了解宇宙是如何运行的（2010）

How the Universe Works S08E03

Part 9 Jan. 30, 2022, 2:58 p.m.

进行通信
with space probes.
外星文明是否可以使用更大的规模的
Could alien civilizations
be using radio waves,
无线电波进行通信？
but on a much larger scale?
如果我们已经截获了外星人的通讯
What if we already intercepted
alien communications,
只是我们不知道呢？
but we just don't know it?
我们的无线电和电视信♥号♥♥
Narrator:
Our radio and television signals
只使用无线电频谱的一个很窄的波段
only use a very narrow band
of the radio spectrum.
快速无线电爆发则不同
Fast radio bursts are different,
这是也个问题
and that's a problem.
关于快速射电暴的问题是——
Here's the thing
about fast radio bursts --
它们发射的波长范围很广
they are emitting
a broad range of wavelengths,
所以它不是最好的通信方式
so it's not the best way
to communicate.
如果是外星人，那么他们可能不是很聪明的外星人
If these are aliens,
they're not very smart aliens.
事实证明，宽波长
Narrator: It turns out
that broad-range wavelengths
很容易扭曲
are easy to distort.
恒星之间有一种非常稀薄的气体
There is a very thin gas
out there between the stars,
当你发射无线电波时
and when you emit radio waves,
无线电波会与这种气体相互作用
the radio waves interact
with this gas.
它们相互作用的方式
And the way they interact
取决于你所说的波长
depends on the wavelength
you're talking about.
如果你使用广范围的波长
If you use a broad range
of wavelengths
在星际空间发送信♥号♥♥
to send a signal
across interstellar space,
当有人接收到它的时候
by the time
somebody receives it,
它可能会有点扭曲和奇怪
it can be a little distorted
and weird.
如果外星人发出无线电脉冲
Narrator: If aliens are
sending out radio bursts,
信♥号♥♥到达我们这里的时候会退化
the signal would get so degraded
that by the time it reaches us,
我们再无法破译它
we wouldn't be able
to decipher it.
作为“名片”，并不是很有用
As a calling card,
not incredibly useful.
不管这些神秘的爆发
Narrator: Whether these
mysterious bursts really are
真的是外星人试图打招呼还是只是一个自然现象
aliens trying to say hello
or just a natural phenomenon,
这不是第一次接触
this is not first contact,
至少现在还不是
at least not yet.
我必需要谨慎，对吧？
I want to be careful here,
right?
我不是一个反对者我也不会对外星人嗤之以鼻
I'm not a naysayer.
I'm not gonna pooh-pooh aliens.
但是，你要知道，让我们先看看其他的东西
But, you know, let's go through
the other things first
因为宇宙中充满了奇怪的东西
because the universe is filled
with weird stuff,
让我们看看那是什么
and let's see what that is.
如果我们把这些都排除了，剩下的就只有外星人这种可能
And if we eliminate all those,
and all that's left is aliens,
好的，我们就来谈一谈
yeah, let's talk.
如果外星生物存在
Narrator: If extraterrestrial
species are out there,
我们的宇宙让我们很难
our universe makes it
extremely difficult
联♥系♥到他们
to contact them.
但尽管困难重重
But in spite
of all the obstacles,
也许还是有希望的
maybe there's still hope.
我们曾经认为，仅在银河系
We once thought that
there could be 10,000
就可能有1万个智慧文明
intelligent civilizations
in the milky way alone.
现在我们知道宇宙中充满了
Now we know that our cosmos
is filled with planets
有待发现的行星
just waiting to be found.
我们的技术正在发展
Our technology is evolving.
搜索正在扩大
Searches are expanding.
事实上，我们第一次接触的任务是这样的——
The truth about our mission
to make first contact is this --
我们才刚刚开始
we are only
just getting started.
我希望明天早上能有一些
I'd love for tomorrow morning
some sort of interstellar tweet
星际微博对着地球
to be beamed at the earth,
后我们就会意识到
and we would then realize
我们在宇宙中并不孤单
that we are not alone
in this cosmos.
帕西尼:我已经准备好庆祝了
Pacini:
I'm all ready to celebrate.
在这里，我们已经有了一瓶加冰的香槟
Here we have already
a champagne on ice
[笑] 等他们找到的时候就可以打开了
[laughs]
to pop when they find it.
塞勒:科学家们真的希望有一天
Thaller: Scientists really do
hope we find evidence
我们能找到外星生命的证据
of extraterrestrial life
someday.
我们有观测天空的天文台和卫星
We have observatories and
satellites that look at the sky.
整天、整夜、每一天
All day, all night, every day.
在某种程度上，外星生命的发现
The discovery of alien life
would simultaneously be,
并不令人惊讶
in a way, unsurprising
但同时也是人类历史上最伟大的发现
and yet the greatest discovery
in all of human history.
即使生命非常非常罕见
Even if life
is really, really rare,
宇宙也非常非常大
the universe
is really, really big,
所以可能有无数的外星文明存在
and so there could be countless
alien civilizations out there.
但当真正地发现或被证实——
But the actual discovery
or confirmation of that --
我想不出比这更伟大的科学发现了
I can think of no greater
scientific discovery.
它将彻底改变我们的整个文明
It would quite literally change
our entire civilization.
♪