VOA标准英语2014--Scientists Create Blackest Material Ever

 

Scientists Create Blackest Material Ever

Of all the black things in the universe only the infamous¹ "black holes" are so black that not even a tiny amount of light can bounce back.  But scientists have managed to create material almost as black, and it has enormous potential use.

One of the reasons astronomical² telescopes are built high up in the mountains and away from large population centers is the problem of stray light.  Images of galaxies³ millions light years away are so faint that reflections even from the black walls inside the optical telescope can reduce their quality.

If you get stray light - i.e. light from non-target objects - bouncing around inside the telescope, it increases the signal to noise ratio and you do not get such a sharp image," said Ben Jensen, chief technology officer of the British firm Surrey Nanosystems. 

The company claims its material called Vantablack absorbs 99.96 percent of electromagnetic radiation, including all visible light.  Only the black holes absorb 100 percent of light.

Vantablack is made out of nanotubes, extremely small structures of perfectly-aligned⁴ atoms of pure carbon, often called the material of the 21st century.

Light hitting Vantablack simply loses itself in the maze⁵ of tiny, vertically⁶ aligned strands⁷ of nanotubes so you actually cannot see it, you see only the space around it.

“So if you think about this like a field of grass that is exceptionally long, and what happens, light particles, for want of a better word, go in and they bounce around in that field of grass and they are absorbed by the material, so very little will come back out," said Jensen.

Engineers managed to bind⁸ the new material to a matrix, such as aluminum⁹ foil, which means it could be used for coating the walls of optical and other instruments carried by scientific and reconnaissance satellites.

But Vantablack may also find application in stealth technology, making military aircraft even less visible to electromagnetic waves coming from radar¹⁰. 

1 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

2 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。

3 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。

4 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

5 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

6 vertically   

adv.垂直地

参考例句：

• Line the pages for the graph both horizontally and vertically.在这几页上同时画上横线和竖线，以便制作图表。
• The human brain is divided vertically down the middle into two hemispheres.人脑从中央垂直地分为两半球。

7 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

9 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

10 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。