万物简史 第201期:威力巨大的原子(15)

 　　As physicists² began to delve³ into this subatomic realm, they realized that it wasn't merely different from anything we knew, but different from anything ever imagined. "Because atomic behavior is so unlike ordinary experience," Richard Feynman once observed, "it is very difficult to get used to and it appears peculiar⁴ and mysterious to everyone, both to the novice⁵ and to the experienced physicist¹." When Feynman made that comment, physicists had had half a century to adjust to the strangeness of atomic behavior. So think how it must have felt to Rutherford and his colleagues in the early 1910s when it was all brand new.

　　随着物理学家们深入这个亚原子世界，他们意识到，那里不仅不同于我们所熟悉的任何东西，也不同于所能想像的任何东西。“由于原子的行为如此不同于普通的经验，”理查德·费曼有一次说，“你是很难习惯的。在大家看来，无论在新手还是在有经验的物理学家看来，它显得又古怪，又神秘。”到费曼发表这番评论的时候，物理学家们已经有半个世纪的时间来适应原子的古怪行为。因此，你可以想像，卢瑟福和他的同事们在20世纪初会有什么感觉。它在当时还完全是个新鲜事物。

　　原子结构图

　　One of the people working with Rutherford was a mild and affable young Dane named Niels Bohr. In 1913, while puzzling over the structure of the atom, Bohr had an idea so exciting that he postponed⁶ his honeymoon⁷ to write what became a landmark⁸ paper. Because physicists couldn't see anything so small as an atom, they had to try to work out its structure from how it behaved when they did things to it, as Rutherford had done by firing alpha particles at foil. Sometimes, not surprisingly, the results of these experiments were puzzling. One puzzle that had been around for a long time had to do with spectrum⁹ readings of the wavelengths¹⁰ of hydrogen. These produced patterns showing that hydrogen atoms emitted energy at certain wavelengths but not others. It was rather as if someone under surveillance kept turning up at particular locations but was never observed traveling between them. No one could understand why this should be.

　　与卢瑟福一起工作的人当中，有个和蔼可亲的丹麦年轻人，名叫尼尔斯·玻尔。1913年，他在思索原子结构的过程中，突然有了个激动人心的想法。他推迟了蜜月，写出了一篇具有划时代意义的论文。物理学家们看不见原子这样的小东西，他们不得不试图根据它在外来条件作用下的表现方式来确定它的结构，比如像卢瑟福那样向金箔发射α粒子。有时候，这类实验的结果是令人费解的，那也不足为怪。有个存在很久的难题跟氢的波长的光谱读数有关。它们产生的形状显示，氢原子在有的波长释放能量，在有的波长不释放能量。这犹如一个受到监视的人，不断出现在特定的地点，但永远也看不到他是怎么跑过来跑过去的。谁也说不清是什么原因。

1 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。

2 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。

3 delve   

v.深入探究，钻研

参考例句：

• We should not delve too deeply into this painful matter.我们不应该过分深究这件痛苦的事。
• We need to delve more deeply into these questions.这些是我们想进一步了解的。

4 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

5 novice   

adj.新手的，生手的

参考例句：

• As a novice writer,this is something I'm interested in.作为初涉写作的人，我对此很感兴趣。
• She realized that she was a novice.她知道自己初出茅庐。

6 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

7 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

8 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

9 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

10 wavelengths   

n.波长( wavelength的名词复数 )；具有相同的/不同的思路；合拍；不合拍

参考例句：

• I find him difficult to talk to—we're on completely different wavelengths. 我没法和他谈话，因为我们俩完全不对路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sunlight consists of different wavelengths of radiation. 阳光由几种不同波长的射线组成。 来自辞典例句