A piece of equipment that shows how electrical voltage changes, as a line on a screen. A meter only gives you a number; an oscilloscope gives you the shape — a smooth wave, a sharp spike, a flat line that should not be flat. Engineers and repair people use it to see whether a circuit is healthy.

A piece of equipment that shows how electrical voltage changes一種顯示電壓怎麼變化的設備, as a line on a screen方式是在螢幕上畫一條線。A meter only gives you a number電錶只會給你一個數字; an oscilloscope gives you the shape示波器則是給你形狀——a smooth wave一個平滑的波、a sharp spike一個尖銳的突波、a flat line that should not be flat或一條本來不該平的平線。Engineers and repair people use it to see whether a circuit is healthy工程師和維修人員用它來看電路是不是正常。

Older ones looked like a small green TV with knobs; newer ones look like a laptop.

Older ones looked like a small green TV with knobs舊型的看起來像有旋鈕的小綠色電視; newer ones look like a laptop新型的則看起來像筆電。

The word is technical: you meet it in labs, workshops, and textbooks, not in everyday chat.

The word is technical這個字很專業: you meet it in labs, workshops, and textbooks你會在實驗室、工作坊和教科書裡遇到它, not in everyday chat而不是日常聊天裡。

Though actually, once you have seen one, the idea is simple — it is just a way of watching electricity move through time, the way a heart monitor watches a heartbeat.

Though actually不過其實, once you have seen one只要你看過一次, the idea is simple概念其實很簡單——it is just a way of watching electricity move through time就是一種看著電流隨時間變化的方式, the way a heart monitor watches a heartbeat就像心臟監視器看著心跳一樣。