「室温超导」概念火了

近日，罗切斯特大学研究人员声称研发出一种在室温和相对较低压力条件下表现出超导性的材料。这项堪称诺奖级的成果轰动科学界，但也有不少人持怀疑态度。

🤔️小作业：

1.「超导材料、超导体」怎么表达？

2. What is a diamond anvil?

3. electrical resistance, heat capacity, magnetic field是什么？

4.「开创性的、震惊全球的」怎么表达？

无注释原文：

'Red matter' superconductor could transform electronics – if it works

From: New Scientist

Room-temperature, room-pressure superconductivity has been a central goal of materials science for more than a century, and it may have finally been achieved. If this new superconducting material holds up, it could revolutionise the way our world is powered – but the results are headed for serious scientific scrutiny first.

When a material is superconductive, electricity flows through it with zero resistance, which means none of the energy involved is lost as heat. But every superconductor made so far has required extraordinarily high pressures, and most have required very low temperatures.

Ranga Dias at the University of Rochester in New York and his colleagues claim to have made a material from hydrogen, nitrogen and lutetium that becomes superconductive at a temperature of just 21°C (69°F) and a pressure of 1 gigapascal. That is nearly 10,000 times the atmospheric pressure on Earth's surface, but still far lower pressure than any previous superconducting material. “Let's say you were riding a horse in the 1940s when you see a Ferrari driving past you – that's the level of difference between previous experiments and this one,” says Dias.

To make the material, they placed a combination of the three elements into a diamond anvil – a piece of machinery that compresses samples to extraordinarily high pressures between two diamonds – and squeezed. As the material was compressed, its colour changed from blue to red, leading the researchers to nickname it “red matter”.

The researchers then ran a series of tests examining the red matter's electrical resistance and heat capacity, and how it interacted with an applied magnetic field. All the tests pointed towards the material being superconductive, they say.

But not all researchers in the field are convinced. “Perhaps they have discovered something absolutely groundbreaking and earth-shattering in this work, something that would win a Nobel prize, but I have some reservations,” says James Hamlin at the University of Florida.

Some of his reservations, and those of other superconductivity researchers, are due to controversy surrounding a 2020 paper by Dias and his team, which claimed room-temperature superconductivity and was later retracted by the scientific journal Nature. At the time, some questioned whether the data presented in the paper was accurate and raised questions about how the published data was derived from the raw measurements.

“Until the authors provide answers to those questions that can be understood, there is no reason to believe that [the data] they are publishing in this paper reflect the physical properties of real physical samples either,” says Jorge Hirsch at the University of California San Diego.

Part of the reason that scepticism is so hard to assuage is that we don't know enough about red matter to build a theoretical understanding of the mechanism behind its possible superconductivity. “There's still a lot to be done in terms of understanding the exact structure of this material, which is very crucial to understanding how this material is superconducting,” says Dias. “We're hoping if we can make it in larger quantities we'll get a better understanding of the material structure.”

If theorists can figure out exactly how and why this material becomes superconductive, it will both go a long way towards convincing researchers that it is, in fact, a superconductor, and it could also put red matter on the road to being produced industrially. “The structures found in this work are probably quite different [from previously confirmed superconducting materials],” says Eva Zurek at the University at Buffalo in New York. “The mechanism behind this compound's superconductivity might be different, but I can't know for sure.”

If independent groups are able to verify red matter's superconductivity and figure out its structure, this could be one of the most impactful scientific findings ever. A room-temperature, room-pressure superconductor could make the electrical power grid far more efficient and environmentally friendly, supercharge magnetic levitation and far more. “I think there are a lot of technologies that haven't even been imagined yet that could use room-temperature, room-pressure superconductivity,” says Zurek.

But researchers aren't dreaming about a superconducting society yet. “There's going to be a lot of scrutiny, obviously,” says Hamlin. “I think that the difference here from the previous result is that this is at such low pressures that a lot of other groups can look at this.” Only a few laboratories around the world have the expensive and complicated diamond anvils capable of reaching the high pressures required by previous superconductivity experiments, but pressure cells that can reach 1 gigapascal are relatively commonplace.

That may be the biggest factor differentiating this work from the retracted 2020 paper. “Their previous work still hasn't been reproduced by an independent group, but this one should be reproduced extremely quickly,” says Tim Strobel at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC. “We're going to do this right away.” If all goes well, this could mark the beginning of an energy revolution.

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注：中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考

含注释全文：

'Red matter' superconductor could transform electronics – if it works

From: New Scientist

Room-temperature, room-pressure superconductivity has been a central goal of materials science for more than a century, and it may have finally been achieved. If this new superconducting material holds up, it could revolutionise the way our world is powered – but the results are headed for serious scientific scrutiny first.

一个多世纪以来，室温室压超导一直是材料科学的核心目标，现在这一目标可能要实现了。如果这种新的超导材料得到验证，它可能会彻底改变我们世界的供电方式——但其结果将首先接受严格的科学审查。

superconductivity /ˌsuː.pə.kɒn.dʌkˈtɪv.ə.ti/ 表示“超导性”，英文解释为“the property of allowing an electrical current to flow through at a very low temperature”如：materials with magnetic and superconductivity properties 具有磁性和超导性的材料。

hold up表示“保持强壮；保持成功”，英文解释为“to remain strong or successful”举个🌰：

Will his alibi hold up (= continue to seem true) in court? 他不在犯罪现场的证据在法庭上会站得住脚吗？

hold sb/sth up表示“耽搁，延误”，英文解释为“to delay someone or something”举个🌰：

Traffic was held up for several hours by the accident. 那起事故造成了长达几个小时的交通堵塞。

表示“使发生革命性剧变；在…方面引起突破性变革”，英文解释为“to completely change something so that it is much better”举个🌰：

Newton's discoveries revolutionized physics. 牛顿的发现使物理学发生了革命性剧变。

scrutiny /ˈskruːtɪnɪ/表示“细看，仔细审查；监视”，英文解释为“the careful and detailed examination of something in order to get information about it”举个🌰：

His private life came under media scrutiny. 他的私生活开始受到媒体的密切关注。

When a material is superconductive, electricity flows through it with zero resistance, which means none of the energy involved is lost as heat. But every superconductor made so far has required extraordinarily high pressures, and most have required very low temperatures.

当一种材料具有超导性时，电流流经它时电阻为零，这意味着所涉及的能量都不会以热的形式损失。但是迄今为止制造的每一种超导体都需要极高的压力，大多数还需要极低的温度。

resistance /rɪˈzɪs.təns/ 1）表示“抵抗；反抗；反对”，英文解释为“the act of fighting against something that is attacking you, or refusing to accept something”如：resistance to disease 抗病。

2）表示“电阻”，英文解释为“the degree to which a substance prevents the flow of an electric current through it”举个🌰：

Copper has (a) low resistance. 铜的电阻很小。

Ranga Dias at the University of Rochester in New York and his colleagues claim to have made a material from hydrogen, nitrogen and lutetium that becomes superconductive at a temperature of just 21°C (69°F) and a pressure of 1 gigapascal. That is nearly 10,000 times the atmospheric pressure on Earth's surface, but still far lower pressure than any previous superconducting material. “Let's say you were riding a horse in the 1940s when you see a Ferrari driving past you – that's the level of difference between previous experiments and this one,” says Dias.

纽约罗切斯特大学（University of Rochester）的兰加·迪亚斯（Ranga Dias）和他的同事声称，他们利用氢、氮和镥制成了一种材料，这种材料在温度仅为21°C（69°F）和压力仅为1 GPa（吉帕斯卡）的情况下就具有超导性。这几乎是地球表面大气压力的1万倍，但仍远低于以前任何超导材料所需压力。迪亚斯说：“就好像你在20世纪40年代骑着马，看到一辆法拉利从你身边驶过——这就是以前的实验和这次实验之间的差异。”

hydrogen /ˈhaɪ.drə.dʒən/ 表示“氢，氢气”，英文解释为“a chemical element that is the lightest gas, has no colour, taste, or smell, and combines with oxygen to form water”

atmospheric pressure /æt.məsˌfer.ɪk ˈpreʃ.ər/ 表示“大气压”，英文解释为“the force with which the atmosphere presses down on the surface of the earth”

To make the material, they placed a combination of the three elements into a diamond anvil – a piece of machinery that compresses samples to extraordinarily high pressures between two diamonds – and squeezed. As the material was compressed, its colour changed from blue to red, leading the researchers to nickname it “red matter”.

为了制造这种材料，他们将这三种元素的组合放入金刚石压腔（diamond anvil）中挤压。金刚石压腔是一种在两颗金刚石之间将样品压缩到超高压力的机器。材料被压缩时，它的颜色从蓝色变成红色，因此研究人员将其命名为“红物质”。

anvil /ˈæn.vɪl/ 表示“铁砧”，英文解释为“a heavy block of iron on which heated pieces of metal are made into a particular shape with a hammer”

compress /kəmˈpres/ 表示“压缩；压紧”，英文解释为“to press something into a smaller space”举个🌰：

Firmly compress the soil in the pot so that the plant is secure. 把盆里的土压实使植株固定。

1）表示“（困难地）挤进，挤过”，英文解释为“to get in, through, under, etc. with difficulty”举个🌰：

She squeezed through the crowd and found a seat at the front. 她从人群中挤过去，在前面找了个座位。

2）表示“挤压；捏”，英文解释为“to press sth firmly, especially with your fingers”如：to squeeze a tube of toothpaste 挤牙膏，举个🌰：

He squeezed her arm reassuringly. 他安慰地捏了捏她的手臂。

3）表示“给…带来财务困难，使陷入财务困境”，英文解释为“If you are squeezed by financial demands, they cause you financial problems.”举个🌰：

Small businesses are being squeezed by heavy taxation. 重税使小企业在财务上捉襟见肘。

🎬电影《今晚带我回家》（Take Me Home Tonight）中的台词提到：Come on, punch it up. punch. and squeeze real tight 来 击个拳 击拳 然后握紧。

可以作名词，也可以作动词，表示“给…起绰号”，英文解释为“to give a nickname to sb/sth”举个🌰：

LR was nicknamed ‘Lu Rou’. LR外号叫“卤肉”。

The researchers then ran a series of tests examining the red matter's electrical resistance and heat capacity, and how it interacted with an applied magnetic field. All the tests pointed towards the material being superconductive, they say.

研究人员随后进行了一系列测试，检查红物质的电阻和热容，以及外加磁场对其的影响。他们表示，所有测试都表明这种材料具有超导性。

表示“交流，交往；互相作用，互相影响”，英文解释为“to communicate with or react to”举个🌰：

Her teacher says that she interacts well with the other children. 她的老师说她与别的孩子相处得很好。

magnetic field /mæɡˌnet.ɪk ˈfiːld/ 表示“磁场”，英文解释为“an area around a magnet or something magnetic, in which it has a force to attract objects to itself”

But not all researchers in the field are convinced. “Perhaps they have discovered something absolutely groundbreaking and earth-shattering in this work, something that would win a Nobel prize, but I have some reservations,” says James Hamlin at the University of Florida.

但并非该领域的所有研究人员都相信这一结果。佛罗里达大学的詹姆斯·哈姆林（James Hamlin）说：“也许他们在这项工作中发现了一些绝对具有开创性和震撼性的东西，一些可以获得诺贝尔奖的东西，但我持保留意见。”

convince /kənˈvɪns/ 表示“说服；使相信；使信服”，英文解释为“to persuade someone or make someone certain”举个🌰：

I hope this will convince you to change your mind. 我希望这会说服你改变主意。

earth-shattering /ˈɜːθˌʃæt.ər.ɪŋ/ 表示“震撼世界的；石破天惊的；极其重大的”，英文解释为“extremely important or very surprising”如：an earth-shattering discovery 震惊世界的发现。

reservation /ˌrez.əˈveɪ.ʃən/ 1）表示“存疑；保留意见；异议”，英文解释为“a doubt or feeling of not being able to agree with or accept something completely”举个🌰：

Workers and employees shared deep reservations about the wisdom of the plan. 对于该规划是否明智，工人和雇主都非常怀疑。

2）表示“预订；预约”，英文解释为“an arrangement in which something such as a seat on an aircraft or a table at a restaurant is kept for you”

3）表示“野生动物保护区；自然保护区；禁猎区”，英文解释为“an area of land in which wild animals are protected”举个🌰：

He's the chief warden of a big-game reservation. 他是一个大型动物保护区的管理主任。

Some of his reservations, and those of other superconductivity researchers, are due to controversy surrounding a 2020 paper by Dias and his team, which claimed room-temperature superconductivity and was later retracted by the scientific journal Nature. At the time, some questioned whether the data presented in the paper was accurate and raised questions about how the published data was derived from the raw measurements.

他和其他超导研究人员持有保留意见是因为，迪亚斯和他的团队在2020年发表的一篇论文引发了争议。该论文声称实现了室温超导，后来被科学期刊《自然》撤稿。当时，一些人质疑论文中提供的数据是否准确，并对发表的数据是如何从原始测量中得出的提出了质疑。

表示“争议；争论；争辩”，英文解释为“a lot of disagreement or argument about something, usually because it affects or is important to many people”举个🌰：

There was a big controversy surrounding/over the use of drugs in athletics. 体育界对使用违禁药物争议很大。

retract /rɪˈtrækt/ 表示“撤销；撤回；收回”，英文解释为“to take back an offer or statement, etc. or admit that a statement was false”如：retract an invitation/confession/promise 取消邀请/翻供/收回承诺。

表示“从…中得到，从…中获得”，英文解释为“to get something from something else”举个🌰：

She derives great pleasure from playing the violin. 拉小提琴能让她获得极大的乐趣。

📺英剧《唐顿庄园》（Downton Abbey）中的台词提到：Lord Gillingham thought Lady Mary might derive benefit from it. 吉利安姆子爵觉得玛丽小姐去参加一下有好处。

“Until the authors provide answers to those questions that can be understood, there is no reason to believe that [the data] they are publishing in this paper reflect the physical properties of real physical samples either,” says Jorge Hirsch at the University of California San Diego.

“在作者回答那些可理解的问题之前，我们也没有理由相信他们在本文中发布的[数据]反映了实物样品的物理特性，”加利福尼亚大学圣迭戈分校的豪尔赫·赫希（Jorge Hirsch）说道。

Part of the reason that scepticism is so hard to assuage is that we don't know enough about red matter to build a theoretical understanding of the mechanism behind its possible superconductivity. “There's still a lot to be done in terms of understanding the exact structure of this material, which is very crucial to understanding how this material is superconducting,” says Dias. “We're hoping if we can make it in larger quantities we'll get a better understanding of the material structure.”

怀疑论如此难以平息的部分原因是，我们对红物质的了解还不够，无法对其潜在超导性背后的机制建立理论上的理解。迪亚斯说：“在理解这种材料的确切结构方面还有很多工作要做，这对于了解这种材料的超导性非常关键，”迪亚斯说。“我们希望能大量生产，这样将能够更好地理解该材料结构。”

表示“怀疑态度；怀疑主义；怀疑”，英文解释为“Scepticism is great doubt about whether something is true or useful.”

assuage /əˈsweɪdʒ/ 表示“缓和；减轻；平息”，英文解释为“to make unpleasant feelings less strong”举个🌰：

She has tried to assuage the public's fears. 她努力消除公众的恐慌。

theoretical /θɪəˈret.ɪ.kəl/表示“理论上的；纯理论的”，英文解释为“based on the ideas that relate to a subject, not the practical uses of that subject”如：theoretical physics 理论物理。

If theorists can figure out exactly how and why this material becomes superconductive, it will both go a long way towards convincing researchers that it is, in fact, a superconductor, and it could also put red matter on the road to being produced industrially. “The structures found in this work are probably quite different [from previously confirmed superconducting materials],” says Eva Zurek at the University at Buffalo in New York. “The mechanism behind this compound's superconductivity might be different, but I can't know for sure.”

如果理论学家能够准确地弄清楚这种材料成为超导体的原因和机制，这将在很大程度上说服研究人员，它实际上是一种超导体，也有望让红物质投入工业化生产。“这项工作中发现的结构可能（与先前证实的超导材料）大不相同，”纽约州立大学布法罗分校的伊娃·祖雷克（Eva Zurek）说。“这种化合物超导性背后的机制可能不同，但我不能确定。”

2）表示“（围起来的）场地，楼群，院落”，英文解释为“an area surrounded by fences or walls that contains a group of buildings”举个🌰：

They marched into the compound. 他们进入大院。

作动词，表示“使加重，使加剧，使恶化”，英文解释为“to make a problem or difficult situation worse”举个🌰：

Her terror was compounded by the feeling that she was being watched. 她有种被人监视的感觉，这加剧了她的恐惧感。

If independent groups are able to verify red matter's superconductivity and figure out its structure, this could be one of the most impactful scientific findings ever. A room-temperature, room-pressure superconductor could make the electrical power grid far more efficient and environmentally friendly, supercharge magnetic levitation and far more. “I think there are a lot of technologies that haven't even been imagined yet that could use room-temperature, room-pressure superconductivity,” says Zurek.

如果独立团队能够验证红物质的超导性并弄清楚它的结构，这可能是有史以来最有影响力的科学发现之一。室温、室压超导体可以使电网更加高效和环保，为磁悬浮提供超级动力等等。祖雷克说：“我认为还有很多没有设想到的技术可以利用室温、室压下的超导性。”

表示“核实；查对；核准；证明；证实”，英文解释为“to check that sth is true or accurate；to show or say that sth is true or accurate”举个🌰：

We have no way of verifying his story. 我们无法核实他所说的情况。

Her version of events was verified by neighbours. 她对这些事件的说法已得到邻居的证实。

levitation /ˌlev.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/ 表示“飘浮，悬浮”，英文解释为“the act of rising and floating, or making someone rise or float, in the air without any physical support”举个🌰：

One of his most famous illusions was levitation, in which he caused his wife to rise from the stage. 他最著名的幻术之一是浮空术，表演的时候他让妻子在舞台上飘浮起来。

But researchers aren't dreaming about a superconducting society yet. “There's going to be a lot of scrutiny, obviously,” says Hamlin. “I think that the difference here from the previous result is that this is at such low pressures that a lot of other groups can look at this.” Only a few laboratories around the world have the expensive and complicated diamond anvils capable of reaching the high pressures required by previous superconductivity experiments, but pressure cells that can reach 1 gigapascal are relatively commonplace.

但研究人员还没有幻想着实现超导社会。“显然会有很多审查，”哈姆林说。“我认为这里与之前结果的不同之处在于，这是在较低的压力下进行的，因此很多其他团队都可以研究。”全世界只有少数几个实验室有昂贵且复杂的金刚石压腔，能够达到以前超导实验所需的高压，但能够达到1吉帕斯卡的压力盒则相对较为常见的。

表示“平常的；常见的；普通的；普遍的”，英文解释为“happening often or often seen or experienced and so not considered to be special”，举个🌰：

Electric cars are increasingly commonplace. 电动汽车越来越普及了。

🎬电影《偷书贼》（The Book Thief）中的台词提到：Unfortunately, I'm far more ordinary and commonplace. 不幸的是 我其实非常平凡。

That may be the biggest factor differentiating this work from the retracted 2020 paper. “Their previous work still hasn't been reproduced by an independent group, but this one should be reproduced extremely quickly,” says Tim Strobel at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC. “We're going to do this right away.” If all goes well, this could mark the beginning of an energy revolution.

这可能是这项工作与被撤稿的2020年论文最大的区别之处。“他们以前的工作仍未被独立团体复现，但这一工作应该会很快能复现，”华盛顿特区卡内基科学研究所的蒂姆·斯特罗贝尔（Tim Strobel）说。“我们将马上做这件事。”如果一切顺利，这可能标志着能源革命的开始。

differentiate /ˌdɪf.əˈren.ʃi.eɪt/ 1）表示“区别，分清，辨别”，英文解释为“to show or find the difference between things that are compared”

2）表示“使不同，使产生差异”，英文解释为“to make someone or something different”举个🌰：

The slate roof differentiates this house from others in the area. 石板瓦屋顶使这座房子在该地区与众不同。

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