"Kim Stanley Robinson - Mars 3 - Green Mars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robinson Kim Stanley)

would say something like, тАЬIn nonshiv-ering thermogenesis the body produces heat using futile cycles,тАЭ
and one of them would raise a hand and say, тАЬBut why, Sax?тАЭ and everyone would stare hard at their
lectern and not look at each other, while Sax would frown as if this had never happened before, and say,
тАЬWell, it creates heat without using as much energy as shivering does. The muscle proteins contract, but
instead of grabbing they just slide over each other, and that creates the heat.тАЭ Jackie, so sincerely the
whole class nearly lost it: тАЬBut how?тАЭ He was blinking now, so fast they almost exploded watching him.
тАЬWell, the amino acids in the proteins have broken covalent bonds, and the breaks release what is called
bond dissociation energy.тАЭ

тАЬBut why?тАЭ

Blinking ever harder: тАЬWell, thatтАЩs just a matter of physics.тАЭ He diagrammed vigorously on the
blackboard: тАЬCovalent bonds are formed when two atomic orbitals merge to form a single bond orbital,
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occupied by electrons from both atoms. Breaking the bond releases thirty to a hundred kcals of stored
energy.тАЭ

Several of them asked, in chorus, тАЬBut why?тАЭ

This got him into subatomic physics, where the chain of whys and becauses could go on for a half hour
without him ever once saying something they could understand. Finally they would sense they were near
the end game. тАЬBut why?тАЭ

тАЬWell,тАЭ going cross-eyed as he tried to backtrack, тАЬatoms want to get to their stable number of
electrons, and theyтАЩll share electrons when they have to.тАЭ

тАЬBut why?тАЭ

Now he was looking trapped. тАЬThatтАЩs just the way atoms bond. One of the ways.тАЭ

тАЬBut WHY?тАЭ

A shrug. тАЬThatтАЩs how the atomic force works. ThatтАЩs how things came outтАФтАЭ

And they all would shout, тАЬin the Big Bang.тАЭ

They would howl with glee, and SaxтАЩs forehead would knot up as he realized that they had done it to
him again. He would sigh, and go back to where he had been when the game began. But every time they
started it again, he never seemed to remember, as long as the initial why was plausible enough. And even
when he did recognize what was happening, he seemed helpless to stop it. His only defense was to say,
with a little frown, тАЬWhy what?тАЭ That slowed the game for a while; but then Nirgal and Jackie got clever
at guessing what in any statement most deserved a why, and as long as they could do that, Sax seemed
to feel it was his job to continue answering, right on up the chains of because to the Big Bang, or, every
once in a while, to a muttered тАЬWe donтАЩt know.тАЭ

тАЬWe donтАЩt know!тАЭ the class would exclaim in mock dismay. тАЬWhy not?тАЭ