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By the late nineteenth century it looked like
19世纪后期
some of the great mysteries of the universe would be all wrapped up
宇宙的一些重大奥秘似乎都已一一解开
thanks to the groundbreaking discoveries of Newton and Maxwell.
都因牛顿和麦克斯韦的重大发现而解开
But then two American physicists stumbled into a completely unexpected discovery.
但后来有两名美国物理学家 又在无意间有了意外发现
Albert Michelson and Edward Morley were investigating
艾伯特·迈克尔逊和爱德华·莫利研究
the implications of Maxwell's revelation that light is a form of wave
麦克斯韦的发现所代表的含义 也就是光以波的形式行进
traveling at 186,000 miles per second.
速度为每秒30万公里
They figured that just as water waves,a wave of energy traveling in water
他们推想就像水波 是能量在水中行进所产生的波
and sound waves,a wave of energy traveling through air
而声波是能量在空气中行进所产生的波
so light waves must also travel through... Something.
因此光波一定也透过某个东西行进
They called this "something": the luminiferous ether.
他们把这东西称为"光以太"
Michelson and Morley proposed that space
迈克尔逊和莫利提出宇宙
including the space between the sun and the earth.
包含太阳和地球间的宇宙
Was filled with this mysterious ether.
全都充满这种神奇的以太
They believed that sunlight must travel through the ether to reach earth.
他们相信阳光一定是经由以太来 到地球的
Since the earth also move around the sun.
而由于地球同样绕着太阳运转
They must be traveling through this ether,too.
因此地球也一定在以太中运行
If so,this movement would cause what they called an 'ether wind'.
若真如此,这种移动就会造成所谓的"以太风"
to blow over the surface of our planet.
以太风吹过地球的表面
