万物简史 第240期:马斯特-马克的夸克(12)

 　　Almost at once the Bogdanov paper excited debate among physicists² as to whether it was twaddle, a work of genius, or a hoax³. "Scientifically, it's clearly more or less complete nonsense," Columbia University physicist¹ Peter Woit told the New York Times, "but these days that doesn't much distinguish it from a lot of the rest of the literature."

　　波格丹诺夫理论几乎立即在物理学家中间引起争论：它到底是胡说八道，一项天才的成就，还是一个骗局？“从科学的角度来看，显而易见，它多少是彻头彻尾的胡说八道。”哥伦比亚大学的物理学家彼得·沃伊特对《纽约时报》记者说，“不过，近来，它跟许多别的文献没有多大区别。”

　　Karl Popper, whom Steven Weinberg has called "the dean of modern philosophers of science," once suggested that there may not be an ultimate theory for physics—that, rather, every explanation may require a further explanation, producing "an infinite chain of more and more fundamental principles." A rival possibility is that such knowledge may simply be beyond us. "So far, fortunately," writes Weinberg in Dreams of a Final Theory, "we do not seem to be coming to the end of our intellectual resources."

　　卡尔·波普尔被斯蒂芬·温伯格称之为“现代科学哲学家的泰斗”。有一次，他提出，物理学很可能没有一种终极理论──每一种解释都需要进一步的解释，形成“永无穷尽的一连串越来越基本的原理”。与之相对的可能性是，这种知识也许是我们完全无法理解的。“幸亏，迄今为止，”温伯格在《终极理论之梦》中写道，“我们的理智资源似乎尚未耗尽。”

　　夸克

　　Almost certainly this is an area that will see further developments of thought, and almost certainly these thoughts will again be beyond most of us.

　　几乎可以肯定的是，这个领域将出现更多的见解；几乎同样可以肯定的是，这些见解将是我们大多数人所无法理解的。

　　While physicists in the middle decades of the twentieth-century were looking perplexedly into the world of the very small, astronomers⁴ were finding no less arresting an incompleteness of understanding in the universe at large.

　　正当20世纪中叶的物理学家在迷惑不解地观测小世界的时候，天文学家发现，同样引人注目的是，对大宇宙的理解也是不完整的。

　　When we last met Edwin Hubble, he had determined⁵ that nearly all the galaxies⁶ in our field of view are flying away from us, and that the speed and distance of this retreat are neatly⁷ proportional: the farther away the galaxy⁸, the faster it is moving.

　　上次谈到，埃德温·哈勃已经确认，我们视野里的几乎所有星系都在离我们远去，这种退行的速度和距离是成正比的：星系离得越远，运动的速度越快。

1 physicist   

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。

2 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

3 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

4 astronomers   

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》

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 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。

7 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

8 galaxy   

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。