Lesson 14-2        The Butterfly Effect

Suppose every sensor gives perfectly accurate readings of temperature, pressure, humidity, and any other quantity a meteorologist would want. Precisely at noon an infinitely powerful computer takes all the data and calculates what will happen at each point at 12.01, then 12.02, then 12.03...

The computer will still be unable to predict whether Princeton, New Jersey, will have sun or rain on a day one month away. At noon the spaces between the sensors will hide fluctuations that the computer will not know about, tiny deviations from the average. By 12.01, those fluctuations will already have created small errors one foot away. Soon the errors will have multiplied to the ten-foot scale, and so on up to the size of the globe.

accurate /ˈækjərət/  精确的;正确无误的

humidity  /hjuːˈmɪdəti/  湿度;湿热

meteorologist /ˌmiːtiəˈrɑːlədʒɪst/  气象学家

quantity   /ˈkwɑːntəti/  数量;量;大量;数目;

precise /prɪˈsaɪs/  精确的;准确的;确切的

infinitely /ˈɪnfɪnətli/  非常;无限地;极其

fluctuation /ˌflʌktʃuˈeɪʃn/  波动;起伏;涨落

deviation /ˌdiːviˈeɪʃn/  偏差;偏离;背离;