It's made of layers and layers of a different hard material called nacre.

它由一层又一层不同的坚硬材料制成，这种材料叫做珍珠层。

The sac coats the irritant with layers of smooth nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl.

珍珠囊给刺激物外裹上一层层光滑的珍珠层即珍珠母。

A pearl's motion influences its nacre coverage, and thus its final shape.

珍珠的移动影响其珍珠层覆盖，继而影响最终形状。

The large center is the manmade irritant placed in the shell to encourage nacre formation.

中间的大块是为促进珍珠质形成而放入贝壳中的人造刺激物。

The growing pearl rotates itself, which allows the nacre to deposit evenly over its surface.

逐渐变大的珍珠会自己旋转，让珍珠层均匀地沉积在表面上。

This triggers the oyster's defense response, and it starts coating that piece of tissue with nacre.

这触发了牡蛎的防御机制，它开始用珍珠质包裹那块组织。

The quality of a pearl's luster is influenced by the layers of nacre that coat the center.

珍珠的光泽质量受覆盖在中心的珍珠层的影响。

The bay blossoms were nacre, with diamond drops at their centers.

月桂花是珍珠质的， 中心有钻石滴。

The uniform layering and brick-like structure of nacre is key to its signature iridescence.

珍珠层的均匀分层和砖状结构是其标志性彩虹色的关键。

But one form of aragonite is stronger and more versatile than the rest: nacre.

但有一种文石比其他文石更坚固、用途更广：珍珠质。

When particles of light strike the nacre, they bounce around its multilayered crystalline structure in a cascade of shifting rainbows.

当光粒子撞击珍珠层时，它们会在其多层晶体结构周围反弹， 形成一连串移动的彩虹。

But nacre isn't just pretty— it's one of the strongest and lightest biomaterials we know of.

但珍珠质不仅漂亮——它还是我们所知道的最坚固、最轻的生物材料之一。

To protect itself from the invader, the mollusk starts to coat the debris with nacre, or mother-of-pearl, the same material that lines the inner layer of its shell.

为了保护自己免受入侵者的伤害，软体动物开始在碎屑上涂上珍珠质，或珍珠母，这种材料与软体动物外壳内层的材料相同。

These cells wrap the threat in layers of proteins and aragonite until eventually the cocoon completely absorbs the invader— dissolving the threat into an opalescent sphere of nacre.

这些细胞将威胁包裹在蛋白质和文石层中，直到茧最终完全吸收入侵者——将威胁溶解到乳白色的珍珠质球体中。

As history unveiled itself in the new order, man's mind had behaved like a young pearl oyster, secreting its universe to suit its conditions until it had built up a shell of nacre that embodied all its notions of the perfect.

随着历史在新秩序中揭开自己的面纱，人类的思想就像一只年轻的珍珠母贝一样，根据自身的条件隐藏自己的宇宙，直到它建立起一个体现其所有完美概念的珍珠贝壳。