英文杂志-Physics

 　　In the square outside the British Library in London is a sculpture of Sir Isaac Newton - The first man who asked why apples seem always to fall towards the centre of the earth. Maybe they chose it for the spot because it shows a great scientist at work. Actually, it is a critical view of a great scientist, which comes originally from a drawing by William Blake, the romantic poet and artist. Blake wanted to show the limits of science, that it could never understand the beauty and strangeness of nature. The sculpture shows a man crouching¹ down to draw a right-angle on the ground or to measure something he can’t see. Maybe he’s trying to find the direction to the centre of the earth. In Blake’s original you can see strange complicated² rocks around Newton that he does not seem interested in studying.

　　A lot of things in the universe can be measured, but people want to know why they are that size. We know the mass of a quark and the charge on an electron³. These are constants. It turns out that these numbers HAVE to be exactly what they are, because if they were different we would not be here. You, me and the physicists⁴, we’re part of the universe. We have to be here to make physics, so physics has to describe a universe where there can be people. Gravity is another problem for physics - because it is everywhere and acts on everything, including space itself. It’s different from other forces like electricity or radiation, because you can’t stop it or turn it off.

　　Modern physicists still look mostly at things we can’t see. (They think gravity might happen because of something no-one has ever detected⁵ called the Higg’s boson.) Either very small things in quantum physics or very big things like galaxies⁶. Putting them together is the main problem of modern physics. The universe and space and time described by Einstein and the fuzzy fast-moving little sub-atomic particles⁸ and small things that might make them up. If you want to know how the universe began - with a tiny size but very big mass, then you need a theory that fits both together. At the moment, the theory suggests that the things we can see – stars and planets⁹ etc. make up only 5% of the universe. The rest is 25% “dark matter” and 70% “dark energy”.

　　A theory that could explain all that would be a ‘theory of everything” - the real laws of nature. There are already suggestions of what it might be. Scientists think that the laws of nature might be rather simple, even though the real world is full of strange and beautifully complicated things. One suggestion is called “string theory”, the idea is that inside every particle⁷ there is some energy that is like the string of a musical instrument – the way it vibrates¹⁰ makes a different sort of particle. At the moment they say there are 18 sorts.

　　Physicists say that string theory needs extra dimensions¹¹. There are other directions where energy can get carried away, and other particles which no one has seen. They try to find them in particle accelerators where protons go round in circles in tunnels getting faster and faster until they reach almost exactly the speed of light. This year the Large Hadron Collider should start work in Switzerland and it is just possible that they will find the Higg’s boson, or even the little strings¹² inside it. In 2005, there are also still poets and romantics who would prefer to look for nature’s secrets in other places.

1 crouching   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
• A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

2 complicated   

adj.错综复杂的，麻烦的，结构复杂的

参考例句：

• The poem is so complicated that I cannot make out its meaning.这首诗太复杂，我理解不了它的意思。
• This is the most complicated case I have ever handled.这是我所处理过的最为复杂的案子。

3 electron   

n.电子

参考例句：

• We arrange to get an electron on the stage of our microscope.我们设法将一个电子置于显微镜架上。
• If the energy is sufficient,this electron will be emitted.如果能量是充分的，这个电子将被放射出来。

4 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

5 detected   

vt.[无]对…检波v.发现，发觉，查明( detect的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks. 我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I detected a faint note of weariness in his voice. 我从他的声音中察觉出一丝倦意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 galaxies   

星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）

参考例句：

• Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
• We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。

7 particle   

n.微粒，颗粒，粒子；小品词，语助词

参考例句：

• There is not a particle of truth in what you said.你所说的没有一句是实话。
• This particle has a very small mass.这种粒子的质量很小。

8 particles   

微粒( particle的名词复数 )； 颗粒； 极少量； 小品词

参考例句：

• These small particles agglomerate together to form larger clusters. 这些颗粒聚结形成较大的团。
• The nucleus of an atom consists of neutrons, protons and other particles. 原子核由中子、质子和其他粒子构成。

9 planets   

行星( planet的名词复数 )； 地球（尤指环境）

参考例句：

• Does life exist on other planets? 其他行星上有生命吗？
• the planets of our solar system 太阳系的行星

10 vibrates   

v.（使）振动[颤动]( vibrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The diaphragm vibrates, thus setting the air around it in motion. 膜片振动，这使得周围的空气也动荡起来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her heart vibrates with excitement. 她的心因兴奋而悸动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 dimensions   

vi.按规格尺寸切割vt.在…上标尺寸n.面积；特点；（长、宽、厚、高等的）尺寸；重要性；尺寸( dimension的名词复数 )；方面；（长、宽、高的）量度；规模

参考例句：

• We measured the dimensions of the kitchen. 我们测量了厨房的大小。
• What are the dimensions of this room? 这房间的面积是多大？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。