2022年11月28日 VOA慢速英語：科學(xué)家批準(zhǔn)了最大、最小測量值的術(shù)語

 

An international group of scientists has expanded the metric terms used to express the largest and smallest measurements.
一個(gè)國際科學(xué)家小組擴(kuò)展了用于表示最大和最小測量值的公制術(shù)語。
 
The changes were decided at a recent meeting of the 27th General Conference on Weights and Measures, which took place near Paris, France. The group sets international standards for scientific measurements.
這些變化是在最近的一次會(huì)議上決定的第 27 屆度量衡大會(huì)在法國巴黎附近召開。該小組制定了科學(xué)測量的國際標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。
 
The new terms are known as prefixes. A prefix is a word, letter or number placed before a base word to change its meaning.
新術(shù)語稱為前綴。前綴是放置在基本單詞之前以改變其含義的單詞、字母或數(shù)字。
 
Examples of existing prefixes used in the metric system are kilo- and milli-. When these prefixes are added to the metric unit meter, they become kilometer and millimeter.
公制系統(tǒng)中使用的現(xiàn)有前綴示例有千和毫。當(dāng)這些前綴加到公制單位米上時(shí)，它們就變成了公里和毫米。
 
This method of combining terms makes it easier to express size and distances. For example, saying "kilometer" is easier than having to say 1,000 meters. And using "millimeter" is much easier than having to say "one thousandth of a meter."
這種組合術(shù)語的方法更容易表達(dá)大小和距離。例如，說“公里”比說 1,000 米更容易。使用“毫米”比說“千分之一米”要容易得多。
 
The worldwide standard for the metric system is known as the International System of Units. Changes to this standard are decided by scientists and government representatives from around the world.
公制的全球標(biāo)準(zhǔn)被稱為國際單位制。對(duì)該標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的更改由來自世界各地的科學(xué)家和政府代表決定。
 
Britain's National Physical Laboratory, which led the push for new prefixes, confirmed the new changes were approved in a resolution at the meeting.
領(lǐng)導(dǎo)推動(dòng)新前綴的英國國家物理實(shí)驗(yàn)室證實(shí)，新的更改已在會(huì)議的一項(xiàng)決議中獲得批準(zhǔn)。
 
It marked the first time in more than 30 years that new terms have been added to the International System of Units. Representatives attending the meeting said the need for new prefixes had grown because of scientific advances and huge increases in digital data storage.
它標(biāo)志著 30 多年來首次將新術(shù)語添加到國際單位制中。與會(huì)代表表示，由于科學(xué)進(jìn)步和數(shù)字?jǐn)?shù)據(jù)存儲(chǔ)量的巨大增長，對(duì)新前綴的需求不斷增長。
 
The new prefixes were created to express "the biggest and smallest levels ever measured," said Richard Brown. He is head of Metrology at the National Physical Laboratory.
創(chuàng)建新前綴是為了表示“有史以來測量到的最大和最小水平”，他說理查德·布朗。他是國家物理實(shí)驗(yàn)室的計(jì)量學(xué)負(fù)責(zé)人。
 
The new terms for the largest units are ronna and quetta. And the new expressions for the smallest are ronto and quecto.
最大單位的新術(shù)語是 ronna 和 quetta。最小的新表達(dá)式是 ronto 和 quecto。
 
Ronna is represented by a one, followed by 27 zeros, while quetta has 30 zeros. For measuring extremely small things, ronto has 27 zeros after the decimal point, while quecto would have 30 zeros.
Ronna 由一個(gè) 1 后跟 27 個(gè)零表示，而 quetta 有 30 個(gè)零。為了測量極小的東西，ronto 在小數(shù)點(diǎn)后有 27 個(gè)零，而 quecto 有 30 個(gè)零。
 
Brown told The Associated Press the new prefixes will make it easier for scientists to describe things they already known about. He said the Earth weighs about six ronnagrams. The weight of Jupiter, on the other hand, can be expressed as two quettagrams.
布朗告訴美聯(lián)社，新的前綴將使科學(xué)家更容易描述他們已知的事物。他說地球重約 6 ronnagrams。另一方面，木星的重量可以用兩個(gè) quettagram 來表示。
 
The mass of an electron can be described as one rontogram. And, scientists can now say that a single byte of data on a smartphone increases the phone's mass by one quectogram.
一個(gè)電子的質(zhì)量可以用一個(gè) rontogram 來表示。而且，科學(xué)家們現(xiàn)在可以說，智能手機(jī)上的單個(gè)字節(jié)數(shù)據(jù)會(huì)使手機(jī)的質(zhì)量增加一個(gè) quectogram。
 
Brown said "the diameter of the entire observable universe is just one ronnameter."
布朗說：“整個(gè)可觀測宇宙的直徑只有一個(gè) ronnameter。”
He added that the new names were not chosen without careful thought. The first letter of the new prefixes had to be one that had not been used in other prefixes and units.
他補(bǔ)充說，新名稱的選擇并不是經(jīng)過深思熟慮的。新前綴的第一個(gè)字母必須是其他前綴和單元中沒有使用過的。
 
"There were only the letters ‘r' and ‘q' that weren't already taken," Brown said. "Following that, there's a precedent that they sound similar to Greek letters and that big number prefixes end with an ‘a' and smaller numbers with an ‘o.'"
“只有字母‘r’和‘q’還沒有被拿走，”布朗說。 “在此之后，有一個(gè)先例，它們聽起來類似于希臘字母，大數(shù)字前綴以‘a’結(jié)尾，較小的數(shù)字以‘o’結(jié)尾。”
 
Brown noted that it was "high time" for the terms to be added. "(We) need new words as things expand," Brown said. "In just a few decades, the world has become a very different place."
布朗指出，現(xiàn)在是添加條款的“最佳時(shí)機(jī)”。 “隨著事情的發(fā)展，（我們）需要新詞，”布朗說。 “在短短幾十年里，世界已經(jīng)變得非常不同了。”