TED演讲:原子究竟有多小?(2)

 　　So if you popped open the blueberry and were searching for the nucleus¹  如果你在蓝莓的内部搜索原子核，结果是一无所获。

　　You know what? It would be invisible. It's too small to see! 知道为什么吗？因为我们看不到它！它太小了，我们看不到！

　　OK. Let's blow up the atom -- the blueberry -- to the size of a house. 因此我们把原子，也就是蓝莓，放大到房子的尺寸。

　　So imagine a ball that is as tall as a two-story house. 想象一下有两层房屋那么高。

　　Let's look for the nucleus in the center of the atom. 然后在寻找原子中央的原子核，

　　And do you know what? It would just barely be visible.  你知道吗？原子核还是几乎不可见。

　　So to get our minds wrapped around how big the nucleus is, 所以想要直到原子核到底有多大，

　　we need to blow up the blueberry, up to the size of a football stadium. 我们必须把蓝莓放大到橄榄球场那样大。

　　So imagine a ball the size of a football stadium, 然后想象一下橄榄球场大小的球。

　　and right smack² dab³ in the center of the atom, you would find the nucleus, and you could see it! 原子不偏不倚的中央一小点，你就会找到原子核，而且你可以看得到它。

　　And it would be the size of a small marble. 而它只有玻璃弹珠大小。

　　And there's more, if I haven't blown your mind by now. 不仅仅如此，如果现在你都没有被震撼到，

　　Let's consider the atom some more. It contains protons, neutrons⁴ and electrons. 我们来更详尽地了解原子。原子中包含了质子，中子，电子。

　　The protons and neutrons live inside of the nucleus, and contain almost all of the mass of the atom. 质子和中子是在原子核之内，且占了原子大部分的重量。

　　Way on the edge are the electrons. 在原子边缘的是电子。

　　So if an atom is like a ball the size of a football stadium, 如果原子像一个橄榄球场那样大的话，

　　with the nucleus in the center, and the electrons on the edge, what is in between the nucleus and the electrons? 原子核在中央，而电子在边缘，那么两者之间的东西又是什么呢？

　　Surprisingly, the answer is empty space. That's right. Empty! 相当令人惊讶，答案是什么都没有。没错，空无一物！

　　Now, technically⁵ there are some electromagnetic fields, but in terms of stuff, matter, it is empty. 严格的说来那里存在着电磁场，但就本质而言，那里是空的。

　　Remember this vast region of empty space is inside the blueberry, 记得这一大片空间，是位于和组成地球的蓝莓一样大的原子之中

　　which is inside the Earth, which really are the atoms in the grapefruit. 组成地球的蓝莓就好比是葡萄柚里的原子。

1 nucleus   

n.核，核心，原子核

参考例句：

• These young people formed the nucleus of the club.这些年轻人成了俱乐部的核心。
• These councils would form the nucleus of a future regime.这些委员会将成为一个未来政权的核心。

2 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

3 dab   

v.轻触，轻拍，轻涂；n.(颜料等的)轻涂

参考例句：

• She returned wearing a dab of rouge on each cheekbone.她回来时，两边面颊上涂有一点淡淡的胭脂。
• She gave me a dab of potatoes with my supper.她给我晚饭时，还给了一点土豆。

4 neutrons   

n.中子( neutron的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The neutrons and protons form the core of the atom. 中子和质子构成了原子核。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When an atom of U235 is split,several neutrons are set free. 一个铀235原子分裂时，释放出几个中子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。