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字幕:纪录片之家 本作品仅供交流学习 严禁商用 解读宇宙 How the Universe Works 第1季第1集：大爆炸 Big Bang 这是我们的世界 This is our world. 有城市 Cities… 有森林 forests… 有海洋 oceans… 还有人 people. 宇宙万物 Everything in the universe 在大爆炸发生那一刻由物质组成 is made from matter created in the first seconds of the big bang. 每一个星球 Every star… 每一个行星 every planet… 每一粒原子 every atom… 每一株草, 每一滴水 every blade of grass, every drop of water. 水非常的古老 Water is ancient 水里的氢原子在大爆炸之后出现 The hydrogen atoms in here were born moments after the big bang. 从而制造出宇宙万物 Then came everything else. 大爆炸是我们宇宙的启始 The big bang is the defining event of our universe… 也是宇宙万物之源 and everything in it. 有关我们的过去 The secrets of our past, 现在和将来的秘密 our present, and our future… 都封锁在那一刻之中 are locked inside this one moment in time. 要解开大爆炸的秘密 To unlock the secrets of the big bang, 我们必须走出我们的太阳系 we have to travel outside of our own solar system.,. 甚至冲出我们的银河系 and journey beyond even our own galaxy. 当来到太空深处 As we travel into deep space, 便可以窥探过去 we’re actually seeing into the past, 接近并且可以见证宇宙诞生的一刻 and getting closer to being able to witness the dawn of time itself 我们经过众多初生银河和初生星球 Passing the first infant galaxies and the first stars, 回到宇宙诞生那一刻 we arrive back at the moment the universe began 面对各类科学中最难解的疑团 and face the biggest questions in all of science. 这是物理学中的圣杯 This is the Holy Grail of physics. 我们想知道因何会有大爆炸 We wanna know why it banged. 想知道甚么发生大爆炸 We wanna know what banged. 想知道大爆炸发生以前有甚么 We wanna know what was there before the bang. 为了寻找答案 To get the answers, 我们兴建城市一样大的机器 we’ve built machines the size of cities 模拟宇宙出现前的环境 to simulate conditions when the universe was created.. 制造太空望远镜窥探过去 and space telescopes to peer deep into our past 解答一些古老问题的日子愈来愈近 We are getting close to answering the old age questions 人类为何存在? why are we here? 我们从何而来? Where did we come from? 宇宙有没有开始和终结? Does the universe, in fact, have a beginning or an end? 有的话, 又是甚么光景? And if so, what are they like? 找到答案的话 If we find the answer to that, 必是人类理性最大的胜利 it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason. 我们会知道上帝的心意 We would know the mind of God, 大爆炸的起源是历史中最大的谜 The origin of the big bang is the greatest mystery of all time. 愈去研究这个现象, 它便愈迷离 And the more we learn, the deeper the mystery becomes. 我们认为我们的宇宙独一无二 We like to think that our universe is unique. 但现在不那么肯定了 However, now we’re not so sure. 可能不只有一个宇宙 Perhaps there is a multi-verse of universes. 我们的大爆炸亦可能不是独一无二 Another possibility is that our big bang is just one of many big bangs. 可能众多宇宙都发生过大爆炸 But it may be one of just an infinite… 我们只是其中之一 number of universes, 而在无数宇宙中 and there may be other regions 可能在某些区域 in that infinite number of universes 今天正发生大爆炸 where a big bang is just happening today. 但我们只能肯定一个宇宙是存在的 But there’s only one universe we’re sure of, 要认识它已难比登天 and understanding this one is hard enough. 自从1920年代后期 Since the late 1920s, 我们对我们的宇宙运作的认识 everything we know about how our universe works 被逐一推翻 has been turned upside-down. 我们有必要明白到 It’s important to realise 过去一世纪我们对宇宙的理解 how much our picture of the universe has changed 改变不少 in the last century. 20世纪初 At the beginning of the 20th century, 科学家相信宇宙是静止不动的 the conventional wisdom in science was that the universe was static and eternal. 到1929年, 这观念被彻底打破 In 1929, that all changed. 在洛杉矶市的威尔逊山天文台 At the Mount Wilson Observatory, above Los Angeles, 天文学家埃德温咍勃发现 astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered 银河系并非停驻不动 galaxies aren’t stuck in one place. 它们不单不停移动 Not only are they moving, 而且以极速远离地球 but they’re flying away from Earth at incredible speeds. 这是大爆炸的第一个证据 This was the first real evidence of the big bang. 所有银河系都远离我们 All galaxies on average were moving away from us, 而更奇怪的是 and stranger still, 双倍路程以外的, 以双倍速度远离 those that were twice as far away were moving twice as fast. 三倍路程的, 三倍速度, 如此类推 And those that were three times as far away were moving three times as fast and so on. 所有银河系都远离我们 Everything was moving away from us. 这就是哈勃定律 It became known as Hubble’s Law. 他的发现仍是研究大爆炸的起点 His discovery is still the starting point for exploration of the big bang. 哈勃观察到的银河系活动 What Hubble convincingly demonstrated by seeing the motion of those galaxies 证明宇宙正不断膨胀 is that the universe is expanding. 理论上, 一个不断膨胀的宇宙 Theoretically, an expanding universe 一定从一点开始 must have started from a single point. 透过量度宇宙膨胀的速度 By measuring how fast the universe is expanding, 天文学家可以反过来计算 astronomers calculated backwards 推算出几时爆出宇宙来 and figured out when it burst into life. 经常有人问: People ask the question, 你怎知道宇宙已有137亿年历史? “How do you know that the universe is 13.7 billion years old?” 别自作聪明,137亿年前你在吗? I mean, smarty pants, you weren’t there 13.7 billion years ago. 你看电视录像带 Well, when you watch television on videotape, 看到爆炸场面时按暂停掣 you hit the stop button when you see an explosion, 可以倒回带子看它几时发生 and you could run it backwards and see when it actually took place. 宇宙学亦一样 The same thing takes place with cosmology. 我们可以倒回带子 We can run the videotape backwards 计算出宇宙大爆炸几时发生 and then calculate when it all came from a cosmic explosioa 不是天文学家亦可回顾过去 You don’t have to be an astronomer to look back in time. 如果你仰望夜空 If you gaze up at the night sky, 便可以看到数百万光年以外的星球 you’re seeing stars that are millions of light years away, 它们的光要几百万光年才传到地球 meaning it took the light from those stars millions of years to get here. 因此, 极目望去 So if you look far enough, 应该可以望到宇宙的起源 you should be able to see the beginning of the universe. 以划时代天文学家命名的… Named for the ground-breaking astronomer, 哈勃太空望远镜 the Hubble Space Telescope 有了它, 我们可以看到昔日的宇宙 allows us to look deep into the universe, back in time 更接近大爆炸那一刻 and closer to the moment of the big bang. 对科学家来说, 回到大爆炸那一刻 But for scientists, winding back the clock to the big bang 只是第一步 was only the first step. 第一次听到大爆炸理论的时候 When people first hear about the big bang theory, 人们的反应是: 它在哪儿发生? they say: “Well, where did it take place? 这儿, 抑或这儿? It took place over there? It took place over there? 它究竟在哪儿发生? Where did it take place?” 事实上, 到处都有大爆炸 Actually, it took place everywhere, 因为当时宇宙极端细小 because the universe itself was extremely small at that time. 这些是极度抽象和艰深的概念 These are only some of the most abstract and difficult concepts there are. 引人入胜的是: 大爆炸前有甚么? So here’s a mirid-bender: What came before the big bang? 古代哲学家常常说 The philosophers in ancient times used to say, 试问怎可能无中生有? “How could something arise from nothing?” 但令我惊叹的是 And what’s amazing to me 根据物理定律, 是有可能的 is that the laws of physics allow that to happen. 它意味着, 我们整个宇宙 And it means that our whole universe, 现在我们所见所闻 everything we see, everything that matters to us today, 可能是从无到有 could have arisen out of precisely nothing. 这是我们理解大爆炸最大的拦阻 It’s one of the biggest hurdles to understanding the big bang. 首先要相信万物是从无到有 First, you have to buy into the premise that something was created out of nothing. 宇宙诞生的那一刻难以用语言形容 It’s impossible to describe the moment of creation in human language. 我们只知道, 可能从虚无之中 All we know is that from what may have been nothing, 产生出极高密度 we go to a state of almost infinite density 极高温度和极度狂暴 and infinite temperature and infinite violence. 要掌握无中生有这概念 Understanding how nothing turned into something 可能是宇宙间最大的奥秘 may be the greatest mystery of our universe. 但若你能想通便会开始理解大爆炸 But if you understand that, you start to understand the big bang, 时间与空间开始出现 when time and space began 一次大爆炸, 产生出宇宙万物 and a great big explosion created everything. 时间诞生之初 At the dawn of time, 宇宙在大爆炸中诞生 the universe explodes into existence, 空无一物中, 生出天地万物 from absolutely nothing into everything. 但天地万物只是一个小点 But everything is actually a single point, 极端细小, 无穷灼热 infinitely small, unimaginably hot, 是一团密度极高的纯能量 a super dense speck of pure energy. 大爆炸… The big bang… 规模之大 was so immense 带来了… that it brought into existence 我们见到的4000亿个银河系中 all of the mass and all of the energy 各样东西和能量 contained in all of the 400 billion galaxies we see in our universe, 这区域却比一个原子还要小 in a region smaller than the size of a single atom. 可观察的宇宙长度 The entire observable universe was a millionth of a billionth 只是十亿分之一厘米的百万分之一 of a centimetre across at that time. 万物挤在这个极热极密的区域中 Everything was compressed into an incredibly hot, dense region. 当时它尚未成为物质 It’s not even matter yet, 只是一个超强能量的点 just a point of raging energy. 它就是宇宙之源, 万物藏在其中 It was the beginning of the universe and everything in it. 当时一切都非常简单 Everything was simple. 我们现时所知的各种力量 All the forces that we know about today 本来是一个整体 were one and the same. 当时宇宙无形无体 The universe was amorphous. It had no structure. 就在创造那一刻 In that instance of creation, 所有物理定律, 推动地球的力量 all the laws of physics, the very forces that engineer our universe 开始形成 began to take shape. 首先出现的力量是地心吸力 The first force to emerge was gravity. 宇宙的命运, 其大小、结构等一切 The fate of the universe, its size, structure, and everything in it 就在那一刻出现雏形 was decided in that moment. 卡洛斯费克用超级计算机造仿真宇宙 Carlos Frenk studies how gravity shaped the universe 研究地心吸力如何促使宇宙形成 by creating artificial universes in this supercomputer. 他为每个宇宙赋予不同程度的吸力 He gives each one a different amount of gravity. 第一个宇宙的地心吸力太弱 The first one he tried had too little, 结果空无一物 resulting in, well, nothing. 地心吸力塑造了我们的宇宙 Gravity has shaped our universe. 但如果地心吸力减弱 But if gravity was weaker than it is, 我们的宇宙将会非常乏味 we would have a very boring universe 所有东西极速掠过 in which everything would be flying apart so fast 银河系无法形成 that there would be no galaxies forming. 接着, 芬克造一个吸力太强的宇宙 Next, he programmed a universe with too much gravity. 若吸力过强, 宇宙同样失败 If gravity was stronger than we think it is, again, we’ll end up with a failed universe. 所有东西都被黑洞吸走 Everything will end up in black holes. 地心吸力一定要怡到好处 It has to be just so. It has to be just right 我们非常幸运 Lucky for us, 大爆炸带来的地心吸力恰到好处 the big bang got it just right, the perfect amount of gravity. 在地心吸力出现的后混沌之中 In the turmoil of forces after gravity emerged, 即大爆炸不足一秒之后 still a fraction of a second after the big bang, 突然爆出一股能量 a Shockwave of energy erupted and expanded the universe 使宇宙极速向四方八面膨胀 in all directions at incredible speed. 超强能量令整个空间瞬间扩张 All of space expanded by an unbelievably large factor in a fraction of a second. 我们相信在百万分之一秒的… We think that in less than a millionth 百万分之一又百万分之一 of a millionth of a millionth 又百万分之一之间发生 of a millionth of a second, 空间以100万乘100万、再乘100万 space expanded by a factor bigger than a million, million, 再乘100万的速度膨胀 million, million times. 这速度超出了光速 And for the record, that’s faster than the speed of light. 且慢! 这不是有违物理定律吗? But wait, doesn’t that break one of the laws of physics? 即使学生也知道 Even schoolchildren know that, quote, 没有东西… “You can’t go faster 走得比光快 than the speed of light.” 但这说法有点取巧 But actually, there’s a loophole there. 「没有东西」走得比光快 You see, nothing can go faster than light, 「没有」是指空无一物的空间 nothing being empty space. 不用担心 Don’t worry. 这概念教科学天才也搔破头颅 This idea gives even the best minds in science a headache. 但理解太初宇宙至关重要 But it’s critical to understanding the early universe. 科学家相信, 在百万分之一秒的… Scientists think it took less than a millionth of a millionth 百万分之一又百万分之一 of a millionth of a millionth of a second 又百万分之一之内 for the universe to expand from the size 宇宙由原子大小膨胀成棒球般 of an atom to a baseball. 乍听这变化似乎微不足道 That may not sound like much, 但高球般大的宇宙亦以相同时间 but it’s like a golf ball expanding to the size of the earth 膨胀成地球这么大 in the same amount of time. 换言之, 它以超出光的速度膨胀 That means it was expanding faster than the speed of light. 无比的快 That’s fast. 太初宇宙的变化发生在转瞬之间 So many things were happening so fast in the early universe 皆因万物都紧挤在一起 because everything was so close together 需要用新的时间单位来描述 that we need a, a new unit of time to describe things. 它称为普朗克时间 It’s called Planck time. 要理解普朗克时间有多短 To understand just how short a Planck time is. 不妨这样想 consider this. 一秒包含的普朗克时间 There are more units of Planck time in one second 远远超出大爆炸以来秒数的总和 than all the seconds since the big bang. 数字非常惊人 The math is mind-blowing. 一年有超过3100万秒 There are more than million seconds in a year, 大爆炸发生距今已140亿年 and it’s been 14 billion years since the big bang. 将31,556,926乘以140亿 So multiply 31,556,926 by 14 billion 得出的是天文数字 and what you get is a really big number. 这个时间标准小得人类难以想象 It’s a timescale that’s so small that all human intuition goes out the window. 如果用腕表计算一秒, 我们可以问 If we look at our watches and measure one second. 它相等于多少个普朗克时间 we can ask, how many Planck times is that? 是10亿乘10亿, 再乘10亿… Well, it is a billion, billion, billion, 再乘10亿, 再乘10亿个普朗克时间 billion, billion Planck times. 大爆炸只持续了几个普朗克时间 So now the big bang is only a few Planck times old, 这次纯能量爆炸比光速还要快 an exploding mass of pure energy expanding faster than the speed of light. 在往下几个普朗克时间中 In the next few Planck times, 我们熟悉的宇宙将会诞生 the universe as we know it will be born 大爆炸发生不足一秒内 A fraction of a second after the big bang, 宇宙小得可以放在你的掌中 the universe is so small, it can fit in the palm of your hand. 但它不足一秒就膨胀成地球这么大 But in another tiny fraction of a second, it expands to the size of the Earth. 然后以超越光的速度膨胀 Then, moving faster than the speed of light, 成为比我们的太阳系还要大 it grows larger than our solar system. 此时宇宙仍是一团狂暴的超热能量 And it’s still just a raging storm of superheated energy. 它愈来愈灼热, 愈来愈密 It would be hotter and denser… 比我们在现今宇宙中… and more violent than anything 所体会过的一切 that we can experience 更为狂暴 in the universe today. 与大爆炸初期的狂暴状态相比 Even the interior of a star is calm and serene by comparison 星球内部可以说是波平如镜 to the violence of the earliest moments of the big bang. 温度极高 Temperatures were so hot 即使是人体里的原子 that even the atoms of your body 亦会分解 would disintegrate. 事实上, 灼热到一个地步 So hot, in fact, 连原子本身亦会裂开 that the atoms would be ripped apart. 究竟有多灼热? 有几万亿度 How hot? Trillions of degrees hot. 宇宙不断膨胀期间, 亦逐渐冷却 But as the universe continues to expand, it also begins to cool. 温度下降, 触发起宇宙下一轮进化 Dropping temperatures trigger the next stage in the universe’s evolution. 爆炸能量转化成细小的亚原子粒子 The raw energy of the explosion transforms into tiny, subatomic particles. 它们是宇宙中的第一批物质 It’s the first matter in the universe. 早在人们未开始谈论大爆炸以前 This conversion of energy into matter was predicted by Albert Einstein 爱因斯坦已预测能量会转化成物质 years before anyone started talking about the big bang. 他那条科学程序, 连小孩也懂 It’s the one scientific equation every school kid knows. 一条无人不知的程序 There is one very familiar formula, 就是E=mc and that is E=mc2. 它指出宇宙诞生的过程 It says something about the creation of the universe. 它指出, 即使宇宙是由… It says even if the universe is created 纯能量所形成 just out of pure energy that… 由于能量可以转变成物质 because energy can be converted to matter 物质能够产生能量 and matter to energy, 因此, 我们所见的宇宙万物 that you can get all of the stuff that we see in the universe 都可以从这椿能量事件中产生出来 from this pure energetic event. 爱因斯坦的小程序带来了巨大影响 Einstein’s little equation had a big impact 第一枚核弹因而诞生 It led to the first nuclear bombs. 核爆中 In a nuclear explosion, 微量物质转化成巨大能量 a small amount of matter is converted into an enormous amount of energy. 宇宙形成之时, 情况则怡好相反 As the universe was forming, the exact opposite happened. 纯能量转化为物质粒子 Pure energy transformed into particles of matter. 起初无需创造物质 You don’t need to create matter in the beginning. 只需要有能量 You just need energy. 单靠能量便能造出整个宇宙 And energy alone can lead to the creation of an entire universe. 大爆炸后的一瞬间 In just a fraction of a second after the big bang, 宇宙的基本结构开始成形 the building blocks of our universe begin to take shape. 但最初的物质有别于今天的物质 But this first matter is like nothing we see today. 物质在宇宙的进化中不断改变 The stuff of matter has been very different over the age of the universe. 现在看为正常的物质 What we now think is normal matter 在大爆炸初期并不正常 was not at all normal in the earliest moments of the big bang. 因为当时情况恶劣, 未产生原子 That’s because conditions were so extreme. There were no atoms yet. 但当时有细小的亚原子粒子 But there were tiny subatomic particles. 大爆炸后不久 In the earliest moments of the big bang, 宇宙温度密度都极高, 含极多能量 the universe was so hot and dense, there were great amounts of energy. 常常有粒子制造出来 And so particles were being created all the time. 能量与物质经常互相转变 And energy and matter were transferring back and forth in this hot, dense soup. 最早期的物质非常不稳定 That earliest matter was too unstable 因此未能形成今天的宇宙 to start forming the universe as we know it. 打个比方 Think of it like this. 纽约市繁忙时段的中央车站 Imagine rush hour at Grand Central in New York City 像温度极高的太初宇宙 as that super-heated early universe. 匆匆走过大堂的人 The commuters racing through the main concourse 则是亚原子粒子 are subatomic particles. 你不妨去观察一群人 If you look at a crowd of people, a large crowd of people, 他们的活动可能缺乏规律 they may appear random. 而那些毫无规律的活动 That random, quirky motion is very similar 与大爆炸最太初宇宙中的粒子 in what was happening to the particles in the universe 非常相似 in the earliest moments of the big bang. 太初宇宙温度极高 The extreme temperature of the early universe 为亚原子粒子提供能量 energises the subatomic particles. 它们时而出现, 时而消失 They appear. They disappear. 它们以极速飞来飞去, 乱作一团 They race around at incredible speeds. It’s pure chaos. 就像人一样 It’s like people. 若赶着要去火车站坐火车 If they’re excited and running around fast to catch trains at a train station, 他们会急步走 they’ll be moving around quickly. 但最终都会平静下来, 脚步转慢 But eventually, they calm down and get slower. 我们的宇宙也是这样 That’s what’s been happening to our universe in a sense. 分子极速移动, 到宇宙渐渐冷却 The particles were moving around very fast. And as the universe cools down, 粒子便放慢速度, 没那么杂乱无章 the particles move more slowly and in some sense, less randomly. 当宇宙渐渐冷却 As the universe cools, 粒子停止转化为能量 the particles stop changing back into energy. 亚原子粒子数目上升 Now, there are more and more subatomic particles, 但宇宙依然灼热非常, 狂暴不堪 but it’s still a hot, violent place. 整个过程发生得太快, 难以观测 All this is happening in fractions of a second too small to detect. 此时, 大爆炸进入了关键性阶段 But the big bang is moving into a critical stage now. 物质与一样东西展开大战 A titanic battle between matter 宇宙可能未形成就被破坏 and the one thing that can destroy the universe 那种东西是反物质 before it even gets started: antimatter. 宇宙万物都是由物质组成 Everything in the universe is made from matter, 从最小的石子到最大的星球皆然 from the smallest rock to the largest star, 而宇宙间所有物质 And all the matter there will ever be 都由大爆炸产生的纯能量制造出来 was created from the pure energy of the big bang. 爱因斯坦的E=mc2方程式 Einstein’s equation, E=mc2 指的是能量会转化为物质 says that energy transforms into matter. 但它毕竟只是理论 But it was just a theory. 到了今日, 科学家可以加以验证 Today, science is able to test that theory. 这是欧洲核子研究组织, 位于瑞士 This is CERN, in Switzerland, 全世界最大的机器就在这儿 home to the world’s largest machine. 它大如一座城市 It’s the size of a city 其功能是重造大爆炸发生后… and engineered to recreate the conditions 数百万分之一秒的环境 millionths of a second after the big bang. 如果想窥探细小的规模 If we wanna probe ever-smaller scales… 反常地 paradoxically 我们需要一部巨型机器 we need an ever-bigger machine. 没有其它方法 There’s just no other way of doing it 用大机器做小物理实验 So big machines means small physics, 研究太初 means early times 可以愈来愈接近宇宙起源 and therefore getting closer and closer to the origin of the universe itself. 这部巨型机器称为撞击器 This monster machine is called a collider. 它可以带我们回到大爆炸后一瞬间 It’s designed to take us back to those first fractions of a second after the big bang. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 １２呎宽的水泥圆形隧道，全长１７哩 It’s a 12-foot wide concrete-lined circular tunnel 17 miles around. 粒子在撞击器里以接近光速… The collider makes tiny particles of matter smash into each other 互相撞击 at almost the speed of light. 电光火石之间 For a split second, 撞击产生强劲能量 those collisions generate turbo-charged energy 与大爆炸产生的爆炸力相若 similar to the explosive force of the big bang. 然后, 纯能量迅速转化为物质 And then, that pure energy briefly transforms into matter 就和140亿年前一样 just like it did nearly 14 billion years ago. 但庞大机器需要庞大的探测器 But a monster machine needs a monster detector 观察撞击 to see these collisions. 探测器高五层楼 This detector is five storeys tall, 重7000吨 and weighs over 7,000 tons, 7000吨是多少 and 7.000 tons, 给大家一个概念 to give you a sense of perspective 相当于艾菲尔铁塔的重量 is the weight of the Eiffel Tower. 虽然探测器硕大无朋 But as big as it is, 但我们看不到新物质的粒子 it can’t see the actual particles of new matter. 它们稍现即逝, 而且活动飞快 They hang around for just a split second and move so fast, 探测器只能记录其路径 it can only record their trails. 粒子含极高能量, 活动飞快 There’s a lot of energy in these particles. They move very, very quickly, 因此需要非常强劲的探测器 so you need a very large amount of detector 才能准确记录粒子的活动路径 in order to be able to, to map the, the path of these particles very precisely. 探测器阵容庞大 So the detector’s so big 因为需要更佳分辨率 because you need better resolution. 其运作和摄影机相同 It works exactly the same as a camera. 像素愈高, 图像愈清晰 The more pixels you have, the better the picture. 探测器亦一样, 这摄影机高五层楼 It’s exactly the same here. We just have a five-storey camera. 科学家希望它揭示出… Scientists hope that it will reveal 能量如何转化成物质 just how energy transforms into matter. 但并非任何一种物质 But not just any matter, 而是140亿年前太初之时… the kind of matter that emerged 14 billion years ago 出现的那些 at the dawn of time itself. 太初是宇宙诞生的关键一刻 But the dawn of time was a critical moment in the birth of the universe, 因为纯能量亦制造出… because pure energy also produced 宇宙一种非常危险的东西 one of the most dangerous things in the universe: 反物质 antimatter. 对, 反物质, 它确实存在 That’s right, antimatter. It’s real. 反物质是普通物质的反照 Antimatter is the mirror image of ordinary matter 但物质是一个极, 反物质是另一极 However, matter has one charge and antimatter has the opposite charge. 如果反物质中有一个反我 If there was an anti-me made out of antimatter, 原则上, 那个我可以和我外表一样 that person, in principle, could look exactly like me, 性格一样, 百分百相同 same personality quirks, same everything, 当然, 除了我想和他握手 except, of course, when I decide to shake his hand. 这时候, 我们会在大型核爆中 At that point, we both would blow ourselves to smithereens 炸得粉碎 in a gigantic nuclear explosion. 带正极的物质与带负极的宿敌… Matter, with a positive charge, locks horns with its arch enemy, 反物质展开角力 antimatter, with a negative charge. 宇宙的存留系于这场大战 The fate of the universe hangs in the balance of this epic battle. 同数量的物质和反物质会互相抵消 Equal amounts of matter and antimatter will cancel each other out. 这就不妙 Not good. 物质与反物质数量相同的宇宙 A universe with equal amounts of matter and antimatter 等于一个没有物质的宇宙 is equivalent to a universe with no matter at all, 物质与反物质彼此抵消, 变回辐射 because the matter and antimatter will annihilate back into pure radiation, 宇宙变得很没趣, 无人无星无银河 and there’ll be nothing interesting, no stars and galaxies and people in between. 一如玩风险战争太空版 Like a cosmic game of risk, 阵容较鼎盛的一方会赢 the side with the most soldiers wins. 分数非常接近, 但只有一方胜出 The score was very close, but there was a winner. 这一方有十亿个反物质粒子 For every billion particles of antimatter, 另一方有十亿零一个物质粒子 there were a billion and one particles of matter. 那就是天地出现的一刻 That was the moment of creation, 多出一个粒子的一方可以存留 the one extra particle of matter in each little volume survives, 并足以形成今天星际银河里的万物 survives enough to form all the matter we see in the stars and galaxies today. 十亿中的一个似乎微不足道 One in a billion might not sound like much, 但那一个足以制造出整个宇宙 but it’s enough to build a universe. 我们是残余 We’re the leftovers. 信不信由你, 你身边的一切 So believe it or not, everything you see around you, 你身体的原子, 星球的原子 the atoms of your body, the atoms of the stars, 都只不过是残余 are nothing but leftovers, 远古时代物质与反物质撞击的残余 leftovers from this ancient collision between matter and antimatter. 我们很幸运, 因为宇宙有足够残余 Lucky for us, there was enough left over 制造出所有星球和行星 to make all the stars and planets. 宇宙的岁数至今仍不足一秒 And the universe is still less than one second old. 但已充满细小的原始粒子 But now, it’s swarming with tiny, primitive particles. 下一步是粒子组成第一批原子 The next stage is assembling those tiny particles into the first atoms. 在二至三个普朗克时间误差之下 Give or take a couple of Planck times, 宇宙岁数接近一秒, 但依然奇特 the universe is nearly a second old and still a very strange place. 但物质打败了反物质 But matter has won the battle with antimatter. 现在是时候建造宇宙了 And now, it’s time to build the universe. 此时宇宙仍很灼热, 而且急促膨胀 It’s still extremely hot and expanding incredibly fast. 当宇宙形成了一秒 When the universe was a second old, 里面的粒子与现时的粒子截然不同 the particles in it were very different than the particles we see today. 当时尚未有原子 There were no atoms. 今天我们在房间里所见的一切 Nothing that we recognise in the room 在当时都不存在 around us today yet existed. 此时, 改变开始出现 Now, all that begins to change. 温度渐渐下降 Temperatures continue to cool. 原始粒子活动减慢 And as the primitive particles keep slowing down, 并开始结合成第一批元素的原子 they start bonding together to form the atoms of the first elements. 首先组成的是氢 The first one to form is hydrogen. 然后, 在接下来的三分钟 Then, over the next three minutes, 宇宙开始制造多两种元素 the universe begins to create two more elements: 氦和锂 helium and lithium. 宇宙由起初极度细小 We went from a universe that was infinitely small 变成要用光年来计算大小 to a universe that was light-years in size. 头三分钟里, 所有奇异的宇宙现象 In the first three minutes, essentially everything interesting 都出现了 that was going to happen in the universe happened. 不是这样, 即使你在场亦看不到 Well, not quite. If you were there, you couldn’t see it. 当我们仰望夜空 When we look at the night sky, 可以望到数十亿光年前的过去 we can see literally billions of years into the past, 心里想: 太空一直是如此模样 and we think, “It’s always been that way.” 其实不然 Nope, not true. 大爆炸发生… Three hundred eighty thousand years 38万年之后 after the big bang, 宇宙才开始变得清澈 that’s when the universe began to become transparent, 之前, 它本来是一片浑浊 but before then, it was milky. 当时宇宙是充满疏离电子的浑水 There is a milky soup of loose electrons. 年轻宇宙冷却后电子才会放慢活动 The young universe has to cool down enough for the electrons to slow down 粘着新生原子 and stick to new atoms. 氢、氦和锂, 需要许多时间 It took a long time for all the hydrogen, helium, and lithium atoms 才能在宇宙中形成 in the universe to form. 科学家算出, 需要38万年 Scientists calculate it took 380,000 years 电子活动才够慢 for the electrons to slow down enough 宇宙可以开始大量制造原子 so that the universe could start mass-producing atoms. 那时, 浑浊的云才开始消散 When that happens, the milky fog clears. 第一道光照遍宇宙 The first light escapes and races across the universe. 大约140亿年之后 Nearly 14 billion years later, 新泽西两名年轻科学家 two young scientists in New Jersey 无意中发现到它 pick it up by accident. 1964年, 阿诺庞西斯和罗拔威尔逊 In 1964, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson 正在记录我们银河系的无线电波 were mapping radio signals across our galaxy. 他们听到背后有一种奇怪的闷响 Everywhere they looked, they picked up a strange background hum. 他们起初怀疑是天线上有白鸽粪 They first suspected their equipment, maybe pigeon droppings on the antenna, 所以出现古怪讯号 were causing the strange signal. 但清洁过后闷响仍在 But after cleaning the antenna, the mysterious hum remained. 证明不是鸽粪造成 So much for pigeon toppings. 后来庞西斯在普林斯顿大学演讲 Penzias delivered a talk at Princeton University, 据说一名后排听众说: and according to lore, one person in the back said, 你要么发现到鸟粪的影响 “Either you have discovered the effects of bird-droppings, 要么发现到宇宙形成的一刻 or the creation of the universe/’ 那确实是宇宙形成的一刻 It was, in fact, the moment of creation, 大约140亿年前 nearly 14 billion years ago, 第一批原子与电子结合的时候 when those first atoms got their electrons. 那时, 浑浊的云逐渐消散 That’s the moment when the milky cloud clears 新宇宙第一次露出庐山 and the new universe comes into view for the first time. 为了更清晰的拍下这关键事件 To capture better images of this critical event, 美国太空总署发射… NASA launched the 宇宙背景探测卫星, 即COBE Cosmic Background Explorer satellite or COBE. 他们用它探测太空里的温度 They pointed it out into space where it took the temperature of the universe. 量度过太空各处的温差 By measuring differences in temperature across space, 绘制出第一张太初宇宙的地图 they created the first map of our early universe. 这幅画名为「上帝的面孔」 The images were called “The Face of God.” 我们拍得38万岁初生宇宙的… We got gorgeous pictures, baby pictures of the infant universe 精彩照片 when it was 380,000 years of age. 可是美中不足 But there were problems with it 照片影像模糊 The picture was very fuzzy. COBE的探测结果不理想 The COBE results were simply not good enough. 　　　　　　　　　　 己点火，情况理想升空 – We have ignition. Looking good. – Lift off. 太空总署于是发射更先进的卫星 So NASA launched an even more advanced satellite, WMAP WMAP, 威尔金森微波各向异性探测器 the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. 好了 All right 2001年, 戴维薛柏葛谏属的团队 In 2001, David Spergel was part of the team 专责寻找更清晰的太初宇宙影像 looking for a clearer image of the early universe. 我很兴奋可以去卡纳维拉尔角 It was exciting to go to the Cape. 那一刻 It was one of these moments 我们坐在一起看发射 where we’re sitting there watching this. 我和家人一起 I was there with my family, 观看火箭升空 watching the rocket go off. 非常兴奋, 大约一天之内 And it was very exciting when, within about a day, 便可以收到第一张卫星影像 we were able to get our first signal from the satellite 知道卫星操作顺利正常 and know it was working, and working properly. 这是史上最详细的太初宇宙照片 This is the most detailed picture of the early universe ever taken, 在大爆炸38万年之后拍的 just 380,000 years after the big bang. 红色和黄色的区域比较热 The red and yellow areas are warmer. 蓝色和绿色则比较冷 The blue and green regions, cooler. 温差是将来宇宙结构的线索 And those temperature differences are clues to the future structure of the universe. 可见到有微量温差 You see tiny variations in temperature. 微小温差反映出密度上有细微差别 Those tiny variations in temperature reflect small variations in density. 这区物质比较多, 这区比较少 This region has more matter. This region has less matter. 这图像好比建设我们宇宙的蓝图 Like a blueprint for the construction of our universe, 显示不同区域物质的多寡 this image shows us where there’s more matter and where there’s less. 没有物质的区域会变得空空如也 Regions with no matter will become empty space. 物质密度较高的地方 Areas with denser matter will become the construction sites 会有银河系、星球和行球诞生 of galaxies, stars and planets. 这些波动会增长, 最后成为银河系 These are the fluctuations that will grow to form galaxies. 如果不是密度有微小波动 So if it wasn’t for those little density fluctuations, 今天便没有你和我 you and I would not be here today. 我们的宇宙已经38万岁 Our universe is now 380,000 years old, 宽度更达万万亿哩 and trillions and trillions of miles across. 氢气云和氦气浮于空间里 Clouds of hydrogen and helium gas float through space. 要再过2亿年这些气体才变成星球 It will take another 200 million years before those gasses create the first stars. 第一批星球的光照亮宇宙 First stars ignited the universe 当时的情景 into what must have been 一定如放烟花般灿烂 the most amazing fireworks. 宇宙从黑暗时代走向灿烂世纪 The universe went from the Dark Ages to an age of splendour 第一批星球把气体照亮 when the first stars illuminated the gas 宇宙变得五光十色 and the universe began to glow in majestic fashion. 如果当时我活着就好了! I wish I’d been there. 就像圣诞树亮灯一样 It was like Christmas tree lights turning on. 宇宙各方开始发亮 The universe began to light up in all directions 最后形成今天这幅华丽的马赛克 until you formed the beautiful mosaic we now see today. 愈来愈多星球绽放光华 More and more stars turn on. 大爆炸10亿年后第一个银河系形成 One billion years after the big bang, the first galaxy forms. 往后80亿年, 有无数个银河系成形 Over the next eight billion years, countless more take shape. 然后, 大约50亿年前 Then, about five billion years ago, 在其中一个银河系的宁静角落 in a quiet corner of one of those galaxies, 地心吸力开始吸引微尘与气体 gravity begins to draw in dust and gas. 渐渐地, 微尘气体积聚起来 Gradually, they clump together 形成一个星球: 我们的太阳 and give birth to a star: our sun. 大爆炸发生90亿年后 Nine billion years after the big bang, 我们的小小银河系开始出现生命 our tiny solar system springs to life, 地球亦随之诞生 and with it, planet Earth. 天地万象, 皆源于大爆炸那一刻 Everything there is exists because of the big bang, 而大爆炸仍在持续 and it’s still going on. 我们的宇宙正不断膨胀 Our universe is still expanding. 但不会了无止境 But it won’t just keep going forever. 我们的宇宙有开始, 亦有终结 Our universe had a beginning and it will also have an end. 大爆炸发生140亿年后, 银河形成 In the 14 billion years since the big bang, galaxies have been created. 当中满是星球、行星和月亮 Filled with stars, planets and moons, 期间宇宙仍不断膨胀 and the universe has been expanding the whole time. 我们已经知道太空广袤浩瀚 We’ve learned space is quite big, 宽度至少1500亿光年 at least 150 billion light-years across. 宇宙可能无垠无尽, 甚至永恒不灭 The universe may be infinite. It might literally go on forever. 一切都不是必然的 The answer is there doesn’t have to be anything. 按原则, 宇宙可以无垠无尽 In principle, the universe could be infinite 可以没有内外之分 and there’s no outside, 又或者自成一体 or it could be closed on itself. 如果我朝那方向一直望过去 It could be such that if I looked far enough in that direction, 可能会看到我的后脑勺 I’d see the back of my head. 虽然我们不知道大爆炸产生的宇宙 We may never know if the big bang produced a universe 会不会永恒不灭 that goes on forever. 但我们知道大爆炸尚未告一段落 But we do know that the big bang hasn’t stopped yet. 直到如今大爆炸仍在进行 The big bang is really continuing now. 宇宙继续爆炸, 可以这样说 We’re continuing to bang, if you want, 宇宙正在不停膨胀 in the sense that the expansion of the universe is continuing. 过去数年最惊人的发现是 One of the most astounding discoveries in the last few years 我们的宇宙并没有放慢膨胀 has been the realisation that our universe is not slowing down, 事实与我们的想法背道而驰 like we once thought, 相反, 它正在加速膨胀 but is actually speeding up, it’s accelerating. 换了逃跑模式 It’s in a runaway mode. 我们现在相信宇宙有一种叫暗能量 We now believe there’s something called dark energy, 即虚无的能量 the energy of nothing, 它撕裂银河系, 正在扼杀宇宙 that is pushing the galaxies apart and it’s killing the universe. 我们看不到这股破坏力量 We can’t see this destructive force 亦不明白它为何存在 and we have no idea why it exists. 但天地万物可能会因它而灰飞烟灭 But it could mean the end of everything created in the big bang. 若暗能量继续撕裂宇宙 If dark energy continues pushing the universe apart, 我们的银河系势必变成孤独前哨 our Milky Way galaxy could become a lonely outpost. 1000亿年之后 A hundred billion years from now, 我们会看不见大部分毗邻的星体 most of our galactic neighbours will be out of sight. 星球燃烧净尽 Stars will burn out 众银河变得暗淡 Galaxies will grow dark. 即使原子亦被撕裂 Even atoms will tear apart. 造出宇宙的大爆炸会在瞬间终止 The birth of the universe, the big bang, was over in a flash. 但我们宇宙之死将会发生得很慢 But the death of our universe will take almost forever. 伟大的西方哲学家 That great philosopher of the Western world, 活地亚伦说过: Woody Allen, once said, 永恒未免太长 “Eternity is an awful long time, 特别是当来到最后 especially toward the end.” 宇宙终结和大爆炸同样是个谜 Figuring out how our universe will end is as dark a mystery as the big bang. 宇宙可能会像汽球漏气, 逐渐塌缩 It could collapse back in on itself, like a balloon when the air is let out. 宇宙究竟会在另一次爆炸中消失 So would the universe end with a big crunch, 结果与大爆炸相反 a reverse of the big bang, 抑或不断膨胀, 变得冰冷暗淡? or was it end by expanding out and becoming cold and dark? 你想它在灼热中还是冰冷中死去? If you wish, would it end in fire or ice, 在爆炸中消失抑或无声消逝? or with a bang or a whimper? 宇宙一旦分崩离析 If the universe collapses, 可能会触发另一次大爆炸 it might trigger another big bang. 说不定这次大爆炸已经出现 Maybe that’s already happened. 我们和无数个宇宙已走上末路 And we’re just one in a long line of universes. 我相信创世持续论 Personally, I believe in continual genesis. 它指出宇宙互相碰撞、分解 That is there’s a never-ending process 形成新宇宙, 永无止境 whereby universes collide, split apart give birth to new universes, 也许每个宇宙各有不同的物理定律 perhaps with the different laws of physics within each universe. 也许不是第一次发生 Maybe this isn’t the first time it’s happened. 也许会循环不息 Maybe it’s cyclic and it goes round and round again. 最终我们的宇宙会分崩离析 Eventually, we’ll collapse 整个过程推倒重来 and the whole thing will start over again. 一个或多个宇宙由一次大爆炸而生 One universe or many, they all start with a big bang. 我们人类的特征 Everything that makes us human, 我们身体的原子, 我们佩戴的首饰 the atoms in our bodies, the jewellery we wear, 所有造成悲欢离合 all the things that lead to the tragedy of life 爱恨聚散的东西 and the beauty and the excitement, love, everything else, arose 都在140亿年前一个过程之中诞生 because of the processes that happened 14 billion years ago. 如果我们想从根源去理解人类 And if we really wanna understand ourselves at some fundamental level, 就得弄明白大爆炸 we really have to understand the big bang. 140亿年前大爆炸制造出时间空间 14 billion years ago, the big bang created time and space, 浩瀚宇宙, 天地万物, 还有我们 our whole vast universe and everything in it, including us. 有人问: 这些对我有何意义? Some people ask the question, “What’s in it for me?” 大爆炸带来我们身边的人事物 The big bang gave us everything we see around us, 银河系和星体分布 the distribution of galaxies and stars. 触发起宇宙各样元素的制造过程 It set into motion the creation of elements that we see in the universe 甚至物理定律本身 and even the laws of physics themselves, 我们认为我们在大爆炸一刻诞生 we think, were born at the instant of creation. 宇宙万物皆始于大爆炸 Everything started with the big bang. 140亿年前的一剎那 One brief moment in time, 14 billion years ago, 在它里面可以找到最大谜团的答案 that contains the answers to our greatest questions… 关乎我们的过去、现在和将来 about our past, our present, and our future. 每个发现, 都使我们更深明白到 Each discovery brings us one step closer 宇宙如何运作 to understanding how the universe works. 翻译: 方奕鹏 摘订：Eric 时间轴/校对:laser

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