我的辣椒有多辣？

In recent years， the chilli pepper has inspired[啟發] some unusual lifestyle trends， such as the sale of chilli chocolate in supermarkets. Now there is the science of the chilli pepper. Professor Richard Compton and his team at Oxford University have even developed a method of measuring the “heat” of chillies.

What makes chilli peppers hot are “capsaicinoids[辣椒素].” Nanotubes[納米管] and an electrochemical[電氣化學的] reaction allows Compton to measure precisely the level of “capasaicinoids” in the chilli.

“We are currently talking to an Indian company and they are quite interested in our methodology[一套方法]. In future， people can have a personal chilli meter[儀] to test how hot their chilli is!”

近幾年來，辣椒激發了一些不同尋常的生活時尚，比如超市里熱賣的辣味巧克力。現在又出現了“辣椒學”。牛津大學教授理查德·康普頓和他的研究隊伍甚至開發出一種測量辣椒“辣度”的方法。

使辣椒具有辣味的成分叫做“辣椒素”。利用納米管及電氣化學反應，康普頓得以精確測量出辣椒的辣椒素水平。

“我們目前正同一家印度公司商談（合作），他們對我們的測量方法很感興趣。將來，人們能擁有私人辣度測量儀，用來測量自己的辣椒到底有多辣！”