了解宇宙是如何运行的（2010）

How the Universe Works S09E01

Part 1 March 16, 2022, 8:54 a.m.

我们正在前往
MIKE We're on
a journey to the heart
超大质量黑洞M87星的中心
of the supermassive
black hole, M87 star.
我们的任务，是调查宇宙中
Our mission, to investigate one
of the most mysterious places
最神秘的地方之一
in the universe.
萨特: M87对我们来说是一个很好的目标
SUTTER: M87 is a great
target for us to visit,
因为其一：它很近；其二：它很活跃
because one, it's close,
and two, it's active,
它正在觅食
it's feeding.
超大质量黑洞
Supermassive black holes are
是为宇宙提供动力的引擎
the engines that power
the universe.
超大质量黑洞是星系诞生
Supermassive black holes are
a key factor in
生长和最终死亡的关键因素
the birth, life, and eventual
death of galaxies.
我们越是研究它们
And the more we study them,
它们就变得越令人费解
the more puzzling they become.
它们是物理学中
They're the master key
大多数未解之谜的万♥能♥钥♥匙♥
to most of the unsolved
mysteries in physics.
超大质量黑洞内部的物理现象
The physics inside
a supermassive black hole are
非常怪异
beyond weird.
它们是我们理解力的最高山峰
They are the final
frontier of our understanding.
你的想象力可以不受控制
Your imagination can run wild.
也许它甚至可能是其他宇宙的源头
Maybe it's even the source of
other universes.
只有一种方法能找到答案
There's only
one way to find out,
那就是到这个没有人去过的地方去
to go where no one has gone
before and journey to the heart
M87星的中心
of M87 star.
[爆♥炸♥]
[explosion blasts]
宇宙是如何运行的
第九季第1集黑洞之旅
我们穿越M87星系
We speed across M87,
这是一个距离地球5500万光年的巨大星系
a gigantic galaxy 55 million
light-years from Earth.
在它的中心有一个超大质量黑洞
At its heart lies
a supermassive black hole,
M87星
M87 star.
这是第一个也是目前唯一一个
It is the first
and only black hole
被拍到的黑洞
ever photographed.
我们想知道M87星是如何变得这么大的
We want to find out how M87 star
grew so large,
它的内部是什么，以及它是如何控制星系的
what lies inside, and how it
controls the galaxy.
距离超大质量黑洞5000光年的地方
5,000 light-years out from
the supermassive black hole,
我们第一次看到了危险的迹象
we get our first sign of
the danger ahead.
我们看到星系中雕刻出一个巨大的洞
We see giant holes
carved out of the galaxy,
数千光年宽的无恒星空洞
starless voids thousands of
light-years wide.
萨特:当我们靠近时
SUTTER: As we approach,
we can see
我们可以看到残骸散落在附近
that wreckage littered
around the vicinity.
这就像进入了龙的巢穴，看到了
It's like entering the lair
of the dragon and seeing
所有在你之前来过的探险家的骸骨
the bones of all the explorers
who came before you.
是什么灾难性的力量
What cataclysmic force
tore these giant
撕扯出星系气体云中的这个巨大空洞？
cavities in the galactic
gas clouds?
当我们在距离M87星数千光年远的
As we fly next to a brilliant
shaft of energy
一个明亮的能量轴旁飞行时
thousands of light-years from
M87 star,
我们得到了一个线索
we get a clue.
这是一股致命的辐射流
It's a deadly stream of
从星系中如喷气引擎一般
radiation shooting out
across the galaxy,
喷射而出
a jet.
这个喷射流看起来就像探照灯
This jet looks like
a searchlight
或灯塔发出的光束
or a beam from a lighthouse.
普拉特：它会让你产生不可磨灭的印象
PLAIT: You're seeing this
monumental thing.
它尖叫着冲出黑洞
It's screaming out of
the black hole,
释放出辐射
blasting out radiation.
当我第一次看到喷射流的照片时，我惊叹道:“哇!”
When I first saw a photo of
a jet, I was like, "Whoa!"
我是不是看错了这张照片的
Am I like, misreading the scale
规模？因为有一束
of this image?
Because there was this
疯狂的《星际迷航》般的光束出来了
crazy Star Trek like beam
just coming out.
1918年，美国天文学家希伯·柯蒂斯
In 1918, American
astronomer Heber Curtis
将喷流描述为一种奇怪的直线射线
described the jets as
a curious straight ray.
一个世纪后，天文台的图像显示
A century later,
observatory images
它们随着能量而脉动
reveal they pulsate with energy.
萨特:这些图像显示了这些喷射流中有“绳结”和团块
SUTTER: The images show knots
and clumps in these jets.
它们表明这个喷射流并不平稳
They show that it's just not
smooth and nice,
也不美观，内部有暴♥力♥的历史
that there's been a history
of violence inside this jet.
这种猛烈的能量推动
This violent energy pushes
这些“绳结”和团块沿着光束移♥动♥
the knots along the beams.
这些“绳结”显示了喷气引擎的速度
The knots reveal
the speed of the jets.
[火车鸣笛]
[train whistle blows]
这就像看着一列快速行驶的火车
It's like looking
at a fast-moving train.
相同颜色的轨道车会模糊成一幅连续的图像。
Rail cars of the same color
blur into one continuous image.
但不同颜色的车箱在其他车箱中脱颖而出
But different-colored cars
stand out against the others.
这和沿着喷谢流移♥动♥的“绳结”是一样的
It's the same with the knots
moving along the jets.
所以我们可以通过观察
So we can figure out
how fast the jets are
从黑洞附近喷出来的物质的“绳结”
really moving by looking at
knots of material coming out
来计算出喷射流的速度
from near the black hole.
当天文学家测量两个的“绳结”速度时
When astronomers measured
the speed of two knots,
他们大吃一惊
they got a big surprise.
一个是光速的2.4倍
One is moving at 2.4 times
the speed of light,
另一个是光速的6倍
and the other is moving over
six times faster than light.
这怎么可能呢？
How could this possibly be?
尽管黑洞周围的物理现象很奇怪
As weird as the physics
around a black hole is,
但这实际上应该不会发生这样的事，也不允许发生这样的事
that's not actually happening,
nor is it allowed to happen.
没有什么能比光速更快的了
SUTTER: Nothing can actually go
faster than the speed of light,
所以很明显，我们忽略了一些东西
so obviously,
we're missing something here.
这些结似乎打破了光速
The knots may seem
to break the speed of light,
但宇宙只是在和我们开玩笑
but the universe is just
playing with us.
而实际上的情况是这样
It's really just a consequence
of the fact that
这个唝射流的很多部分都指向我们
a lot of this jet is
pointed toward us,
即指向地球上的观察者
pointed partially toward
the observer on Earth.
从某种意义上说，这是一种视觉错觉
That, in a sense, is
a sort of optical illusion
让你误以为它移♥动♥得更快
that tricks you into thinking
it's moving faster.
这是一个简单的光的把戏
It's a simple
trick of the light,
有点像勺子在一杯水中看起来是弯曲的
a bit like the way a spoon in
a glass of water looks bent
或扭曲的
and distorted.
这个喷射流的速度之所以快地令人难以置信
The impossibly fast speed
of the jet