British physicist Lord Rayleigh is best known for his discovery of argon and for explaining, in 1871, why the sky is blue.  英国物理学家瑞利勋爵因为1871年发现氩元素及解释而变得举世闻名。

But he also puzzled over this: sound of a kettle whistling. 但是他也一直饱受一个问题的困扰:那就是水壶沸腾时的鸣叫声。

Rayleigh knew that a kettle makes that sound when steam jets through the hole in a thick lid that has a gap in the middle.  瑞利勋爵知道水壶发出声响是由于水蒸气穿过厚厚盖子中间有空隙的孔所致。