国家地理 粒子对撞实验可能毁灭地球?

The most powerful atom smasher ever built could make some bizarre discoveries,

有史以来最有威力的核粒子加速器8月份开启以来，有一些奇异的发现，

such as new forces of nature or even extra dimensions of space, after it's switched on in August.

比如自然界新的力量甚至空间的多维性。

The Large Hadron Collider, or LHC, basically consists of a ring of supercooled magnets 17 miles

这个巨大的粒子对撞机，或者简称LHC，基本构成是一个周长17英里的过冷的磁环，

in circumference¹ attached to huge barrel-shaped detectors².

附着在一个巨大的桶形的探测器上。

The ring which straddles the French and Swiss borders at the CERN center is buried 330 feet underground. But some have fears.

该磁环位于法国和瑞士边境上的CERN中心，埋于地面以下330尺。但是有人有一些担忧。

Will it spawn³ a black hole that could swallow Earth or spit out particles that could turn the planet into a hot dead clump⁴?

会不会产生黑洞并将地球吞噬？会不会分裂出粒子，让地球走向毁灭？

LHC is only going to reproduce what nature does every second and has been doing for billions of years,

LHC只是重塑过去自然界做的并且几十亿年以来一直在做的，

and all those astronomical⁵ bodies including the Earth and the Sun. They are still here.

和所有的天体，包括地球和太阳。现在地球和太阳仍然存在于宇宙中。

So though there really is no problem, but okay, if people are concerned about it, we'll certainly discuss it.

所以根本不会有任何问题。但是如果有人为这些担忧的话，我们在这里可以进行讨论。

The safety of the collider, which will generate energies 7 times higher

对撞机产生的能量是芝加哥的菲尔米国家加速器实验室

than its most powerful rival at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory here in Chicago, has been debated for years.

最有威力的对手的7倍。所以，几年以来，对于对撞机的安全性一直存在争议。

When you collide two particles, it nearly seems like colliding two mosquitoes.

当你让两个粒子碰撞的时候，几乎看上去就像两只蚊子相撞。

These will be incredibly small black holes with no more energy than a mosquito.

这个过程造成的黑洞小的不可思议，产生的能量不会超过一只蚊子。

Very likely these things are not going to be made at all. If they are made, then they're surely going to decay.

或者很可能根本就不会产生黑洞或者能量。即使产生了，也必定很快就消失了。

A lawsuit⁶ was filed against CERN and its US partners in a Hawaiian court on March 21st, but a ruling has yet to be made.

有关部门3月21日在夏威夷法庭对CERN和美国的合作伙伴提起诉，但是尚未判决。

I think obviously we have no concern at all.

我认为我们完全没必要担心。

There is a huge community of scientists who know what they are talking about and are sleeping quite soundly concerning LHC.

那里有大批科学家，他们知道他们在坦坤什么，关于LHC，他们安枕无忧。

But nevertheless this creates problems in the general public where LHC is concerned and we have to answer to that.

但是既然公众担忧可能会产生问题，我们就必须进行回答。

The machine, which has been called the largest scientific experiment in history,

该对撞机被称为有史以来最大的科学实验，

isn't expected to begin test rounds until August, and ramping⁷ up to full power could take months.

可能一直到8月份才会进行测试，充分发挥能量则需要几个月的时间。

1 circumference   

n.圆周，周长，圆周线

参考例句：

• It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
• The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。

2 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

3 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。

4 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

5 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

6 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

7 ramping   

土堤斜坡( ramp的现在分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• The children love ramping about in the garden. 孩子们喜欢在花园里追逐嬉戏，闹着玩。
• Have you ever seen a lion ramping around? 你看到过狮子暴跳吗？