TED演讲：气味背后的科学(6)

 　　So I went searching when I started in this game to convince myself that there was any degree of plausibility¹ to this whole crazy story.  在这个游戏的最初，我就开始寻找说服我自己，这个理论有一定的合理性，这整个故事有点疯狂。

　　I went searching for a type of molecule², any molecule, that would have that vibration³ and that -- the obvious prediction was that it should absolutely smell of sulfur⁴.  我开始寻找一种分子，任何分子会有那种震动的分子--明显地，我预测那种分子一定闻起来像硫。

　　If it didn't, the whole idea was toast, and I might as well move on to other things. 如果闻起来不像，那么整个想法就是糟糕透顶，我最好还是去做别的事情。

　　Now, after searching high and low for several months, I discovered that there was a type of molecule called a Borane which has exactly the same vibration.  在到处寻找几个月后，我发现有一种叫做硼烷的分子和硫有一模一样的震动。

　　Now the good news is, Boranes you can get hold of.  好消息是硼烷是可以获取的。

　　The bad news is they're rocket fuels. Most of them explode spontaneously in contact with air,  坏消息是它是火箭燃料，大部分情况下它们在遇到空气的瞬间就会爆炸，

　　and when you call up the companies, they only give you minimum ten tons, OK?  而且你打电话向公司询问，他们会告诉你你最少要买10顿。

　　So this was not what they call a laboratory-scale experiment, and they wouldn't have liked it at my college. 所以这不是一个实验室规模的实验，我所工作的学院也不会喜欢这个主意。

1 plausibility   

n. 似有道理, 能言善辩

参考例句：

• We can add further plausibility to the above argument. 我们可以在上述论据之外，再进一步增添一个合理的论据。
• Let us consider the charges she faces, and the legal plausibility of those charges. 让我们考虑一下她面临的指控以及这些指控在法律上的可信性。

2 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

3 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

4 sulfur   

n.硫，硫磺（=sulphur）

参考例句：

• Sulfur emissions from steel mills become acid rain.炼钢厂排放出的硫形成了酸雨。
• Burning may produce sulfur oxides.燃烧可能会产生硫氧化物。