulty is predicting how electromagnetic fields might affect an aircraft’s computers. Experts know that portable device emit radiation which affects those wavelengths which aircraft use for navigation and communication. But, because they have not been able to reproduce these effects in a laboratory, they have no way of knowing whether the interference might be dangerous or not.
难点在于预测电磁场会怎样对飞机的电脑产生影响。专家认为，便携式的电子设备会发射出一些辐射，这些辐射能影响飞机用来导航以及跟地面联系的一定波长的电磁波。但是由于科学家们还无法在实验室里再现这样的效果，所以他们还不能够知道这会影响是否有害的。
The fact that aircraft may be vulnerable to interference raises the risk that terrorists may use radio systems in order to damage navigation equipment. As worrying, though, is the passenger who can’t hear the instructions to turn off his radio because the music’s too loud.
飞机可能受电磁干扰，这一点有可能会带来风险，因为恐怖分子可能会使用一些无线电设备来破坏飞机的导航系统。同样令人担忧的是因素是乘客，他如果把音乐开得太大的话，就听不到要求关闭收音机的指令了。