了解宇宙是如何运行的（2010）

How the Universe Works S08E03

Part 6 Jan. 30, 2022, 2:58 p.m.

is gonna be way stronger.
所以这些外星人不会很高
So these aliens
aren't gonna be very tall,
但他们会非常强壮
but they are gonna be
very strong.
超级地球只是宇宙创造的
Narrator: Super earths are just
one of the many avenues
众多途径之一
the universe creates.
还有其他的系外行星围绕着
There are other exoplanets
orbiting red stars
比我们的太阳小10倍的
10 times smaller than our sun
红色恒星运行，还有其他的
and others making binary systems
由两颗而不是一颗恒星组成的双星系统
comprising two stars
instead of one.
我们看到各种形状和大小的行星
We see planets of all shapes
and sizes around stars
围绕着各种形状和大小，以及各种形态的恒星
of all shapes and sizes,
of all sorts of configurations.
生命的潜力远比我们
The potential for life
is much more rich and varied
以前想象的丰富多样
than we ever thought before.
五号♥和六号♥火箭发射
Retro rockets
five and six fired.
科幻小说中的画面激发了
Narrator:
Images of science fiction
无数关于第一次接触的幻想
have fueled numerous fantasies
of first contact,
但我们对宇宙的了解表明
but our knowledge
of the universe suggests
现实可能还很遥远
reality could be
far, far stranger.
不管怎样，好莱坞在展示
If anything,
hollywood has kind of
那么多外星人方面
constrained our imagination
限制了我们的想象力
in terms of presenting
so many aliens
这些外星人基本上看起来像，你懂的
that basically look like,
you know,
穿着橡胶套装的人类或其他什么
humans wearing a rubber suit
or something.
降下起落架
Lower landing legs.
我们必须放下这种执念
We have to, have to,
let go of this obsession
认为他们会和我们一样
that they're gonna be
anything like us.
所以如果我们要找两条腿的人，算了吧
So if we're looking for
two-legged dudes, forget it.
♪
假设有一个聪明的外星物种
narrator: Say an intelligent
alien species lives
生活在我们的恒星附近
in our stellar neighborhood
想要和我们进行第一次接触
and wants to make
first contact with us.
如果那个外星人是在一个超级地球上进化的
If that alien evolved
on a super earth
或者是围绕一颗红色恒星而不是黄色恒星运行的
or orbited a red star
instead of a yellow one,
那么它的生物学特性
it's wildly different biology
就会大不相同，可能会让它永远无法
may prevent it
from ever setting foot,
踏上地球的土地或者触碰地球
or tentacle, on planet earth.
斯特里克:当你观察地球上的生命时
Stricker: When you look at life
here on earth,
它就好像是为这种温度
it's almost as if it was
custom-made
这些元素、这种环境
for this temperature,
for these elements,
量身定做的
for this environment.
一颗具备支持生命条件的系外行星
An exoplanet with conditions
to support life
可能与地球上的生命
could still be
completely different
完全不同
than life here on earth.
普莱特:如果一个外星世界它的钾含量比地球高一些
Plait: What are things gonna be
like on an alien world
或者平均温度比地球的高一些
which has a little bit
more potassium
或者大气层更厚一些
or is warmer than average
on earth
那么这个世界会是什么样子呢？
or has a thicker atmosphere?
每一个微小的变化
Each one of these
small variations
都可能意味着一个完全不同的生态系统
can mean a completely different
ecosystem.
那么当一个外星生物
Narrator:
So could an alien organism
降落在地球上时，它真的能适应我们的生态系统吗？
really adapt to our ecosystem
when it lands on earth?
也许我们还没有第一次联♥系♥
Maybe we haven't made
first contact
是因为他们不能来看我们
because they can't
actually visit us.
达特奈尔:他们可能会穿过宇宙飞船的气闸
Dartnell: They could step
through the airlock
来到地球上然后发现一些
of their spaceship
and onto the earth
我们的环境中有毒的一些东西
and just find something toxic
with our environment,
或一些、一些其他原因
some some reason
they're not compatible
它们与地球表面不兼容
with the surface of the earth.
就好像宇宙在那里故意阻止
It's almost as if
the universe is out there
我们与任何外星人见面一样
deliberately trying to stop us
meeting any aliens.
生物学为第一次接触
Narrator: Biology creates
another obstacle
创造了另一个障碍
for making first contact,
但行星科学家贾尼·拉德堡发现
but as planetary scientist
jani radebough finds,
即使是地球上的生命也会变得非常奇怪
even life on earth
can get pretty weird,
会采取极端措施
taking extreme measures to adapt
来适应潜在的敌对环境
to a potentially hostile
environment.
拉德堡:这是大盐湖
Radebough:
This is the great salt lake.
这是过去一个大得多的
It is the remains
of what used to be
湖泊的遗迹
a much larger lake in the past.
当它蒸发的时候，留下了所有的盐
And when it evaporated away,
it left behind all of the salt.
这个巨大的盐湖几乎比地球上的海洋
Narrator: The great salt lake
is nearly 10 times saltier
咸十倍
than earth's oceans.
极端的含盐量
The extreme salt content
使它不适合生命生存
should make it an inhospitable
place for life.
尽管如此，水中还是有很多生物在茁壮成长
Despite this, there are
organisms thriving in the water.
拉德堡:当我们观察这个巨大湖泊中的生命时
Radebough: As we look at life
in this vast lake
我们发现有数十亿的微生物
and find that there are billions
of microbes living here
生活在这个意想不到的环境中
in this unexpected environment,
then we start to realize,
然后我们开始意识到生命以我们意想不到的方式存在
well, life forms in ways
that we just don't expect,
在我们意想不到的地方生存
in places we don't expect.
被称为极端微生物的微生物
Narrator: Microbial life
known as extremophiles
进化出了一种巧妙的方式在湖里生存
have developed an ingenious way
to survive in the lake.
实际上，他们是用这些“太阳能泵”
Well, they actually use
these solar-powered pumps
把盐从细胞中抽出来
to pull the salt
out of their cells
这样细胞就能正常工作了
so that they can operate
more normally.
但为了做到这一点，它们必须生活在
But in order to do that,
they have to live
离地表非常近的地方
very close to the surface,
这意味着它们会受到大量的紫外线辐射
which means they get
a huge amount of u.V. Radiation.
所以你们看到我身后的这些粉红色
So all this pink color
that you see behind me
实际上是生物体的粉红色
is actually the pink
of the organisms,
它有点像内置的防晒霜
and it's sort of like
a built-in sunscreen
帮助它们抵御紫外线辐射
that helps protect them against
the u.V. Radiation.
极端微生物正在改写我们对地球上生命
Narrator: Extremophiles are
rewriting our expectations
可以在哪里生存的期望
of where life can survive
on earth.
外星生物是否比我们想象的更有弹性？
Could alien biology be much