The Sailing Stones of Death Valley    美國死亡谷「會走路的石頭」

 

精英翻譯社轉自http://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0062/319858/web/

 

For decades, scientists wondered how these stones moved on their own.

數十年來,科學家們都好奇這些石頭到底是如何自行移動的。

 

   There is a place in the United States called the Racetrack Playa in the northwest corner of Death Valley National Park. It's a dried-up lake in one of America's hottest, driest, and lowest places. It's also home to rocks that move across the ground all by themselves.

   在美國死亡谷國家公園的西北角有一個叫作賽馬場鹽湖的地方。它是位在美國最炎熱、最乾燥和最低窪地區之中的一個乾涸湖。它也是那些在地面上自行移動的石頭之所在地。

 

   These strange rocks have been known for years to move across the dry ground and leave behind long, twisting trails. There have been many explanations for their strange movement, including everything from heavy winds to strange ice formations. Some people even thought it might be aliens or some magical force. In 2014, two scientists set up an experiment to figure it out once and for all.

   這些奇怪的石頭因多年來在乾燥的地面上移動、留下綿長且曲折的痕跡而為人所知。有許多人針對它們奇怪的活動作出不少解釋,包含從強風到奇怪的結冰現象。有些人甚至認為這可能是外星人或是一些神祕力量所造成的。2014 年,兩位科學家開始了一項實驗來徹底解開這個謎團。

 

   What the scientists found was that, under very particular weather conditions, rain would freeze overnight into thin sheets of ice. Then in the morning, the sun would warm the ice, which enables even a breeze to move the rocks across the partly melted ice. The results finally explained the mystery of Death Valley's sailing rocks as well as similar moving rocks around the world. While aliens moving rocks across the desert would have been amazing, the complex science behind the sailing stones is also pretty cool.

   科學家發現,在非常特殊的天氣情況下,雨水會在一夜之間凍結成一層層的薄冰。然後到了早晨,陽光使冰融化之後,即便是一陣微風都能讓這些石頭在部分融化的薄冰上移動。這個結果終於解釋了死亡谷移動的石頭和世界各地類似的移動石頭之謎。雖然外星人移動石頭橫越沙漠可能會讓人感到不可思議,但移動石頭背後的複雜科學也很酷。

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