This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.Here on Earth, your best bet for seeing lava is to go to a volcano.But out in space, there are entire exoplanets made of the stuff.These so-called lava worlds orbit so close to their stars that their surface temperatures can melt rock―which might sound familiar, says space technologist Mihkel Pajusalu of the University of Tartu in Estonia."So like, for example, from science fiction, we know, from Stars Wars: Episode III, Mustafar planet..."Kinda like that but, you know, without the light sabers.Scientists had noticed that some of these real lava worlds were extraordinarily bright and reflective. But why?"There was the idea that maybe it comes from the fact lava itself is basically a liquid, and a smooth surface can reflect light. Like the surface of water, for example."So Pajusalu and his colleagues did what anyone would do to test that idea: they made their own lava.Here's M.I.T.'s Zahra Essack, who led the team."When we removed the lava from the furnace, you could instantly feel the heat wash over you.Even from six feet away, it felt like you were standing right on the edge of a roaring bonfire.The crucible, which was the container holding the lava, was glowing so brightly, it made my eyes water. It was an incredible experience."After producing the lava, the researchers calculated its reflectivity in both the molten and solid states.
这里是科学美国人――60秒科学系列，我是克里斯托弗・因塔格里塔。在地球上，如果你想看到熔岩，那最好的方法就是去火山。但在太空中，存在整个由这种物质构成的系外行星。这些所谓的“熔岩世界”的轨道与其恒星极为接近，以致于其表面温度可熔化岩石，爱沙尼亚塔尔图大学的太空技术专家米克尔・帕朱萨鲁表示，这听起来可能很熟悉。“比如，科幻小说和《星球大战》系列第三集中提到的穆斯塔法星……”和那种类似 ，但是，没有光剑。科学家注意到，这些真实的熔岩世界中有些非常明亮并具反光性。但原因为何？“有人认为这可能是因为熔岩本身基本上是液体，光滑的表面可以反射光线。就像水面一样。”因此，帕朱萨鲁及同事做了任何人都会做的事情，来验证这个想法：他们自己制造了熔岩。以下是领导该团队的麻省理工学院的扎赫拉・埃萨克所说。“当我们从熔炉中取出熔岩时，立刻就感觉到热浪席卷而来。即使在六英尺以外的地方，你也会有自已就站在熊熊燃烧的篝火边的感觉。坩埚是盛装熔岩的容器，它发出的光非常明亮，以致于会让我的眼睛湿润。这是一次难以置信的经历。”制造出熔岩之后，研究人员计算了熔岩在熔融状态和固态下的反射率。
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