双语畅销书《艾伦图灵传》第2章:下一个星期(35)
日期:2016-08-10 14:42

(单词翻译:单击)

Schr?dinger's quantum theory requires 3 dimensions for every electron he considers. Of course he does not believe that there are really about 1070 dimensions, but that this theory will explain the behaviour of an electron. He thinks of 6 dimensions, or 9, or whatever it may be without forming any mental picture. If you like you can say that for every new electron you introduce these new variables analogous to the coordinates of space.

在薛定谔的量子理论中,每个电子有3个维度。他不相信真的有10^70个左右的维度,但这个理论解释了电子的行为。他考虑了6个、9个或其它大脑无法想象的维度,你也可以给每个新电子引入新的变量,来与空间坐标相协调。

This came from Eddington's description of that other change in fundamental physical concepts, one much more mysterious than relativity. The quantum theory had done away with the billiard-ball corpuscles and the ethereal waves of the nineteenth century, and replaced both by entities which had characteristics both of particles and of waves; lumpy but nebulous.

这是爱丁顿所说的基础物理理论中的另一场革命,比相对论更加神秘。量子理论通过模糊的波粒二象性,打消了许多争论。

Eddington had a lot to say, for the 1920s had been a decade of rapid advance in theoretical physics, following up the spate of discoveries at the turn of the century. In 1929 Schr?dinger's formulation of the quantum theory of matter was only three years old. The two boys also read books by Sir James Jeans, the other Cambridge astronomer, and here too there were entirely new developments. It had only just been established that some nebulae were clouds of gas and stars on the margins of the Milky Way, and that others were completely separate galaxies. The mental picture of the universe had expanded a millionfold. Alan and Christopher discussed these ideas and 'usually didn't agree', wrote Alan, 'which made things much more interesting.' Alan kept 'some pieces of paper with Chris' ideas in pencil and mine in ink scrawled all over them. We even used to do this during French.'

爱丁顿有很多要说的,因为在20年代,理论物理发展得太快了,1929年薛定谔的量子力学方程才只有三岁。这两个男孩,还读詹姆士.简爵士的书,这是剑桥的一位天文学家,这个领域也取得了全新的发展。现在人们已经知道一些星云是气团,而另一些是银河边缘的星星,还有一些则完全是独立的星系。人们还认识到,宇宙膨胀了一百万倍。艾伦和克里斯朵夫讨论这些想法,而且提出怀疑,艾伦认为这很有意思。他会用铅笔把克里斯的想法写下来,并牢牢记在心里。

but also there were generalised noughts and crosses, a reaction involving iodine and phosphorus, and a diagram which suggested doubting Euclid's axiom that for every line there would be exactly one parallel line passing through a given point.

另外还有些圈圈叉叉,一个涉及碘和磷的反应,还有一张图,怀疑欧几里德的“过任意直线外任意点,有且只有一条平行线”。

Alan kept these pages, as souvenirs affectueux, although he could never express his sentiments distingués. As for serrer cordialement la main, or more – that was probably pretty firmly repressed in his mind, although soon he would write: 'There were times when I felt his personality particularly strongly. At present I am thinking of an evening when he was waiting outside the labs, and when I came too, he grasped me with his big hand and took me out to see the stars.'

艾伦保存着这些信作为纪念,但他从来不懂得表达他的柔情。至于“爱和回忆”之类的,在他脑子里可能受到了抑重的抑制,尽管他也在后来写过:“有些时候,我尤其深刻地感觉到他的魅力。我总是在想,会有一个夜晚,他在实验室外面等我,我到了之后,他用他的大手拉着我,出去一起看星星。”

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