万物简史 第165期:爱因斯坦的宇宙(8)

 　　Remarkably¹, and despite his findings, when the twentieth century dawned Michelson counted himself among those who believed that the work of science was nearly at an end, with "only a few turrets² and pinnacles³ to be added, a few roof bosses to be carved," in the words of a writer in Nature.

　　令人注目的是，尽管他有了这项发现，当20世纪来到的时候，迈克尔逊觉得自己和别人一样，认为科学工作快要走到尽头——用一位作者在《自然》杂志上的话来说：“只要添上几个角楼和尖顶，在房顶上刻几处浮雕就够了。”

　　In fact, of course, the world was about to enter a century of science where many people wouldn’t understand anything and none would understand everything. Scientists would soon find themselves adrift in a bewildering realm of particles and antiparticles, where things pop in and out of existence in spans of time that make nanoseconds look plodding⁴ and uneventful, where everything is strange. Science was moving from a world of macrophysics, where objects could be seen and held and measured, to one of microphysics, where events transpire⁵ with unimaginable swiftness on scales far below the limits of imagining. We were about to enter the quantum age, and the first person to push on the door was the so-far unfortunate Max Planck.

　　当然，实际上，世界即将进入一个科学的世纪。到时候，谁都会懂得一点，谁都不会什么都懂。科学家快要发现自己在粒子和反粒子的汪洋大海里漂浮，东西瞬间存在，瞬间消失，使毫微秒时间也显得十分缓慢，平平常常，一切都是那么古怪。科学正从宏观物理学向微观物理学转变。前者，物体看得见，摸得着，量得出；后者，事情倏忽发生，快得不可思议，完全超出了想像的范围。我们快要进入一个量子时代，而推动其大门的第一人就是那位迄今为止一直很倒霉的马克斯·普朗克。

　　对待事物的态度

　　In 1900, now a theoretical physicist⁶ at the University of Berlin and at the somewhat advanced age of forty-two, Planck unveiled a new “quantum theory,” which posited⁷ that energy is not a continuous thing like flowing water but comes in individualized packets, which he called quanta. This was a novel concept, and a good one. In the short term it would help to provide a solution to the puzzle of the Michelson-Morley experiments in that it demonstrated that light needn’t be a wave after all. In the longer term it would lay the foundation for the whole of modern physics. It was, at all events, the first clue that the world was about to change.

　　1900年，普朗克42岁，已是柏林大学的理论物理学家。他揭示了一种新的“量子理论”，该理论认为，能量不是一种流水般连续的，而是一包包地传送的东西，他称其为量子。这确实是一种新奇的概念，而且是一种很好的概念。从短期来说，它能为迈克尔逊-莫雷实验之谜提供一种解释，因为它表明光原来不一定是一种波动。从长远来说，它将为整个现代物理学奠定基础。无论如何，它是第一个迹象，表明世界快要发生变化。

1 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

2 turrets   

（六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车

参考例句：

• The Northampton's three turrets thundered out white smoke and pale fire. “诺思安普敦号”三座炮塔轰隆隆地冒出白烟和淡淡的火光。
• If I can get to the gun turrets, I'll have a chance. 如果我能走到炮塔那里，我就会赢得脱险的机会。

3 pinnacles   

顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔

参考例句：

• What would be the pinnacles of your acting and music? 对你而言什麽代表你的演技和音乐的巅峰？
• On Skye's Trotternish Peninsula, basalt pinnacles loom over the Sound of Raasay. 在斯开岛的特洛登尼许半岛，玄武岩尖塔俯瞰着拉塞海峡。

4 plodding   

a.proceeding in a slow or dull way

参考例句：

• They're still plodding along with their investigation. 他们仍然在不厌其烦地进行调查。
• He is plodding on with negotiations. 他正缓慢艰难地进行着谈判。

5 transpire   

v.(使)蒸发，(使)排出 ；泄露，公开

参考例句：

• We do not know what may transpire when we have a new boss.当新老板来后，我们不知会有什么发生。
• When lack of water,commonly plants would transpire as a way for cool.在缺乏水分时，植物一般用蒸发作为降温的手段。

6 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

7 posited   

v.假定，设想，假设( posit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Several writers have posited the idea of a universal consciousness. 有几个作者都假设存在普遍意识。 来自辞典例句
• All cash receipts should be recorded and de-posited daily. 所有的现金收据应该被每日记录和存放。 来自互联网