了解宇宙是如何运行的（2010）

How the Universe Works S01E01

Part 2 April 18, 2021, 7:55 p.m.

You don't have to be an
astronomer to look back in time.
如果你仰望夜空
If you gaze up at the night sky,
便可以看到数百万光年以外的星球
you're seeing stars that are
millions of light years away,
它们的光要几百万光年才传到地球
meaning it took the light from those
stars millions of years to get here.
因此, 极目望去
So if you look far enough,
应该可以望到宇宙的起源
you should be able to see
the beginning of the universe.
以划时代天文学家命名的…
Named for the
ground-breaking astronomer,
哈勃太空望远镜
the Hubble Space Telescope
有了它, 我们可以看到昔日的宇宙
allows us to look deep into
the universe, back in time
更接近大爆♥炸♥那一刻
and closer to the
moment of the big bang.
对科学家来说, 回到大爆♥炸♥那一刻
But for scientists, winding
back the clock to the big bang
只是第一步
was only the first step.
第一次听到大爆♥炸♥理论的时候
When people first hear
about the big bang theory,
人们的反应是: 它在哪儿发生?
they say: "Well, where
did it take place?
这儿, 抑或这儿?
It took place over there?
It took place over there?
它究竟在哪儿发生?
Where did it take place?"
事实上, 到处都有大爆♥炸♥
Actually, it took place everywhere,
因为当时宇宙极端细小
because the universe itself was
extremely small at that time.
这些是极度抽象和艰深的概念
These are only some of the most abstract
and difficult concepts there are.
引人入胜的是: 大爆♥炸♥前有甚么?
So here's a mirid-bender:
What came before the big bang?
古代哲学家常常说
The philosophers in
ancient times used to say,
试问怎可能无中生有?
"How could something
arise from nothing?"
但令我惊叹的是
And what's amazing to me
根据物理定律, 是有可能的
is that the laws of physics
allow that to happen.
它意味着, 我们整个宇宙
And it means that our whole universe,
现在我们所见所闻
everything we see, everything
that matters to us today,
可能是从无到有
could have arisen out
of precisely nothing.
这是我们理解大爆♥炸♥最大的拦阻
It's one of the biggest hurdles
to understanding the big bang.
首先要相信万物是从无到有
First, you have to buy into the premise
that something was created out of nothing.
宇宙诞生的那一刻难以用语言形容
It's impossible to describe the
moment of creation in human language.
我们只知道, 可能从虚无之中
All we know is that from
what may have been nothing,
产生出极高密度
we go to a state of
almost infinite density
极高温度和极度狂暴
and infinite temperature
and infinite violence.
要掌握无中生有这概念
Understanding how nothing
turned into something
可能是宇宙间最大的奥秘
may be the greatest
mystery of our universe.
但若你能想通便会开始理解大爆♥炸♥
But if you understand that, you
start to understand the big bang,
时间与空间开始出现
when time and space began
一次大爆♥炸♥, 产生出宇宙万物
and a great big explosion
created everything.
时间诞生之初
At the dawn of time,
宇宙在大爆♥炸♥中诞生
the universe explodes into existence,
空无一物中, 生出天地万物
from absolutely nothing into everything.
但天地万物只是一个小点
But everything is
actually a single point,
极端细小, 无穷灼热
infinitely small, unimaginably hot,
是一团密度极高的纯能量
a super dense speck of pure energy.
大爆♥炸♥…
The big bang...
规模之大
was so immense
带来了…
that it brought into existence
我们见到的4000亿个银河系中
all of the mass and all of the energy
各样东西和能量
contained in all of the 400 billion
galaxies we see in our universe,
这区域却比一个原子还要小
in a region smaller than
the size of a single atom.
可观察的宇宙长度
The entire observable universe
was a millionth of a billionth
只是十亿分之一厘米的百万分之一
of a centimetre across at that time.
万物挤在这个极热极密的区域中
Everything was compressed into
an incredibly hot, dense region.
当时它尚未成为物质
It's not even matter yet,
只是一个超强能量的点
just a point of raging energy.
它就是宇宙之源, 万物藏在其中
It was the beginning of the
universe and everything in it.
当时一切都非常简单
Everything was simple.
我们现时所知的各种力量
All the forces that we know about today
本来是一个整体
were one and the same.
当时宇宙无形无体
The universe was amorphous.
It had no structure.
就在创造那一刻
In that instance of creation,
所有物理定律, 推动地球的力量
all the laws of physics, the very
forces that engineer our universe
开始形成
began to take shape.
首先出现的力量是地心吸力
The first force to emerge was gravity.
宇宙的命运, 其大小、结构等一切
The fate of the universe, its size,
structure, and everything in it
就在那一刻出现雏形
was decided in that moment.
卡洛斯费克用超级计算机造仿真宇宙
Carlos Frenk studies how
gravity shaped the universe
研究地心吸力如何促使宇宙形成
by creating artificial
universes in this supercomputer.
他为每个宇宙赋予不同程度的吸力
He gives each one a
different amount of gravity.
第一个宇宙的地心吸力太弱
The first one he tried had too little,
结果空无一物
resulting in, well, nothing.
地心吸力塑造了我们的宇宙
Gravity has shaped our universe.
但如果地心吸力减弱
But if gravity was weaker than it is,
我们的宇宙将会非常乏味
we would have a very boring universe
所有东西极速掠过
in which everything would
be flying apart so fast
银河系无法形成
that there would be no galaxies forming.
接着, 芬克造一个吸力太强的宇宙
Next, he programmed a
universe with too much gravity.
若吸力过强, 宇宙同样失败
If gravity was stronger than we think it is,
again, we'll end up with a failed universe.
所有东西都被黑洞吸走
Everything will end up in black holes.
地心吸力一定要怡到好处
It has to be just so.
It has to be just right
我们非常幸运
Lucky for us,
大爆♥炸♥带来的地心吸力恰到好处
the big bang got it just right,
the perfect amount of gravity.
在地心吸力出现的后混沌之中
In the turmoil of forces
after gravity emerged,
即大爆♥炸♥不足一秒之后
still a fraction of a
second after the big bang,
突然爆出一股能量
a Shockwave of energy erupted
and expanded the universe
使宇宙极速向四方八面膨胀
in all directions at incredible speed.
超强能量令整个空间瞬间扩张
All of space expanded by an unbelievably
large factor in a fraction of a second.
我们相信在百万分之一秒的…
We think that in less than a millionth
百万分之一又百万分之一
of a millionth of a millionth
又百万分之一之间发生
of a millionth of a second,
空间以100万乘100万、再乘100万
space expanded by a factor
bigger than a million, million,
再乘100万的速度膨胀
million, million times.
这速度超出了光速
And for the record, that's
faster than the speed of light.
且慢! 这不是有违物理定律吗?
But wait, doesn't that break
one of the laws of physics?
即使学生也知道
Even schoolchildren know that, quote,
没有东西…
"You can't go faster
走得比光快
than the speed of light."
但这说法有点取巧
But actually, there's a loophole there.
「没有东西」走得比光快
You see, nothing can
go faster than light,
「没有」是指空无一物的空间
nothing being empty space.
不用担心
Don't worry.
这概念教科学天才也搔破头颅
This idea gives even the best
minds in science a headache.
但理解太初宇宙至关重要
But it's critical to