了解宇宙是如何运行的（2010）

How the Universe Works S06E03

Part 2 Dec. 22, 2021, 7:22 p.m.

有一个可怕的看法
A terrifying thought.
它会变得更加可怕
But it gets even scarier.
它们中有一些却是孤独存在
Some of them are alone.
那他们的兄弟姐妹发生什么事了？
What's happened to their sibling?
双星是导致毫秒脉冲星
Binary stars are ultimately responsible
存在的最终原因
for the existence of millisecond pulsars.
它们之所以存在，是因为它们
They only exist because they've sucked the life
吸走了伴星的生命
out of their companion stars.
我们看到的毫秒脉冲星都是单独存在的
The millisecond pulsars that we see that are all alone
它们可能刚把同伴的尸体处理掉
may have just gotten rid of the body.
这是PSR j1311-3430
This is PSR j1311-3430,
一种被称为黑寡妇的稀有毫秒脉冲星
a rare breed of millisecond pulsar known as a black widow.
和黑寡妇蜘蛛一样，它也是致命的
Like its spider namesake, it's deadly,
它是宇宙中质量最大的
one of the most massive fast-spinning pulsars
快速旋转脉冲星之一
in the universe,
放射出的辐射是普通脉冲星的100倍
spitting out 100 times more radiation than a regular one.
黑寡妇脉冲星正处于物理学的边缘
A black widow pulsar is right on the edge of physics.
再大一点就是黑洞了
Any larger and it would be a black hole.
有着惊人的强烈辐射
The intense radiation is amazing.
很难理解这些东西是如何存在的
It's hard to fathom that these things exist.
但一般来说，宇宙的规律就是这样
But generally, the rule is the following with the universe,
宇宙又大又古老
which is big and old.
如果它能发生，它就会发生
If it can happen, it does happen.
每一次我们发现新的奇异物体
它都能让我们以一种前所未有的方式
来检验物理定律
这就是为什么一些物理学家
对基础物理那么的感兴趣的原因
我经常观察宇宙，因为宇宙是一个奇妙的实验室
它能创造出我们在地球上永远无法创造的东西
黑寡妇脉冲星简直就是噩梦
The black widow pulsar is the stuff of nightmares.
它的辐射会将伴星
Its radiation heats the companion star
加热到21000华氏度(约11600摄氏度)以上
to over 21,000 degrees Fahrenheit,
是我们太阳表面温度的两倍多
more than twice as hot as the surface of our sun.
这简直就能让恒星湮灭
It is nothing less than stellar annihilation.
脉冲星本身就已经是引人注目的高能量事件了
Pulsars are already dramatic, energetic events.
现在你又在说，“嘿，让我们摧毁一颗恒星吧”
Now you're adding in, "hey, let's destroy a star."
众所周知，黑寡妇蜘蛛会吃掉它们的伴侣
Black widow spiders famously eat their mates,
而黑寡妇脉冲星就是这么做的
and that's exactly what a black widow pulsar does.
它实际上是利用来自伴星的物质
It actually uses the material from its companion star
加快自旋
to spin itself up,
然后将伴星完全湮灭
and then it obliterates it completely.
伴星消失了
The companion star vanishes,
被它的僵尸兄弟给谋杀了
murdered by its zombie sibling.
这是终极宇宙的忘恩负义
It's the ultimate cosmic ingratitude.
这是一颗伴星
Here you have a companion star
它让脉冲星在两次死亡后又复活了
that's brought the pulsar back to life after it's died twice,
现在它的整个身体都被脉冲星的辐射
and now its entire body is eviscerated
给完全掏空了
by the radiation of the pulsar
没有一点尘埃能够表明它曾经存在过
without a speck of dust to suggest it was ever there.
这些黑寡妇脉冲星
These black widow pulsars
就像是银河系中的杀手
are like the assassins of the galaxy.
他们不仅催毁了恒星
Not only do they destroy the star,
还抹除了证据
they get rid of the evidence.
当脉冲星出现时
When pulsars are involved,
两颗星就比一颗要糟糕得多
two stars are much worse than one.
但反过来也能成立吗？
But could the opposite also be true?
两颗恒星能为外星世界创造一个适宜居住的绿洲吗？
Can two stars create an oasis for habitable alien worlds?
双星提供了一个令人振奋的可能性…
Binary stars offer an exciting possibility...
围绕两颗恒星而不是一颗恒星运行的外星系外行星
Alien exoplanets orbiting two stars instead of one.
这些双星系无处不在
These binary stars are everywhere,
所以宇宙实际上可能就像
so the universe could actually be something like
我们在科幻电影中看到的那样
what we see in Sci-Fi movies.
塔图因的天空可能是真实存在的
(塔图因是星战中著名的星球)
The Tatooine sky could be a real thing.
星球上可能有生命和文明
There could be a planet with life and civilization,
并且天空中可能有两个太阳
and in the sky, there could be two suns.
生活在这些世界上会是什么样子？
What would it be like to live on these worlds?
两颗恒星更能适合生命吗？
Could two stars be even better for life?
我们的母行星围绕着一个孤独的太阳运行
Our home planet orbits a solitary sun
在一个可以让生命进化的安全区域
in a safe region where life could evolve.
今天我们熟悉的是一位非常稳重
Today we're familiar with a very stable,
举止得体的恒星……我们的太阳
well-behaved star... Our own sun.
当然，我们也知道太阳是有一些“脾气”的
And of course we know there's some solar weather.
有时它会释放出高能粒子
Sometimes it throws out high-energy particles
从而产生北极光和南极光
that create the northern and Southern lights,
但它仍然是一颗非常可靠的恒星
but it's a very reliable star.
当然以前不是这样的
It wasn't always that way.
当太阳更年轻的时候，它更活跃
When the sun was much younger, it was more active,
也更猛烈
it was more violent.
我们年轻的太阳自转速度
Our young sun rotated over 10 times faster
比现在快10倍
than it does today,
导致其磁场扭曲缠绕
causing its magnetic field to twist and tangle,
并发出巨大的太阳耀斑
sending out huge solar flares.
太阳耀斑对行星的宜居性
Solar flares can be very bad for
非常不利
the habitability of a planet,
尤其是当你离恒星非常近的时候
particularly if you're very close to the star,
原因是太阳耀斑
and the reason's because solar flares
本质上代表着高能辐射
essentially represent high-energy radiation.
比如高能质子
For example, high-energy protons.
它们撞向大气层，并能带走
They smash into the atmosphere and they can strip away
大气层中的气体
gas off the atmosphere.
想象一下早期的太阳系…
Picture the early solar system...
耀斑和太阳风暴
Flares and solar storms
攻击着岩石行星的大气层
attack the atmospheres of rocky planets.
致命的带电粒子可以一个分子一个分子地把它们撕碎
Deadly charged particles can rip them away molecule by molecule.
没有大气，液态水就无法存在
Without an atmosphere, liquid water cannot survive,
没有液态水就意味着没有生命
and no liquid water means no life.
在早期，我们的太阳系是一个可怕的地方
In the very early stages, our solar system was an awful place.
年轻的太阳是高度紊乱的
The sun was young and highly irregular
在我们的区域释放出大量的能量
and emitting lots of energy in our region.
它花了很长时间，大概5亿年左右
It took a long time, probably 500 million years or so
太阳系才平静下来
before the solar system
可以想象一下，此时地球上
calmed down enough to imagine
任何类似生命的东西都会在这里进化
that anything like life could evolve here on earth.
对于围绕一颗恒星运行的行星来说
This is a galaxy-wide problem
这是一个银河系范围内的问题
for planets orbiting one star.
以比邻星(Proxima Centauri)为例，它是离太阳最近的恒星
Take Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our sun.
它是一颗红矮星
It's a red dwarf,
是银河系中最常见的恒星类型
the most common type of star in the milky way.
它甚至有自己的行星叫做比邻星B
And it even has its own planet named Proxima B.
但是比邻星并没有善待它的星球
But Proxima Centauri has not treated its planet gently.
如果比邻星B有液态水的话
If Proxima B has any liquid water,
那就太幸运了
it would have to be extremely lucky.
半人马座比邻星
Proxima Centauri would have caused
会产生大量的能量
huge amounts of energy to come out,
它会有效地带走比邻星B的
and it would effectively strip away
任何大气或地表水
Proxima B of any kind of atmosphere or surface water,
从而消除了可居住世界存在的可能性
thereby removing any chance of there being habitable world.
我们对比邻星B唯一的希望
The only hope we have left for Proxima B
就是它有一个强大的磁场
is a strong magnetic field.
这将包裹并保护星球
This would surround and protect the planet
免受比邻星猛烈能量的冲击
from the onslaught of violent energy
只有这样的话
that comes out of Proxima Centauri,
那里才有可能有海洋
and that way, there could still be an ocean,
可能有富含氧气的大气层
there could be an oxygen-rich atmosphere,
可能还有适宜居住的环境
and perhaps habitable environment,
那里才有可能是生命开始的地方
somewhere where life could have started.
但就目前而言，比邻星B的胜算不大
But right now for Proxima B, odds are stacked against it.
地球强大的磁场
Earth's strong magnetic field
保护我们不受太阳爆发的影响
protects us from the sun's worst outbursts,
使液态水得以存活
allowing liquid water to survive.
但其他行星，如火星和水星
But other planets, like Mars and Mercury,
就没这么幸运了
have not been so lucky.