Dolphins have a kick that would make Michael Phelps jealous—212 pounds worth.

海豚尾鰭的力道會讓菲爾普斯也嫉妒：212磅的推力。

How dolphins are able to swim so fast first preoccupied researchers back in 1936, when zoologist James Gray calculated the drag dolphins must overcome to swim faster than 20 miles an hour. Gray said dolphins lacked the muscles to swim so fast, and yet they did. This became known as Gray’s Paradox.

海豚如何能游得這麼快，最早在1936年就令科學家費解，當時動物學家葛瑞計算出海豚要游逾時速20英里得克服的阻力。葛瑞說，海豚缺少能游這麼快的肌肉，然而牠們卻能游這麼快，這因而成了著名的「葛瑞矛盾理論」。

Gray theorized that their speed possibly had something to do with their skin. Now a team of scientists has used sophisticated underwater video to measure the power of a dolphin’s tail. They calculate 212 pounds of thrust—more than triple what a top Olympian like Phelps can produce and enough to swim with the zip that confounded Gray seven decades ago.

葛瑞推論，海豚能游這麼快與皮膚有關。現在有一組科學家利用精密水底攝影測量海豚尾鰭力道，計算出推力有212磅，比像菲爾普斯這種頂尖奧運選手能產生的推力還大3倍，也足以讓海豚游的速度快到令70年前的葛瑞百思不解。

"There is no paradox. The dolphins always had the muscles to do this," said Frank Fish, professor of biology. "Gray was wrong."

「沒有矛盾。海豚一直有這種肌肉可以做到這一點」，生物學教授費許說，「葛瑞錯了。」

Harvard University biology professor George Lauder called the research helpful, saying that while few biologists still put stock in Gray’s Paradox, some engineers do.

哈佛大學生物學教授勞德稱這項研究有貢獻，儘管目前很少有生物學家相信葛瑞矛盾理論，但是部分工程師還是相信。

◎新聞辭典：

preoccupied：形容詞，全神貫注的，專心於某件事。例句：He is now preoccupied with his wedding preparations.（他現在全心忙著準備他的婚禮。）

confound：動詞，以出人意料的表現讓人困惑或驚訝。例句：The doctors are also confounded by his amazing recovery.（醫生也對他驚人的復元速度感到不解。）

put stock in：片語，相信。例句：Put no stock in what he says, he’s just bluffing. （別相信他說的，他只不過在吹牛。）

自由時報-971201

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