与摩根·弗里曼一起穿越虫洞（2010）

Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman S02E04

Part 5 April 19, 2021, 2:35 p.m.

我们将看到——测量水流
And we're gonna see -- measure the flow of water
观察这个水桶相对这个水桶的
by watching how much the level of the water in this bucket
水平面的变化情况这里水流过的距离
changes compared to this bucket, where the water's had to travel
得是那个维度里得两倍的距离
twice as far in that one dimension.
流经较长一维管道的水量
The amount of water
流经较长一维管道的水量
that's flowed through the longer one-dimensional channel
完全等同于流经较短一维管道的水量
is just the same as the amount of water
流经较短一维管道的水量
that's flowed through the shorter one-dimensional channel.
所以这就告诉了我们有关引力的情况
So what this tells us about gravity is that if gravity
即如果引力运作在一个维度的世界里
were operating in a one-dimensional world,
不管物体靠的很近还是离得很远
it would be the same if objects are close together
其都是一样的
or if they're very far apart.
我们来看看水在两个维度里流动时
So now we're gonna see what happens
所发生的情况
when the water flows in two dimensions.
在我们的二维实验中
In our two-dimensional experiment,
靠近水源的烧杯所得到的水是
the beaker that was closer to the water source
离水源较远的烧杯的两倍多
got twice as much water
离水源较远的烧杯的两倍多
as the beaker that was farther from the source.
如果这两个烧杯就是我们对引力的计量
If these two beakers here were our measure of gravity,
那么我们就能知道我们处在二维世界里
we would know that we were in a two-dimensional world
因为我们在这里得到了两倍的水
because we got twice as much water over here.
好现在我们来看看水在三维世界里扩散时
Okay, now we're gonna see what happens
所发生的情况
when the water spreads in three dimensions.
水在三维世界里扩散时
When water spreads out in a three-dimensional world,
你将烧杯安放靠近水源两倍
when you place the bucket twice as close to the source,
你就能得到四倍多的水
you get four times as much water.
我们不妨来罗列一下三个实验中的烧杯
So if we lined up the beakers from the three experiments,
我们看到一维的烧杯水量等同
we'd see that the 1-D beakers, the water was the same height,
二维就近的烧杯有两倍的水
2-D, the near beaker had twice the water,
至于三维就有了四倍的水
and in the case of 3-D, it had four times the water.
现在我们就可以想象我们生活在四维里
Now, if we could imagine that we were living in four dimensions,
我们所看到的我们预计会看到
what would we see, we would expect to see
最近的烧杯的水量将会八倍于
that the nearer beaker had eight times the amount of water
较远的烧杯里的水量
that the more distant one had.
维度越多
The more dimensions there are,
引力随距离的变化就越快
the faster the force of gravity changes with distance.
我们已经测量了下至约50微米的引力
Well, we've measured gravity down to roughly 50 microns.
那约是你头发直径的一半懂么？
That's about half the diameter of a hair on your head, okay?
至此牛顿先生依然是正确的
So far, Mr. Isaac Newton is still correct.
如果埃里克能够更进一步的话
If Eric can get even closer,
那额外维度的隐蔽世界
the hidden world of extra dimensions
将能够昭然若揭了
could suddenly pop into view.
有理由认为
There are reasons to think
你知道在50到10的范围内
that, you know, the region between 50 and 10
有可能包含着某种惊喜当然
might contain some real surprises, and, of course,
那激励着我们做实验的热情
that's stimulating our enthusiasm
做实验的热情
for doing the experiments.
在地球的另一头
On the other side of the planet,
在大型强子对撞机上
at the Large Hadron Collider,
粒子物理学家玛利亚·丝波罗普鲁同样在寻找
Particle Physicist Maria Spiropulu is also looking
出乎意料的引力变化
for unexpected changes in the force of gravity.
但要是她的实验取得成功
But if her experiment is successful,
她将会创造出地球上从未见到过的东西
she'll create something never before seen on Earth --
黑洞
a black hole.
极有可能大型强子对撞机实验
It is quite possible the LHC experiment
会产生出所谓的微型黑洞
can produce the so-called microscopic black holes.
这并非那种产生于塌缩星体的黑洞
This is not the type of black hole
在那里塌缩的星核
that is borne from a collapsing star,
被挤压得严严实实
where the core gets so compacted
什么都无法摆脱其引力的作用
that nothing can escape its gravitational pull.
玛利亚所要寻找的
What Maria is looking for
是微型黑洞的证据
is evidence of a microscopic black hole.
如果大型强子对撞机能迫使两个粒子
If the LHC can force two particles
充分靠拢在一起
sufficiently close together,
额外维度足够大
and the extra dimensions are large enough,
引力就可以逐渐增强超过预期
gravity could start growing much stronger than expected,
最终将两个粒子充分挤压
eventually compacting the two particles enough
形成一个微型黑洞
to form a tiny subatomic black hole.
但无用担心现在就迁移至火星
But don't worry about moving to Mars just yet.
黑洞玛利亚及其同僚希望创造的
The black holes Maria and her colleagues expect to create
是个小不点
are tiny...
小得它们会在若干分之一秒里就蒸发殆尽
So tiny that they will evaporate in a fraction of a second.
微型黑洞它们一旦产生
The microscopic black holes, as soon as they are produced,
就会立刻衰变寿命极短
they immediately decay with a very, very short life-span.
会有一束粒子束那就表明
There is a spray of these particles, and that is the clue
那样一个对象有可能已经创造出来了
that such an object might have been created.
大型强子对撞机寻找这些黑洞
The LHC has been looking for these black holes
已有一年多了
for over a year.
迄今为止他们并没有发现有
So far they found no hint
黑洞创造出来的任何迹象
of even a single black hole being created.
额外维度依然扑朔迷离
Extra dimensions remain elusive.
但莉莎·蓝道尔认为那可能是
But Lisa Randall thinks that might be
因为它们不同于大多数科学家所预期的东西
because they're different from what most scientists expect.
她认为额外维度被扭曲了
She believes extra dimensions are warped
它们是通向平行宇宙的通道
and that they are passageways to a parallel Universe.
额外维度不易看到
Extra dimensions are not easy to see.
如果它们在我们早就发现它们了
If they were, we'd have found them long ago.
许多科学家现在认为
Many scientists now believe
我们将永远都不会有技术去发现它们
we'll never have the technology to find them.
不过额外维度仍有可能自我暴露出来
But extra dimensions might still reveal themselves...
因为它们有可能正将我们从平行宇宙中分离出来
because they might be separating us from a parallel Universe.
整个宇宙可能正蛰伏在
An entire cosmos could be lurking
不足…万亿分之一英寸之间
less than...a trillionth of an inch away.
哈佛大学教授莉莎·蓝道尔
Harvard Professor Lisa Randall
有一个关于额外维度的激进新思路
has a radical new idea about extra dimensions,
将会改变我们观察我们整个宇宙的看法
one that will change the way we see our entire Universe.
她从弦理论着手
She began with string theory,
就是那个概念即所有的基本粒子
the idea that all the fundamental particles
只不过是九维的弦的震颤而已
are just vibrations of tiny nine-dimensional strings.
然后她加进了乔·泡钦斯基的想法
Then she added in Joe Polchinski's ideas
就是构成我们宇宙间万物的弦
that strings making up all the stuff in our Universe
必须粘接成巨大的三维物体
had to be stuck to a giant three-dimensional object
即膜
called a brane.
有两类弦
There are two types of strings --
带有尾巴的弦
strings with ends
以及闭合的弦和橡皮筋那样
and strings that are closed loops, like rubber bands.
带有尾巴的弦其尾巴必定得在某个地方
And the strings with ends, those ends have to be somewhere.
它们不能够呆在较高维度的空间里
They can't just be anywhere in higher-dimensional space.
它们得呆在膜的表面
They have to be on the surface of a brane.
若那是真的话
And if that's true,
与那种弦有关的粒子
the particles associated with that string
同样将在膜上
will also be on the brane.
其结果就是我们所了解的物质
And it turns out that all the matter we know about,
以及它们相互作用的力
and also the forces through which they interact,
或许全都粘在这种构造所产生的膜上
might all be stuck on a brane through this mechanism,
除了引力外
except for gravity.
因为引力从不与开放的弦打交道
Because gravity is never associated with open string.
引力与闭合的弦打交道
Gravity's associated with a closed string.
闭合的弦没有尾巴
And closed strings have no ends.
不存在使其粘在膜上的机制
There's no mechanism that makes it stick to a brane.
闭合的弦可以在任何地方
A closed string can be anywhere.
莉莎的计算提出引力有可能非常微弱
Lisa's math suggested that gravity might be so weak
因为闭合的弦
because the closed-loop strings
携带这种力引力
that carry this force, gravitons,
正把我们的膜拉开
are being pulled away from our brane
而不是集中在一个平行宇宙中
and concentrated instead in a parallel Universe
把我们从第四维里分离出来
that's separated from us by a fourth dimension.
你可以想象我身后的这两栋大楼
You can imagine that these two buildings behind me
代表两个不同的膜
represent two different branes,
我们或许只生活在那栋大楼或那个膜里
and we maybe are living only in that building or that brane.