2021年经济学人 2021诺贝尔奖(1)

Science and Technology

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The 2021 Nobel science prizes and the winners are......

2021年诺贝尔科学奖的获得者是……

This year’s Nobel prizes brought both delight and disbelief

今年的诺贝尔奖让人既高兴又难以置信

Important work was honoured, but there was a surprising omission¹

重大科学成就得到了尊重和认可，但也有一个令人惊讶的遗漏

SCIENTISTS SOMETIMES refer elliptically to winning a Nobel prize as “the trip to Stockholm”. Not this year, it isn’t.

科学家有时会将获得诺贝尔奖的过程简略地称为“斯德哥尔摩之旅”。今年可不是这样。

The white-tie award ceremony in the Concert Hall, the splendid banquet in the City Hall and—for those who can last the pace, the equally splendid unofficial after-party in the students’ union of one of Stockholm’s universities (they rotate the honour) are all cancelled, just as they were last year.

音乐厅最隆重的颁奖典礼、市政厅的盛大宴会，以及斯德哥尔摩一所大学学生会同样精彩纷呈的非官方庆祝会（它们将会轮流颁发荣誉）都被取消了，就像去年一样。

That will probably not, however, diminish the joy of this year’s laureates. They will be on cloud nine already, having snagged the most famous awards in science.

然而，这可能不会减少今年获奖者的喜悦。他们已经获得了科学界最著名的奖项，已经欣喜若狂了。

The physics prize went to three researchers who have studied complex, chaotic² and apparently³ random⁴ systems and developed ways to predict their long-term behaviour, with implications ranging from how to study the climate to the exploitation of exotic materials.

诺贝尔物理学奖颁给了三名研究人员，他们研究了复杂、混乱和完全随机的物理系统，并开发了预测它们长期行为的方法，涉及的范围从如何研究气候到开发创新材料。

Half of the award of SKr10m (about $1.1m) was shared by Syukuro Manabe of Princeton University and Klaus Hasselmann of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, in Hamburg.

1000万瑞典克朗（约合110万美元）奖金的一半由普林斯顿大学的真锅淑郎（Syukuro Manabe）和克劳斯·哈塞尔曼（Klaus Hasselmann）共享。

The other half went to Giorgio Parisi of Sapienza, the principal university in Rome.

另一半给予了就职于罗马的重点大学——罗马大学的乔治·帕里西（Giorgio Parisi）。

Drs Manabe and Hasselmann laid the foundations of the modelling of Earth’s climate that led to “quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming”, according to the Nobel Committee for Physics of Sweden’s Royal Academy of Science.

瑞典皇家科学院诺贝尔物理学委员会表示，真锅淑郎和哈塞尔曼为建立地球气候的物理建模奠定了基础，该模型可量化可变性并可靠地预测全球变暖。

Dr Parisi was awarded his share for discoveries around the “interplay of disorder⁵ and fluctuations⁶ in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales”.

帕里西博士发现了从原子到行星尺度的物理系统中无序和涨落的相互作用而获奖。

In the 1960s Dr Manabe, an atmospheric⁷ scientist, wove together emerging strands⁸ of understanding of the dynamics⁹ and thermodynamics of Earth’s atmosphere to make the first reliable prediction that doubling the level of carbon dioxide present would also increase the planet’s surface temperature.

20世纪60年代，气象学家真锅淑郎博士对地球大气动力学和热力学的新认识结合，做出了第一个可靠的预测，即目前存在的二氧化碳水平翻一番也会提高地球表面的温度。

His work led to the development of physical models of Earth’s climate and laid the foundation for the climate models used today.

他的成果促进了地球气候物理模型的发展，并为今天使用的气候模型奠定了基础。

Around the same time, scientists such as Edward Lorenz of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were beginning to describe weather as a chaotic system—in other words, something that had so many interacting individual components¹⁰, such as temperature, pressure, humidity and wind speed, that even small variations in initial conditions could result in enormous differences at a later stage.

大约在同一时间，麻省理工学院的爱德华·洛伦兹等科学家开始将天气描述为一个混沌的系统，换句话说，它包含如此多相互作用且独立的成分，如温度、压力、湿度和风速，以致于即使初始条件的微小变化也可能在后期导致巨大的差异。

In this description, weather evolved rapidly and became essentially¹¹ unpredictable even just a few days into the future.

在这个描述中，天气演变迅速，甚至在未来短短几天内也变得基本上不可预测。

In the 1970s Dr Hasselmann developed models to show how weather, despite being chaotic and unpredictable in the short-term, could yield reliable models to foreshadow Earth’s climate over much longer periods.

在20世纪70年代，哈塞尔曼博士开发了一些模型来展示，尽管天气在短期内是混乱和不可预测的，但它可以产生可靠的模型来预测更长时间内的地球气候。

In describing his work he made an analogy to Brownian motion, the jostling movement of pollen¹² grains in water that was first observed down a microscope by Robert Brown, a botanist¹³, in 1827.

在描述他的工作时，他将其比作布朗运动，1827年植物学家罗伯特·布朗（Robert Brown）首次在显微镜下观察到水中花粉颗粒的不规则碰撞运动。

Almost 80 years later, Albert Einstein posited¹⁴ that the slow zigzagging¹⁵ of such grains could be explained by their continual bombardment by much tinier, fast-moving water molecules¹⁶.

将近80年后，阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦（Albert Einstein）提出，这些颗粒的缓慢之字形运动是因为它们不断受到更细小、快速运动的水分子的轰击产生的。

The large-scale climate can similarly be seen as a consequence of numerous smaller events.

同样，大范围的气候变化也可以看作是众多小事件的结果。

Around 1980 Dr Parisi found some of the rules that govern apparently random phenomena¹⁷.

大约在1980年，帕里西博士发现了一些支配明显随机现象的规则。

He studied a type of material called “spin glass”, in which, for example, iron atoms are mixed at random into a matrix of copper¹⁸ atoms.

他研究了一种名为“自旋玻璃”的材料，例如，在这种材料中，铁原子被随机混合到铜原子内部。

The iron atoms each behave as tiny magnets but, whereas in a normal lump of magnetised metal their north-south poles all point in the same direction, in a spin glass they do not.

每个铁原子的行为都像微小的磁铁，但在正常的磁化金属块中，它们的南北极都指向相同的方向，而在自旋玻璃中却不是这样。

Dr Parisi devised a way to understand how they find their optimal¹⁹ orientations²⁰.

帕里西博士设计了一种方法来了解它们是如何找到最佳方向的。

His mathematical ideas not only help explain some of the complex systems of Earth’s climate, as described by his two fellow laureates, but also illuminate²¹ other apparently random phenomena in fields as diverse as animal behaviour, neuroscience and machine learning.

他的数学思想不仅有助于解释地球气候的一些复杂系统，正如两位获奖者所描述的那样，还解释了动物行为、神经科学和机器学习等领域中的其他明显随机的现象。

This year’s physics prize is the first scientific Nobel awarded for understanding of the climate.

今年的物理学奖是首个因对气候的理解而获奖的诺贝尔科学奖。

Asked if this was a not-so-subtle message to world leaders ahead of the upcoming COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, members of the award committee said the prize was meant to celebrate the discoveries themselves.

当被问到即将在格拉斯哥举行的COP26气候峰会之前，这是否向世界各国领导人传递了一个不那么微妙的信息时，颁奖委员会成员表示，获奖是为了庆祝这些发现本身。

But, they added, it also showed that the modelling of the climate and the notion of global warming rest on solid physical science.

他们补充说，这也表明气候模型和全球变暖的概念是建立在坚实的物理科学基础上的。

Human beings can no longer say they did not know how or why Earth is heating up.

人类再也不能说他们不知道地球是怎样以及为什么变暖的。

1 omission   

n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长

参考例句：

• The omission of the girls was unfair.把女孩排除在外是不公平的。
• The omission of this chapter from the third edition was a gross oversight.第三版漏印这一章是个大疏忽。

2 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

5 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

6 fluctuations   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。

7 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

8 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

10 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

12 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

13 botanist   

n.植物学家

参考例句：

• The botanist introduced a new species of plant to the region.那位植物学家向该地区引入了一种新植物。
• I had never talked with a botanist before,and I found him fascinating.我从没有接触过植物学那一类的学者，我觉得他说话极有吸引力。

14 posited   

v.假定，设想，假设( posit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Several writers have posited the idea of a universal consciousness. 有几个作者都假设存在普遍意识。 来自辞典例句
• All cash receipts should be recorded and de-posited daily. 所有的现金收据应该被每日记录和存放。 来自互联网

15 zigzagging   

v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀

参考例句：

• She walked along, zigzagging with her head back. 她回头看着，弯弯扭扭地向前走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We followed the path zigzagging up the steep slope. 我们沿着小径曲曲折折地爬上陡坡。 来自互联网

16 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

17 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

18 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

19 optimal   

adj.最适宜的；最理想的；最令人满意的

参考例句：

• What is the optimal mix of private and public property rights in natural resources?私人和国家的自然资源产权的最适宜的组合是什么？
• Optimal path planning is a key link for the sailing contest.帆船最优行驶路径规划是帆船比赛取胜的关键环节。

20 orientations   

n.方向( orientation的名词复数 )；定位；（任职等前的）培训；环境判定

参考例句：

• Welfare comparisons are also hindered by differences in orientations among economic systems. 经济制度之间倾向性的差别也会妨碍福利的比较。 来自辞典例句
• Their different value orientations led to different results in literary creation. 价值取向的分野亦导致了不同的创作局面。 来自互联网

21 illuminate   

vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释

参考例句：

• Dreams kindle a flame to illuminate our dark roads.梦想点燃火炬照亮我们黑暗的道路。
• They use games and drawings to illuminate their subject.他们用游戏和图画来阐明他们的主题。