2015-05-01 BBC:星光七纪元-30

 And so i can see that there is hydrogen being produced by the supernova, and over here the yellow orange light is due to glowing atoms of sodium¹, it's the same sodium glow that we saw when I sprinkled the chemical into the fire, these ones here in the green part are iron, and down here in the violet part of the spectrum² is calcium³.The question that baffled scientists for decades though was where did all the elements come from, the breakthrough came from the mind of a doughty⁴ Yorkshire man, Fred H.

The origin of the elements was a big question that scientists were trying to tackle 50 years ago, and Fred H and his colleagues thought that supernovae maybe a key to unravelling⁵ the mystery.

At the time this was a radical⁶ idea, but Fred H was never a stranger to controversy⁷.

Fred H blows up stars by computer, this cosmic * is the most controversial of theorists.

If you think there is a mystery about why stars explode, then you got it all wrong.

H devoted⁸ 10 years of his career to proving his revolutionary theory on the origin of the elements, he deduced that red giants are alchemists, but he knew that they weren't hot enough to create all the elements, he thought the ferocity of the supernovae explosion though would make them the ...

1 sodium   

n.（化）钠

参考例句：

• Out over the town the sodium lights were lit.在外面，全城的钠光灯都亮了。
• Common salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.食盐是钠和氯的复合物。

2 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。

3 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

4 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

5 unravelling   

解开，拆散，散开( unravel的现在分词 )； 阐明； 澄清； 弄清楚

参考例句：

• Nail head clamp the unravelling of nail exteriorize broken nails and clean. 钉头卡钉，拆开钉头取出碎钉并清洁。
• The ends of ropes are in good condition and secured without unravelling. 缆绳端部状况良好及牢固，并无松散脱线。

6 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

7 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

8 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。