Everything is made of atoms

 

　　原子构成世间万物

 

　　To understand electricity, it’s important to know something about atoms. Atoms are the building blocks of the universe. Everything in the universe is made of atoms-every star, every tree, every animal. The human body is made of atoms. Air and water are made of atoms too. Atoms are so small that millions of them would fit on the head of a pin.

 

　　要了解电，重要的是对原子有所了解。原子是构成宇宙的基本要素。原子构成了宇宙中的一切：星星、树木、动物。人体也由原子构成。空气、水也是如此。原子极其微小，数以百万的原子才相当于 大头针的针尖大小。

 

　　Atoms are made of even smaller particles

 

　　原子由更小的粒子构成

 

　　The center of an atom is called the nucleus. It is made of particles called protons and neutrons. Electrons spin around the nucleus in shells a great distance from the nucleus. If the nucleus was the size of a tennis ball, the atom would be the size of a sphere about 1,450 feet in diameter, or about the size of the largest sports stadium in the world. Atoms are mostly empty space.

 

　　原子的中心称为原子核，原子核由质子和中子两种粒子构成。电子在电子层 中绕核运动，与原子核距离较远。如果原子核为网球大小，那么原子就是一个的 直径约为1450英尺的球体，或相当于世界上最大的体育场。原子中有较大空间。

 

　　If an atom could be seen with the naked eye, it would look a little like a tiny center of balls surrounded by giant invisible bubbles (or shells). The electrons would be on the surface of the bubbles, constantly spinning and moving to stay as far away from each other as possible. Electrons are held in their shells by an electrical force.

 

　　如果肉眼可见的话，原子就好像处于一个球堆的中心，被许多隐形的巨大泡 泡（或球形壳）环绕着。电子在泡泡的表面（即电子层上）不断（绕核）旋转且 彼此相斥。在电场力的作用下，电子处于（相应的）电子层中。（或意译为电子不 会脱离电子层。）The protons and electrons of an atom are attracted to each other. They both carry an electrical charge. Protons have a positive charge (+) and electrons have a negative charge (-). The positive charge of the protons is equal to the negative charge of the electrons. Opposite charges attract each other. An atom is in balance when it has an equal number of protons and electrons. The neutrons carry no charge and their number can vary.

 

　　原子中的质子和电子相互吸引，他们各自带有电荷。质子带正电荷，电子带 负电荷。质子所带的正电荷与电子所带负电荷数量相等。异性/正负电荷相互吸引。 当质子和电子数量相当时，原子处于平衡状态。中子不带电荷，中子数量可（随 原子种类的不同而）变化。

 

　　The number of protons in an atom determines the kind of atom, or element, it is. An element is a substance consisting of one type of atom (the Periodic Table shows all the known elements), all with the same number of protons. Every atom of hydrogen, for example, has one proton, and every atom of carbon has six protons. The number of protons determines which element it is.

 

　　原子的质子数决定了原子的种类，即元素。一种元素就是一类具有相同质子数的原子（元素周期表显示了所有已知元素）。例如，每种氢元素都有一个质子，每种碳元素都有6个质子。质子数量决定元素种类。

 

　　Electricity is the movement of electrons between atoms电子在原子间运动产生电

 

　　Electrons usually remain a constant distance from the nucleus in precise shells. The shell closest to the nucleus can hold two electrons. The next shell can hold up to eight. The outer shells can hold even more. Some atoms with many protons can have as many as seven shells with electrons in them.

 

　　通常情况下，电子存在于确定的球形壳内，与原子核保持固定的距离。离原子核最近的球形壳内有2个电子，次近的球形壳里有8个电子。外部的球形壳中的电子数更多。有些原子的质子数比较多，其承载电子的球形壳可多达7个。

 

　　The electrons in the shells closest to the nucleus have a strong force of attraction to the protons. Sometimes, the electrons in an atom’s outermost shells do not. These electrons can be pushed out of their orbits. Applying a force can make them move from one atom to another. These moving electrons are electricity.

 

　　离原子核最近的电子与质子的引力最强。最外层电子层的电子与质子的引力就没那么强，它们有时会脱离轨道。施加外力可以使电子从一个原子移向另一个原子。电子的运动就产生了电。

 

　　Static electricity exists in nature

 

　　自然界中存在静电

 

　　Lightning is a form of electricity. Lightning is electrons moving from one cloud to another or electrons jumping from a cloud to the ground. Have you ever felt a shock when you touched an object after walking across a carpet? A stream of electrons jumped to you from that object. This is called static electricity.

 

　　闪电就是电的一种。电子从一片云层移向另一片云层，或是从一片云层移向大地，从而形成了闪电。走过地毯再接触物体的时候，你有没有被电到过呢？那是因为有电子从物体上跳到了你身上。这种现象叫作静电。

 

　　Have you ever made your hair stand straight up by rubbing a balloon on it? If so, you rubbed some electrons off the balloon. The electrons moved into your hair from the balloon. The electrons tried to get far away from each other by moving to the ends of your hair. They pushed against or repelled each other and made your hair move. Just as opposite charges attract each other, like charges repel each other.

 

　　你有试过用气球摩擦头发，头发就竖了起来吗？这样做就是把气球上的电子蹭到了头发上。电子试图远离彼此，因而移动到了发梢。它们相互排斥彼此远离，使得头发直立起来。就像异性电荷相互吸引，同性电荷相互排斥。