SSS 2010-12-09
时间：2019-01-08 作者：英语课 分类：Scientific American(十二)月
This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I’m Christopher Intagliata. Got a minute?
Imagine climbing diamond mountains, or hiking around the graphite shores of a lake of tar 1. Sound a little sci-fi? Well a new discovery suggests planets like that might be out there—planets littered with carbon minerals, instead of the oxygen-rich silicates 2, like quartz 3, that cover the Earth， because astronomers 4 have found the first carbon-rich exoplanet, with more carbon than oxygen in its atmosphere—instead of the 1 to 2 carbon to oxygen ratio found in our solar system.
The exoplanet, called WASP 5 12 b, is a gas giant, like Jupiter. By taking the spectrum 6 of heat radiating from the planet, the researchers found that the planet's atmosphere was loaded with carbon, in the form of carbon monoxide and methane 7. The study appears in the journal Nature.
The finding suggests one commonly accepted model of planetary formation, where icy chunks 8 glom into a core, wouldn't work here. Instead the core may have formed from carbon-rich fragments, like tar. But more than that, this unusual planet is more proof of the diversity of the universe—and it makes those dreams of diamond planets a tiny bit more plausible 9.
Thanks for the minute. For Scientific American’s 60-Second Science, I’m Christopher Intagliata.
- The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
- We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。
- Did equilibration take place before or after setting of chromite and silicates? 究竟平衡作用发生在铬铁矿和硅酸盐下沉之前，还是在其后？ 来自辞典例句
- The commercial product however, containing silica and silicates, has a positive effect. 然而含有硅石和硅酸盐的工业品都有肯定的效果。 来自辞典例句
- 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。
- 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》
- A wasp stung me on the arm.黄蜂蜇了我的手臂。
- Through the glass we can see the wasp.透过玻璃我们可以看到黄蜂。
- This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
- We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。
- The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
- Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。
- a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
- Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？