【英语时差8,16】隐形人同样无法看到你2

On a previous Moment of Science we discussed one of the problems with turning yourself invisible.   Sure, it sounds like fun. But a little physics showed us that the invisible man couldn't see anything either, because in order to see, light has to interact¹ with our retinas. If you are invisible, light doesn't interact with you at all -- it passes right through.

Unfortunately, that's not the worst of the invisible man's troubles. As soon as he drank that invisibility potion, he would also fall apart.

To understand why we have to think for a moment about what light is. "Light" is just the term we use for electromagnetic energy at frequencies that we can see. Whenever we see something, our eyes are responding to the electromagnetic energy that is reaching them from some object.

But that's not all electromagnetic energy does. It's also responsible for the "opposites attract" rule. At the level of the atom, electromagnetic energy is what holds positively-charged protons to negatively-charged electrons. It also pulls together positive atoms and negative ones. These kinds of interactions are essential to keeping matter in a stable form.

Now, if the light passes right through the invisible man, that's the same thing as saying his body no longer interacts² with electromagnetic energy. If that's true, the atoms that make up his body are in big trouble -- all rules are off. In an instant they would fly apart, and our invisible friend would disappear, this time for good.   

1 interact   

vi.相互作用，相互影响，互通信息

参考例句：

• All things are interrelated and interact on each other.一切事物互相联系并相互作用。
• The policeman advised the criminal to interact with the police.警察劝罪犯与警方合作。

2 interacts   

v.相互作用[影响]，互相配合( interact的第三人称单数 )；交流；沟通；合作

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Antigen interacts with the surface of sensitized mast cells. 抗原与致敏的肥大细胞表面互相作用。 来自辞典例句