了解宇宙是如何运行的（2010）

How the Universe Works S06E01

Part 3 Dec. 22, 2021, 7:22 p.m.

根据现代物理学，我们会说
and with modern physics, we say,
“那一定是黑洞”
"well, it has to be
a black hole."
但问题是，“我们是否错过了什么？”
But the question is,
"have we missed something?"
LIGO收集的信息具有开创性
the information gathered by LIGO
is groundbreaking.
但一些科学家认为，引力波
But some scientists think that
the gravitational waves
可能不是来自黑洞
could have come
not from black holes,
而是来自更神秘的东西
but from something
even more mysterious.
有可能我们所认定的宇宙中的黑洞
It's possible that what
we identify as black holes
实际上是另一个类似于引力星的物体
in our universe are really
another object like gravastar.
可能……这个“可能”有个大大的引号♥
Possible... there's a capital
"P" on that "possible."
科学家们称之为引力星的致密物体
A gravastar is what scientists
call an exotic compact object.
这个奇异的理论天体与黑洞
This bizarre theoretical body
has exactly the same mass
有着完全相同的质量和引力
and gravitational pull
as a black hole,
但它是由奇异的物质组成的
but it's made of exotic matter.
引力星是不可能用肉眼看到的
A gravastar would be impossible
to see with the naked eye,
但因为它的形成方式与黑洞不同
but because it forms
differently than a black hole,
所以它有一个奇怪的、密度惊人的表面
it has a strange,
incredibly dense surface.
在我们所认为的黑洞的形成过程中
In the formation of what
we think of as a black hole,
在稠密物体灾难性的引力坍缩过程中
the catastrophic gravitational
collapse of a dense object,
也许它不会一直向下
maybe it doesn't go
all the way down
并变成一个无限稠密的点
to become an infinitely
dense point.
相反，可能存在一些相互作用
Instead, maybe there's
some interaction
阻止黑洞的形成
that prevents the formation
of the black hole,
相反，有一个紧密的，小的，高密度的球
and instead, you have
a tight, little, dense ball,
这就是我们所说的引力星
which is what
we call a gravastar.
所以LIGO的数据可能是
So the LIGO data
could be the signature
两个黑洞碰撞的信♥号♥♥，也可能是
of two black holes colliding,
but it also could be
两个引力星碰撞的信♥号♥♥
the signature
of two gravastars colliding.
现在，我们还分不清他们
Right now, we can't
tell them apart.
所以，到目前为止，引力波已经导致了
So, for now, gravitational waves
have led to a dead end
寻找黑洞的死胡同
in the hunt for black holes.
我们不能完全确定我们听到了它们
We can't be completely sure
that we're hearing them,
而且我们已经知道我们看不到它们
and we already know
we can't see them.
但他们留下的混乱怎么办？
But what about the mayhem
they leave behind?
即使你看不见黑洞本身
Even though you can't see
the black hole itself,
它也会留下毁灭的痕迹
it's going to leave behind
a trail of destruction,
那是你能看到的东西
and that is something
you can see.
通过剖析宇宙犯罪现场
By picking apart
a cosmic crime scene,
科学家们能最终解开黑洞之谜吗？
can scientists finally solve
the mystery of black holes?
这是九头蛇“a”星系团
This is
the hydra "a" galaxy cluster.
它距离地球8.4亿光年
840 million light-years
from Earth,
是一个充满星系和稠密的星系间气体的
it's a region of space
filled with galaxies
空间区域
and dense intergalactic gas.
但一种黑暗的大规模破坏性力量在这里
But a dark
and massively destructive force
发挥着作用
is at work here.
它在气体中炸出的洞
And it's blasting holes
in the gas
比银河系还大
that are bigger
than the milky way.
黑洞会对此负责吗？
Could a black hole
be responsible?
就好像一颗星际炸♥弹♥爆♥炸♥了
It's almost as if an
intergalactic bomb has exploded
把这些空洞炸了出来
to blow these cavities out.
其中一些空腔跨度达数万
Some of these cavities are tens
甚至数十万光年
or even hundreds of thousands
of light-years across,
要创造这么大的空腔
and to create a cavity
that large
需要巨大的能量来源
requires an immense source
of energy,
一个强大的引擎来驱动它
a powerful engine
that's driving it.
为了寻找是什么造成了这些空腔
To discover what's
creating the cavities,
科学家们将不同波长的图像组合在一起
scientists combine images
taken at different wavelengths.
它们揭示了一些非凡的东西
They reveal
something remarkable.
这些空腔是由星系团中心的
The cavities are being
carved out by enormous jets
一个星系发出的巨大射流所凿出的
emanating from a galaxy
in the center of the cluster.
当喷流从星系中喷射出来时
As the jets are ejected
from the galaxy,
它们会撞击周围的物质
they can actually slam into
the surrounding material
并形成冲击波，这样我们就能看到
and form a shock wave,
which we can see.
最终，喷流会膨胀出一个气泡，一个空腔
And eventually, that jet
inflates a bubble, a cavity,
这个空腔会随着从喷流中喷射出的
and the cavity grows
as it's inflated
高温稠密的等离子体膨胀而扩大
with hot, dense plasma
ejected from this jet.
这些喷流非常巨大，非常强大
These jets are incredibly large
and incredibly powerful.
这就像星战中的“死星”，不过是真的
This is like a death star,
but for real.
这比炸毁一颗行星
It's much, much more energy
所需要的能量要多得多
than it would take
to blow up a planet.
像这样的大屠♥杀♥可能是由
Carnage like this
could have been created
一个以类星体形式存在的超大质量黑洞
by the energetics of
a supermassive black hole
所生产的能量造成的
in the form of a quasar.
超大质量黑洞的质量
Supermassive black holes
是太阳的数百万甚至数十亿倍
are millions or even billions
of times the mass of the sun.
它们可能是贪婪的暴饮暴食者
They can be
voracious overeaters,
塞满了大量的物质
cramming in
huge amounts of matter.
当气体和尘埃旋转着冲向超大质量的黑洞时
As gas and dust swirl toward
the supermassive black hole,
它会聚集在一起，产生的摩擦
it rubs together,
causing friction
会把物质加热到几百万华氏度
that heats the material up to
millions of degrees Fahrenheit.
黑洞周围的磁场
The magnetic field
around the black hole
将物质形成双喷流
forms the material
into twin jets
以极高的速度
that spin out at enormous speeds
向外旋转数亿光年
for hundreds of millions
of light-years.
类星体诞生了
A quasar is born.
黑洞喷出的喷流
The jets emitted by black holes
are not only
不仅能量极高，强度也极高
incredibly high-energy,
but incredibly intense.
从类星体观测到的能量几乎比其他任何物体
More energy than is emitted
in almost any other object
发出的能量都要多
is observed from quasars.
这些类星体的强度
Those quasars are intense enough
足以使它们撞击的物体蒸发
to vaporize objects
that they hit.
它们是来自太空的致命射线