宇宙（2007）

The Universe S01E03

Part 4 April 22, 2021, 8:11 p.m.

For every 300 gamma ray bursts that go off
每300个伽玛射线爆发
only one is pointed in our direction,
仅有一个指向我们这个方向,
and so we only see 1 of those 300.
所以我们只能看到300分之一.
Even if a gamma ray burst would have occurred
即使伽玛射线爆发,
not 100 but 1000 light years away,
不是在100光年就是1000光年以外,
the Earth could still face apocalyptic destruction.
地球仍然面对着毁灭.
If a gamma ray burst happens within 100 light years off the Earth,
如果伽玛射线爆发距离地球不足100光年,
then it would be approximately 500 times brighter than the Sun
亮度就达到太阳的500倍,
and made in gamma rays.
置身于伽玛射线里.
The energy delivered to the Earth's upper atmosphere
释放到地球大气层上部的能量
would be like a 100,000 megatons of nuclear explosions.
将达到10万兆吨♥的核爆♥炸♥.
The ozone would be depleted,
臭氧层将被消耗尽,
we'd have acid rain but we'd also have flash burns,
就会有酸雨,就会有闪电,
incineration of vegetation, perhaps something resembling nuclear weather.
烧毁植被,或许就类似核气象.
So there could be a global extinction of many species.
所以有可能是许多物种的全球性毁灭.
Now the far side of the Earth would be a special place to be,
现在地球这么远的地方成为特殊的空间,
because gamma rays don't go through the Earth
这是因为伽玛射线没来到地球,
and if you're on the other side you wouldn't get flash-burned.
而如果你在其他地方,就不会有闪暴.
But the effect of depleting the ozone
然而臭氧层耗尽以及
and changing the composition of the atmosphere
大气层成分的改变,
would eventually come to the other side. And there the effects are unknown.
结果将最终变成其它地方.结局是无法预料的.
Statistically this ghastly scenario
统计这个可怕的推论,
has 1% chance of happening once in the Earth's entire lifetime.
在地球的整个生命里会有1%的概率发生.
But even these odds aren't reassuring
然而这个概率也是不可靠的,
if you're living on the planet at that very moment.
如果你正好在哪个非常时刻居住在地球上.
If you're caught in the beam...
如果你被光束逮住...
that's a bad day for you.
那就是你糟糕的日子.
If one of this happens in your galaxy and that beam is coming your way,
如果星系里有一个发生并且光束朝着你的方向,
go hide in a cave.
躲进洞穴里吧.
Because this is very high energy radiation.
因为这是一个能量非常高的辐射.
It's the kind of energy that would decompose your molecules,
它是一种能分解分子的能量,
and you just don't wanna be... be around when it's happening.
而你帐号♥不想..在其产生时在它周围.
There currently are no defense measures
现在还没有防卫的措施,
to shield us from gamma ray bursts if they happen close to Earth.
当在地球附近发生时,来保护我们避免伽玛射线.
They travel at the speed of light: 186,000 miles per second.
光的速度是:每秒186000英里.
By the time we detected them, they would have already struck our planet.
在我们觉察到的时候,它们已经抵达了我们的地球.
Gamma rays bursts could pose a hazard
伽玛射线将会对
to the Earth or to anything living that
地球或来到他们出生地的任何生物
came within their born site.
构成威胁.
But as we've seen they're very infrequent
但是就象我们看到的那样,它们非常罕见,
and there are other things in the heavens
天空里和地球上还有其它情况
and on the Earth that are much more dangerous.
要危险的多得多.
Cataclysms routinely erupt in some corner of the Universe.
在宇宙的某些地方照例会有灾难发生.
And one day something will snuff out Earth.
有一天,某些情况会扼杀地球.
Most of the time our ride around the Sun is
围绕太阳运转的大部分时间是
gentle and uneventful like this Ferris wheel.
平安无事的,就象这个摩天轮.
And as long as nothing gets in our way.
只要没什么挡住道.
We can go on like this for millions of years.
我们就能象这个摩天轮一样运行数百万年.
But sooner or later we know that this smooth ride will come to an end.
但是我们知道那个轮子迟早会濒临结束.
We just don't know when.
我们只是不知道何时发生.
Sadly our planet ultimate demise
可惜我们这个星球最终会死亡,
will probably come from the very thing that provides us life.
大概会来自提供我们生命的非常事态.
Earth maintains a cozy lifestyle being third rock from the Sun.
地球是太阳的第叁颗行星,维持着舒适的生活条件.
For over 4 billion years the Sun has been an ally,
在40多亿年里,太阳作为支持者,
warming and feeding our planet.
温暖和喂养着我们的地球.
But in time our solar heater will become our enemy.
然而有时太阳会成为我们的敌人.
The Sun and the Earth have a unique relationship to each other.
太阳和地球相互之间形成了独特的关系.
The Earth has a particular temperature, a particular size, it has life on it
地球具有特别的温度,特别的大小,有生命存在,
and oceans. And those things depend on the Sun.
有海洋.所有这些都依赖太阳.
The Sun is at the root of the existence of life on the Earth
太阳是地球存在生命的根源,
and the Sun will be at the root of its demise as well.
然而太阳也将是地球灭亡的根源.
Earth relationship with the Sun will become dysfunctional
地球联♥系♥着太阳将来的功能失调,
when our solar mother really turns up the heat.
那时,我们的太阳母亲的温度会升高.
The Sun gets hotter because it's burning hydrogen into helium.
太阳会变得越来越热,是因为她由燃烧氢转为烧氦.
Four hydrogen atoms become one helium atom.
四个氢原子成为一个氦原子.
That means there're fuel particles
那就意味着燃料质子
dancing around inside the Sun.
在太阳里面跳舞.
And that process basically means that the Sun has to get
这个过程意味着太阳已经把自己
hotter and brighter to hold itself up.
变得更热和更亮.
As the Sun's core gets hotter its outer part will swell in size and turn red.
随着太阳核变得更热,它的个头将变得更大,外面的颜色变红.
If you have a bonfire, you have all this wood there you built it up,
假如有堆篝火,放上木头点燃它,
and at some point enough logs get burnt and that thing collapses
某些情况下没有足够的木头去燃烧,那个东西倒塌,
and you get this huge burst of sparks and it gets much brighter.
会有巨大的火花爆发,产生巨大的光亮.
In a sense it's like that because the Sun is
某种意义来说,这就象太阳现在
right now burning hydrogen into helium
燃烧氢变为氦的过程,
and the helium is the ash of that, if you like...
而氦就象那个灰烬,如果你喜欢...
And then as the Sun collapses enough the ash relights
紧接着太阳充分崩塌,灰烬重新燃烧,
and the helium burns into carbon.
氦燃烧成碳.
And that's when things get really hot.
那是物体真正得到高温的时候.
At this point Sun will expand into a red giant,
那时太阳将变成红巨星,
and incinerate most complex life on Earth.
把地球上的所有生命烧成灰烬.
When the Sun becomes a red giant it will grow to 30 times its size
太阳变成红巨星时,体积膨胀30倍,
so the surface of the Sun will actually be out beyond the orbit of Mercury.
所以太阳的表面将到达水星的轨道.
The luminosity of the Sun will grow up by like 1000 times.
太阳的亮度将增长1000倍.
That's gonna make the Earth so hot that
将使地球变得很热,
the outer crust, the rocks, the soil part of the Earth... will melt.
地球的外壳,岩石,泥土...都将融化.
The whole planet would be a glowing ball of lava.
整个地球将变为火球.
The Sun will fry the inner planets and...
太阳将煎熬着内部的行星..
even though the Sun will become red and cooler,
尽管太阳会变得更红和更冷,
the Earth will become much hotter.
地球会变得更热.
Just leave the Earth a burnt cinder, like a charcoal bricket.
只是留下地球一堆燃烧的灰烬,就象个炭架.
So that would be bad for life on Earth.
所以对地球上的生命来说是件坏事.
And the Earth's alleged fate isn't over.
地球的命运据称还没有结束.
As a red giant the Sun will fluctuate in size
因为红巨星太阳在压缩成
before collapsing into a white dwarf.
白矮星之前体积将会变化.
The Sun, that was huge, suddenly becomes
巨大的太阳会突然变为
a Sun that's very small and extremely dense,
体积非常小,密度非常大的太阳,
only about the size of the Earth,
其体积只有地球大小,
sitting down there at the center of our solar system,
占据在太阳系的中♥央♥,
very much fainter than it used to be.
较之过去非常地微弱.
And everything cools off and then that object is no longer
一切开始冷却,那个星球不再
generating energy either, so it begins to cool as well.
产生任何能量,所以它也同样变冷.
The final fate of the solar system will be to cool off and freeze.
太阳系最后的结局是冰冷的.
Humans will probably relocate to another planet
人类或许会在另外一个行星上重新布局,
or become extinct before the Sun turns Earth into a snowball.
或者在太阳将地球变成雪球前已经灭种.
However the Sun may dry up our world much sooner
不管怎样,太阳会很快烘干我们的地球.
If the Sun doesn't get us at the time of the red giant phase,
如果太阳没在变为红巨星的时候惩罚我们,
it may well get us earlier by
那它就可能更早地惩罚我们,
just becoming bright enough to cause the oceans to evaporate.
就在刚变得足够明亮的时候造成海洋蒸发.
Water is an essential component for our life
水是我们生命的基本要素,
and so if Earth actually loses all its water then that's another reason why
所以一旦地球失去所有的水,那时毫无疑问
life might disappear from the Earth, and it would again be the Sun's fault.
生命将从地球上消失,那也是太阳的过错.
There may be ways for Earth to win a stay of execution.
可能会有一些方法为地球争取到死刑的缓期执行.
As the Sun is swelling it also begins to lose mass,
太阳膨胀时也会开始丢失质量,
much more rapidly than it's losing it now.
会比现在丢失的快的多.
And of course if it's getting less massive
当然如果太阳质量变得越来越小,
it has less of a hold on the Earth.
对地球的控制也会越来越小.
The Earth will move further out, into a larger orbit.
地球会离太阳更远,轨道更大.
And so it's kind of a race between the growing Sun and the growing heat
所以这是太阳和其热量增长
from the Sun and the Earth, actually moving,
与地球实际运行之间的竞赛,
you know, a little bit away from that fire that's getting too hot.
你知道,与火堆相差一点距离,热量就相差许多.
If our planet somehow manages to avoid getting
如果我们地球以某种方式避免了
fried or frozen by the Sun,
太阳的煎熬和冰冻,
its future remains increasingly bleak.
将来也日益荒凉.
This place is full of adventure.
这个地方充满了冒险.
Rides that put your stomach up in your throat,
游戏将你的胃吊到你的喉咙,
things that collide, scary stuff...
物体的碰撞,充满恐慌...
It's a lot like riding around the Sun on planet Earth.
很大程度就象围绕太阳运行的行星地球.
But when Earth gets smacked or when things start come apart,
然而当地球遭到打击或物体开始分解时,
the ride could really be over.
运行实际已经停止.