追尋科技足跡:你所不瞭解的那些奇觀
The world's first nuclear reactor is prehistoric
史前核反應堆
It's not easy to create a controlled nuclear reaction in power plants, but the nature had created the world's first nuclear reactor two billion years before humankind, beneath the surface of Oklo in Gabon, Africa. This natural reactor formed when a uranium-rich mineral deposit came in contact with groundwater, which slowed the neutrons ejected from the uranium so that they could interact with and split other atoms. Heat was produced, turning the water to steam, thus temporarily slowing the chain reaction. The environment cooled, water returned, and the process repeated. Scientists estimate that this prehistoric reactor ran for a hundreds of thousands of years, producing the various isotopes expected from such reactions.
在發電廠要控制好核反應可不是件容易的事，但是自然的鬼斧神工在人類出現的兩百萬年前就已經制造出了世界上第一次的核反應堆，位於非洲加蓬的奧克洛地區的地下。這一地區富含鈾礦，當鈾元素與地下水接觸後，就會減緩鈾釋放出中子，這樣它們就可以相互作用並分裂出原子從而產生熱量，使水變成蒸汽，暫時放慢連鎖反應的速度。當溫度下降後，蒸汽又變成了水，這一過程重複進行。科學家預計這一史前核反應持續了上百萬年，並從中釋放出了大量同位素。
The first batteries are 2,000 years old
2000年前誕生的電池
In 1938, while in Baghdad, German archeologist Wilhelm König discovered a five-inch-long (13 cm) clay jar containing a copper cylinder that surrounded an iron rod. The jar showed signs of corrosion and seemed to have once contained a mild acid, such as vinegar or wine. König believed these vessels to be galvanic cells, or parts of batteries, possibly used for electroplating gold onto sliver objects. The dates of the artifacts are obscure. König dated them to around 250 BC to AD 224, while others have suggested a range of AD 225-640. Of course, even if the vessels did produce electric currents, this does not imply that ancient people understood how the objects worked.
1938年，德國考古學家瓦利哈拉姆·卡維尼格在巴格達地區發現了一個長5英寸（約13釐米）的陶罐，裏面裝有一根銅管，外層由鐵棒環繞。這個陶罐有腐蝕的痕跡，並且疑似曾經盛放過弱酸類液體，如醋或酒。卡維尼格認爲，這些容器是原電池，或者是電池的組成部分，可能是用來把黃金電鍍到銀器上時使用的。這些人造物的年代不詳，卡維尼格覺得在公元前250年到公元224年之間，其他專家則判斷其年代在公元225年到640年之間。當然，即使這些器皿確實可以發電，也不意味着古人就能明白其工作的原理。
Computers existed around 125 B.C.
公元前125年就有計算機了
The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient geared computing device that was used to calculate astronomical positions and that mystified scientists for over a century.
安提基奇拉機械裝置是一種古老的齒輪計算設備，用來計算天文上的各種位置。這一裝置已經困惑了科學家們長達一個世紀。
A dial on the front of the device probably carried at least three hands, one indicating the date and the other two indicating the positions of the Sun and the Moon. The device was also probably used to predict solar eclipses and indicate other planetary motions.
這個裝置的正面有個刻度盤，盤上至少有三根指針，一根用來指示日期，其餘兩根用來表示太陽和月亮的位置。這一裝置也有可能被用來預測日食和其他天體活動。
Saturn's rings were seen in 1610
1610年已觀測到土星光環
In 1610, Galileo Galilei became the first person to observe Saturn's rings; however, he described them as "ears." It was not until 1655 that Christian Huygens was able to use his higher-quality telescope to become the first person to describe the feature as an actual ring surrounding Saturn. Finally, in 1675, Giovanni Cassini determined that Saturn's "ring" was actually composed of subrings with gaps between them.
1610年伽利略就已經是第一個觀測到土星光環的人了，不過當時他把光環稱之爲“耳朵”。直到1655年，克里斯蒂安·惠更斯才使用更高倍的望遠鏡觀察土星，並對土星光環的性質做了具體描述。最終，在1675年，意大利天文學家卡西尼才確定了土星光環是由子環和其間的空隙所構成的。
Black holes were theorized in 1783
黑洞理論在1783年已出現
Astronomers may not believe in Hell, but most believe in black regions of space. These cosmological hells truly exist in the centers of many galaxies. Such galactic black holes are collapsed objects having millions or even billions of times the mass of our sun crammed into a space no larger than our Solar System. According to classical black hole theory, the gravitational field around such objects is so great that nothing, not even light, can escape from their tenacious grip. The actual concept of an object so massive that light could not escape was suggested in 1783 by the geologist John Michell.
天文學家們可能不相信有地獄的存在，但他們確實相信宇宙中有某處黑色區域。這些宇宙地獄在很多星系裏的確存在，星系中的黑洞需要以質量數百萬倍甚至數億倍於太陽的物體來填滿，而這些黑洞的體積也就太陽系那麼點大。根據經典黑洞理論，這些物體周圍的引力場之大使得任何東西都無法逃脫其魔爪，連光都不行。這一說法的確切成型時間爲1783年，是由地質學家米歇爾提出的。
Neptune was predicted before it was seen
海王星先有預測後發現
Neptune is the only planet in our Solar System whose existence and location was mathematically predicted before the planet was actually observed. French astronomer Urbain Le Verrier and British astronomer John Couch Adams both performed calculations to locate a possible new planet. In 1846, Le Verrir told German astronomer Johann Galle where to point Galle's telescope based on Le Verrier's calculations, and in about half an hour Galle found Neptune within one degree of its actual position--a dramatic confirmation of Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation.
海王星是太陽系中唯一一顆先由精確的數學推導預測出來，再通過觀察確定的行星。法國天文學家勒威耶和英國天文學家亞當斯都對這顆新行星的位置做出了計算。1846年，勒威耶讓德國天文學家加勒根據自己的計算擺放望遠鏡，半小時後，加勒就在勒威耶所計算的方向的一度範圍內發現了海王星，完美驗證了牛頓的萬有引力定律。
