与摩根·弗里曼一起穿越虫洞（2010）

试图去使它中断
and I try to disrupt it
我把一个舞者从舞池中拉了出来
by pulling a dancer out of the flow of the dance,
那麽那位舞者一定在历史上的那个时刻
then it will have to be that that dancer
就已经离开了舞会
left the dance at that very moment.
不管托德做什么，他只是在完成
No matter what Todd does, he will only fulfill events
已经发生过的事情
and sequences that have already taken place.
如果我尝试跳到舞池中♥央♥
If I try to go and jump into the middle of a dance
我还真就这麽做了
that's already happening,
那麽一定是这样：在过去
then it has to have been that, in the past,
我神秘地出现在了那一点，加入了跳舞的人
if I mysteriously appeared at that point and joined the set.
不是舞会确实被打断了
Either the dance was always disrupted
也就是说我只是在实现已经发生的事而已
and I'm just fulfilling what already happened,
就是舞会顺利进行
or if the dance took place,
而我尝试打断它的行动没有得逞
then my attempts to disrupt it will be futile.
这就好像是宇宙有一个内置的保护机制
It's as if the universe has a built-in safeguard
使它的历史保持一致
to keep its history consistent.
你不能杀死你的祖父
You simply can't kill your own grandfather.
但时间旅行可能会产生一个悖论
But there is one paradox that time travel may create.
当时间旅行者托德把时间机器的方案
When time-traveling Todd turns over those time machine plans
交给他的祖先
to his ancestor...
你可能会喜欢这个
You might find this interesting.
他的祖先可以把这些方案流传给
...that ancestor could then pass down those plans
时间旅行者托德
back to time-traveling Todd,
用这些方案建造时间机器的人
who uses the plans to build the time machine.
他们谁都没有真正创造了这些方案
Neither of them actually created the plans.
问题是，这些方案是从哪来的？
The question is, where did the plans come from?
它们仿佛是无中生有
The plans seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
评论家引用这一类的悖论
This is the kind of paradox that critics cite
否决时间旅行
to quash the idea of time travel.
但是托德的计算表明
And yet, Todd's calculations show
时间旅行的确可以使信息
that time travel can actually cause information
无中生有
to appear from nothing.
在某些数学模型中
In some of the mathematical models
我们发展出了封闭类时曲线
that we've developed for closed time light curves,
你可以让宇宙不经过计算
you can force the universe to cough up information
就强行创造出信息
without ever having calculated it.
托德说在宇宙中穿越到过去
Todd says a universe where moving backward in time
是可能的
is possible
但是改变历史是不行的
but changing the course of history is not.
然而，人们离建造出能用的时间机器
However, no one has yet come close
还差了十万八千里
to building a working time machine.
但想要回到过去，也许并不需要时间机器
But maybe to reach the past, we won't need one.
穿越到过去，或者见到更早的自己
Traveling into the past or meeting our prior selves
只停留在科幻小说的王国里
remains in the realm of science fiction.
但是现在科技
But modern technology
也许已经在现在和过去的我们自己间
may already be building a link between our present...
建立起了链接
...and our past selves.
喂？
Hello?
汤姆·维勒是范德堡大学
Tom Weiler is a physics professor
的一名物理学家
at Vanderbilt university.
他正在寻找一个微小的时间旅行者
He's hunting for a tiny time traveler.
如果他追踪到了它
If he tracks it down,
汤姆也许能向过去发送消息
tom may be able to send messages into the past...
您有一条新的语♥音♥信息
You have one new voice message.
嘿，是我。你的钱包忘在桌子上了
Hey, it's me. You left your wallet on the table.
别忘了拿
don't forget to pick it up.
并接受来自未来的沟通
...and receive communication from the future.
汤姆的目标是一个尚未发现的
Tom's target is an as-yet-undiscovered
叫做“希格斯单线”的亚原子粒子
subatomic particle called the higgs singlet.
当我们最强大的粒子加速器
When our most powerful particle accelerator
产生一个希格斯玻色子，也叫做上帝粒子的时候
creates a higgs boson, also known as the god particle,
产生的不止这一种粒子
it may not be created alone.
希格斯单线也是亚原子碎片的一部分
The higgs singlet may be part of the subatomic shrapnel.
然而，发现它是一项很难的任务
However, finding it will be a difficult task.
希格斯单线可以快速逃离现实
The higgs singlet may quickly escape our reality
去向空间的另一个维度里
and move into another dimension of space.
有一些数学参数
There's some mathematical arguments
解释了为什么不止有三个空间维度
for why there should be more than three space dimensions.
因为我们现在测量的所有粒子
'Cause all of the particles we have measured up to now,
也就是标准模型粒子
the so-called standard model particles,
不能离开我们的三维空间
cannot leave our three-dimensional space
旅行到额外的空间
and travel an extra dimension.
所以希格斯单线变成了一个非常特殊的粒子
So the higgs singlet becomes a very special particle.
为了更清晰地理解
To understand the special abilities
希格斯单线的特殊性质
of the higgs singlet more clearly,
想象这条玩具跑道
imagine that this toy racetrack
代表了空间的维度
represents the dimensions of space.
水平的直道象征我们熟悉的三个维度
The flat straightaway symbolizes our three familiar dimensions,
跑道上的环代表了额外的维度
and the loop de loop stands in for an extra dimension.
我们目前发现的所有粒子
All particles we've discovered so far
受到三种基本力的作用
feel the pull of one or more of three fundamental forces --
电磁力
electromagnetism,
强相互作用，和弱相互作用
the strong force, and the weak force.
粒子受到哪些力的作用取决于它所携带的“荷”
Which force or forces a particle feels depends on its charge.
比如电荷，弱荷
It may have an electric charge, a weak charge,
或者使粒子受到强相互作用的荷
or a charge that makes you feel the strong force.
我们还没有发现不带荷的粒子
We have not yet found a particle that has no charge.
所以，我们观察一个普通的粒子
So, when we look at a normal particle,
因为该粒子携带了某种荷
because the particle carries some kind of charge,
这些荷将它们限制在了三个维度中
that charges sticks it to the three dimensions.
这个绿色小车给出了例子
And that's the example that's given by this green car.
普通粒子停留在三个维度里
Because normal particles remain tied to our three dimensions,
它们在时间里只能一条道往前走
they can travel only one way through time.
但汤姆相信一个希格斯单线粒子不一样
But tom believes a higgs singlet is different --
它们没有荷这种东西
it has no charge whatsoever.
它被叫做单线
It's called a singlet
因为它只受到单一的一种引力
because it only feels a single force -- gravity.
这意味着它可以偏离普通的路径
And that means it's free to stray from the usual path.
汤姆猜想一个希格斯单线可以在
Tom suspects a higgs singlet may travel
一个卷曲成环的维度中旅行
to an extra dimension of space that curls back on itself.
他把它称作u维度
He calls it the "u" dimension.
u维度非常非常小
So the "u" dimension is very, very small.
希格斯单线感知到额外的维度
The higgs singlet perceives the extra dimension,
在这个玩具模型中，就是我们看到的这个环
which in this toy model, is the loop that we see.
希格斯单线进入这个环的时候
As the higgs singlet enters the loop,
它暂时离开了正常的时间流
it's momentarily moving against the normal one-way flow of time.
我们观察时间
If I look at time,
爱坦斯坦告诉我们时间只是另一个维度
which Einstein told us is just another coordinate,
他的理论中没有说
there's nothing fundamental to his theory
你不能让时间反着走
that says you can't have time growing negative.
希格斯粒子，沿着时间正着走
The higgs particle, it'll travel through positive time,
在这个方向上，它沿时间反着走
and in this direction, it'll travel through negative time,
然后继续正着走
and then it'll travel through positive time again.
看起来就好像它必须走一段额外的距离
It looks like it has to go an extra distance
所以，需要额外的时间才能到达终点
and, therefore, take an extra time to get to the end point,
但事实上，如果在额外的维度上，时间反向流转
but, in fact, if in the extra dimension, time runs backwards,
每一次通过这个环，它都在获得时间
then it's gaining time each time it goes around this loop.
这留下了找到它的线索
And that gives a clue for how to find it.
世界最强大的粒子加速器
The world's most powerful particle accelerator,
瑞士的巨型强子对撞机
the large hadron collider in Switzerland,
以接近光速的速度对向发射质子
fires protons at one another at almost the speed of light.
它们的碰撞产生亚原子残骸
Their collisions create showers of subatomic debris,
粒子在转瞬之间
particles that live just a fraction of a second
就消失无踪
before popping out of existence.
汤姆猜测这些粒子之一
Tom suspects that one of these particles
可能就是这神秘的时间旅行者
could be his mysterious time traveler.
但为了发现能时间旅行的希格斯单线
But to find the backwards in time-traveling higgs singlet,
我们需要看看经碰撞产生之前
we'll have to look at what happens
发生了什么
before the collision that created it.
根据钟表上的时间
We're scattering the particle before,