探测神秘的 “暗物质”

时间：2021-07-02 05:01:52

（单词翻译:单击）

Look up at the skies and you see stars. But this telescope in the deserts of Chile is able to see the Universe as it really is, filled with a mysterious substance called dark matter. It can't be seen ­– but this instrument can detect dark matter by the way it distorts starlight.
仰望夜空，你会看到繁星点点。但这座位于智利沙漠中的望远镜能够看到宇宙的真实面貌，里面充满了一种神秘的物质，被称作 “暗物质”。虽然暗物质不可见，但这台仪器可以通过暗物质扭曲星光的方式来探测到它。
 
Professor Ofer Lahav, University College London
This is a map of matter in the Universe.
奥弗·拉哈夫教授       伦敦大学学院
“这是宇宙物质的地图。”
 
And that's allowed astronomers1 to produce this map of how it's spread across the expanse of space.
这得以让天文学家们绘制出了这张地图，展现了暗物质在无尽的太空中的分布情况。
 
Professor Ofer Lahav, University College London
It's an element of, you know, unveiling mystery – something you couldn't see before, and suddenly it's there. And you think – wow!
奥弗·拉哈夫教授       伦敦大学学院
“这就好比揭开了一个谜团，你以前看不到的东西突然出现在眼前。你会称奇道绝！”
 
Pallab Ghosh, BBC Correspondent
So what is dark matter – and where is it in space? Well, let's start off with our own sun. It's one of a hundred billion stars that make up our galaxy2 – the Milky3 Way. Which, in turn, is one of countless4 others throughout the Universe. Dark matter permeates5 space, with galaxies6 like tiny gems7 on a tangled8 cosmic web.
帕拉布·戈什       BBC通讯员
“什么是暗物质呢？它处于太空中的什么位置？让我们从恒星太阳说起。太阳是构成我们银河系中的千亿颗恒星之一。银河系继而也是宇宙中无数的星系之一。太空中到处都是暗物质，而星系就像是镶嵌在错综复杂的宇宙网上的一颗颗小宝石。”
 
The bright areas are where dark matter is most concentrated, and it's here that galaxies form. But the map is not what astronomers expected – the matter should be slightly more clumped9 together. Instead, it's smoother than predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, which helps determine how the matter should have spread out after the Big Bang.
亮处是暗物质最集中的地方，星系就是在这里形成的。但这张地图并不如天文学家所预期的那样，图中的物质本应稍微更聚集在一起。相反，它比爱因斯坦的广义相对论所预期得更平滑，广义相对论帮助确定了物质在大爆炸后应如何分布。
 
Dr Niall Jeffrey, Ecole Normale Superieure
If the structures in this map are smoother than we expect them to be, which is what the results seem to hint at, it means that Einstein's theory is wrong. So you might think that is a bad thing, that maybe 'oh no physics is broken', but for a physicist10 it's extremely exciting, because it means that we can find out something new about the way the Universe really is.
奈尔·杰弗里博士       巴黎高等师范学院
“如果这张地图中的结构比我们预期得要平滑，结果似乎也暗示了这一点，那就意味着爱因斯坦的理论是错误的。你可能认为这是一件坏事，也许会想：哦，物理学会彻底瓦解的，但对一名物理学家来说，这是极其令人振奋的，因为这意味着我们可以发现一些有关宇宙本质的新认知。”
 
Building on the work of Einstein, Carlos Frenk was among a group of scientists that developed the current model of cosmology.
卡洛斯·弗伦克的工作建立在爱因斯坦的理论基础之上，他是其中一位研发了当前宇宙学模型的科学家。
 
Professor Carlos Frenk, Durham University
Hearing now that there may be something not quite right with the theory is very disconcerting. It' s very alarming – and in a way frightening to see that maybe my whole life's work might crumble11 in front of me. But at the same time, it is immensely exciting.
卡洛斯·弗伦克教授       杜伦大学
“现在听到爱因斯坦的理论可能有不太正确的地方，非常令人不安。这很吓人，在某种程度上，看到自己毕生的工作可能就要在我面前灰飞烟灭，是很可怕的。但与此同时，这也非常令人兴奋。”
 
Astronomers believe that we are at the start of a new revolution in cosmology that will give us a fuller understanding of how the Universe began – and how it will evolve.
天文学家相信，我们正处于宇宙学新革命的开端，这将使我们更全面地了解宇宙的起源，以及它将如何演变下去。

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1 astronomers 569155f16962e086bd7de77deceefcbd     
n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 galaxy OhoxB     
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。
3 milky JD0xg     
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。
4 countless 7vqz9L     
adj.无数的，多得不计其数的
参考例句：
  • In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
  • I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。
5 permeates 290eb451e7da5dcf5bb4b8041c3d79fa     
弥漫( permeate的第三人称单数 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透
参考例句：
  • Studies show that water vapor quickly permeates plastic packaging material. 研究证明水蒸汽能迅速渗入塑料封装材料。
  • Democracy permeates the whole country. 民主主义（的思想）普及全国。
6 galaxies fa8833b92b82bcb88ee3b3d7644caf77     
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。
7 gems 74ab5c34f71372016f1770a5a0bf4419     
growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长
参考例句：
  • a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
  • The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。
8 tangled e487ee1bc1477d6c2828d91e94c01c6e     
adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
  • Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
  • A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。
9 clumped 66f71645b3b7e2656cb3fe3b1cf938f0     
adj.[医]成群的v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的过去式和过去分词 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声
参考例句：
  • The bacteria clumped together. 细菌凝集一团。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • He clumped after her, up the stairs, into his barren office. 他拖着沉重的步伐跟在她的后面上楼了，走进了他那个空荡荡的诊所。 来自辞典例句
10 physicist oNqx4     
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。
11 crumble 7nRzv     
vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁
参考例句：
  • Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
  • Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

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