VOA科学技术2023--Former Italian Mining Area Hopes to Be a Theoretical Science Center

Former Italian Mining Area Hopes to Be a Theoretical Science Center

Italy is proposing to build one of the world's most modern telescopes in an unused mineral mine.

Officials hope that the uncommon¹ stillness of the place in Sardinia will win European Union approval and financing.

The telescope

The Sos Enathos lead and zinc² mine extends 300 meters underground. The Italian government chose the mine as its candidate place for the Einstein Telescope (ET).

The EU-financed project aims to explore space by observing gravitational waves.

Gravitational waves are the ripples⁴ in space and time that physicist⁵ Albert Einstein predicted in his general theory of relativity. Collisions of super massive things like black holes are believed to cause the waves.

Researchers expect the telescope to capture the waves. They hope it will observe a part of the universe that is much larger than the part scientists now study with currently used tools.

But the project will only work if ground movements, known as vibrations⁶, are extremely small.

Giorgio Parisi was a winner of the 2021 Physics Nobel Prize for his work in complex systems.

Parisi and other scientists said the Sos Enathos mine is a great choice because of the area's low seismic⁷ activity and the lack of major settlements nearby.

Parisi told the Reuters news agency about the project:

"It will allow us...to see events very close to when the Big Bang happened" around 14 billion years ago.

The Big Bang is the event scientists say marked the beginning of the universe.

Still, Italy faces competition from a site in Meuse-Rhine, an area divided among the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

The official decision will take place no sooner than the end of next year.

Italy believes that the project can bring much-needed investment to the island of Sardinia, one of the country's poorest areas.

Possibilities

The Italian project's proposed design involves a triangle-shaped underground structure with arms 10 kilometers long.

Mirrors at the ends of underground passageways will reflect laser beams, which would be affected⁸ by the passage of gravitational waves. The ET will be used to look for the small vibrations that the waves cause.

Sos Enathos is in eastern Sardinia. The place was a mining area for at least 2,000 years before it was closed in 1997.

Local officials now believe the telescope plan provides a chance to bring new life to an area hit by a decreasing birth rates and depopulation.

"The mine has become the alternative to the mine," Mario Calia, the 63-year-old mayor of Lula, a small town near the mine, told Reuters.

Calia is a former miner. He said the project would leave Lula's natural lands untouched while bringing in investment.

Words in This Story

ripple³ – n. a shape or pattern having small waves

mirror –n. glass that is treated so it reflects light and shows what is in front of it

reflect – v. to move in one direction, hit a surface, and then quickly move in a different direction

beam –n. a line of light that comes from a source

seismic – adj. of, relating to, or caused by an earthquake

 

alternative – n. offering or expressing a choice

 

1 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

2 zinc   

n.锌；vt.在...上镀锌

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• Zinc is used to protect other metals from corrosion.锌被用来保护其他金属不受腐蚀。

3 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

4 ripples   

逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
• The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。

5 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。

6 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。