Benjamin Franklin—A Great Inventor
伟大的发明家——本杰明·富兰克林
Benjamin Franklin was not only one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a leading writer， publisher， inventor， diplomat， scientist， and philosopher. He is well known for his experiments with electricity and lightning. As a scientist he was a major figure in the history of physics for his great discoveries and some relating theories regarding electricity. As a writer and activist he invented the idea of an American nation， and as a diplomat during the American Revolution， he secured the French alliance that helped to make independence possible.
But here we want to tell you the great work as an inventor that Benjamin Franklin did in his whole life. A list of Franklin's great inventions reveals a man of many talents and interests. It was the curiosity as a scientist in Franklin that brought out the inventor. His natural curiosity about things and the way they work made him try to find ways to make things work better.
Franklin had poor vision and needed glasses to read. He got tired of constantly taking them off and putting them back on， so he decided to figure out a better way to make his glasses let him see both near and far. He had two pairs of spectacles cut in half and put half of each lens in a single frame. Today， we call them bifocals.
During Franklin's lifetime， he made eight voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. These long journeys gave him a lot of time to learn about ships and how they worked. As early as 1784， Franklin suggested following the Chinese model of dividing ships' holds into watertight compartments so that if a leak occurred in one compartment， the water would not spread throughout the hold and sink the ship.
Everyone knows the story of Franklin's famous kite flight. Although he made important discoveries and advancements， Franklin did not “invent” electricity. Because it exists before man knows. He did， however， invent the lightning rod that protected buildings and ships from lightning damage according to the principle of electricity.
In colonial America， most people warmed their homes by building a fire in a fireplace even though it was kind of dangerous and used a lot of wood. Most fireplaces of the day were very inefficient. They produced a lot of smoke and most of the heat that was generated went right out the chimney. Sparks in the home were of great concern because they could cause a fire that would quickly destroy the homes， which were constructed mainly with wood. Franklin figured that there had to be a better way. He developed a new style of stove that used one quarter as much wood and generated twice as much heat. Therefore， his invention of an iron furnace stove allowed people to warm their homes less dangerously and with less wood. The furnace stove that he invented is called a Franklin stove. When offered a patent for the fireplace's design， Franklin turned it down. He did not want to make a profit. He wanted all people to benefit from his invention. Interestingly enough， Franklin also established the first fire company and the first fire insurance company in order to help people live more safely.
As a postmaster， Franklin had to figure out routes for delivering the mail. He went out riding in his carriage to measure the routes and needed a way to keep track of the distance. He invented a simple odometer and attached it to his carriage.
In his old age， Franklin retired from business and public service and wanted to spend his time reading and studying. He found， however， that his old age had made it difficult for him to reach books from the high shelves. Even though he had many grandchildren to help him， he invented a tool called a long arm to reach the high books. The long arm was a long wooden pole with a grasping claw at the end.
Franklin once said， “Of all my inventions， the glass harmonica has given me the greatest personal satisfaction.” Franklin was inspired to create his own version of the harmonica after listening to a concert of Handle's Water Music that was played on tuned wine glasses. Franklin's harmonica， created in 1761 won popularity in England and on the Continent. Beethoven and Mozart composed music for it. Franklin enjoyed playing it with his daughter and bringing it to get together at his friends' homes.
Benjamin Franklin's inventions have inspired lots of great inventors. Later， other famous inventors， like Thomas A. Edison and Alexander Graham Bell， would follow in Franklin's footsteps by trying to find ways to help people live well. Today's curious thinkers are keeping Franklin's traditions alive by inventing new and improved ways to make things work better.
本杰明·富兰克林不仅是美国的国父之一，还是一位领袖级的作家、出版商、发明家、外交家、科学家及哲学家。富兰克林因进行了多项关于电和闪电的实验闻名遐尔。作为一位科学家，富兰克林凭借他在电学领域的重大发现以及相关理论，成为物理学史上举足轻重的人物。作为作家及活动家，富兰克林缔造了美国民族这一概念，并且在美国革命期间出任美国驻法国大使，取得了法国对美国独立的支持。
但在这里，我们想要给你讲述的是作为一位发明家的本杰明·富兰克林的故事。富兰克林的那些伟大发明展现出了他的诸多才能以及各种兴趣。正是富兰克林作为一名科学家的好奇心催生他成为一位发明家。对万事万物的那种天生的好奇心驱使着富兰克林找到事物运行更有效的方法。
富兰克林的视力不好，阅读时需要佩戴眼镜。对于不断的摘戴眼镜他感到很是厌烦，于是富兰克林决定想出一个更好的方法使他的眼镜既能看清近处，又能看到远处。他将两副眼镜切割成了一半，然后把每副透镜中的一半放入一个单独的框架里面。这也就是我们今天所说的双焦点眼镜。
富兰克林的一生中曾八次航海横渡大西洋。这些长途旅行使他有了大量的时间去了解船只及其运作原理。早在1784年，富兰克林就曾建议仿造中国船只模型将船的货舱分割成多个防水密室，这样一来，即使一个船舱漏水，水也不会蔓延到整个货舱从而使船体下沉了。
富兰克林放风筝的著名故事妇孺皆知。然而尽管富兰克林取得了重大的发现和进步，但并非是富兰克林本人“发明”了电。因为在人类知晓电以前，电就已经存在了。不过，富兰克林根据电的原理发明了避雷针，从而避免了建筑物和船只受到雷电的损害。
北美殖民地时期，大多数人都使用家中的壁炉生火取暖，尽管这是很不安全的，并且会消耗很多木材。那时壁炉大多效能低下，产生大量烟尘，热量会直接顺着烟囱排放出去。人们极度关注家中的火星，因为火星能够引发大火，而大火会在瞬间将主要由木材搭建的房子烧得片瓦不留。富兰克林觉得一定会有更好的取暖方式。于是，他发明了一种新型炉子，只用原来四分之一的木材便可产生相当于原来两倍的热量。这样，人们便可以在家中使用少量木材安全取暖了。这种铁炉被称作富兰克林暖炉。但富兰克林没有接受为他的发明设计申请专利的邀请。他不想从中盈利，而是希望人们都能从他的发明中受益。有趣的是，富兰克林还成立了第一个消防队以及第一家火灾保险公司，以保障人们的生活更为安全。
作为一位邮政局长，富兰克林不得不计算投递邮件的线路。他乘坐四轮马车出行去测量线路时，觉得需要用一种记录距离的工具。因此，富兰克林发明了一种简便的里程记录器，并把它系在了他的马车上。
晚年退休赋闲在家的富兰克林，不再从事经营和公共服务事业，便想将时间用于阅读和研究。由于自己上了年纪，他发现从高一些的书架上取书变成了一件很吃力的事。尽管富兰克林儿孙满堂，孙辈们可以帮他取书，但他还是发明了一种用来取放在高处的书的工具——他在一根长竹竿的一端装上一个能抓东西的爪，这种工具被叫做长手臂。
富兰克林曾说过：“在我所有的发明中，玻璃口琴给我个人带来了最大的满足感。”在听了一场关于韩德尔·华特的由酒杯演奏出和谐音符的音乐会后，富兰克林有了想要创造属于他自己的古玻璃口琴的灵感。富兰克林的古玻璃口琴于1761年问世，在英国和整个欧洲大陆都很受欢迎。贝多芬和莫扎特都用它谱过曲。富兰克林本人也很喜欢和他的女儿一同弹奏古玻璃口琴，而且还很喜欢带上它去朋友家中聚会。
本杰明·富兰克林的发明激励着许多伟大的发明家们。后来的一些其他著名的发明家，如托马斯·A·爱迪生，亚历山大·格拉汉姆·贝尔都追随着富兰克林的脚步去寻找帮助人类能够更好生活的方法。今天，那些有着好奇心的思想家们仍在将富兰克林的传统发扬光大，他们通过发明，改进新方式，使万物更好地运行。
译者感言
本杰明·富兰克林，一位在历史的沙滩上留下了光辉足迹的伟人，一个由时代所缔造的，同时又缔造了一个伟大时代的传奇人物。杜阁曾有一句经典的名言来描绘富兰克林一生的成就：“他从天空抓到了雷电，从专制统治者手中夺回了权力”。在世人眼中，富兰克林是一个喜欢在暴风雨中放风筝的人，一名卓有成就的发明家，一位充满睿智的文学作家，一位改写历史的政治家。作为一位发明家，富兰克林大大小小的发明不胜枚举，人们常以“第一个征服了闪电的人”来称呼这位多产的科学家。而他的发明中多数都是以贴近人们的日常生活为主的。大到通过对闪电的认识而发明的避雷针，小至人们家用的取暖炉、静电发生器、双焦点眼镜等，这些发明给人们的生活带来的便利是不可估量的。现如今，我们的生活仍潜移默化地受到他的发明的影响。富兰克林一生最真实的写照便是他自己所说过的一句话“诚实和勤勉，应该成为你永久的伴侣”。这句话同样也值得成为我们一生自勉的格言。
