了解宇宙是如何运行的（2010）

How the Universe Works S08E03

Part 2 Jan. 30, 2022, 2:58 p.m.

other civilizations out there?
一个答案可能是
Narrator:
One answer could be
宇宙的巨大
the sheer vastness
of the cosmos.
布洛克:看看窗外的
Bullock: Look at all these
lights out here
这些灯光
over the cityscape.
你可以把这些光想象成，银河系中的星星
You could think of these lights
as, like, stars in the galaxy.
现在，如果银河系中有1♥0♥0♥0♥0♥个
Now, if there's 10,000
communicating civilizations
可以交流的文明，你可能会想，“哦，天哪，看”
out there in the galaxy,
you might think, "oh, man, look.
“街那头就有一家”
There's one right there
right down the street."
问题是
the problem is
银河系中有数千亿颗恒星
there are hundreds of billions
of stars in the galaxy,
这意味着我们可以与之交流的最近的邻居
which means that maybe
our nearest neighbor
可能并不在那里
that we can communicate with
is not right there
而是在城市的另一边
but way across the city.
我们住在银河系的郊区
Narrator: We live in the suburbs
of the milky way
离最远的边缘有七万五千光年远
75,000 light-years from
the furthest edge.
无线电♥信♥♥号♥♥以光速传播
Radio signals travel
at the speed of light.
这一速度限制意味着
This speed limit means
that any signal sent
任何发送到星系另一边的信♥号♥♥
to the opposite side
of the galaxy
都需要75000年才能到达目的地
would take 75,000 years
to reach its destination.
布洛克:你要记住的是
Bullock: The thing
you have to remember
银河系是巨大的
is the galaxy is gigantic.
即使银河系中有1♥0♥0♥0♥0♥个文明
Even if there are 10,000
civilizations in the galaxy,
也有可能恒星之间的距离太过遥远
it's possible that the distances
between stars are just so huge
以至于我们永远无法相互交流
that we're never gonna be able
communicate with each other.
所以45年的阿雷西博无线电♥信♥息
Narrator: So the 45-year-old
arecibo radio message
可能还需要数万年的时间才能到达
could still be tens of thousands
of years away
任何潜在的外星文明
from any potential
alien civilization.
目标距离这里25000光年
The target was 25,000
light-years from here.
信息现在距离这里45光年
The message is now
45 light-years from here
因为它以光速传播
'cause it's traveling
the speed of light,
所以它离目标还很远
so it's really far
from the target.
浩瀚的宇宙是第一次接触的
Narrator: The vast size of
the universe is a huge roadblock
巨大障碍，物理学定律
to making first contact,
and the laws of physics
阻止了无线电♥信♥♥号♥♥克服它
prevent radio signals
from overcoming it.
你的速度不能超过光速
You just cannot go faster
than the speed of light.
所以我们的星系也许充满了生命，充满了文明
So our galaxy may be filled with
life, filled with civilizations,
但它们太遥远了
but they're so far away.
特朗布莱:我不想告诉你坏消息
Tremblay: I don't want to be
the bearer of bad news.
但宇宙实在是太大了
But the universe is just
really, really far too large.
宇宙也许很大
Narrator:
The universe may be large,
但是我们正在使用地球上
but we're putting the most
advanced technology on earth
最先进的技术来加速搜索
into action to try
and speed up the search.
确实有一个严肃的、科学的
There really is a serious,
scientifically valid way
有效的方法去寻找其他文明
to go looking for
other civilizations.
这个突破性的倾听项目
And the breakthrough
listen project is really
是我们目前最好的项目
the best thing
we have right now.
世界上最先进的设备——
State-of-the-art facilities
around the world --
射电望远镜，光学望远镜——
radio telescopes,
optical telescopes, as well --
都在一起仰望天空
are all looking up to the sky
together.
“突破倾听”的目标是100万颗恒星
Narrator: Breakthrough listen is
targeting the 1 million stars
和100个离地球最近的星系
and 100 galaxies
closest to earth.
这是迄今为止对外星通讯
It is the most
comprehensive search
进行的最全面的搜寻
for alien communications
ever undertaken.
如果有一架飞机发出雷达信♥号♥♥
If there was an aircraft
giving off a radar signal,
而这架飞机在离我们最近的1000颗恒星中的任何一颗恒星附近
and that aircraft was around
any of the 1,000 nearest stars,
突破性的侦听项目就可以听到这些信♥号♥♥
the breakthrough listen project
could hear that.
所以，如果有什么东西
So if there's
something out there
真的在发出信♥号♥♥
that's actually giving off
a signal,
突破性的倾听就有机会找到它
breakthrough listen
has a chance to find it.
突破性的倾听从收听离地球最近的
Narrator: Breakthrough has
started by listening in
1700颗恒星开始
on the nearest 1,700 stars
to earth.
有进展了吗？
So far?
一片寂静
Silence.
泰勒:这就是我们发现
Thaller:
This is the wonderfully,
自己所处的奇妙而又令人沮丧的境地
beautifully frustrating position
that we find ourselves in.
我们还没有听到任何消息
We haven't heard anything yet.
所以我们现在的处境是
So we're in this position
where a negative result
否定的结果并不意味着没有文明存在
doesn't mean
there aren't civilizations,
但我们没有证据证明有其他文明的存在
but we have no proof
that there are.
“突破倾听”才刚刚开始寻找
Narrator: Breakthrough listen is
just beginning its hunt.
宇宙中有更多的空间
There's much more
real estate in the cosmos
供它探索
for it to search.
这是一项艰巨的工作，需要大量的耐心
It's a big job,
demanding a lot of patience.
普莱特:如果你通过
Plait: If you go through
drake's equation
德雷克方程
and find this number
找到1♥0♥0♥0♥0♥个智能文明
of 10,000 intelligent
civilizations out there,
银河系中大约有2500亿颗恒星
there are something like
250 billion stars in the galaxy,
所以每2500万颗恒星中只有1个文明
so that's only 1 civilization
per 25 million stars.
这是是有多“冷”的电♥话♥
That's a lot of cold calling.
我们宇宙的大小意味着
Narrator:
The size of our universe
我们可能要等很长一段时间
means we could be waiting
a very long time
才能接收到任何外星人的信息
to pick up
any alien communication.
但即使我们接收到信♥号♥♥
But even if we pick up a signal,
它也可能来得太晚了
it may have arrived too late.
奥卢西:如果我们真的收到信息
Oluseyi:
If we do receive a message,
考虑到它可能花了很多年才到达这里
given that it probably
took years to get here,
那个文明说不定早就消失了
that civilization
could be long gone.
那么我们是不是太迟了？
Narrator:
So are we simply too late?
是否有可能外星人已经灭绝了？
Have any aliens out there
already died out?
[爆♥炸♥]
[ explosion ]
地球已经绕太阳运行了
narrator:
Earth has orbited the sun