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万物简史(MP3+中英字幕) 第187期:威力巨大的原子(01)

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9 The Mighty Atom
第九章威力巨大的原子

While Einstein and Hubble were productively unraveling the large-scale structure of the cosmos,
当爱因斯坦和哈勃在弄清宇宙的大尺度结构方面成果累累的时候，

others were struggling to understand something closer to hand but in its way just as remote:
另一些人在努力搞懂近在手边的而从他们的角度来看又是非常遥远的东西：

the tiny and ever-mysterious atom.
微小而又永远神秘的原子。

The great Caltech physicist Richard Feynman once observed
加州理工学院伟大的物理学家理查德·费曼有一次发现，

that if you had to reduce scientific history to one important statement it would be "All things are made of atoms."
要是你不得不把科学史压缩成一句重要的话，它就会是：“一切东西都是由原子构成的。”

They are everywhere and they constitute every thing.
哪里都有原子，原子构成一切。

Look around you. It is all atoms.
你四下里望一眼，全是原子。

Not just the solid things like walls and tables and sofas, but the air in between.
不但墙壁、桌子等等这样的固体是原子，中间的空气也是原子。

And they are there in numbers that you really cannot conceive.
原子大量存在，多得简直无法想像。

The basic working arrangement of atoms is the molecule (from the Latin for "little mass").
原子的基本工作形式是分子（源自拉丁文，意思是“小团物质”）。

A molecule is simply two or more atoms working together in a more or less stable arrangement:
一个分子就是两个或两个以上以相对稳定的形式一起工作的原子：

add two atoms of hydrogen to one of oxygen and you have a molecule of water.
一个氧原子加上两个氢原子，你就得到一个水分子。

Chemists tend to think in terms of molecules rather than elements
化学家往往以分子而不是以元素来考虑问题，

in much the way that writers tend to think in terms of words and not letters,
就像作家往往以单词而不是以字母来考虑问题一样，

so it is molecules they count, and these are numerous to say the least.
因此他们计算的是分子。分子的数量起码可以说是很多的。

At sea level, at a temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, one cubic centimeter of air
在海平面的高度、零摄氏度温度的情况下，一立方厘米空气

(that is, a space about the size of a sugar cube) will contain 45 billion billion molecules.
（大约相当于一块方糖所占的空间）所含的分子多达4500亿亿个。

And they are in every single cubic centimeter you see around you.
而你周围的每一立方厘米空间都有这么多分子。

Think how many cubic centimeters there are in the world outside your window,
想一想，你窗外的世界有多少个立方厘米

how many sugar cubes it would take to fill that view.
要用多少块方糖才能填满你的视野。

Then think how many it would take to build a universe.
然后再想一想，要多少个这样的空间才能构成宇宙。

Atoms, in short, are very abundant.
总而言之，原子是很多的。

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9 The Mighty Atom

第九章威力巨大的原子

While Einstein and Hubble were productively unraveling the large-scale structure of the cosmos, others were struggling to understand something closer to hand but in its way just as remote: the tiny and ever-mysterious atom. The great Caltech physicist Richard Feynman once observed that if you had to reduce scientific history to one important statement it would be “All things are made of atoms.” They are everywhere and they constitute every thing. Look around you. It is all atoms. Not just the solid things like walls and tables and sofas, but the air in between. And they are there in numbers that you really cannot conceive.

当爱因斯坦和哈勃在弄清宇宙的大尺度结构方面成果累累的时候，另一些人在努力搞懂近在手边的而从他们的角度来看又是非常遥远的东西：微小而又永远神秘的原子。加州理工学院伟大的物理学家理查德·费曼有一次发现，要是你不得不把科学史压缩成一句重要的话，它就会是：“一切东西都是由原子构成的。”哪里都有原子，原子构成一切。你四下里望一眼，全是原子。不但墙壁、桌子等等这样的固体是原子，中间的空气也是原子。原子大量存在，多得简直无法想像。

The basic working arrangement of atoms is the molecule (from the Latin for “little mass”). A molecule is simply two or more atoms working together in a more or less stable arrangement: add two atoms of hydrogen to one of oxygen and you have a molecule of water. Chemists tend to think in terms of molecules rather than elements in much the way that writers tend to think in terms of words and not letters, so it is molecules they count, and these are numerous to say the least. At sea level, at a temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, one cubic centimeter of air (that is, a space about the size of a sugar cube) will contain 45 billion billion molecules. And they are in every single cubic centimeter you see around you. Think how many cubic centimeters there are in the world outside your window—how many sugar cubes it would take to fill that view. Then think how many it would take to build a universe. Atoms, in short, are very abundant.

原子的基本工作形式是分子（源自拉丁文，意思是“小团物质”）。一个分子就是两个或两个以上以相对稳定的形式一起工作的原子：一个氧原子加上两个氢原子，你就得到一个水分子。化学家往往以分子而不是以元素来考虑问题，就像作家往往以单词而不是以字母来考虑问题一样，因此他们计算的是分子。分子的数量起码可以说是很多的。在海平面的高度、零摄氏度温度的情况下，一立方厘米空气（大约相当于一块方糖所占的空间）所含的分子多达4500亿亿个。而你周围的每一立方厘米空间都有这么多分子。想一想，你窗外的世界有多少个立方厘米——要用多少块方糖才能填满你的视野。然后再想一想，要多少个这样的空间才能构成宇宙。总而言之，原子是很多的。

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重点单词		查看全部解释
cube	[kju:b]	想一想再看 n. 立方体，立方 vt. 求 ... 的立方
contain	[kən'tein]	想一想再看 vt. 包含，容纳，克制，抑制 vi. 自制	联想记忆 X 单词contain 联想记忆： con全部，tain拿－全部拿住－包含
conceive	[kən'si:v]	想一想再看 v. 设想，构思，怀孕	联想记忆 X 单词conceive 联想记忆： con共同，ceive 抓，拿－一起抓思想－构想；一起抓小孩－怀孕
molecule	['mɔlikju:l]	想一想再看 n. 分子
understand	[.ʌndə'stænd]	想一想再看 vt. 理解，懂，听说，获悉，将 ... 理解为，认为<
abundant	[ə'bʌndənt]	想一想再看 adj. 丰富的，充裕的	联想记忆 X 单词abundant 联想记忆： ab加强+und波动+ant→[多得]象波浪一样→丰富的
statement	['steitmənt]	想一想再看 n. 声明，陈述	联想记忆 X 单词statement 联想记忆： state站，立+ment→站着说话→声明；陈述
tend	[tend]	想一想再看 v. 趋向，易于，照料，护理
mighty	['maiti]	想一想再看 adj. 强有力的，强大的，巨大的 adv.	联想记忆 X 单词mighty 联想记忆： might（n 力量；威力；权力；能；可能）；y读：外（国人），可能是外国人－强有力的
numerous	['nju:mərəs]	想一想再看 adj. 为数众多的，许多	联想记忆 X 单词numerous 联想记忆： numer数目+ous→数目众多的