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It sounds like something from a sci-fi movie, but the newly revealed Shadow-Effect Energy Generator (SEG) is a real prototype device. The fascinating concept could help us to transform the way renewable energy is generated indoors. 这听起来好像是科幻电影里的东西，但最近公布的通过阴影效应发电是真实存在的实物装置。这个吸引人的概念能帮助我们改变可再生能源在室内产生的方式。 The SEG uses the contrast between darkness and light to produce electricity. It's made up of a series of thin strips of gold film on a silicon wafer, placed on top of a flexible plastic base. 通过阴影效应发电利用明暗对比来发电，它是由硅晶片上的一系列薄金片组成，放置在软塑料底座上。 Whereas shadows are usually a problem for renewable solar energy production, here they're actually harnessed to keep on generating power. The technology - which is cheaper to produce than a typical solar cell, according to its developers - produces small amounts of power and could be used in mobile gadgets, for example. 尽管阴影通常会给可再生太阳能生产造成问题，但在这儿它们实际上被用来持续发电。据其开发人员介绍，这种技术比一般的太阳能电池生产成本更低，产生的功率很小，可用于移动设备等。 "Shadows are omnipresent, and we often take them for granted," says materials scientist Tan Swee Ching, from the National University of Singapore (NUS). "In conventional photovoltaic or optoelectronic applications where a steady source of light is used to power devices, the presence of shadows is undesirable, since it degrades the performance of devices. | 
