大学英语精读第五册UnitEight
What particularly interested Stephen was singularities, strange beasts predicted by general relativity. Einstein's equations indicated that when a star several times larger than the sun exhausts its nuclear fuel and collapses, its matter crushes together at its center with such force that it forms a singularity, an infinitely dense point with no dimensions and irresistible gravity. A voluminous region surrounding the singularity becomes a "black hole," from which -- because of that immense gravity -- nothing, not even light, can escape.
Scientists years ago found compelling evidence that black holes exist, but they were uncomfortable with singularities, because all scientific laws break down at these points. Most physicists believed that in the real universe the object at the heart of a black hole would be small (but not dimensionless) and extremely dense (but not infinitely so). Enter Hawking. While still a graduate student, he and Mathematician Roger Penrose developed new techniques proving mathematically that if general relativity is correct, singularities must exist. Hawking went on to demonstrate - again if general relativity is correct - that the entire universe must have sprung from a singularity. As he wrote in his 1966 Ph. D. thesis, "There is a singularity in our past."
Stephen later discerned several new characteristics of black holes and demonstrated that the amazing forces of the Big Bang would have created mini-black holes, each with a mass about that of a terrestrial mountain, but no larger than the subatomic proton. Then, applying the quantum theory (which accurately describes the random, uncertain subatomic world) instead of general relativity (which, it turns out, falters in that tiny realm), Hawking was startled to find that the mini-black holes must emit particles and radiation. Even more remarkable, the little holes would gradually evaporate and, 10 billion years or so after their creation, explode with the energy or millions of H-bombs.
Hawking has visited the U. S. 30 times, made seven trips to Moscow, taken a round-the-word journey, and piloted his wheelchair on the Great Wall of China. On the road, the activities occasionally deviate somewhat from physics. One night Stephen accompanied a group to a Chicago discotheque, where he joined in the festivities by wheeling onto the dance floor and spinning his chair in circles.
Recently, Hawking, who has no qualms about recanting his own work if he decides he was wrong, may have transcended his famous proof that singularities exist. With Physicist James Hartle. He has derived a quantum wave describing a self-contained universe that, like the earth's surface, has no edge or boundary. If that is the case, says Hawking, Einstein's general theory of relativity would have to be modified, and there would be no singularities. "The universe would not be created, not be destroyed; it would simply be," he concludes, adding challengingly, "What place, then, for a Creator?"
NEW WORDS
roam
v. go from one place to another without a goal or purpose; wander 漫游
cosmos
n. the whole universe considered as an ordered system 宇宙
cosmic
a.
damp
a. slightly wet; moist
chilly
a. rather cold; unpleasantly cold
chill
n.
faculty
n. all the teachers of a school or college
thoroughfare
n. a busy main road 通衢
distinguished
a. showing remarkable qualities 杰出的
boyish
a. of or like a boy
dimly
ad. faintly; unclearly 黯淡地
glow
vi. give off a steady light; shine 发光
armrest
n. a support for the arm, esp. one on the chair or couch 扶手
motorist
n. a person who drives or rides in an automobile
physicist
n. a person who studies or works in physics
honk
n. the sound made by a wild goose or an automobile horn
greeting
n. an act or expression of welcome or salutation 欢迎;致意
bespectacled
a. wearing glasses
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化
deterioration
n. the act or process of deteriorating 恶化
deteriorate
vi. become worse
rob
vt. take from unlawfully, esp. by force 抢劫;使丧失
voluntary
a. controlled by the will; made, done, or a given of one's own free will 随意的;自愿的;志愿的
built-in
a. forming a part of sth. that cannot be separated from it
synthesizer
n. an electrical instrument that can produce many different sorts of sound 音响合成器
voice synthesizer
语音合成器
synthesis
n. the combining of separate things, ideas, etc., into a complete whole 合成
humor
n. the quality of being amusing or funny; the ability to see or express what is funny 幽默(感)
intellect
n. the ability to think, reason, and learn; intelligence
infinitesimal
n. a. 无穷小(的)
subatomic
a. smaller than an atom 亚原子的
expedition
n. a long trip for exploring or studying sth. 远征;探险;考察
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