雙語暢銷書《艾倫圖靈傳》第2章:下一個星期(34)

As for the iodates, new ventures at the Clock House had rendered them definitely passé. There were experiments to measure air resistance, liquid friction, another problem in physical chemistry with Rupert ('I enclose the integral which you might like to try'), plans for a twenty foot long reflecting telescope, and

而鍾屋進行的新實驗，則使碘酸鹽的問題被拋到腦後了。有測量空氣壓強、液體摩擦力、還有一個和拉普特一起做的物理化學實驗，20英尺長的反射望遠鏡計劃，還有……

… So far all I have done is to make an adding machine for pounds and ounces. It works surprisingly well. I think I have given up Maths for these holidays, having just read a very good book on Physics in general including relativity.

我又添了一臺新機器，非常好用。假期我沒讀數學書，只讀了一本關於物理、包括相對論的書，那本書很好。

Alan laboriously copied the ingenious experiment on air resistance that Christopher had devised and wrote back with more ideas about chemistry and a mechanics problem, only for Christopher to pour cold water on both in a letter of 3 September: method. Incidentally I believe you're equations of motion have a mistake in them. …

艾倫努力地重複了克里斯朵夫設計的測量空氣壓強的實驗，並在回信裏談了一些關於化學和機械的想法。但是，克里斯朵夫卻在9月3日的信給他潑了冷水：

I am now helping my brother analyse American plasticine for an artist. … The procedure is to boil with organic solvents. … I made a quite good plasticine and very nearly like the stuff we want, by mixing this iron soap with flowers of sulphur … and adding a little mutton fat. Hope you are having good holidays; see you on 21st, Yrs, C.C. Morcom.

我沒認真研究你的圓錐擺，我沒看明白你的方法，但要提醒一下，你裏面的運動方程有個錯誤……我現在在幫我哥哥爲一位藝術家分析膠土……用有機溶劑燒……我把硫磺混進鐵皁，做了一種還不錯的膠土，就跟我們想要的差不多……還加了一點羊脂。祝你有個愉快的假期。21日見。你的C.C.默卡。

But chemistry had now given way to astronomy, to which Christopher had introduced Alan earlier in the year. Alan had been given Eddington's Internal Constitution of the Stars by his mother for his seventeenth birthday, and had also acquired a 11/2-inch telescope. Christopher had a four-inch telescope ('He never tired of talking about his wonderful telescope if he thought one was interested') and had been given a star atlas for his eighteenth birthday. Besides astronomy, Alan was also reading deep into The Nature of the Physical World, for in his letter27 of 20 November 1929 there was a paraphrase of part of its account:

在這一年早些，克里斯朵夫還給艾倫介紹了天文學，現在化學要爲天文學讓路了。艾倫的母親，在他17歲生日時，送給他一本愛丁頓的《恆星的內部結構》，還有一個1.5英寸的望遠鏡。克里斯朵夫有一個4英寸的望遠鏡（“他一有機會，就會滔滔不絕地講他絕妙的望遠鏡”），18歲生日時還得到了一本地圖集。除了天文學，艾倫還在更深入地閱讀《物理世界的本質》。在1929年11月20日的信中，有一段話：