宇宙（2007）

The Universe S01E01

Part 5 April 22, 2021, 8:09 p.m.

This storm, this cloud of electrified particles, managed to get here in less than a day.
这个风暴,带电粒子团,到达这里不到一天时间.
That's incredibly fast.
快得难以置信.
Fortunately, the perfect solar storm took place in 1859,
幸运的是,完美太阳风暴发生在1859年,
when the only technology vulnerable on Earth, was the telegraph.
当时受攻击的地球上的科技还只是电报.
Since the era in wich we've become dependant on high technology,
自从进入了高科技时代,
we wait to see another perfect solar storm.
我们等着看另一个完美太阳风暴.
The question remains. Could it happen again?
问题是,它还会发生吗?
What if we had another one like that? Can we have another perfect storm?
若是发生了一个象那个的风暴,会有另一个完美风暴吗?
I'd say yes we can, there's no doubt about that.
我说会的,这是不用质疑的.
The... effects that would be on us today, compared to 1859 could be... devastating.
今天...对我们的影响,相比较1859年,可能...毁灭性的.
The effects on Earth and on our communication systems...
对地球的,对通讯的影响...
We don't exactly know. That's the scary part.
我们并不确切知道.那是惊心动魄的一部分.
It's likely that our modern technologies would be battered
有可能我们的现代技术遭到打击,
like beachfront houses during a hurricane.
象海边的狂风中的房♥屋一样.
Imagine if we lost all the satellite that we lay cellphone calls,
想象一下,如果我们失去了移♥动♥电♥话♥,
television signals and bank transactions.
电视信♥号♥♥和银行传递依赖的卫星.
And what if at the same time,
如果发生在同一时间,
the failure of powergades cascaded the all regions into darkness for hours, or weeks.
电力供应的故障一连串的雪崩把所有地方带进黑暗,几个小时或几个星期.
If these essential services couldn't be restored quickly, caos wouldn't be far behind.
如果这些基本服务不能很快恢复,将会造成混乱.
It would definitely be a rip effect upon society
会给社会,给生活在地球上的男女老少
and every man and woman and child that lives on this Earth.
带来可怕的后果.
Solar storms can be as hard to predict as hurricanes.
太阳风暴象飓风那样难以预报.
Well, forecasters lack the technology to fortell the next pefect storm.
是啊,预报员缺少技术预报下一个完美风暴.
They do know that one would be more likely to hit
他们知道其中的哪一个更有可能击中,
at the peek of the sun's eleven years sunspots cycle.
在匆匆看过太阳11年的黑子周期后.
What happens is the sun reverses the direction of its magnetic field every eleven years.
太阳每11年磁场的方向变化后会发生什么?
So in 22 years it reverses and comes back were it was.
所以在22年里,它总是变过去,回过来.
As we're near to reversal every eleven years,
当我们接近每11年的逆转时,
the number of sunspots encreases and there's a spike in solar activity.
黑子的数量增加,太阳活动激烈.
We call that period solar maximum
我们称那周期为"太阳活动期"
and those periods are inner spreeads by 5 years apart from periods we call solar minimum.
而那些周期是从太阳活动期里分离出来的5年周期.
So you have this eleven year back and forth between the sun beeing sometimes very feroscious,
所以这11年太阳的来回折腾有时非常强烈,
and it goes crazy, it's like the 4th of July with fireworks all the time.
变得疯狂,一直就象7月4日的烟火.
And then it starts to r down and for few years it gets quiter until it gets into
接着开始回落,几年后会直到变成
a low point where there is a firecrack every now and then but not a lot going on.
一个小点,那有个火花,任何时候都不会持续很久.
Just like hurricane's seasons, solar maximums vary in intensity.
就象飓风季节,太阳活动期在强度上会变化.
Sun produce many more powerful storms than others.
太阳会产生比其它时候更强的风暴.
Although we're currently at solar minimum, scientists are watching carefully
尽管一般在太阳活动期,科学家小心地观察它,
to see when may have the next solar max might unleash.
留意下一次最大的太阳能可能释放的时间.
The last solar maximum was in about 2001
最近的一次太阳活动期大约在2001年,
and so the next one ought to be in 2012, but there's different predictions.
所以下一次可能在2012年,但预报也会不一样.
The whole field of solar physics is basically waiting to baite is breath to see what actually happens.
太阳物理学上的整个情况基本上要等到实际上发生时才能看到.
There are some loudly divergent opinions on what's gonna happen.
对将要发生的事情有一些大的分歧.
One group is suggesting that this next solar cycle could be the strongest in modern times.
一组认为下一个太阳周期会是现代最强的.
If those predictions are correct, Earth could be in for a wild ride.
如果那些预报准确的话,地球将走上疯狂之路.
We might have to worry about a repeat of the 1859 event.
我们将不得不重复1859年的痛苦.
If that would happen today it would wreak untold damage.
如果今天发生的话,将造成深重的灾难.
We're gonna learn a whole lot about what can happen
我们将要认识许多将会对现代科技
to modern technology when the sun bows its top.
产生的影响,当太阳低下它的头的时候.
Much of the violence in the sun erupts here,
这里太阳喷发的许多暴行,
in the hellish outer atmosphere known as the corona.
在叫做日冕的地狱般的外部大气层中.
This region has long held one of the great solar mysteries.
这里长♥期♥以来就是太阳的一大秘密.
Because even though it's half a million miles from the heat generating core,
因为即使这里吉利太阳产生巨热的核心有50万英里,
it burns at millions of degrees.
还是有数百万度的高温.
This seems to violate the very laws of physics.
这似乎违背物理定律.
That's very strange. I have a thermometer here.
那非常奇怪.这里有只温度计.
If I hold the thermometer close to the fire,
如果我把温度计靠近火,
it reads a very high reading.
有很高的读数.
Where the probe is right now it's over 200 degrees.
探针测出超过200度.
And if I pull the probe out a little farther from the fire,
然而如果把探针稍微离开点,
ok, it drops down to about 90 degrees.
你瞧,下降了90度左右.
Now, the farther I get from the center, the cooler it gets.
下一步把它伸进中心,温度更低了.
In the atmosphere of the corona of the sun the temperature soars hot as the core.
太阳日冕大气里的温度远高于太阳核.
That's as if, I would say, well, way half behind me there,
那是因为,我会说,在我背后一半的地方,
the heat from the fire is as hot as the fire itself,
火堆里传出的热量和火堆里一样,
even though it's very far from the fire.
甚至可以传得更远.
What force could possibly cause the superheating of the corona?
是什么造成了日冕的高温呢?
The answer will rock you.
答案会让你震惊.
The hellish solar corona rages at millions of degrees.
凶狠的日冕以数百万度的温度呼啸.
For centuries scientists have been baffled
几个世纪以来,科学家们很困惑,
how anything so far from the sun's core
怎么距离日心这么远的地方
could still burn so hot.
仍然会有这么高的温度.
Recently, as improved satellites offered a closer view of the solar surface,
最近,随着改进的人造卫星发回的太阳表面的近距离观察,
clues began to emerge.
线索开始显现.
Below the corona the sun's surface is literally boiling.
在日冕下面,太阳表面简直是个火海.
The reason is that the entire surface of the sun
原因是整个太阳表面
is covered with convection cells, hot material from the inside of the sun,
覆盖着对流细胞,热物质从太阳里面出来,
that rises up through, reaches the surface, cools off by glowing,
上升穿越到达表面,发光冷却,
giving off sunlight and then sinks back down.
发出阳光,然后回下去.
Each bubble of material that comes up is about the size of Texas.
升起的每个泡泡有得克萨斯州那么大.
It spreads out across the surface, cools off and sinks down in 5 minutes.
它散布在表面,冷却并在5分钟里下沉下去.
So, that's a tremendously violent process
所以,这是一个非常剧烈的过程,
that's happening in, literally, almost a milion places
那发生在,真实地,几乎所有地方.
over the entire surface of the sun, all the time around the clock, 24/7.
覆盖整个太阳表面,日以继夜,24/7.
This boiling is not only violent. It's also extremely loud.
沸腾不仅仅剧烈,而且非常喧闹.
The sun is a tremendously loud place.
太阳是非常喧闹的地方.
You can imagine... covering the entire surface of the sun
可以想象...整个太阳表面的覆盖物,
with speakers being driven as hard as the loudest rock concert you've ever been to.
发言者在努力达到你到过的最吵的摇滚音乐会的声音.
That would be comparable to how loud it really is on the surface of the sun.
太阳表面就比得上有这么吵.
The sun's churning surface creates enough sound energy
太阳表面的搅动甚至会产生声能
to superheat the corona to millions of degrees.
给日冕供给数百万度热量.
Scientists believe that the combination of these sound waves and energy
科学家相信这些声波和来自
from the sun's magnetic field
太阳磁场的能量结合
is responsible for the extreme temperatures found in the corona.
是日冕产生极端高温的原因.
The only time you can actually see the corona from Earth
从地球上观察日冕的唯一机会
is at the climax of one of the most dazzling displace in the solar system,
是在太阳系里其中最不耀眼的时候,
a total solar eclipse.
日全食.
Before scientists understood them,
在科学家搞明白之前,
these unsparing events instilled only fear.
这些严肃的事情只被当成恐惧.
The ancient Chineses believed that a dragon was devouring the sun.
古代的中国人认为是龙吃掉了太阳.
So what's really happening in a solar eclipse?
那么是日食真的发生了什么?
In simplest terms it's when the moon blocks our view of the sun.
简单的道理是月亮运转遮住了太阳.
Imagine that you're sitting in a movies watching very happily
想象一下,你非常快乐的在看电影,
something going on on the screen and then somebody
屏幕上在放映,有人
in the row in front of you comes across
在你前面经过,
and blocks your view.
挡住了你的视线.
In a movie, in theory you might not want that person
在电影里,理论上你不希望这种人挡在你的前面,
to come across in front of you, but at...
挡在你的前面,然而...
in a eclipse we're very lucky to have the moon come across the sun,
在日食里,我们非常欢迎月亮越过太阳,
we're lucky to have it come right across the middle.
非常希望它正好横过太阳的中间.
We're also lucky that the moon, although is 400 times smaller than the sun,
我们也非常庆幸月亮虽然比太阳小400倍,
is also 400 times closer to us.
但也正好400倍靠近我们.
This cosmic coincidence means that the two objects
这个宇宙的巧合意味着两个物体
just happen to be the same apparent size in our sky,
刚好尺寸大小一样地挂在天空上,
which allows for one to completely block out the other.
正好一个可以完全遮住另外一个.
This magnificent cosmic event only happens
这个奇妙的宇宙现象只发生在
when the path of the moon intersects the line between the earth and the sun.
月亮的轨道横穿过地球和太阳之间.
The moon's orbit is tilted slightly about 5 degrees.
月亮的轨道有近5度的倾斜.
If it wasn't we would have an eclipse every month.
如果不是的话,每个月都会有日食..
And then we'd be bored,
那时我们会觉得无聊,
but we're not bored because most months
但是我们觉得不无聊是因为大部分的月份,
the moon goes above or below
月亮的轨道在日地之间
the place where the line goes from the earth to the sun.
的上方或下方.
So instead of one every month we get a total eclipse
代替每个月有一次日全食的是,
somewhere on earth about once every year and a half.
地球上的一些地方每一年半会有一次.
As the moon slides in front of the sun,
当月亮挡在太阳前面时,
it casts a shadow onto the earth.
把影子投在地球上.
The outer part, where the shadow is fainter,
外面的部分,影子是模糊的,
is called the penumbra.
称为半影.
If you're standing within the swath traced by the penumbra,
如果你站在半影扫过的区域里,