Was Einstein a Space Alien?
转自：文章阅读网 作者：姜大大Text A
Was Einstein a Space Alien？
1 Albert Einstein was exhausted。 For the third night in a row， his baby son Hans， crying， kept the household awake until dawn。 When Albert finally dozed off …… it was time to get up and go to work。 He couldn't skip a day。 He needed the job to support his young family。
艾伯特爱因斯坦被搞得筋疲力尽。连续第三个晚上，他的宝贝儿子汉斯，哭泣，让家人清醒直到黎明。当艾伯特终于睡着了是时候起床去工作。他不能跳过一天。他需要工作来养活家人。
2 Walking briskly to the Patent Office， where he was a "Technical Expert， Third Class，" Albert worried about his mother。 She was getting older and frail， and she didn't approve of his marriage to Mileva。 Relations were strained。 Albert glanced at a passing shop window。 His hair was a mess; he had forgotten to comb it again。
他轻快地走到专利局，在那里他是一个“技术专家，第三级，”艾伯特担心他的母亲。她越来越虚弱，她不赞成他与米列娃结婚，关系紧张。艾伯特看了一眼路过商店的橱窗。他的头发是一个烂摊子，他忘了梳一遍。
3 Work。 Family。 Making ends meet。 Albert felt all the pressure and responsibility of any young husband and father。
工作。家庭。使收支平衡。艾伯特感受到任何年轻的丈夫和父亲所有的压力和责任的
To relax， he revolutionized physics。
放松，他彻底改变了物理学。
4 In 1905， at the age of 26 and four years before he was able to get a job as a professor of physics， Einstein published five of the most important papers in the history of science--all written in his "spare time。" He proved that atoms and molecules existed。 Before 1905， scientists weren't sure about that。 He argued that light came in little bits (later called "photons") and thus laid the foundation for quantum mechanics。 He described his theory of special relativity： space and time were threads in a common fabric， he proposed， which could be bent， stretched and twisted。
1905年，在年龄26时，四年前他找到了工作作为一个物理学教授，爱因斯坦出版了五个最重要的论文在科学史”——所有在他的空余时间写的。”他证明了原子和分子的存在。1905年之前，科学家们不清楚那些。他认为光是小块，后来被称为“光子”，从而奠定了量子力的学基础。他描述了他的狭义相对论理论，空间和时间是同一个织物的线，他提出那是可弯曲、拉伸和扭曲的。
5 Oh， and by the way， E=mc2。
哦，顺便说一句，E = mc2
6 Before Einstein， the last scientist who had such a creative outburst was Sir Isaac Newton。 It happened in 1666 when Newton secluded himself at his mother's farm to avoid an outbreak of plague at Cambridge。 With nothing better to do， he developed his Theory of Universal Gravitation。
在爱因斯坦之前，最后一个有这样突出创意的科学家，是艾萨克牛顿先生。它发生在1666时，牛顿隔离自己母亲的农场去避免爆发在剑桥的瘟疫。没有什么更好的事，他提出了他的万有引力
7 For centuries historians called 1666 Newton's annus mirabilis， or "miracle year。" Now those words have a different meaning： Einstein and 1905。 The United Nations has declared 2005 "The World Year of Physics" to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Einstein's annus mirabilis。
几个世纪以来，历史学家称为1666牛顿的“奇迹年。现在这些话有不同的意义：爱因斯坦和1905。联合国已经宣布2005年“世界物理年“庆祝爱因斯坦“奇迹年的100周年
8 Modern pop culture paints Einstein as a bushy-haired superthinker。 His ideas， we're told， were improbably far ahead of other scientists。 He must have come from some other planet--maybe the same one Newton grew up on。
现代流行文化吧爱因斯坦画一个bushy-haired superthinker。我们被告之他的想法，是不可能远远领先于其他科学家。他一定是从其他星球来的——也许是牛顿长大的同一个星球。
9 "Einstein was no space alien，" laughs Harvard University physicist and science historian Peter Galison。 "He was a man of his time。" All of his 1905 papers unraveled problems being worked on， with mixed success， by other scientists。 "If Einstein hadn't been born， would have been written in some form， eventually， by others，" Galison believes。
“爱因斯坦不是外星人。”哈佛大学物理学家和科学史家彼得笑到。“他是他那个时代的人。”他所有的1905年的文件揭开问题正在被其他科学家研究，成败参半。“如果爱因斯坦没有出生的 [文件]将最终由他人以某种形式写出来”Galison说
10 What's remarkable about 1905 is that a single person authored all five papers， plus the original， irreverent way Einstein came to his conclusions。
1905年值得注意的是，一个人撰写的五个文件的全部，加上原有的，爱因斯坦以不敬的方式得到自己的结论。
11 For example： the photoelectric effect。 This was a puzzle in the early 1900s。 When light hits a metal， like zinc， electrons fly off。 This can happen only if light comes in little packets concentrated enough to knock an electron loose。 A spread-out wave wouldn't do the photoelectric trick。
例如，光电效应。这在20世纪初是一个难题。当光照射到金属，如锌，电子会飞。只来一点点光集中集中撞击自由电子这才会发生。传播的波不具有光电效果。
12 The solution seems simple--light is particulate。 Indeed， this is the solution Einstein proposed in 1905 and won the Nobel Prize for in 1921。 Other physicists like Max Planck (working on a related problem： blackbody radiation)， more senior and experienced than Einstein， were closing in on the answer， but Einstein got there first。 Why？
解决办法似乎很简单——光的微粒。事实上，这是，爱因斯坦在1905年提出的解决方案并在1921获得了诺贝尔奖。其他物理学家如普朗克，工作相关的问题上，黑体辐射比爱因斯坦更先一步更有经验，步步逼近答案，但爱因斯坦先到那里。为什么呢
It's a question of authority。
这是一个问题的权威。
13 "In Einstein's day， if you tried to say that light was made of particles， you found yourself disagreeing with physicist James Clerk Maxwell。 Nobody wanted to do that，" says Galison。 Maxwell's equations were enormously successful， unifying the physics of electricity， magnetism and optics。 Maxwell had proved beyond any doubt that light was an electromagnetic wave。 Maxwell was an Authority Figure。
“在爱因斯坦的时代，如果你想说，光是由粒子构成的，你发现自己不同意的物理学家杰姆斯麦斯威尔的理论。“没有人想做这样的事。”Galison说。麦斯威尔方程取得了巨大的成功，统一的物理电磁和光学。麦斯威尔毫无疑问证明光是一种电磁波。麦斯威尔是一个权威人物。
14 Einstein didn't give a fig for authority。 He didn't resist being told what to do， not so much， but he hated being told what was true。 Even as a child he was constantly doubting and questioning。 "Your mere presence here undermines the class's respect for me，" spat his 7th grade teacher， Dr。 Joseph Degenhart。 (Degenhart also predicted that Einstein "would never get anywhere in life。") This character flaw was to be a key ingredient in Einstein's discoveries。
爱因斯坦不在乎权威。他没有反抗被告知要做什么，但他讨厌被告诉什么是真理。即使作为一个孩子，他不断的怀疑和质疑。“你的存在在这里破坏了班级对我尊敬。”他第七年级的老师约瑟夫博士狄根哈特说。“狄根哈特还预测，爱因斯坦将一事无成”，这一性格缺陷是爱因斯坦发现的一个关键因素。
15 "In 1905，" notes Galison， "Einstein had just received his Ph。D。 He wasn't beholden to a thesis advisor or any other authority figure。" His mind was free to roam accordingly。
“在1905年，”Galison记录，“爱因斯坦刚刚获得博士学位。他不感激于一个导师或任何其他权威人物。”他的思想在自由漫游因此
16 In retrospect， Maxwell was right。 Light is a wave。 But Einstein was right， too。 Light is a particle。 This bizarre duality baffles Physics 101 students today just as it baffledEinstein in 1905。 How can light be both？ Einstein had no idea。
回想起来，麦斯威尔是正确的。光是一种波动。但爱因斯坦也是对的。光是粒子。这个奇特的二元性物质物理困惑physic101的学生一样在1905年困惑爱因斯坦。怎么光是二元性？爱因斯坦不知道。
17 That didn't slow him down。 Disdaining caution， Einstein adopted the intuitive leap as a basic tool。 "I believe in intuition and inspiration，" he wrote in 1931。 "At times I feel certain I am right while not knowing the reason。"
不过这不能使他慢下来。蔑视谨慎？爱因斯坦采用了直观的飞跃，作为一个基本工具。“我相信直觉和灵感，”他写道，在1931年。“有时我觉得我是对的但不知道原因。”
18 Although Einstein's five papers were published in a single year， he had been thinking about physics， deeply， since childhood。 "Science was dinner-table conversation inthe Einstein household，" explains Galison。 Albert's father Hermann and uncle Jakob ran a German company making such things as dynamos， arc lamps， light bulbs and telephones。 This was high-tech at the turn of the century， "like a Silicon Valley company would be today，" notes Galison。 "Albert's interest in science and technology came naturally。"
尽管爱因斯坦的五篇论文发表在一年的时间里，但他一直自童年开始在深深地思考物理学。“在爱因斯坦家中，科学是餐桌上的谈话”Galison解释到。艾伯特的父亲赫尔曼和叔叔雅各布一家制造发电机、电弧灯、灯泡、电话的德国公司。这是世纪之交的高科技，“像现在一个在硅谷公司。”Galison记录。“艾伯特对科技自然感兴趣。”
19 Einstein's parents sometimes took Albert to parties。 No babysitter was required： Albert sat on the couch， totally absorbed， quietly doing math problems while others danced around him。 Pencil and paper were Albert's GameBoy！
爱因斯坦的父母有时会带艾伯特参加聚会。保姆是不必要的，当其他人在他周围跳舞时艾伯特坐在沙发上，全神贯注，静静地做数学题而。笔和纸是艾伯特的玩具！
20 He had impressive powers of concentration。 Einstein's sister， Maja， recalled "……even when there was a lot of noise， he could lie down on the sofa， pick up a pen and paper， precariously balance an inkwell on the backrest and engross himself in a problem so much that the background noise stimulated rather than disturbed him。"
他有令人印象深刻的专注力。爱因斯坦的妹妹，玛雅，回忆说，“即使有很大的噪音，他会躺在沙发上，拿起纸和笔，悠悠地平衡一个放在靠背墨水瓶使他自己全神贯注的沉浸在问题中就如同背景噪声促进而不是打扰他。”
21 Einstein was clearly intelligent， but not outlandishly more so than his peers。 "I have no special talents，" he claimed， "I am only passionately curious。" And again： "The contrast between the popular assessment of my powers …… and the reality is simply grotesque。" Einstein credited his discoveries to imagination and pesky questioning more so than orthodox intelligence。
爱因斯坦很聪明，但没有比他的同行更特殊的地方。“我没有特殊的才能。”他说：“我只是有强烈的好奇心。”又说：“关于我力量的流行评估和现实的对比真是荒唐。”爱因斯坦将他的发现归功于想象力和无止境的提问而不是传统的智慧。
22 Later in life， it should be remembered， he struggled mightily to produce a unified field theory， combining gravity with other forces of nature。 He failed。 Einstein's brainpower wasnot limitless。
在后来的生活中，我们应该记住？他努力产生一个统一场理论？结合重力和其他自然的力量。他失败了。爱因斯坦的智慧不是无限的
23 Neither was Einstein's brain。 It was removed without permission by Dr。 Thomas Harvey in 1955 when Einstein died。 He probably expected to find something extraordinary。 But Einstein's brain looked much like any other， gray， crinkly， and， if anything， a trifle smaller than average。
爱因斯坦的大脑也是如此。它被托马斯博士哈维在1955年爱因斯坦死的时候移除。他可能期待会发现一些惊人的事，但爱因斯坦的大脑看起来像任何其他一样，灰色，起皱，并且，如果非要说什么不同，比一般人的小一点
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