2015-05-22 BBC:星光七纪元-36

  The calculations focus on a strange quality of all matter. It's one that defies common sense. But it's fundamental to the work of Astrophysicists  like professor Douglas Leonard.

   " Solidity is an illusion. If I run up with my fist and punch a burg wall, it will hurt like hack¹. But essentially² my fist and the wall are almost entirely³ empty space. The illusion comes because we are made of atoms, the fundamental building blocks of matter, and most of what an atom is is empty space. So if this is an atomic nucleus⁴ containing the protons and neurtons, the electrons will be  roughly where  these buildings are in the background."  Spicky predicted the one thing violent enough to round together atomic particles and fill this empty space is the collapse⁵ of a massive star during a supernova. A collapse that happens in a matter of seconds. In a supernova the very first thing that happens is the iron core implodes⁶ from something about  the size of the earth down to somehting the size of a small city. And in that implsion the densities⁷ become so high that the protons in the electons get so squeezed together to form neutrons⁹. Essentially all the air of the atom gets squeezed out of it and what you are left with in the end is a ball of neutrons, an incredibly dense¹⁰ object that we call a neutron⁸ star.

  And as the neutron star formed, its magnetic field intensified¹¹.

1 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

2 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

3 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

4 nucleus   

n.核，核心，原子核

参考例句：

• These young people formed the nucleus of the club.这些年轻人成了俱乐部的核心。
• These councils would form the nucleus of a future regime.这些委员会将成为一个未来政权的核心。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 implodes   

v.（使）向心聚爆( implode的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

7 densities   

密集( density的名词复数 )； 稠密； 密度（固体、液体或气体单位体积的质量）； 密度（磁盘存贮数据的可用空间）

参考例句：

• The range of densities of interest is about 3.5. 有用的密度范围为3．5左右。
• Densities presumably can be probed by radar. 利用雷达也许还能探测出气体的密度。

8 neutron   

n.中子

参考例句：

• Neutron is neutral and slightly heavier than the proton.中子是中性的，比质子略重。
• Based on the neutron energy,the value of weighting factor was given.根据中子能量给出了相应的辐射权重因子的数值。

9 neutrons   

n.中子( neutron的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The neutrons and protons form the core of the atom. 中子和质子构成了原子核。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When an atom of U235 is split,several neutrons are set free. 一个铀235原子分裂时，释放出几个中子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》