VOA标准英语2011--NASA Probe Proves Einstein Right

NASA Probe Proves Einstein Right

Albert Einstein was right. The U.S. Space Agency (NASA) released data this week from its Gravity Probe B spacecraft, whose primary mission while in Earth's orbit was to test Einstein's 1916 Theory of Relativity. While the experiment evolved over decades, the results confirm Einstein's work on the physical laws of the universe.
A Stanford University scientist first proposed an experiment to test Einstein's theory in 1959 by rotating gyroscopes in space. Beset¹ by launch delays, budget woes², faulty data and several federal investigations³, Gravity Probe B was finally approved and was launched in 1984. The onboard experiment tested two of Einstein's theories.
The first, explains lead investigator⁴ and Stanford University professor Francis Everitt, is the "geodetic effect." "In Einstein's universe, space and time are warped⁵ by gravity. And what happens is the earth distorts the space around it very slightly by its gravity. And it's 1.1 inches in 25,000 miles (2.75 centimeters in 40,000 kilometers). So it's a rather modest distortion."
The second of Einstein's theories that was put to the test is "frame dragging," which is the tendency of a spinning object to pull the fabric⁶ of space and time with it as it rotates, a phenomenon Everitt likens to the Earth immersed in a sea of honey.
"You can imagine that the honey would be dragged around with it, hence your pointer in the honey would be dragged around and that's what happens to a gyroscope.So the earth actually drags space and time around with it."
Gravity Probe B housed several state-of-the-art technologies that did not exist when the Stanford group first conceived their gravity experiments. Among them, Everitt says, were four precision gyroscopes one million times more sensitive than any available back in the 1960s.
"Spheres the size of a Ping-Pong balls go in a quartz⁷ housing. We electrically suspend it. We spin it up by means of gas. (We) get it spinning to 5,000 rpm (revolutions per minute), pump out the gas to an extremely high vacuum and there we've got our gyroscope."
Once in orbit, the gyroscopes - spinning like a child's top - were designed to keep Gravity Probe B perfectly⁸ aligned⁹ with a distant reference star. In confirmation¹⁰ of Einstein's theories they experienced minute but measurable changes in the direction of their spin as they were pulled by earth's gravity.
Over the years, insights gained from Gravity Probe B have spawned¹¹ a wave of new technologies, including the Global Positioning System, or GPS, a network of earth-orbiting satellites that have become essential for precise navigation on land and sea.
Former NASA manager Rex Geveden says despite the odds¹² that the Gravity Probe B mission would fail, its success is a triumph of the human spirit - and intellect. "It's a reminder¹³ of the sort of greatness that humans can get to when they put their hearts and minds on an objective like this."
Albert Einstein, who died in 1955, never dreamed that his Theory of Relativity would or even could be proved. In his book, The Meaning of Relativity, the famed physicist¹⁴ wrote: "...confirmation of them by laboratory experiments is not to be thought of."
Gravity Probe B lead investigator Francis Everitt adds, "Thanks to NASA we've done more than think about them. We've measured them."
The findings will appear in a forthcoming issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.

1 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

2 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

3 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

4 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

5 warped   

adj.反常的；乖戾的；（变）弯曲的；变形的v.弄弯，变歪( warp的过去式和过去分词 )；使（行为等）不合情理，使乖戾，

参考例句：

• a warped sense of humour 畸形的幽默感
• The board has warped. 木板翘了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

7 quartz   

n.石英

参考例句：

• There is a great deal quartz in those mountains.那些山里蕴藏着大量石英。
• The quartz watch keeps good time.石英表走时准。

8 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

9 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

10 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

11 spawned   

（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产

参考例句：

• The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
• The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

12 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

13 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

14 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。