VOA科学技术2023--Australians Claim to Create Most Complete Map of Universe’s History

Australians Claim to Create Most Complete Map of Universe’s History

Australian researchers say they have produced the most complete history of the universe to date. An Australian National University team says the study offers new ideas about how the universe might have started.

The research team says the study's aim was to understand the beginnings of all the objects in the universe.

The American space agency, NASA, says the universe "includes all of space, and all the matter and energy that space contains. It even includes time itself and, of course, it includes you."

NASA adds that "the Milky¹ Way is but one of billions of galaxies² in the observable universe -- all of them, including our own, are thought to have supermassive black holes at their centers."

A black hole is an area in space with gravity so strong that even light cannot escape it.

The Australian team says it has created the most complete maps showing the history of the universe.

The lead writer is honorary professor Charley Lineweaver. He said that when the universe began 13.8 billion years ago in a hot big bang, there were no objects, such as atoms, people, planets, stars, or galaxies.

The writers say the mapping provides new ideas about how the universe came into being.

The Australian National University (ANU) study is published in the most recent publication of The American Journal of Physics.

The first map shows temperature and density³ of the universe as it expanded and cooled. The second map shows the mass and size of all objects in the universe.

The ANU researchers say the study suggests the universe may have started as what is known as an instanton not a singularity. An instanton has a defined size and mass. A singularity is defined as a point of infinite density and temperature.

Put simply, this would mean that the beginning of the universe was not infinite in size. That is important because researchers say that what lies beyond the limits of the universe is "also a major mystery."

Lineweaver told VOA that mapping the universe will increase our understanding of it.

"When you extrapolate in so many different ways it gives you just a lay of the land that I just think is a beautiful way of understanding the universe," he said. "If there is one way to understand the Big Bang, it started out hot and dense⁴ and it got cooler and less dense, and as it did that, particles and objects of all kinds condensed out of this hot, dense background."

He said that understanding that is something that we should all make an attempt to do because that is probably the most important understanding underlying⁵ the history of the universe.

Lineweaver says he believes that research into the beginning of the universe could help to answer some basic scientific questions about life beyond Earth.

"The basic idea is, well, if we can figure out how we got here, maybe we can make better guesses about whether other life forms have evolved elsewhere."

Words in This Story

galaxy⁶ – n. any one of the very large groups of stars that make up the universe

bang – n. an implosion⁷ or explosion

infinite – adj. having no limits

extrapolate – v. to form an opinion or to make an estimate about something from known facts

condense – v. to change from a gas into a liquid

evolve – v. to develop from something else

1 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

2 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。

3 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

4 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

5 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

6 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

7 implosion   

n.向内破裂，内爆

参考例句：

• The population explosion is accompanied by a population implosion.人口爆炸还伴随着人口爆聚。