与摩根·弗里曼一起穿越虫洞（2010）

Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman S01E04

Part 4 April 19, 2021, 2:24 p.m.

但宇宙可能在未来某个时刻再次崩塌
but it might recollapse at some time in the future,
所有的气体可能再次跑掉
so all the air might go out again.
体积会收缩
The volume would decrease,
密度增加
the density would increase,
然后接近另一次大爆♥炸♥
and then probably approach another Big Bang.
宇宙膨胀又收缩
The Universe expands and contracts,
但它从未有真正的起点
but it never actually begins.
在当前这个宇宙之前也许有一系列的宇宙
There could have been a series of Universes before this one
其后，将有更多的继任
and more to come after this one.
博约沃尔德正在研究这些问题
Bojowald is working through the problems and conundrums
创立了全新的理论学说
that all radical new theories face.
他的理论并不完备也许永远不会完备
His theory is by no means complete, and it may never be.
我们还在研究等式
We are still working on the equations.
我们还没有完备的答案
We don't have the complete answer yet,
但这看上去是解决这个问题的
but it seems to be the best theory yet
最好理论
to address these issues.
但在2001年
But in 2001,
世界上两个顶尖的宇宙学家
two of the leading cosmologists in the world
发表了一篇论文对关于宇宙形成问题
published a paper suggesting an even more radical approach
提出了更激进的假说
to what happened at the beginning.
这两个宇宙学家的观点认为
For these two scientists,
有另一种答案，如此的怪异和超出想象
there was another answer so strange and unexpected
以至于从未有人考虑过
that it had never been considered.
一直都存在着爆♥炸♥、爆♥炸♥、爆♥炸♥
There are bangs and bangs and bangs forever.
我们的宇宙也许不是唯一的一个
Our Universe may not be the only one,
也许只是几百个、几千个甚至无数个宇宙之一
but one of hundreds, thousands, maybe an infinite number.
这是个让人感兴趣却又令人气馁的假设
It's an inspiring and daunting suggestion --
宇宙是由一系列的爆♥炸♥驱动的
the Universe is an endless cycle
无尽的循环
prompted by an endless series of bangs,
永远持续
forever.
当你遥望星空
When you look out into space,
注目一个遥远的星星
gaze at a distant star,
你也在回望过去
you also look back in time.
遥远行星飞来的光线
Light from distant galaxies
需要旅行几十亿年才到达我们这里
can take billions of years to reach us.
现在，我们知道，存在一个界限我们回望过去却不能超过界限
Now we know there's a limit to how far back we can see,
一个可见宇宙的边界
an edge to the visible Universe.
从过去宇宙飞来的光
The light from that cosmic backdrop
到达地球前已经飞行了137亿年
has taken 13.7 billion years to make it to Earth.
在幕后隐藏着什么？
What lies beyond that curtain?
按照马丁·博约沃尔德教授的说法
According to Professor Martin Bojowald,
时间在奇点附近
time becomes squeezed and distorted
挤压扭曲
as it nears a singularity
反弹回来，进入另一个扩展过程
and then bounces back out into another expansion.
但是也许存在另一个完全不同的方式
But perhaps there's an altogether different way
能够回看宇宙创世的情景
to look at what happened before the beginning.
南非科学家尼尔·图罗克博士
South African scientist Dr. Neil Turok
现在敢于比大多数的其他人
is now daring to go further into the past
更进一步
than almost anyone else.
非洲！
Africa!
非洲！
Africa!
他对于宇宙的激进观点受到了
His radical view of the cosmos was influenced
他父母在种族隔离期间的斗争的影响
by his parents' struggles during apartheid.
我的父亲和母亲是反对南非政♥府♥
My father and mother were political activists
的政♥治♥活动家
against the south african government.
他们因言论而进了监狱
They went to jail for their opinions.
但最终，民♥主♥来到南非
But ultimately, Democracy came to south africa
他们都当选为议会议员
and they were both elected members of parliament --
是除了尼尔森和维尼·曼德拉之外
the only husband-and-wife members of parliament
议会中的唯一夫妇议员
apart from Nelson and Winnie Mandela.
他们是持久性的典范
They served as a model of persistence.
只是因为目前
Just because at the moment
你的想法不是流行的或广泛接受的
your ideas are not fashionable or agreed upon,
如果你相信你所做的是正确的，坚持下去
If you believe what you're doing is right, Persist.
从他开始从事理论物理的研究
From the moment he entered the field of theoretical physics,
这个南非科学家
the South African scientist
就致力于为这个老问题寻找新答案
was looking for new answers to age-old problems.
人们总习惯于
There is a conventional wisdom
墨守成规
in the field,
对新想法接受很慢
and people are very slow to adopt new ideas.
而且，坦白说
And, frankly,
许多人的职业生涯安于现状
many people have built their careers on the status quo,
他们不想要新想法
and they don't want a new idea
制♥造♥麻烦
coming along and rocking the boat.
与其他同事不同
For Neil, the WMAP announcement
尼尔觉得威尔金森探测器的发现和他通过不同的望远镜
brought up familiar feelings about seeing the Universe
观察宇宙的感觉
through a slightly different lens
很相似
than some of his colleagues.
在威尔金森探测器的新闻发布会上
In the WMAP press announcement,
当然，参与的科学家们
of course the scientists involved
将它与膨胀明确的联♥系♥起来
linked it explicitly to inflation
并说，“戏剧性的证实了膨胀现象”
and said, "this dramatically confirms inflation."
这令我坐立不安
And this made me squirm.
我的观点是
My point of view
在威尔金森探测器数据中包含的信息
was that the information contained in the WMAP data
并没有充分的
was, in itself, not sufficient
证实或否定膨胀现象
to prove or refute inflation.
他不是一个人在战斗
He wasn't alone.
穿越非洲另一个勇敢的科学家
Across the Atlantic, another intrepid scientist labored
不辞辛苦致力于揭开宇宙创世后的真♥相♥
to uncover the truth behind what happened before the beginning.
保罗·斯泰恩哈特
Paul Steinhardt
他是普林斯顿大学物理系教授
is the Albert Einstein Professor of Physics
另一个爱因斯坦
at Princeton University.
作为一个年轻人
As a young man,
保罗受月球登陆的激励献身科研
Paul was inspired to study science by the moon landings.
我们在这个年代选择重返月球
We choose to go to the moon in this decade
并完成其他的工作
and do the other things,
并不是因为工作容易而是因为工作困难
not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
1999年，这两个人联合起来
In 1999, the two men combined forces
看看能否利用宇宙创世的膨胀模型解决
to see if they could answer some of their problems
一些难题
with the inflationary model of what happened at the beginning.
膨胀理论取得了一些不一般的成功
Inflation had some extraordinary successes,
所以与膨胀理论竞争是一场艰苦的赛事
so it's tough competition to compete with inflation.
我们尝试过然后又丢进废纸篓的主意
So I will not tell you all the ideas that were attempted
那可是天上星，数不清啊
and dumped in the wastebasket.
我们有类似的目标
We have similar objectives,
那就是撼动“反♥动♥权威”
which is to shake the field up once in a while
搞出些醒目、原创和特别的东西
and come up with something bold and original and different
改进现状
and to improve on the status quo.
我和尼尔·图罗克一起组织了一个研讨会
I organized a conference with Neil Turok.
我们对弦理论有共同兴趣
We had a common interest in string theory,
这个理论那时才出现不久
which were just coming out at that time,
他们也许会给宇宙学研究带来新的想法
whether they might stimulate some new ideas in cosmology.
弦理论在过去35年得到发展
String theory was developed in the last 35 years
该理论试图用单一理论
as an attempt to devise a single theory
解释宇宙中的万物
explaining everything in the Universe.
在弦理论中，所有的东西都是由很短的，振荡的弦组成
In it, everything is made of minute, vibrating strings.
但是对弦理论使用的数学来讲
But for the mathematics of string theory to work,
我们所看到的
there have to be
空间的维度必须超过3个
more than the three dimensions of space that we see.
实际上，包括时间在内，有10维
Rather, there are 10 dimensions, plus time.
时空是弹性的，物质的像是膜状物
Space-time is a flexible substance, like a membrane,
能够拉伸和收缩
and it can stretch and shrink.
我们知道这些东西可以移♥动♥
So, we knew these things could move,
但是没有人真正的研究过这个过程的动态变化
but nobody had really studied the dynamics of that process.
我们请来了专家，比如伯特·欧鲁特
So we brought in experts, like Burt Ovrut,
他是对基于弦理论的粒子物理模型
who is one of the most proficient developers
最精通的研究者之一
of particle-physics models based on string theory.
他各我们做了一系列精彩的讲座
And he gave a beautiful series of lectures
向我们描述了这样一个学说
in which he described to us