中国日报双语新闻

“桂花香是一种非牛顿流体”?网友:太绝了!形容得精准又浪漫

秋风一起,社交平台上“桂花香是一种非牛顿流体”这一说法突然火了!

An online claim that osmanthus fragrance behaves like a "non-Newtonian fluid" has gone viral, but the comparison is more a poetic metaphor than a scientific description.

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有网友贴切形容它:使劲嗅,几乎闻不到;不找它,风一吹就扑进鼻子里。

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有趣的网友甚至将“桂花香”的这种特质和“非牛顿流体”挂上了钩,感觉像极了非牛顿流体“吃软不吃硬”的脾气:轻轻碰它软如水,使劲捶它硬如石。

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话说,屏幕前闻过桂花的你,有没有同感呢?

桂花香是非牛顿流体

说法到底科不科学?

所谓“非牛顿流体”,是指随外界施力状态而变化的流体。一个常见的例子是玉米淀粉和水的混合物:缓慢搅拌时,它更像液体在流动;但当被快速敲击或挤压时,它会抵抗运动,摸起来很硬。这就是“剪切增稠”——你越用力让它变形,它越坚硬。

A non-Newtonian fluid does not maintain a constant viscosity as the force applied to it changes. A familiar example is a mixture of cornstarch and water: stirred slowly, it flows relatively easily, but when struck or squeezed rapidly, it resists movement and feels firm. This behavior is known as shear thickening: the faster the mixture is deformed, the more resistant it becomes.

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而桂花香的本质,是花瓣释放出的挥发性有机化合物分子,它们扩散到空气中,飘进你的鼻子,属于气体分子扩散现象,而非流体力学问题。

所以说,所谓“桂花香是一种非牛顿流体”只是一个浪漫的网络文学梗,并非科学结论。

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为什么感觉上

桂花香越用力越闻不到呢?

桂花香气的释放和扩散,依赖于空气的流动。当一阵风拂过,高浓度的香气分子会被直接“送”到你的面前。但如果你专门凑近,用力吸气去闻,花周围那层薄薄的香气分子反而会被瞬间冲散,你闻到的香气自然也会变淡。

Osmanthus fragrance, however, has nothing to do with fluid dynamics. It comes from volatile organic compounds released by the flowers and carried through the air to the nose. Airflow affects how these molecules disperse, so sniffing forcefully may disturb the air around the blossoms and make the scent seem weaker.

更关键的是,在浓香反复刺激之下,你的鼻子会“累”,嗅觉感受器会自动调低灵敏度,从而更难捕捉到香气。这也是古话“久居兰室而不闻其香”的原因。

所以说,我们常说“桂花飘香”,桂花的香,是一种“远香”,它不迎合凑近的鼻尖,只留给恰好经过的人。

Prolonged exposure can also lead to olfactory adaptation, in which the nose becomes less sensitive to a familiar smell. This helps explain why people may stop noticing a fragrance after spending time in a room filled with flowers, as reflected in the traditional saying about no longer noticing the scent of orchids.

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关于秋日的双语文案

都有哪些呢?

拾一叶金黄,赴一场温柔。关于秋日的表达,快来一起看看吧!

▌Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ——Albert Camus

秋天是另一个春天,每片秋叶都是一朵花。

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▌Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ——Stanley Horowitz

寒冬是蚀刻画,春季是水彩画,盛夏是油画,而秋日则是它们组合在一起的马赛克。

▌秋天,无论在什么地方的秋天,总是好的;可是啊,北国的秋,却特别地来得清,来得静,来得悲凉。——《故都的秋》郁达夫

Autumn, wherever it is, always has something to recommend itself. In North China, however, it is particularly limpid, serene and melancholy. (张培基 译)

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▌The autumn leaves were floating

and measured to the ground,

recovering the lake where

we used to swim like children. ——歌曲《Stories》

秋叶凋零,飘忽飞落,覆盖在我们孩提时曾经嬉戏的湖面。

▌My Sorrow, when she's here with me,

Thinks these dark days of autumn rain

Are beautiful as days can be. ——罗伯特·弗罗斯特《我的十一月来客》

我的忧愁和我同在这里时,会将这些秋雨连绵的日子,看作一年四季最美丽的时日。

金桂飘香,重阳情长,今日重阳,祝大家岁岁安康,温暖常伴。

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来源:外研社UNIPUS

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