Newsletter No. 454

454 • 19.3.2015 5 字裏科技 Tech Talks 舌尖上的中大 CUHK f+b 無人機的天空 Flying into the Future 今年1月20日，一架無人機掉落在墨西哥邊境城市蒂華納一 間超級市場的停車場，機上攜帶了超過六磅冰毒，顯然是飛 往美國途中墜毀。 愛玩無人機的人愈來愈多，連毒販都研究怎樣利用這種廉價 飛行器，各行各業的企業家自然也看到它幾乎無限的用途。 有人把無人機的起源追溯至十九世紀中葉用於丟炸彈的無人 熱氣球，但它的真正始祖，應是1930年代英國海軍開發的一 款靶機，這種稱為「蜂后」的靶機以無線電遙控，可以回收再 用。到了今天，原來軍用的無人機已在民間大量使用。今年3月 5日英國上議院歐盟委員會發表報告，估計到了2050年歐洲會 有多達十五萬個與無人機有關的職位。該委員會主席 奧卡漢 女 男爵說：「民用無人機使用量的增長驚人，它們以出乎所有人意 料之外的速度飛上天空。」 你應該在電影、電視和新聞節目，甚至本校的宣傳影片看過無 人機拍攝的影像。DHL、UPS和淘寶等公司都在試驗用無人 機送包裹。亞馬遜創辦人兼行政總裁 貝佐斯 談到該公司的無 人機送貨服務時說：「我知道這看起來像是科幻小說，但它卻 是真實的。」 無人機的用途遠不止於送貨。在學術界，研究人員利用無人 機監察野火或臭氧濃度、漏油和火山灰，而應用最多的是研究 極地冰山融化。它們也成為慣用小鏟子的考古學家的工具。 秘魯利用無人機監察考古地點和繪製地圖，防止這些地點被 城市發展破壞。 無人機還是保護野生動物的利器。海洋守護者協會用它們監 察領航鯨，如果牠們游得太過接近法羅群島，就派小船驅趕， 以免被島上漁民捕獵。 美國農民用它們來監測蟲害和灌溉情況、評估收成，以及尋 找走失的牛。有些農民會自己買無人機來用，但不少人會聘請 專門的公司，因為操作無人機有點複雜。 有鑒於此，許多美國大學已經或正在構思設立無人機課程。 阿拉斯加大學費爾班克斯分校在2014年在工程系開辦了無人 機飛行科技課程。甚至有專辦無人機課程的大學，2012年在 鳳凰城成立的無人載具大學，提供了證書、碩士和博士課程。 或許未來有一天你看見一個中大學生，問他主修甚麼時，他會 答你：「無人機。」 On 20 January, a drone crashed into a supermarket parking lot in Tijuana, a Mexican border city, apparently en route to the US. The drone was found to be carrying more than six pounds of methamphetamine. Drug traffickers are not the only ones starting to explore the potential of drones as this cheap robotic aircraft has become increasingly popular with hobbyists. Entrepreneurs of all stripes also see limitless uses of them. Some accounts trace the ancestry of drones back to the use of hot air balloons laden with explosives in the middle of the 19th century. But the real origin of today’s drones was the first recoverable and reusable radio-controlled aircraft dubbed the ‘Queen Bee’ developed by the Royal Navy for aerial target practice in the 1930s. Now drones have evolved from military to civilian uses. A report published on 5 March 2015 by the British House of Lords European Union Committee estimates that there will be as many as 150,000 drone-related jobs in Europe by 2050. The chairman of the committee, Baroness O’Cathain , said: ‘The growth in civilian drone use has been astonishing and they are taking to the skies faster than anyone could have predicted.’ You may have seen footage captured by drones on TV and news programmes, movies, or even publicity videos produced by our University. DHL, UPS, and Alibaba’s online marketplace Taobao have been testing using them to deliver packages. Commenting on its drone delivery service, Jeff Bezos , founder and CEO of Amazon, said, ‘I know this looks like science fiction, but it’s not.’ Drones can offer more. On the academic front, researchers use drones to track wildfires or ozone concentrations, oil spills and volcanic ash. And a significant number of them are deployed to the polar regions to study the melting of ice. Trowel-wielding archaeologists now add drones to their tool kits. In Peru, a fleet of drones is used to map and monitor its archaeological sites, safeguarding them from being encroached by development. Drones are also a wildlife con- servation tool. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society sends out drones to watch over pilot whales. If they get too close to the Faroe Islands, where locals have yearly hunts, the society sends out boats to chase them away. American farmers use them to identify insect problems and watering issues, assess crop yields or track down cattle that have wandered off. While some farmers buy their own drones, most are expected to hire from companies because of the complexity of flying drones. In response to this, dozens of universities in the US are offering or planning to offer drone programmes. The University of Alaska Fairbanks started a course on the flying technology of drones in 2014 in its engineering department. There is even a university specializing in drones. Founded in 2012, the Unmanned Vehicle University in Phoenix offers certificate, Masters and PhD programmes. Perhaps some day in the future when you ask a student of our University what his major is, he’ll reply: ‘Drones.’ 芙蓉蛋新演繹 Incarnation of Egg Foo Yong 芙蓉類菜餚之所以借荷花之名，是取兩者質地軟滑、嫩如凝 脂的共性。芙蓉蛋屬粵菜，傳統做法是中火慢煎蛋塊至外層 金香，而內裏嫩滑。這道既考功夫，又花時間的菜式，在中大 芸芸學生餐廳並不多見，皆因製作時間是限制。 聯合書院學生膳堂的 李志浩 經理偏偏打破局限，自創出鐵 板芙蓉蛋飯，聰明地把慢煎的工序交託給鐵板，因而鐵板的 挑選最有考究：蛋漿是液體，鐵板太淺會瀉開，太厚則儲熱 過強而易焦。經過多番試驗，李先生才找到厚度、深淺和形 狀適中的容器。 這款鐵板芙蓉蛋的副料包括蝦仁、紅腸絲、火腿絲、芽菜、 韭菜等，事先要爆炒至七成熟。待客人點餐後，廚師從焗爐 拿出已預熱的鐵板，將副料進一步炒至九成熟後，淋上蛋漿 稍加攪拌，製作只需三十秒。到客人前來櫃面取時，大約過 了兩三分鐘，芙蓉蛋已在鐵板上悄悄完成自我實現。 李先生建議，食客下單後要留意號碼，盡快取餐，以免芙蓉 蛋過分烘焦。跟餐的白飯最好倒進鐵板攪拌均勻進食，這樣 每口飯都會嚐到雞蛋的鮮香細滑和蔬菜的爽脆清甜。 When a dish is named after ‘foo yong’, literally ‘white lotus petals’, it denotes the food has the same soft and silky texture as the lotus flower. Egg foo yong derives from a Cantonese dish in which beaten eggs are fried slowly until crispy golden brown on the outside, while creamy and tender on the inside. It is time-consuming to make, which is the reason why egg foo yong is rare to find among student canteens in CUHK, where meals have to be served in a short time span. heated sizzle plate out of the oven, further fry the meat and vegetables until 90% done, and pour in the beaten egg to mix with the ingredients. What it takes is a mere 30 seconds. When the eater comes to fetch the food, two to three minutes have passed, and the lotus will already have actualized itself on the sizzling plate. Mr. Lee suggested that after placing an order, one should pick up the food as soon as it is ready, lest the lotus egg becomes over-cooked and turns dry. The accompanying bowl of rice needs to be added into the plate and mix well to merge with the aroma of the eggs and the sweetness of the vegetables. Mr. Leo Lee , manager of the United College Student Canteen, dares to break new ground by serving egg foo yong on a sizzling plate, and thus delegating the slow- frying process to the hot iron. The hardest part is to select the right iron plate—if too shallow, the fluid will spread over too wide; too thick, the heat it generates will burn the egg mixture. It was only after a decent amount of trial and error that Mr. Lee began to find the perfect container. Ingredients of the incarnation of egg foo yong include shrimps, sliced sausages, shredded ham, bean sprouts and chives, which are stir-fried to 70% done beforehand. When receiving an order, the cook will take the pre- Photo by ISO staff