FAA Warns Airline Passengers Not to Use New Samsung Smartphone VOA News September 09, 2016 10:24 AM (source)
FAA Warns Airline Passengers Not to Use New Samsung Smartphone
美國聯邦航空總署警示:乘客勿在機上使用三星新款手機
September 09, 2016 10:24 AM Associated Press
U.S. aviation safety officials took the extraordinary step late Thursday of warning airline passengers not to turn on or charge a new-model Samsung smartphone during flights following numerous reports of the devices catching fire.
The Federal Aviation Administration also warned passengers not to put the Galaxy Note 7 phones in their checked bags, citing "recent incidents and concerns raised by Samsung" about the devices. It is extremely unusual for the FAA to warn passengers about a specific product.
Last week, Samsung ordered a global recall of the jumbo phones after its investigation of explosion reports found the rechargeable lithium batteries were at fault. In one case, a family in St. Petersburg, Florida, reported a Galaxy Note 7 phone left charging in their Jeep caught fire, destroying the vehicle.
Australian airline companies were among the first to take measures. Qantas has asked passengers not to switch the Note 7 devices on and not to charge them during flights, its spokeswoman Sharna Rhys-Jones said. Media reports said other Australian airlines took a similar step, including Jetstar Airways and Virgin Australia.
Samsung launched the latest version of the Note series in August. The Note series is one of the most expensive lineups released by Samsung, and the devices usually inherit designs and features of the Galaxy S phones that debut in the spring. Samsung also added an iris scanner to the Note 7, which detects patterns in users' eyes to unlock the phone.
Before the issue of battery explosions emerged, supplies were not keeping up with higher-than-expected demand for the smartphone.
The Note 7 isn't the only gadget to catch fire thanks to lithium-battery problems, which have afflicted everything from laptops to Tesla cars to Boeing's 787 jetliner.
Rechargeable lithium batteries are more susceptible to overheating than other types of batteries if they are exposed to high temperatures, are damaged or have manufacturing flaws. Once the overheating starts, it can lead to "thermal runaway" in which temperatures continue escalating to very high levels. Water can extinguish the flames, but doesn't always halt the thermal runaway. Flames will often reappear after initially being quenched.
Lithium batteries are ubiquitous in consumer electronic devices. Manufacturers like them because they weigh less and pack considerably more energy into the same space than other types of batteries.
Earlier this year, the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency that sets global aviation safety standards, banned bulk shipments of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger planes until better packaging can be developed to prevent a fire from spreading and potentially destroying the plane.
在三星(Samsung)的新款智慧型手機傳出數起著火(catch fire)事件後,美國掌管航空(aviation)安全的官員於週四(2016年9月8日)晚間發出罕見的(extraordinary)警告,要求乘客勿在飛機航行中,將該款手機開機或充電。
美國聯邦航空總署(Federal Aviation Administration, FAA)亦警告乘客,勿將三星Galaxy Note 7手機放置於托運行李(checked bag)中,因「三星近來引起了多起事件與相關的疑慮」。美國聯邦航空總署針對某特定產品向乘客提出警告的這項舉動非常不尋常。
三星在調查這幾起手機爆炸事件後,判定是由可充電的鋰電池引起故障(at fault),已於上週對這一款特大螢幕手機(jumbo phone)進行全球性的回收(recall)。在一起發生於美國佛羅里達州聖彼德斯堡的事件中,有一家人把三星Galaxy Note 7手機留置於吉普車上充電,手機卻著火並且燒毀了車輛。
在各家航空公司中,澳洲的航空公司對此最先採取行動(take measures)。澳洲航空(Quantas)的發言人莎爾娜‧萊斯瓊斯(Sharna Rhys-Jones)表示,澳洲航空已要求持有Note 7裝置的乘客於飛機航行中不要開啟電源(switch on),也不要充電(charge)。根據媒體報導,其他澳洲的航空公司,包含捷星航空(Jetstar Airways)和維珍澳洲航空(Virgin Australia),亦採取了相似的措施。
三星在今年八月發表(launch)了Note系列的最新款。Note系列是三星發售的產品陣容(lineup)中售價最高的系列之一,此裝置通常也會承繼同年春季所亮相(debut)的Galaxy S手機的設計與特色。Note 7還增加了虹膜(iris)掃描器,能透過偵測使用者眼睛裡的(虹膜)紋路來解鎖。
在電池爆炸的問題浮出檯面前,此款智慧型手機的市場需求高出預期,庫存貨供不應求(not keep up with . . . demand)。
Note 7並非唯一因為(thanks to)鋰電池問題而著火的裝置(gadget),其他像是筆記型電腦、特斯拉汽車(Tesla),還有波音公司(Boeing)的787噴射客機都曾受鋰電池的問題所擾(afflict)。
當可充電的鋰電池暴露於高溫環境,或有損壞、製造上的瑕疵(flaw)時,會比其他類型的電池更容易受過熱影響(susceptible to . . .)。鋰電池一旦受過熱影響就可能導致「熱失控(thermal runaway)」的情況,其溫度會持續攀升(escalate)至極高的程度。鋰電池冒出的火焰雖然能用水澆滅,但並非每次皆能成功地止住熱失控。一開始被熄滅(quench)的火焰,往往可能會再竄出。
鋰電池相當普遍的(ubiquitous)使用於各種消費者電子裝置中。相較於其他類型的電池,在同樣大小的空間下,鋰電池的重量較輕,且能載入更多電能,因此特別受到電子產品製造商的青睞。
就在今年稍早時,隸屬於聯合國(United Nations, U.N.)之下的國際民用航空組織(International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO;中文簡稱「國際民航組織」)已制定了全球的航空安全標準,在開發出能更有效防止火勢擴散與客機損毀意外的電池包裝之前,禁止客機將可充電的鋰離子電池當成貨物(cargo)進行大宗運送(bulk shipment)。
Language Notes
catch fire (v phr) 著火,起火
recall (n) 回收;召回
*本字作動詞用時,除了指「回收;召回」,亦常作「回憶起;回想起;記得」之意
at fault (prep. phr) 出錯;故障;有過失
jumbo (a) 特大的;巨型的
measure (n) 方法,措施
*take measures (v phr) 採取行動、措施
launch (v) 啟動,推出,發起
*本字亦可用於火箭、彈藥等的「發射」
lineup (n) 隊伍;陣容
debut [`deˌbju] (v) 首演,首次登臺;首次亮相
*須注意本字的字尾t不發音
iris [`aɪrɪs] (n) 虹膜
*本字亦是「鳶尾花」
thanks to (prep. phr) 幸虧;由於,因為
*本片語作「由於,因為」解釋,與片語 “because of ”、“as a result of” 用法相似
afflict (v) 使痛苦;使苦惱;折磨
susceptible (a) 易受影響的,易受傷害的
*後常接介係詞 “to”
flaw (n) 錯誤;缺點;缺陷,瑕疵
escalate (v) 增強;擴大;加劇
quench [kwɛnʧ] (v) 熄滅;撲滅
*本字亦常指「解渴」,常用的片語為quench one's thirst with something
ubiquitous (a) 普遍存在的,似乎無處不在的,隨處可見的
cargo (n) 貨物
*常用作不可數名詞
bulk (n) 大規模;大量
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