人类大历史（2013）

Big History S01E02

Part 3 March 29, 2021, 2:01 p.m.

All the energy We get from eating food
都能溯源到同一个源头
can be traced back to one source:
那就是太阳
the sun.
人类无法直接吸收太阳能
Humans can't directly absorb the sun's energy...
但是植物可以
but plants can...
这意味着葱郁的平原
Which means grassy plains like this
是个广阔的能源储备
are massive energy reserves.
可吃光所有的草对人类来说可不大合适
But eating all this grass isn't an option for humans...
因为其中绝大部分的纤维素
since it's mostly cellulose,
是人类无法消化的物质
a substance We can't digest.
要从草里获取能量这不太可能
To get energy from Wild grass...
我们可以等其他动物来吃草
We can Wait for other animals to eat it...
然后我们再把这些动物吃掉
and then eat them.
但还有个问题
But there's a problem.
当能量从食物链传递给我们时
By the time the energy gets up the food chain to us...
大部分都流逝了
most of it is gone.
植物例如草
Plants like grass
浪费了它们所吸收的太阳能的百分之九十
Waste 90% of the sun's energy they take in.
动物们吃了草又浪费了其余的百分之九十
Animals that eat grass lose another 90 %.
但我们吃牛排时
By the time We get around to eating a steak...
继续浪费其余的百分之九十
another 90 % is lost.
我没法吃草这是因为我是某种有机体
I can't eat grass because of the sort of organism I am.
看看草里所蕴含的的所有能量
So look at all that energy sitting in the grass,
可真叫人沮丧
and it's frustrating.
我没法取得这些能量那我该怎么做才好呢
I can't get at it. So what do I do, if I'm really clever?
我可以驯化一种动物
I domesticate an animal
让它们去获取草里的能量
that can get at the grass.
当人们开始骑上吃草的马儿
So as humans begin riding grass-eating horses...
我们离能量的源头就近了一步
We move a step closer to the energy source...
从而激发出更多能量
and get a major power boost.
学会驯服马儿
Learning to domesticate the horse
是一种能源革命
was a sort of energy revolution.
马儿能传递出超越人类8到9倍
A horse can deliver about eight or nine times the wattage...
的功率
of a human being.
所以与其让你自己驮着货物
So if, instead of carrying goods yourself...
你不如让马儿代劳
you can have horses carry them...
你知道的这种能源可是取之不尽
then, you know, that is an energy bonanza.
千百年来马儿都是我们的引擎
For thousands of years, the horse Will be our engine.
我们通过燃烧煤和油
We will eventually find new ways
终将找出新的
to harness the power of the sun...
驾驭太阳能的方法
by burning coal and oil for energy.
可即便如此
But even then,
我们仍旧可用马儿的语言来形容它
We still use the language of the horse to describe it.
火车是一匹铁马
The train is the iron horse.
汽车最初被称为"无马马车"
The car is first called "the horseless carriage."
最明显的是我们用来表示机械力的单位
And most of all when we measure a machine's might...
用的是
We still refer back to the power of
我们最具革命性的动物盟友的名字[马力]
our most revolutionary animal ally.
马儿让人类接触到了如此庞大的能源
The horse gives humans access to so much more energy...
无怪乎我们使用"马力"这个术语
it's no surprise we use the term "horsepower" today.
可是马儿的故事才刚开始
But the story of the horse is just the beginning.
大历史中还蕴藏着更大的谜团
There's a much bigger puzzle hidden in big history.
每一集都揭开一条线索
Each episode unlocks a clue-
超级建筑
megastructures...
咖♥啡♥因♥
caffeine...
冰块
and ice...
这些是解开谜团的钥匙
hold the key.
审视它们你就会揭开这个大谜团
Watch them all, and you 'Il see this grand mystery revealed.
历史宇宙
The big history of time, of space...
以及我们自身
the big history... of us.