Space and time

1. be proportional to 与。。。成比例

eg. The force is proportional to the mass of a object

If the law were that the gravitational attraction of a star went down faster or increased more rapidly with distance, the orbits of the planets would not be elliptical, they would either spiral in to the sun or escape from the sun.

2. elliptical adj.椭圆的; 省略的; 像椭圆形的;

3. spiral in 呈螺旋形进入    escape from从。。。逃离

4. with respect to 关于，（至于）谈到;

5. set aside 留出; 把…放置一旁; 不理会; 取消;

6. there is no way to tell..  没有办法判断

When the famous Dr. Johnson was told of Berkeley’s opinion, he cried, “I refute it thus!” and stubbed his toe on a large stone.

7. stub one's toe on sth. 这里是表示激动的情绪吗？

stub vt.使（脚趾）碰到某物; 捻灭（香烟，雪茄等）; 连根拔出;

8. propagation  n.宣传; 传播，传输，蔓延，扩展，波及深度; 〔生〕繁殖法，〔地〕传导; 培养;

9. 电磁波

电磁波谱图

10.get rid of one idea 摆脱了某种思想

11. ether 以太。以太是古希腊哲学家亚里士多德所设想的一种物质。19世纪的物理学家，认为它是一种曾被假想的电磁波的传播媒质。但后来的实验和理论表明，如果不假定“以太”的存在，很多物理现象可以有更为简单的解释。也就是说，没有任何观测证据表明“以太”的存在，因此“以太”理论被科学界抛弃。

12. hitherto adv.迄今; 至今; 到目前为止;

13. postulate vt.假定; 提出要求; 视…为理所当然; n.假定; 先决条件; 基本原理;

14. intrinsic adj.本征; 固有的，内在的，本质的; [解剖] 体内的; 先天性;

If one stacks snapshots of the ripples at different times one above the other, the expanding circle of  ripples will mark out a cone whose tip is at the place and time at which the stone hit the water Figure 2:3.

15. stack n.垛，干草堆; （一排） 烟囱; 层积; 整个的藏书架排列;

              vt.堆成堆，垛; 堆起来或覆盖住; 洗牌作弊; 秘密事先运作

snapshot n.（快照） 照片，独立的印象，简单印象; 简介; 急射，速射;

cone n.圆锥体; 球果; 圆锥形东西;

如果把不同时间的波纹的快照一个个堆叠起来，这些波纹的扩散圈会形成一个圆柱体，圆锥顶角在光源发出的位置，而时间就是石头触及水面的时间

16. special relativity 狭义相对论

general theory of relativity 广义相对论

17. geodesic 测地线

18.elongated 瘦长的

19. be hailed as 被称赞为

20. reconciliation 和解，调和

21. be sheer luck 光凭运气

22. in exact agreement with 与。。。完全一致

23. with the advent of 随着。。。的出现

文章逻辑：亚里士多德——伽利略——牛顿

重力加速度、引力、四维时空、质能守恒

follow from 由。。。推出，由。。。产生

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Space and time

It is the first time for me to read such a long scientific article. Since I am a student of science, it didn't turned out to be quite a difficulty for me to understand what the author talked about. However, when I go through to the middle of the article, I found it hard for me to find out the logic in proving  relative time. After listening to Anne's explanation, I find it much clearer and more understandable.