作者:admin 分类: 基础教程 五月 1st, 2019 暂无评论

本站原创和转载教程免费(除非另有说明)(教程接近75%的详细,另外25%等你来拜师学艺或自悟),如果有朋友需要人工辅导可拜师学艺收300元带徒3个月时间!也可以每次赏红包5至20元给我给你解决具体问题,当然也可以免费交流但谈不到深入话题(还是有价值的)。
网赚从建站开始:点击这里

宇宙里有非常巨大的东西The universe is home to real monsters.虽然看不到, 但我们知道它们存在We can’t see them, butwe know they’re out there.黑洞是最大, 最强, 最恐怖的物体You really can’t get anything bigger orstronger or scarier than a black hole.黑洞会吞噬任何靠近它的物体Black holes consume planets and stars,包括行星和恒星anything that gets too close.黑洞令物理学家头痛不已Black holes give physicistsno end of headaches,因为它们打破所有规律because they break all the rules.但它们主宰宇宙的一切But they rule the universe.它们是核心They are centre stage.我们现在知道黑洞主导宇宙的进化We now know they dominate theevolution of the universe itself.THE LAST FANTASY | TLF HALFCD TeaM宇宙解码 | 压制:GuaiGudu | 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2集:黑洞Black Holes黑洞是宇宙中最神秘的物体Black holes are the mostmysterious objects in our universe.它们的引力是无法抗拒的Their gravity is absolute.任何物体都无法逃脱Nothing can escape.它们可以吞噬整个星系They can suck in whole galaxies.黑洞曾是科幻小说的情节Black holes used to be science fiction.但现在我们知道它们确实存在Now we know they’re real.当我还是博士生的时候When I was a PhD student,人们听到关于黑洞的言论会偷笑people used to giggle whenyou hear about black holes.它们像独角兽或神话的怪兽”They’re like unicorns,mythical creatures.”我们把黑洞当做笑料We called this the giggle factor.人们会说: 把我传送上去, 史葛People would say, “Beam me up, Scotty.”现在没人再把这当笑话了Well, no one is laughing anymore.它们不再是科幻小说的情节So they’re not science fiction.即使我们从未遇到过黑洞Even though we’ve never landed on one,但有证据证明它们真实存在we have enough evidence to knowthat they’re really out there.这影像对你我而言似乎意义不大This image might not looklike much to you and me,但科学家认为是黑洞存在的明证but to a scientist itsproof that black holes exist.它记录了黑洞吞噬天鹰座…It’s an actual movie of a black hole某个恒星的情景devouring a star in theconstellation of Aquila.黑洞喜欢狼吞虎咽Black holes are messy eaters.你们见到的红点The red spots you see are gas就是黑洞吐出来的气体that’s being spit outof the hole into space.一百万年后这颗恒星会被完全吞噬Eventually, over the next million years,this star will be eaten alive and disappear.黑洞是万物的终点A black hole is pretty much…the endpoint of everything.恒星的终点, 物质的终点It’s the endpoint of a star,it’s the endpoint of matter,能量的终点, 引力的终点it’s the endpoint of energy,it’s the endpoint of gravity.它们是至高无上I mean, that’s really it.That’s the top of the scale.虽然黑洞有无穷的破坏力Although they have the power to destroylike nothing else in the universe,但它们也促进了星系的形成black holes also help build galaxies.它们是宇宙中不可或缺部分A vital part of thegreat cosmic machine,一些天文学家认为它们甚至可能是some astronomers think they could通往平行宇宙的门户even be gateways to parallel universes.我们正进入黑洞物理研究黄金时代We are now entering the golden ageof research in black hole physics.黑洞可能成为了解宇宙诞生…They could be the key to understandingthe birth of the universe,形成和衰亡的关键its formation, and then its death.黑洞可以说代表现代天文学的前沿Black holes really represent, in onesense, the frontier of modern astronomy.它们正在改变我们对星系如何形成They’re changing our ideasabout how galaxies form和宇宙如何运作的认识and indeed how the universe works.黑洞的力量来自最原始的力量之一Their power comes from one ofthe primary forces in nature:引力gravity.我教的是天文学1 teach astronomy,我们教学生引力最基本的原理就是and we teach our students that thefundamental principle of gravity is:它会吸引”gravity sucks.”引力使我们能够站在地面上Gravity keeps our feet on the ground使行星绕着太阳运行and our planet orbiting around the sun.但黑洞的引力强大无比But in a black hole, the forceof gravity is off the charts,能够吸入周围一切物质so strong it sucks in anything nearby.它甚至能使遥远恒星的光线弯曲It can even bend thelight from distant stars.若光线靠得太近将会被黑洞吞噬And if that light gets tooclose, the black hole swallows it.打一个比喻来解释Think of it like this:把黑洞想象成瀑布Imagine a black hole as a waterfall.引力就是流向瀑布的河流Gravity is the riverflowing toward the falls,光线是一个皮筏and a beam of light, the kayak.在河流上游, 水流较缓Upriver from the waterfall,the current is weak.皮筏可以轻易逆流而上The kayaker can paddleagainst it and get away.但在接近瀑布地方水流变得湍急But closer to the waterfall,the current is stronger皮筏要想逃脱必须奋力挣扎and the kayaker struggles to escape.瀑布顶端就像黑洞边缘The edge of the waterfall islike the edge of a black hole.无论皮筏如何挣扎都只能冲下去No matter how strong thekayaker is, he’s going down.在太空也是这个道理It’s the same in space.黑洞具有毁灭性力量是因为…The way black holes are really devastatingis because when you get close to them,当你靠近它们时引力会变得巨大the gravity gets super strong.强大到可以吞噬光线So strong that they eat light.这就是黑洞漆黑一片的原因That’s why black holes are black.黑洞就像蟑螂酒店, 有入无出A black hole is like a roach motel:everything checks in, nothing checks out.靠得太近的物质都注定要灭亡Anything that gets too close is doomed:包括行星, 恒星, 甚至整个太阳系planets, stars, evenwhole solar systems.不要以为黑洞遥不可及And don’t think this issome far away phenomenon.其实它就在我们附近Black holes are on the loose righthere in our own cosmic neighbourhood.我们知道它们在银河系中游荡We now know they are wandering nomadsthroughout the Milky Way galaxy,在星系到处流浪vagabonds throughout the galaxy黑洞可能突然出现在你身后where black holes cancome up right behind you将你吞噬后连饱嗝都不打一个and perhaps gobble you up;and they won’t even burp.若有黑洞靠近你, 当心If one ever comes close, watch out.若一个黑洞进入我们太阳系If a black hole found itsway into our solar system,它会把我们撕成碎片it would rip us apart.任何能够穿过太阳系的黑洞Any kind of black hole that couldpass through the solar system都会以比太阳更大的引力吸引行星would be pulling on all theplanets harder than the sun does,因此会完全摧毁太阳系的引力平衡and so it’s just gonna totally disrupt thegravitational balance of the solar system.黑洞会将行星从各自的轨道上拉开The black hole would literallytear planets from their orbits令行星互相碰撞and smash them into each other.这是大灾难, 像公牛闯进瓷器店It’s just an epic disaster.It’s a bull in a China shop.若它们离开行星够近, 譬如木星If it got close enough to say, Jupiter,黑洞会将木星所有卫星扯离木星it could actually pull the moons ofJupiter away from the planet itself.当黑洞穿越太阳系时会把行星猛抛It would just be flingingplanets left and right everywhere所经之处一片狼藉as it whipped through the solarsystem, leaving disaster in its wake.若黑洞接近地球If a black hole approached Earth,它的引力会把小行星扯离轨道all that gravity would ripasteroids from their orbits向我们地球投掷过来and hurl them toward our planet.地球表面将会变成地狱The Earth’s surfacewould become an inferno.末日随之降临It would be the beginning of the end.首先黑洞吞噬大气, 接着吞噬地球First, it would swallow up theatmosphere, then the planet itself.摧毁整个太阳系对黑洞来说是小事Destroying an entire solarsystem is nothing to a black hole,它不仅是个拼命吞噬的空间but it’s more than just a bigempty sucking piece of space.它的重量亦大得惊人It’s incredibly heavy.要想知道黑洞有多重和密度多大To get an idea just how heavyand dense a black hole is,以地球为例imagine the Earth.现在开始把它压缩Now, start to crush it.不断压缩, 以至越来越紧And keep crushing untilit’s packed so tight,直至原子也被压碎even the atoms themselves collapse.当地球被挤压成为直径两吋的球体When the Earth crushes downto just two inches across,它的密度就与黑洞相同that’s the density of a black hole.虽然变成了高尔夫球那么小It would be the size of a golf ball,但地球的重量和引力都不变yet weigh the same as the Earthwith the same amount of gravity.物质是怎样能够变得这么小…What can make something that small密度这样大和这么强大呢?that dense and that powerful?我们没有外力We don’t have external forces,large pistons in the universe,没有制造黑洞的巨型活塞to create black holes.因此黑洞在宇宙中形成的唯一方式So the only way the real blackholes in the universe form就是引力自身的力量is if gravity could do the job itself.宇宙中只有一个地方There is only one place in the universe能够产生如此强大的引力that generates that much gravity就是巨型恒星内部and it’s inside the largest stars.当10倍于太阳重量的庞大恒星死亡When massive stars, 10 timesheavier than our sun die,会在引力的挤压下发生剧烈爆炸gravity crushes themcreating a huge explosion:形成超新星a supernova.但有些恒星甚至更大But some stars areeven bigger than that.这些超巨星比太阳重100倍These supermassive stars weigh100 times more than our sun引力亦大100倍and have 100 times more gravity.当超巨星死亡时When one of these stars dies,会引发宇宙中最剧烈爆炸it sets off the biggestexplosion in the universe:形成了特超新星a hypernova.黑洞就是这样诞生的This is the birth of a black hole.我们的宇宙恒星密布Our universe is full of stars.当恒星死亡时, 有些静悄悄At the end of theirlives, some die quietly.有些则会引发剧烈爆炸Others go out in spectacular explosions,有些甚至形成黑洞and some give birth to black holes.当一颗质量是太阳100倍的超巨星If you have a star, a supermassive starthat’s a hundred times the mass of the sun死亡时at the end of its life,内核的燃料已经枯竭the core runs out of fuel,无法维持燃烧there’s nothing left to hold it up,内核就会塌陷形成一个黑洞and the core collapsesdown into a black hole.超巨星核心产生的巨大引力When that happens,将会肆无忌惮the enormous gravity generated at theheart of supermassive stars runs wild.这是即将消亡的大犬座VY超巨星This is the dying star VY Canis Majoris.直径超过10亿哩It’s more than a billion miles across.像个向外喷发能量的核聚变反应堆Like all stars, it’s a giant nuclearfusion reactor pumping energy outward.同时它的强大引力向内挤压At the same time, the star’sextreme gravity crushes inward.核聚变和引力互相制衡达几百万年For a few million years, fusionand gravity are locked in stand-off.当恒星的燃料耗尽时But when the star runs out of fuel,核聚变停止, 僵局结束fusion stops and the stalemate ends.引力取得胜利Gravity wins.一毫秒后恒星的内核In a millisecond, the core shrinks压缩至原体积的一小部分to a fraction of its original size一个婴儿黑洞诞生了and a baby black hole is born.它立刻开始吞噬恒星剩余部分Immediately, it starts tocannibalise what’s left of the star.随着物质不断卷入黑洞As matter swirls into the black hole,这里变得异常炙热it gets incredibly hot于是产生了磁力和摩擦力and there are magneticforces and frictional forces黑洞表面发生的一切and it’s just a witch’sbrew, a nightmare,就像噩梦一样what’s going on right abovethe surface of the black hole.中间的新生黑洞不断吞噬恒星The new black hole in the middle keepsfeeding on the body of the star around it.它的吞食速度太快It eats the gas so fast会噎住和咳, 喷出巨大能量it chokes and coughs blastingout huge beams of energy.黑洞实际上是由内而外地吞噬恒星They basically eat theirway out from the star.这一切的发生只用了几毫秒This happens in milliseconds.其余部分还未知道内核已被吞噬It happens before the rest of thestar even knows the core is gone,所以恒星的死是从内而外的and so basically, the star isdead before it hits the ground.最后, 恒星爆炸Finally, the star explodes.一秒钟之内恒星爆炸产生的能量In one second, it blasts outa hundred times more energy比太阳产生的所有能量还多100倍than our sun will produceover its entire life.爆炸后只剩下一个新生黑洞What’s left is a new blackhole and two jets of energy和两道以光速穿过宇宙的能量束hurtling through the universeat the speed of light.这就是伽马射线暴These jets are called gamma ray bursts.它们的能量高得惊人They’re incredibly energetic events.在原能量和力量方面In terms of raw energy and power,伽马射线暴仅次于宇宙大爆炸gamma ray bursts are secondonly to the big bang itself.大多数只持续几秒钟Most of them last only a few seconds,但它会摧毁途经的一切and they fry anything in their way.它们非常强烈They’re so intense若伽马射线暴存在于…that if there was a gamma ray burster银河系的太阳系附近in the region of our galaxynear our solar system,它会使整个地球蒸发it could literallyvaporise the entire planet.幸运的是大多数伽马射线暴Fortunately, most gamma ray bursts都发生在银河系以外occur outside our galaxy.但它们亦为我们揭示出But they tell us somethingimportant about black holes有关黑洞和宇宙的奥秘and how our universe works.我们每次看到的伽马射线暴What we were seeing, everytime a gamma ray burst went off,都是黑洞诞生的第一声啼哭was basically thebirth-cry of a black hole.天文学家通过计算伽马射线暴次数By counting gamma ray bursts,推算出黑洞的数量astronomers can figure out howmany black holes are being created.2004年太空总署发射了雨燕探测器In 2004, NASA launched the Swift Probe用于寻找宇宙中的伽马射线暴to scan the universefor gamma ray bursts.5,4,3,2,1Five, four, three, two, one.火箭点火, 我们将雨燕送入太空We have ignition and we haveliftoff of NASA’s Swift spacecraft开始研究和了解宇宙的伽马射线暴on a mission to study and understandgamma ray bursts throughout the universe.这是至今雨燕发现最强伽马射线暴This is the most powerful gammaray burst Swift has detected so far.耀眼闪光预示宇宙另一端The flash of light announcesthe birth of a new black hole一个黑洞的诞生on the other side of the universe.雨燕对那里的情况也只是以管窥天Swift can only look at afraction of what’s out there.但每天至少探测到一次伽马射线暴Still, it detects, at least,one gamma ray burst every day.这一发现动摇了天文学的基础That discovery rockedastronomy to its foundations.我们一度认为黑洞就像独角兽We once thought thatblack holes, like unicorns,是永远无法找到的could never be found.现在我们相信We now believe夜空中可能有数十亿个黑洞that there are perhaps billionsof black holes in the night sky.当我们环顾银河系和其它星系When we look around ourgalaxy and other galaxies,可以确定的是强大黑洞遍布宇宙it’s clear that the universeis full of powerful black holes.找到黑洞是一回事Finding black holes is one thing.弄清它们如何运作是另一回事Figuring out how they work,that’s a whole different ballgame.所谓不入虎穴, 焉得虎子The only way to findout is to visit one.你要搭宇宙飞船穿越浩瀚的太空You’d have to take a spacecraftto cross the vastness of space才能靠近黑洞just to get close to it.然后要进入黑洞Then, you’d have to goinside the black hole.在那里, 现实世界彻底粉碎There, you’d find a placewhere reality breaks down时间停顿and time stands still.宇宙中存在着数十亿个黑洞There are billions ofblack holes in the universe.可以用望远镜和卫星探测到它们We can detect them withtelescopes and satellites,但我们并不知道它们的具体模样but we don’t actually knowwhat they’re like up close.虽然遥不可及It’s a long way off,但科学家已思索探索黑洞的计划but scientists are already speculatingabout a mission to a black hole,是深入宇宙最危险区域的单程旅行a one-way trip to the mostdangerous place in the universe.起初黑洞在物理学界引起一片哗然Originally, physicists werehorrified at the idea of black holes.他们企图否认黑洞的存在They wanted to banish them因为黑洞似乎打破了…because the laws of physics aswe know them seem to break down所有物理定律at the instant of a black hole.时间停止了Time stops,引力变得无限大gravity becomes infinite.这真是个噩梦This is a nightmare.人类显然绝不可能靠近黑洞Obviously, we can’t send humansanywhere near a black hole.但机械人呢? 当然可以But a robot? Well. sure.机械人探测器可以在即将越过…A robotic probe could transmit data back黑洞边缘时传回数据just before it goes over the edge.黑洞的这个边缘叫做事件穹界That edge of a black holeis called the event horizon.至少在已知宇宙中它是时空的边缘It’s the edge of time and space,at least in the universe we know.我们称之为事件穹界We call the eventhorizon an event horizon只是因为它将空间一分为二quite simply because itseparates space into two regions.它不是一个物理表面It’s not a physical surface.当你穿过它时, 可能完全不察觉You might not even notice itif you were falling through it.但一旦进去就万劫不复But ultimately, once you’reinside of it, you’re doomed.当你接近事件穹界As you approach the event horizon,引力增强和奇异情形也开始显现gravity gets stronger and verystrange things start to happen.若你脚先入黑洞, 脚离黑洞较近As you fall into a black hole feet first,your feet are closer to the black hole所以感受到的引力更强and so the gravitythey feel is stronger.你的头部离得较远Your head is not quite as close,所以感受到的引力较小and so the gravity it feels is less.所以你会被拉长And basically, what happensis you get stretched out,双脚受到的牵引远大于头部your feet are being pulledmuch harder than your head就像被两个壮汉拉伸的拖肥糖and you’re like a piece of taffybeing pulled between two strong people.越接近, 你就变得越细长As you get thinner and thinner and thinner,as you get closer and closer and closer,这个过程被称为意粉效应you’re undergoing a processwe call spaghettification,因为你变成了一根又细又长的面条because you’re basically turnedinto a long thin tube of pasta.引力会将机械人探测器拉伸到极限Gravity would stretch ourrobotic probe to the limit,然后将其撕碎then rip it apart.但假如探测器够坚固, 能继续前行But imagine if the probe was strongenough to survive and keep going.一旦接近事件穹界, 一切会很离奇As it gets close to the eventhorizon, everything goes crazy.引力大到无穷以至时间停顿Gravity is so extreme, it stops time.我们认为时间永无止尽We think of time as being endless.但在黑洞中, 时间可以说停顿了However, in a black hole,in some sense, time stops.听来是无稽之谈, 但黑洞确实如此This sounds like it’s nuts,but that’s the way it works.数学上得出这个结论it’s in the math.它其实是宇宙构造的一部分It’s actually woven into thefabric of the universe itself.若你从远处遥望If you were to watch from a distance,探测器接近黑洞时似乎慢了下来the robot probe would seem to slow downas it gets closer to the black hole.然后好像完全停顿了Then, it would appearto stop completely.整个过程可能十分短暂The whole process mightjust take a brief moment,但从外面看, 似乎慢到几乎静止but from the outside, you appearto freeze and fall ever more slowly.你其实永远不可能看到…You actually can never observe an object物体穿过事件穹界的全过程fall all the way throughthe event horizon.它在黑洞表面停顿了It literally freezes at the surface因为它的时钟和你的相比无限缓慢because its clock is goinginfinitely slowly compared to yours.事实上探测器没有停下来In reality, the probehasn’t stopped at all.它仍在前进和穿过事件穹界It keeps going andcrosses the event horizon.若它将镜头向后转动朝向黑洞入口If the probe points its cameras backwards,towards the entrance of the black hole,会看到光线被吸进来it will see light being sucked in.若将镜头向前方, 起初只见到黑暗If it points the camera forward,at first, it sees only black,但随着它继续向黑洞核心前行but as it moves toward theheart of the black hole,会到达宇宙中最奇异地方it encounters the mostbizarre place in the universe.黑洞的巨大引力将一切…The black hole’s immensegravity pulls everything down拉到位于中心的小点上to an unimaginablysmall point at its centre科学家称之为奇点Scientists call it the singularity.我们确实不知道黑洞中心发生甚么We really just don’t know whathappens at the centre of a black hole.密度非常高以至物理定律都被打破The densities are so great that the lawsof physics break down as we know them.奇点的引力无穷大使时空失去意义A singularity is a point of infinite gravitywhere space and time become meaningless.这个说法很荒谬Now, that is ridiculous.奇点的意思其实是我不知道A singularity is basically aword for saying, “I don’t know,”我毫无头绪it’s a word for saying, “I’m clueless.”直到现在科学家也无法回答Even now, scientists can’treally answer the question,黑洞究竟是甚么”What is a black hole?”令人有些不安, 当知道宇宙中存在It’s upsetting a little bit to thinkthat there are objects out there违背物理定律的物体that are breaking the laws of physics.必然存在更高一级的定律There must be bigger laws that arebeing used by these black holes,适用于黑洞并为黑洞所遵循that are being obeyedby these black holes,只是我们还未知道that we just don’t understand yet.唯一知道的是黑洞诞生于垂死恒星Okay, so the one thing we do understand isthat black holes are born from dying stars.而大多数黑洞很小, 大约直径20哩And most are small,around 20 miles across.但现在科学家已发现有些黑洞很大But now scientists have discoveredthat some black holes are much bigger.它们叫做超大质量黑洞They’re called supermassive black holes.它们与整个太阳系的大小相当They’re the same size asour entire solar system其中一个就潜伏在银河系中心and one of these monsters liesat the heart of our own galaxy.太阳系位于银河系之中Our solar system liesin the Milky Way galaxy.它由数十亿恒星构成, 包括太阳It’s made up of billionsof stars, including our sun,全部绕着中心一个神秘区域旋转all revolving around a mysteriousregion right at the centre.儿童常常问Children ask the question:月球绕着地球转, 地球绕着太阳转”If the moon goes around the Earth,””the Earth goes around the sun,”那么太阳绕着甚么转?”then what does the sun go around?”这问题很好It’s a good question,天文学家也有同样疑问and astronomers ask the same thing.也许银河系中心有些东西Maybe there was something goingon at the heart of the Milky Way,或者中心存在一个黑洞perhaps a black hole at the very centre.但黑洞无法观测But because we can’tactually see a black hole,我们所能做的就是寻找蜘丝马迹the best they could do waslook for telltale signs.用红外线望远镜观测银河系中心Using infrared telescopes, theylooked at the middle of the galaxy发现一个高密度的恒星群and discovered a densely packedswarm of millions of stars,但无法看到恒星群中心but they couldn’t seewhat was at the centre.一个科研团队已用了15年寻找线索One team has spent 15years looking for clues.位于夏威夷莫纳克亚山High above the cloudson Mauna Kea, in Hawaii,就是巨型的凯克望远镜the giant Keck telescope能够观测到银河系中心has the power to see right throughto the centre of the Milky Way.为证实黑洞的存在The region which we have to study我们必须研究的那个区域非常小to prove that there’s a blackhole is incredibly small.这无异于大海捞针It is absolutely the case oflooking for a needle in a haystack,不同只是我们知道针的位置except we know exactlywhere the needle is.格茨在寻找银河系黑洞的努力中Andrea Ghez has spent countless nightsscanning the centre of the galaxy度过了无数不眠之夜for signs of a black hole.要做这个实验, 我们需要观测到…To be able to do this experiment,one has to be able to see the stars接近银河系中心的恒星that are very close tothe centre of the galaxy并对它们进行精确定位and to position themincredibly accurately,这就好比我从洛杉矶and this would be equivalentto me in Los Angeles看着身处纽约的你looking at you in New York和看到你手指的微小动作and seeing you be able tomove your finger like this.凯克望远镜一经启用As the Keck kicks into action,就探测到大气层中…a laser beam detects tinydisturbances in the atmosphere使图像失真的微小扰动that would distort the image.直径30呎的镜面转动进行校正Motors then adjust the huge30-foot mirror to compensate.图像极为清晰, 可以追踪到…The image is clearenough to track the stars银河系中心的恒星at the heart of our galaxy.15年间格茨拍摄了数千张照片Ghez has taken thousands ofimages over the last 15 years.这些照片揭示出一个惊人事实And what they reveal is amazing.银河系中心的恒星The stars at the centre of the galaxy以时速数百万哩高速移动are moving at millions of miles an hour.银河系中心是非常极端的环境The centre of the galaxy isa very extreme environment恒星移动的速度The speeds with whichstars move is much higher比银河系任何地方都快很多than anywhere else in our galaxy,那绝对是黑洞的征兆and that is absolutely thesignpost of the black hole.它们看起来像小行星They look like tiny planets绕着隐形太阳高速旋转racing around an invisible sun.但它们不是行星, 而是恒星But they’re not planets, they’re stars.必须有强大引力牵引这些巨星It takes a lot of gravityto swing huge stars around沿着靠近中心的轨道高速转动in such fast, tight orbits.宇宙只有一种物体有如此大牵引力There’s only one thing in theuniverse with that much pull:就是超大质量黑洞a supermassive black hole.这些恒星说明在银河系中心Watching these things shows thepresence of a four million times有一个质量为太阳400万倍的黑洞the mass of our sun black hole locatedright at the heart of our galaxy.这是个重大发现It is a huge discovery.银河系里的一切, 包括太阳系Everything in our galaxy,including our own solar system,都在绕着一个超大质量黑洞运行orbits around a supermassive black hole.但黑洞并非只存在于银河系中心But the Milky Way isn’t the onlygalaxy with a black hole in the middle.宇宙中很多星系的中心There are super massive black holes都存在超大质量黑洞at the heart of mostgalaxies in the universe.仙女星系是离我们最近的邻居The Andromeda galaxy isour closest neighbour.它绕着一个比太阳…It circles around asupermassive black hole重1.4亿倍的黑洞旋转weighing 140 milliontimes more than our sun.其它星系, 像这个眺7Other galaxies, like this one, M87,有相等于太阳重量200亿倍的黑洞have black holes weighingas much as 20 billion suns.黑洞是怎样变得如此巨大How do black holes get so big,它们为何存在于星系的中心?and what are they doingat the centre of galaxies?为了找到答案, 我们需要追溯到…For answers,140亿年前宇宙刚诞生的时候we have to go back nearly 14 billionyears, to the beginning of the universe.那时宇宙充满大爆炸残留的气体云Back then, the universe was a filledwith clouds of gas from the big bang.在一些地方, 气体够浓厚In some places, the gas was thick enough从而形成数百万颗恒星for millions of stars to form.最初的恒星中多数都是超巨星Most of the firststars were supermassive.温度极高, 燃烧速度也快They burned hot and fast,它们在爆炸后产生大量黑洞and then exploded creatinglots of black holes.早期宇宙是个野蛮疯狂的地方The early universe wasa wild and crazy place大范围的物质土崩瓦解where huge regions of masswere collapsing catastrophically从而制造出黑洞producing black holes.其实早期宇宙And in fact, the early universe可能处处充斥着新生黑洞might have been full ofemerging black holes everywhere.引力将许多黑洞牵引到一起Gravity pulled many of them together.它们相互合并形成更大的黑洞All over the early universe they merged,creating larger and larger black holes.数亿年间, 黑洞不断增长Over hundreds of millions ofyears, each black hole grew产生更大引力吸入更多星际气体producing stronger gravity andpulling in more and more gas.新恒星从气体诞生, 形成原始星系New stars were born from thegas, forming primitive galaxies.黑洞不断吸入气体直到容不下为止But the black hole kept on suckingin gas until it could take no more.点燃宇宙中最强大喷火器Igniting the most powerfulflame thrower in the universe.一个年轻星系就是一个星团…A young galaxy is avast cluster of stars,由气体中诞生的恒星所构成stars that formed from clouds of gas.新星系中心有个年轻超大质量黑洞At the centre of the new galaxyis a young suoermassive black hole通过吞噬气体而不断成长feeding on the gas,getting bigger and bigger.若你能想象当星系很年轻正在成形If you can imagine when a galaxyis very young and still forming,中心形成了一个超大质量黑洞there’s a supermassive blackhole forming at the core而气体不断坠落其中and the gas is still falling into it继续形成这一星系and still forming the galaxy.在中心黑洞附近, 物体变得非常热Well, near that central blackhole, things are getting very hot,物质不断升温that material’s heating up.气体高速进入黑洞Gas is speeding into the black hole,但黑洞超载but it overloads,没有空间供多余炙热气体进入and there’s no room forall that excess hot gas.无法进入的气体被黑洞吐出It has nowhere to go but out.喷入太空形成巨大能量流It’s blasted into spacein huge jets of energy.每道能量流都比太阳系宽20倍Each jet is 20 timeswider than our solar system高速穿越星系and shoots clear through the galaxy.这个超大质量黑洞点燃一个类星体The supermassive blackhole has ignited a quasar.类星体是宇宙中最亮的物体Quasars are literally thebrightest objects in the universe.它们亮度很高They’re so intense令整个星系黯然失色they can outshine an entire galaxy.这是M87星系一个真实类星体照片This is a real photograph of areal quasar in the galaxy M87,距离我们5000万光年50 million light years away.类星体从所在星系喷出大量气体Quasars blast away huge quantitiesof gas from the surrounding galaxy,每分钟喷出总量相当于10个地球the equivalent of 10Earths every minute.气体受热膨胀向外扩散When you heat up a gas, it tendsto expand and it blows outward.有些像风但规模巨大And it’s sort of like awind but on a huge scale,于是产生黑洞风and you get a black hole wind,即是从黑洞喷出的气体gas blowing out from the black hole.黑洞吸入气体, 类星体将气体喷出Black holes suck gasin. Quasars blow it out.但最终, 没有多余气体来制造恒星But eventually, there’sno gas left to make stars星系也就停止了成长and the galaxy stops growing.因此我们认为星系最终的规模So we think that the eventualsize that a galaxy can achieve取决于其中心的黑洞depends on the black hole in its centre.二者休戚相关The two are tied together.失去了气体原料With no gas left to feed on,类星体逐渐萎缩并消失了the quasar jets shrink and die.星系中心只剩下一个超大质量黑洞What’s left is a supermassive blackhole at the centre of the galaxy和许多年轻恒星with a whole lot of young stars,银河系年轻时就是这样just like our Milky Wayback when it was young.在银河系早期, 当它是年轻星系时Early on in the history of the MilkyWay, when it was a young galaxy,可能是个类星体we were probably a quasar.大概每个星系早期都曾经是类星体Probably every big galaxy wasa quasar when it was young,但现在银河系已经成年but right now, we’re old enough整个星系安静下来that the galaxy has quieted down.现在天文学家正在寻找类星体Now, astronomers arelooking for quasars,这有可能是我们找到更多黑洞the secret to finding more black holes,和弄清其运作方式的重要线索and figuring out how they work.钱德拉天文台是一台太空望远镜The Chandra Observatoryis a space telescope能探测到类星体发出的X射线that can detect the powerfulX-rays quasars send out.它已找到数千个类星体It’s found thousands.这些影像展现出各种形状类星体These remarkable images showquasars of all shapes and sizes向太空喷发射线firing out into space.每个类星体都是年轻星系的雏形Each one is a signpostfor a young galaxy它们中心都存在一个新生黑洞with a new black hole at its centre.这些类星体最终会安静下来These quasars will eventually calm down当年轻星系逐渐成熟和成形as their galaxy maturesand takes its final shape.我认为宇宙很像人类I guess the universeis a lot like people,年轻时充满活力active when they’re young,长大后变得比较安静和放松little bit quieter and morerelaxed when they get older.我们现在知道超大质量黑洞We now know thatsupermassive black holes,和它们创造的类星体and the quasars they create,控制着星系control galaxies.黑洞对于理解星系的形成极为重要Black holes are central tounderstanding how galaxies form.它们是了解星系进化史的关键They’re a key to understandinghow they evolve with time.因此, 更明确地说它们是…So, in fact, rather than beingobscura, they’re fundamental认识星系和宇宙的基石to our understanding of ourgalaxies and our universe.进一步了解黑洞的唯一办法The only way to find outmore about black holes就是加以仔细观察is to get a good look at one.但近距离拜访似乎不是好主意And since an up-close visitis. well, not a good idea,天文学家试图采取新方法astronomers are trying todevise a way to take a picture拍摄银河系中心的超大质量黑洞of the supermassive black holeat the heart of our own galaxy.因此需要像地球一样大的望远镜To get it, they’ll need atelescope as large as Earth itself.银河系中心存在一个超大质量黑洞There’s a supermassive black holeat the centre of the Milky Way.藏身于围绕银河系中心旋转星团中It’s hidden by a dense cluster ofstars circling the heart of the galaxy.我们希望在不久将来能够见到它But soon, we hopewe’ll be able to see it眼见为实Seeing is believing.那会很棒, 若能到达那里亲眼见到It would be spectacular if wecan go right up there nose-to-nose银河系中心的黑洞的事件穹界with the event horizon of the black holeat the centre of the Milky Way galaxy.这就是我们的圣杯And that’s the Holy Grail.多数星系中心都隐藏着一个…A supermassive black hole lies hidden超大质量黑洞at the centre of most galaxies.我们知道它们存在We only know they’re there因为绕着其转动的恒星because the stars around them速度高达每小时数百万哩are drawn in at millionsof miles per hour.但我们还是有可能对黑洞边缘But there might still bea way to take a picture也就是事件穹界, 进行拍照of the very edge of theblack hole, the event horizon.多勒曼的研究团队Shep Doeleman and his team正致力捕捉显示它的外形的影像are trying to capture animage that shows its outline.我们其实是在旋转气体云中We’re essentially looking for the shadow,or the silhouette of the black hole寻找黑洞的轮廓within this cloud of gasthat’s swirling around it我们对这个技术寄予厚望This technique that we’reexploiting is the best hope,希望勾勒出宇宙这个…I think, we have to actuallyimage a region of the universe我们一直看不见的区域which has hither to have beencompletely invisible to us.光学望远镜不能直接观测到黑洞Optical telescopes can’tsee the black hole directly,但黑洞周围的发光炽热气体but the glowing superheatedgas surrounding the black hole会发射出无线电波sends out radiowaves我们可以利用电波来勾勒一个影像that can be used to make an image.大型无线电望远镜能够接收到Huge radio telescopes这些来自太空的信号pick up these signals from space.天线调整方位角和高度The antenna will movein azimuth and elevation.位于波士顿附近麻省理工学院的…This one, at the MITobservatory near Boston,天文望远镜超过100呎宽is more than a hundred feet wide.探测到从25000光年之外发射的It’s big enough to detectvery faint radio emissions非常微弱的无线电辐射from the black hole in ourgalaxy, 25,000 light years away,但这架望远镜规模太小无法成像but it’s not nearly bigenough to capture an image.我们需要多个类似的望远镜We need to take multiplecopies of these telescopes,将它们放置在世界各地place them around the world以形成与地球等大的虚拟望远镜to create a virtual telescopeas large as the Earth itself.从夏威夷到智利, 再到非洲Doeleman’s team will link upradio telescopes around the globe,他们将全球无线电望远镜连接起来from Hawaii to Chile to Africa.当整个网络连接好后When the whole network is connected,他们有一个直径1万哩的虚拟天线they’ll have a virtual dishover 10,000 miles across观测能力是单个望远镜的500倍with 500 times the powerof a single telescope.虚拟望远镜足够强大They think it will be powerful enough可以拍摄到银河系中心的黑洞…to take a picture of the eventhorizon of the supermassive black hole的事件穹界at the centre of the Milky Way.它们已收集到银河系中心的信号They’re already picking signalsfrom the dark heart of our galaxy.当我们第一次探测到信号时When we saw the first detection,那一刻我盯着计算机屏幕it was a moment where I justlooked at the computer screen跟自己说: 天哪, 我们成功了and said to myself,”My God, we’ve done it.”我们看到的东西真的非常小”We’ve actually seensomething that’s so small”所以它一定是来自事件穹界附近”that it has to be coming fromright around the event horizon.”但信号太微弱, 无法获得完整照片The signals are still too weakto give a complete picture,但透过加强望远镜的全球联网but Doeleman expectsthe images to improve多勒曼预计可以改善图像的质量as more telescopes comeonline over the next few years.黑洞的轮廓将最终显现出来Eventually, the outline of theblack hole itself should emerge.但照片当然比不上亲眼所见But even a picture can’t compareto witnessing it for yourself.在遥远未来, 我们或可以掌握…In the distant future,进入和穿越黑洞的技术we may have the technology to actuallyenter and pass through a black hole,甚至可以在旅程中存活下来and maybe even survive the journey.那时我们也许能够回答Then, we might finallyanswer the question,黑洞中心到底隐藏着甚么?”What lies at theheart of a black hole?”一些科学家认为我们可以将黑洞Some scientists believe we coulduse black holes as a kind of portal,用作穿越宇宙的大门with the potential fortravel across the universe.这仍是一个大胆猜测This is still very speculative,但数学推算似乎表明but the mathematics seem to indicate当你坠落黑洞里, 你不会死去that as you fall through a blackhole that you don’t simply die,而会穿过一个虫洞you fall right through a wormhole,一条穿越时空的快捷方式which is a gateway, a shortcutthrough space and time.也许可以从这个被称为黑洞的地铁Perhaps we could simplyrocket across the universe飞驰到宇宙的另一端through a subway systemthat we call a black hole.若黑洞是穿越时空的快捷方式if black holes are shortcutsthrough space and time.科幻小说的奇思异想将变为现实it could tirn one of the coolest ideasfrom science fiction into reality.时间旅行是可能的, 但不切实际Time-travel is possiblebut not very practical.让虫洞一直保持通畅的…You see, the energy source,the material that you need能量和原料太特殊to keep the throat of a wormhole open,所以无法在实验室中制造is something so exotic that wecannot produce it in the laboratory.但若你能造出来But if you could,就有可能利用黑洞的力量回到过去it might be possible to exploit thepower of black holes to visit yesterday.也许我们的后代能够掌握这技术Perhaps our descendants in the futurehave already mastered this technology,所以若有一天, 有人敲你的家门so one day, if somebodyknocks on your door说是你的重重重重重孙女and claims to be your great-great-greatgreat-great-great-great granddaughter,不要将门大力关上dont slam the door.黑洞可能是通向其它宇宙的通道Black holes might even begateways to other universes.黑洞的另一端可能也发生过大爆炸On the other side of a black hole,there could even be a big bang.当黑洞塌陷, 物质坠落其中As a black hole collapsesand matter falls into it,物质会在另外一端被吹出落入白洞perhaps the matter is blown outthe other side in a white hole.这听起来难道不像大爆炸吗?Doesn’t that sound like the big bang?若大爆炸就是黑洞反面!f a big bang is just theflipside of a black hole,似乎就解释了宇宙诞生奥秘this could be how ourown universe was born.看看黑洞方程式If you look at theequations for a black hole轮入宇宙参数and put in the parametersof the universe,如质量和体积, 找到了the mass of the universe, thesize of the universe, bingo,你会发现我们的宇宙…you find that ouruniverse actually solves其实解答了黑洞方程式the equations for a black hole.即是我们就处于事件穹界之中In other words, we couldbe inside an event horizon.也许我们就生活在黑洞当中Perhaps we are actuallyliving inside a black hole.每个黑洞可能是另一个宇宙的起源Every black hole might be the originof an entirely separate universe.若是真的, 可能有数十亿个宇宙If that’s true, there could bebillions of universes out there.每个宇宙都充满恒星, 行星和生命Each one full of stars, planets, life.不管这种推理意味着甚么Whatever we figure out later,我们现在知道黑洞遍布太空we know now that blackholes are everywhere.无论体积和对宇宙进化的重要性They’re bigger in size and morecritical to the evolution of the universe都比我们想象中大得多than we ever imagined.我们对所处宇宙环境Literally, our understanding of theuniverse that’s important around us,和可以观测到的宇宙的认识the universe that’svisible to telescopes,已深深受到了…has been profoundlyaffected by our realization黑洞无处不在这种认识的影响that black holes are everywhere.很久以前人们认为…Once upon a time,黑洞物理学太过天马行空people thought that black holephysics was too fantastic to be true.现在它们是核心And now they are centre stage.我们现在知道黑洞主宰宇宙进化We now know they dominate theevolution of the universe itself.我小时候, 黑洞只是科幻小说情节When I was a kid, black holes basicallyplayed a part in science fiction.那是必须躲开的It was always somethingto avoid, your spaceship,宇宙飞船要绕道而行以免被吸进去you try to get around thembefore you get drawn in.但后来了解到黑洞不但很重要But what we’ve learned since thenis that black holes play a huge role,而且扮演非常多的角色and a huge number ofroles in the universe.这样说并不夸张, 若黑洞不存在It’s not an exaggeration to saythat if black holes did not exist,我们也不会存在we wouldn’t be here.我们的存在全赖黑洞We literally owe ourexistence to black holes.故事还未结束The story’s not over yet关于这些叫做黑洞…There’s still much more to be discovered和被视为宇宙的主宰的神秘物体about the mysteriousobjects called black holes,还有更多奥秘等待我们去发现the masters of the universe.翻译: 卢超祺摘订:Eric 时间轴/校对:laser

Related Posts:

  • No Related Posts