与摩根·弗里曼一起穿越虫洞（2010）

Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman S01E07

Part 1 April 19, 2021, 2:25 p.m.

50年前，在苏格兰
50 years ago in Scotland,
有个人脑袋里冒出了个妙主意
one man had a brilliant idea --
从这个主意开始欧美的众多科学家们
an idea that today pits science detectives in Europe and America
彼此竞争
against each other
涉及百亿美元的金钱为了解开一个谜团
in a $10 billion race to solve the riddle
那就是，你，我以及周遭万物
of what you, me, and everything around us
究竟由何组成
is really made of.
这是深入物质核心之旅
It's a journey into the heart of matter,
俯冲进入我们的物理存在
plunging into the core of our physical being
以及物理世界本身的核心
and of the physical world itself.
进入亚原子宇宙的旅程
But will this journey into the subatomic Universe
会给我们对自然界的认识带来革命性的变化吗？
revolutionize our understanding of nature,
或者，只是向我们揭示
or will it reveal just how little we really know
我们对自身是什么由何组成这一问题的无知
about who we are and what we're made of?
空间，时间，生命本身
Space, time, life itself.
宇宙之谜，尽在穿越虫洞
The secrets of the cosmos lie through the wormhole.
与摩根·弗里曼一起穿越虫洞（S01E07）
Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman (S01E07)
我们究竟由何组成？
What Are We Really Made Of?
我们究竟由何组成
What are we really made of --
你，我，还有身边万物？
you, me, everything around us?
这个简单的问题
That simple question has kept people guessing
困扰了人类几千年
for thousands of years.
在古代答案很简单
In ancient times, the answer was easy --
万事万物都由4种基本元素中的
everything in creation was made
1种或几种组成
from one or more of the four elements --
土
Earth...
气
Air...
火
Fire...
水
and Water.
当我小时候当然，还不是那么古老的年代
When I was a kid, in not quite so ancient times,
我们被教育说万物都是由原子构成的
we were told that everything is made out of atoms.
但在最近的几十年里
But in the last few decades,
科学家们研究原子内部
scientists have looked inside the atom
发现事情真♥相♥复杂的多
and found that things are a lot more complicated.
先把我们的知识放一边
Despite all of our knowledge,
我们仍然并不完全了解物质自然的真♥相♥
we still don't understand the true nature of matter.
但是现在
But right now,
数千个调查员追踪着线索
thousands of investigators are following hunches,
跟踪嫌疑人
tracking down suspects,
已经前所未有的接近目标
and getting closer than ever
搞清楚我们和身边的东东西西
to learning how we and everything around us
如何组成
fits together.
他们的研究方法是——打碎它
And they're doing it by breaking things apart.
当我6岁时
When I was 6 years old,
我老爹把他的旧怀表给了我
my father gave me his old pocket watch --
一个计时器
a time keeper.
“这玩艺是咋么工作滴？”我很好奇
"How does this work?" I wondered.
我决心找出真♥相♥
I decided to find out.
把它拆开很容易困难的是怎么再次组合起来
Taking it apart was a lot easier than putting it back together,
但是我学到了一点东西关于滴答计时的奥秘
but I learned a little about what makes things tick.
现代的粒子物理学家搞得也是这一套
And that's pretty much what particle physicists do today.
他们把东西撞碎
They smash things up and look at the debris
然后通过超强的显微镜检查残骸
through extremely powerful microscopes.
我们像小孩子一样
We do what kids do.
我们把东西撞碎然后看看会搞出什么东西
We smash things, and we look to see what comes out.
为了达到这个目的
And so, to do that,
我们需要更强、更强、更强的撞击
we need to smash things harder and harder and harder
来观察更小、更小、更小的物体
to see what's smaller and smaller and smaller.
位于芝加哥的阿尔贡国家实验室
At Chicago's Argon National Laboratory,
鲍勃·施塔内克建造了通向亚原子世界的机器
Bob Stanek builds machines that peer into the subatomic world.
呃，这是我们的先进光子源
So, this is our advanced photon source --
一个周长大概半英里的显微镜
a microscope that's about a half a mile around,
包括33个站点
and it contains 33 stations
意味着可以开展33项独♥立♥试验
where 33 individual experiments can go on
测量微小的结构
measuring tiny structures
或者测量这些家伙感兴趣的东西
of whatever these guys feel happy measuring.
如果你还记得高中时代
If you remember way back in High School,
通过显微镜观察微小物体
when you looked through the microscope
你说，“哇，看看这些东东多么滴小巧啊”
and you said, "wow, look at all that stuff -- how neat it is,"
普通的光线和透镜能给你展现如此的细节
it's amazing that ordinary light and optics
这真是一个奇迹
can bring you to such a detailed level.
然而，对如今的许多事物
However, for a lot of things nowadays,
你需要比普通光线更多的条件
you need more than just that ordinary light.
你需要观察更小、更小、更小的世界
You need to get smaller and smaller and smaller.
利用APS我们可以看到
With the A.P.S., we can see things much smaller
以往通过普通显微镜看不到的东西
than we could see with our standard microscope.
我们可以把物体放大10倍
We could see things a factor of 10 smaller,
一千倍一万倍
a factor of 1,000 smaller, a factor of 10,000 smaller.
实际上与普通的光学显微镜相比
In fact, we can see things that are 10 to the 10th smaller
我们能看到放大百亿倍的物体
than what we could see with ordinary light.
我们可以看到分子
We can see molecules.
看到病毒
We can see viruses.
我们几乎可以看到生命的结构
We can almost see the structures of life.
能够给分子和原子照相这真是不得了的能力
The ability to take pictures of molecules and atoms
因为仅在100年前
is an incredible thing, because only 100 years ago,
原子还只是一种理论
the atom was just a theory.
在20世纪初叶
At the dawn of the 20th century,
关于原子的说法是如果真的存在原子
it was believed that if atoms existed at all,
它们要么是空壳要么是实心小球
they were either empty shells or solid little balls.
一项研究改变了一切
Then one investigation changed everything.
卢瑟福的原子理论
It was the brainchild of Ernest Rutherford,
他是粒子物理学界的夏洛克·福尔摩斯
the Sherlock Holmes of particle physics.
斯蒂夫·纳恩是麻省理工教授
Steve Nahn is a Professor at M.I.T.
也是世界上最大粒子加速器一个研究小组的头目
and a team leader on the world's biggest Particle Accelerator,
欧洲大型强子对撞机
the Large Hadron Collider in Europe.
斯蒂夫将会重现
Steve is going to reproduce
科学史上
one of the most important experiments
最重要的试验之一
in the history of science --
卢瑟福对原子结构的探索
Rutherford's probe into the structure of the atom.
这个实验和卢瑟福做过的一样
This experiment is the same as Rutherford's experiment.
我们用同一种金箔
We use the same kind of gold foils
用上百万个粒子打穿这些金箔
and send millions of particles through these gold foils.
卢瑟福认为这些粒子
Rutherford thought that all the particles
会直线穿过基本上不产生偏斜
would essentially go straight through and not deflect at all,
但事实不是这样
but that's not what happened.
卢瑟福实验
The Rutherford experiment
就像冲着干草堆发射带火的子弹
is like firing bullets at a haystack.
粒子就像子弹
The particle are like bullets,
而金箔中的原子就像干草堆
and the atoms in the gold foil are like haystacks.
如果干草堆是空的子弹当然直传而过
If the haystack is empty, the bullets go straight through.
如果干草堆里包着加农炮弹
If the haystack is packed with cannonballs,
子弹就会被反弹回来
all the bullets bounce back.
如果在中心存在一些加农炮弹
If there are a few cannonballs in the center,
一部分子弹会反弹
some of the bullets will bounce back.
这就是实验中发生的情况
And that's what happened.
当卢瑟福发射他的粒子
When Rutherford fired his particles,
大部分直飞而过
most went straight through,
但是，某些粒子被从目标中心强烈的反弹出来
but some sharply bounced back from the center of the target,
完全出乎当时的预料
upending the conceived wisdom of the time.
在那里，有某种又小又硬的东西
Something small and hard was down in there,
就在原子深处
deep inside the Shell of the atom.
这是证据，证明了在原子的中心
This is the evidence for a very heavy, very small object
有一个非常重、非常小的物体
at the core of the atom --
高密度的原子核周围
the high-density nucleus
是巨大的空间
surrounded by a vastness of empty space.
实际上
In fact,
原子核的直径只有原子直径的
the nucleus of an atom is 100,000 times smaller
十万分之一
than its radius.
就像是在足球场中♥央♥
It's equivalent to the head of a pin
放了一个大头针的头儿
in the middle of a football stadium.