与摩根·弗里曼一起穿越虫洞（2010）

Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman S02E07

Part 3 April 19, 2021, 2:37 p.m.

我们的星球布满了各种通道
Our planet is riddled with passageways.
我们经常会走过坚固的隧♥道♥
We regularly travel through strong, stable tunnels
直穿大山
cut through massive mountains.
现在我们进入了一条漂亮坚固的隧♥道♥
Well, here we're entering a nice, solid tunnel.
它的构造看上去是钢筋混凝土
It's made of -- looks like concrete and reinforced steel.
很坚固
Very solid.
一个可靠地运输手段
A reliable means of transportation.
我驾车驶入我马上要出去了
I drive my car in. I'm gonna come out.
我随时都知道情况
I know what's happening at all times.
物理学家斯蒂芬·舒沉迷于
Physicist Steven Shu is fascinated by the concepts
稳定与不稳定说
of stability and instability,
它们在股市里
be they in the stock market...
抛
Sell.
在房♥地♥产♥价值里
...in real-estate values...
长线
Long.
或是在时空虫洞里
...or in space-time wormholes.
我们观察一个特定系统时
One of the fundamental properties
在物理学上所观察的基本属性之一
that we look at in physics when we look at a particular system
就是该系统是稳定的还是不稳定的
is whether that system is stable or unstable.
例子就是这支笔它像这样是稳定的
An example would be a pen which is balanced like this.
它可能没事此时它完全平衡
It might be okay when it's exactly balanced,
但哪怕是轻微的碰撞都会使其
but even a slight bump will send it
进入截然不同的状态
into a drastically different state.
我们决定观察是否能构建一个虫洞
We decided to look at whether one could build a wormhole
它具有良好的特性
that had nice properties
比如其动作是可预见性的是稳定的
such as its behavior is predictable and it's stable.
那是两个标准
Those are two criteria
使你能拥有真正的虫洞
you'd like to have for a real wormhole.
构建虫洞的规则
The rules of building wormholes
出自爱因斯坦的相对论
start with Einstein's theory of relativity,
它告诉你如何去弯曲和塑造空间
which tells you how to bend and shape space
仿佛它是块柔软的床单
as if it were a flexible sheet.
试想这张纸
Imagine this sheet of paper,
试想你是生活在这张纸上的一只蚂蚁
and imagine that you're an ant living on this sheet of paper.
如果你想从这一点走到这一点
If you want to travel from this point to this point,
你可能得从这里一直走到这里
you might have to walk all the way from here to here.
但如果这张纸弯曲了所绕的路
But if the paper were curved, the long way around
就会涉及到像这样一直要绕过这张纸
would involve walking all the way around the paper like this.
不过你可以设想有一个小管道
But you can imagine that there would be a little Tube
将这一点直接连到这一点
connecting this point directly to this point,
蚂蚁就可以穿过去了
and the ant could just slip through.
科幻中的虫洞
Wormholes in science fiction
敞开了入口让星舰驶入
have gaping entrances that a starship can dive into.
不过那些二维的描绘
But those two-dimensional renderings
粉饰了虫洞真实的结构
gloss over the true architecture of wormholes.
在这个二维的比喻中
In this two-dimensional analogy,
管子的开口仅仅是个圆圈
the opening of the straw is just a circle.
但因为我们生活在三维里
But, because we live in three dimensions,
虫洞的开口
the opening of the wormhole
实际上会是在泡泡的里面
would actually be like the interior of a bubble.
这就是
This is what the mouth
真实虫洞口可能的模样
of a real wormhole might look like
如果它们蛰伏在空间某个地方的话
if they are lurking somewhere out there in space.
不过斯蒂芬在琢磨
But Steven wondered
我们是否有可能从头开始构建我们自己的虫洞
if we might be able to build our own from scratch.
宇宙工程师首先要创造两个口子
A cosmic engineer would first create two mouths
并将它们联♥系♥起来
and connect them.
然后他将其中的一个口子拉至数光年外
Then, he would drag one of the mouths light-years away --
但是两个口子之间的管道并不属于我们空间
but the tunnel between the two mouths is not part of our space
可以保持得很短
and could remain very short.
这是个很简单的想法
It's a simple idea,
但是防止虫洞口子及隧♥道♥的垮塌
but the vast amount of negative energy
所需的大量的负能量
needed to keep the wormhole's mouth and tunnel from collapsing
却是一个难以控制的东西
is tricky stuff to control.
稳定虫洞极具挑战
It's very challenging to stabilize a wormhole.
所有的虫洞根据我们从广义相对论的理解
All wormholes, as far as we know from general relativity,
都需要这种特殊负能量的奇异物质
require this kind of special negative energy exotic matter.
问题在于该物质是否能够稳定
The question is whether that matter itself can be stable.
斯蒂芬计算了负能量
Steven crunched the numbers on how negative energy
如何在虫洞边缘与正常的物质发生反应
would react with normal matter on the fringes of the wormhole
来探索它们能否和平共处
to discover whether they could coexist in a stable way.
我们的计算证明它们是不稳定的
And we've proven mathematically they're unstable.
那将是使用十分危险的装置
That would be a very dangerous device to use,
因为你一旦稍稍碰撞它
because once you bump it a little bit,
整个装置就会土崩瓦解
the entire device could just fall apart.
如果我试图进入一个不稳定的虫洞
If I try to get into an unstable wormhole,
就好像试图将我的手指伸进这个泡泡中
it's like trying to put my finger into this bubble.
它就会破裂
It'll just pop.
保持虫洞打开所需的负能量
The negative energy needed to keep a wormhole open
天生就是极不稳定的
is inherently too unstable.
人造虫洞在人们试图踏足其中时
A man-made wormhole would collapse
瞬间就会垮塌
the instant someone tries to step inside.
但或许有另一个方法
But there might be another way.
并不是靠利用我们自己构建的宇宙捷径
Not by using cosmic shortcuts that we have built ourselves,
而是靠搜索有可能隐藏在我们周围的
but by searching for microscopic ones
微型虫洞
that could be hiding all around us.
就如真空中
Just as empty space
充满了微型能量脉冲一样
is fizzing with microscopic pulses of energy,
有些理论家认为
some theorists believe
它也可能布满了微型孔洞
it could also be riddled with microscopic holes.
量子虫洞有可能
There could be quantum wormholes
就是大爆♥炸♥遗留下来的
that are just left over from the Big Bang,
或者就在很近很近处
or at very, very short distances,
你可能会有一点小小的波动
you could have little fluctuations
这样时空就以一种有趣的方式将其自身连接起来
where space-time just connects to itself in a funny way,
那就是量子虫洞
and that would be a quantum wormhole.
如果它们刚好碰上一点波动
If they just happened as a little fluctuation,
那将是极其微小的大概一米的10的负25次方
they would be incredibly tiny, like 10 to the minus-35 meters.
微型量子虫洞
Microscopic quantum wormholes
是空间的量子波动
are quantum fluctuations in space
始终不断地冒出湮灭再冒出
that perpetually appear, disappear, and reappear again.
由于我们不必去构建其入口
Since we don't have to construct their portals,
斯蒂芬觉得它们或许可以安全进入
Steven suspects they might be safe to enter.
但是在你试图跳进去之前已经意识到暗藏杀机
But before you try jumping into one, be aware there's a catch.
量子力学的东西时说不准的
Quantum mechanical things are fuzzy.
它们本质上是随机和不可预见的
They're intrinsically random and unpredictable.
因此如果我们进入了一个量子虫洞
So if we were in a quantum wormhole,
我们有可能被搞得不知天南地北
we might be shaken around,
我们会无法确定我们出去是哪里
and we wouldn't quite know where we're gonna come out.
你不会希望进入了一个隧♥道♥
You wouldn't want to get into a tunnel
有可能终点是太平洋的海底
that might end in the bottom of the pacific ocean
或者是你不想呆在上面的山顶
or on a mountaintop that you didn't want to be on.
量子虫洞无法估计抵达的时间
Quantum wormholes have no estimated times of arrival,
你的目的地是未知的
and your destination is unknown.
你最终结束有可能是任何地方
You could end up anywhere
或任何时候
or anywhen.
超越光速穿越虫洞
Traveling faster than light through a wormhole
会是一个冒险的举动
would be a risky ride.
你得赌上一把了
You've got to be willing to roll the dice.
不过对谨慎的旅客可能会有更安全的方法
But there may be a safer way for the cautious traveler.
试想一下能够从这里移♥动♥到那里
Imagine being able to move from here to there
完全不用挪动
without ever moving at all.
好人类首次出游星际貌似漫漫长路
Well, Mankind's first journey to the stars looks a long way off.
我们至少在几个世纪里不会掌握
We won't master the technology of wormholes and warp drives
虫洞及曲速引擎的技术
for centuries at least.
不过有另一个方法去穿梭宇宙
But there's another way to zip around the cosmos.
我们可以将我们的躯体变成信息
We could turn our bodies into information
将那信息以光速
and send that information from place to place
从一地发送至另一地
at the speed of light.
克里斯·门罗和史蒂夫·奥尔莫斯琴科
Chris Monroe and Steve Olmschenk