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HelenCzerski_2017X-_日常生活中迷人的物理现象_
As you heard, I'm a physicist . 就像刚才介绍的, 我是一名物理学家。
physicist:n.物理学家;物理学研究者;
And I think the way we talk about physics needs a little modification . 我觉得我们需要 稍微改变对物理的看法。
modification:n.修改;改进;改变;
I am from just down the road here; I don't live here anymore. 我就出生在本地, 但我已经不住在这儿了。
down the road:只要沿着这条路;将来;在路上;
But coming from round here means that I have a northern nana, my mum's mom. 我来自这里,意味着 我有一个北方外婆, 即我母亲的母亲。
And Nana is very bright; she hasn't had much formal education, but she's sharp . 外婆非常睿智, 她没有接受过多少正规教育, 但她很聪明。
formal:adj.适合正式场合的; n.(美)须穿礼服的社交集会; (口)夜礼服; sharp:锋利的,尖的
And when I was a second-year undergraduate studying physics at Cambridge , 我在剑桥物理系念大二时,
undergraduate:n.本科生; Cambridge:n.剑桥(英国城市);坎布里奇(美国马萨诸塞州城市);
I remember spending an afternoon at Nana's house in Urmston studying quantum mechanics . 记得有一个下午, 我在厄姆斯顿的外婆家, 学习量子力学。
quantum mechanics:n.量子力学;
And I had these folders open in front of me with this, you know, hieroglyphics -- let's be honest. 我打开了资料夹, 老实讲,资料中的文字晦涩难懂。
folders:n.[轻]文件夹,方法;折页,档案夹(folder复数形式); hieroglyphics:n.[语]象形文字;难以辨认或理解的文字(hieroglyphic的复数形式);
And Nana came along, and she looked at this folder, and she said, "What's that?" 这时,外婆走进来, 看到我面前的资料。 她问:“这是什么？”
I said, "It's quantum mechanics, Nana." 我说:“外婆,这是量子力学。”
And I tried to explain something about what was on the page. 然后,我试着去解释那是什么, 解释书上讲的内容,
It was to do with the nucleus and Einstein A and B coefficients . 关于原子核,还有 爱因斯坦A、B系数的内容。
nucleus:n.核,核心;原子核; coefficients:n.[数]系数(coefficient的复数形式);
And Nana looked very impressed . 外婆看上去很惊讶,
impressed:adj.印象深刻; v.使钦佩; (impress的过去分词和过去式)
And then she said, "Oh. 然后她说,“哦,
What can you do when you know that?" 那你知道了这些后 能做些什么呀？”
(Laughter) （笑声）
'"Don't know, ma'am." “我也不知道啊。”
(Laughter) （笑声）
I think I said something about computers, because it was all I could think of at the time. 我想当时我说了些 跟电脑有关的事情, 因为这是当时 我唯一能想到的用途。
But you can broaden that question out, because it's a very good question -- "What can you do when you know that?" when "that" is physics? 不过你可以把那个问题延伸开来, 其实是一个很棒的问题。 “当你了解物理知识后, 你能做些什么？”
broaden:v.加宽;变宽;(broaden的现在分词)
And I've come to realize that when we talk about physics in society and our sort of image of it, we don't include the things that we can do when we know that. 然后我意识到, 当我们在社会中谈起物理、 以及我们对它的看法时, 我们并没有把“学到知识后 能做些什么”考虑在内,
Our perception of what physics is needs a bit of a shift . 我们需要稍微转变对物理的看法,
perception:n.感知;知觉;看法;洞察力; shift:n.移动;变化;手段;轮班;v.移动;转变;转换;
Not only does it need a bit of a shift, but sharing this different perspective matters for our society, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a physicist and I'm biased and I think we're the most important people in the world. 不仅仅是稍微转变一下, 更重要的是,要向 社会传播这种不同的观点。 我这样说并非出于 一个物理学家的偏见, 或者觉得我们是 世界上最重要的人,
perspective:n.观点;远景;透视图;adj.透视的; biased:adj.有偏见的;结果偏倚的,有偏的;
Honest. 坦白讲,我们对物理的看法 存在着一些问题,
So, the image of physics -- we've got an image problem, let's be honest -- it hasn't moved on much from this. 而且一直以来 并没有什么大的改观。
This is a very famous photograph that's from the Solvay Conference in 1927. 这张著名的照片拍摄于 1927年的索尔维会议,
Conference:n.会议;研讨会;商讨会;体育协会(或联合会)
This is when the great minds of physics were grappling with the nature of determinism and what it means only to have a probability that a particle might be somewhere, and whether any of it was real. 当时物理学大师们正合力解决 决定论的本质问题, 试图搞清一个粒子 可能出现在某个地方的概率 到底意味着什么, 以及这是不是真实的。
grappling:v.扭打;搏斗;努力设法解决;(grapple的现在分词) determinism:n.[力]决定论; probability:n.可能性;机率;[数]或然率; particle:n.颗粒;[物]质点;极小量;小品词;
And it was all very difficult. 这些都是很难解决的问题。
And you'll notice they're all very stern-looking men in suits. 你们也许会注意到,他们都是 西装革履,不苟言笑的男人。
Marie Curie -- I keep maybe saying, "Marie Antoinette," 玛丽 · 居里,我经常会说成 ”玛丽 · 安托瓦内特”（被送上断头台的法国王后）,
Curie:n.[核]居里(姓氏);
which would be a turn-up for the books -- 那历史可就要改写了——
turn-up:v.朝上翻;出现;
Marie Curie, third from the left on the bottom there, she was allowed in, but had to dress like everybody else. 玛丽 · 居里在最前面一排的 左数第三位, 她获准参加会议, 但必须和其他人着装一致。
(Laughter) （笑声）
So, this is what physics is like -- there's all these kinds of hieroglyphics, these are to do with waves and particles . 这就是人们对物理的印象, ——所有的一切都晦涩难懂, 讲的都是与波和粒子有关的事情。
particles:n.微粒,粒子;粒子系统;碎木料(particle的复数形式);
That is an artist's impression of two black holes colliding , which makes it look worth watching, to be honest. 这张图片是以艺术家视角 展现的两个碰撞的黑洞, 老实讲,这让它 看上去有了观赏价值,
impression:n.印象;影响;效果;感想; colliding:adj.对撞的;v.碰撞(collide的现在分词);冲突;n.碰撞;冲撞;
I'm glad I didn't have to write the risk assessment for whatever was going on there. 庆幸的是——我不必 为那里发生的事情 写一篇风险评估报告。
assessment:n.评定;估价;
The point is: this is the image of physics, right? 很古怪,而且很难,
It's weird and difficult, done by slightly strange people dressed in a slightly strange way. 研究物理的都是 一帮着装怪异的怪人们, 它遥不可及、离我们很远,
weird:adj.奇怪的;奇异的;离奇的;n.命运;宿命;命运女神; slightly:adv.些微地,轻微地;纤细地;
It's inaccessible , it's somewhere else and fundamentally , why should I care? 说到底,我干嘛要关心这些呢？
inaccessible:adj.难达到的;难接近的;难见到的; fundamentally:adv.从根本上;基础地;重要地
And the problem with that is that I'm a physicist, and I study this. 问题在于, 我是一名物理学家, 我研究这个。
This -- this is my job, right? 这就是我的工作,
I study the interface between the atmosphere and the ocean. 我研究大气与海洋的交界面,
interface:n.接口;人机界面;连接电路;v.连接; atmosphere:n.大气;气氛;气压;风格;
The atmosphere is massive , the ocean is massive , and the thin layer that joins them together is really important, because that's where things go from one huge reservoir to the other. 大气是广袤的, 海洋也一望无际, 它们之间存在 一个薄层,将二者相连, 这个薄层非常重要, 经由这个薄层,物质才能 在巨大的容器间传递。
massive:adj.大量的;巨大的,厚重的;魁伟的; layer:n.层,层次; vt.把…分层堆放; vi.形成或分成层次; reservoir:n.水库;蓄水池;
You can see that the sea surface -- that was me who took this video -- the average height of those waves by the way , was 10 meters. 你能看到海面—— 这是我拍摄的视频—— 那些海浪平均高达10米。
by the way:顺便说一下;
So this is definitely physics happening here -- there's lots of things -- this is definitely physics. 这个过程绝对存在着物理原理—— 很多事情正在发生—— 是绝对的物理现象。
definitely:adv.清楚地,当然;明确地,肯定地;
And yet it's not included in our cultural perception of physics, and that bothers me. 然而,我们对物理的认知中 并没有包括这些。 这让我很困扰。
cultural:adj.与文化有关的;文化的;与艺术、文学、音乐等有关的; bothers:n.麻烦; v.给(某人)造成麻烦(或痛苦); (bother的第三人称单数和复数)
So what is included in our cultural perception of physics? 通常我们对物理的认知包括哪些呢？
Because I'm a physicist, there has to be a graph, right? 我是个物理学家, 所以就离不开用图表说话,对吧？
That's allowed. 合情合理！
We've got time along the bottom here, from very fast things there, to things that take a long time over here. 底部横轴代表时间, 左侧是快速发生的事情, 最右边的则需要比较长的时间;
Small things at the bottom, big things up there. 小东西在纵轴底部, 大家伙在最上面,
So, our current cultural image of physics looks like this. 我们对物理的文化认识大致如此。
There's quantum mechanics down in that corner, it's very small, it's very weird, it happens very quickly, and it's a long way down in the general ... 最左下角是量子力学, 非常小、非常难以捉摸, 它发生的速度很快, 总体来说,量子力学 在坐标轴最下方......
in the general:通常,一般;
on the scale of anything that matters for everyday life. 与我们日常生活事物 相比较而言的话。
scale:n.规模;比例;鳞;刻度;天平;数值范围;v.衡量;攀登;剥落;生水垢;
And then there's cosmology , which is up there; very large, very far away, also very weird. 然后就是宇宙, 就在右上角那里。 它非常大、非常遥远, 也非常诡异。
cosmology:n.[天]宇宙论,[天]宇宙学;
And if you go to some places like black holes in the beginning of the universe, we know that these are frontiers in physics, right? 如果你在宇宙形成之初 去了一些地方, 比如黑洞, 它们就交织在宇宙背后, 我们都知道 这些是物理学的前沿,对吧？
There's lots of work being done to discover new physics in these places. 要做很多工作,才能在这些地方 发现新的物理学。
But the thing is, you will notice there's a very large gap in the middle. 但问题是,你会注意到 中间缺少了一大块,
gap:n.差距;间隙;缺口;间隔;v.使豁裂;豁开;
And in that gap, there are many things. 在这缺少的一大块中, 有非常多的东西。
There are planets and toasts and volcanoes and clouds and clarinets and bubbles and dolphins and all sorts of things that make up our everyday life. 其中有行星、吐司、火山、云彩, 有单簧管、气泡和海豚, 各种各样组成我们日常生活的东西。
toasts:n.干杯;烤面包;吐司;vt.烤;敬酒;使暖和;vi.烘,烤; volcanoes:n.火山爆发,火山;火山群(volcano复数); clarinets:n.单簧管;竖笛,黑管; bubbles:n.泡; v.起泡; (bubble的第三人称单数和复数)
And these are also run by physics, you'd be surprised -- there is physics in the middle, it's just that nobody talks about it. 你可能会惊讶的是, 这些也是由物理学支撑的, 中间的部分也有物理学存在, 只是没人谈论它而已。
And the thing about all of these is that they all run on a relatively small number of physical laws, things like Newton's laws of motion , thermodynamics , some rotational dynamics. 所有这一切的一切, 它们的运转都遵循着 一小部分的物理定律, 例如牛顿的运动定律、 热力学、 一些旋转动力学。
relatively:adv.相当程度上;相当地;相对地; physical:adj.[物]物理的;身体的;物质的;符合自然法则的;n.体格检查; motion:n.动作;移动;手势;请求;意向;议案;v.运动;打手势; thermodynamics:n.热力学; rotational:adj.转动的;回转的;轮流的;
The physics in the middle applies over a huge range, from very, very small things to very, very big things. 中间这部分涉及到的 物理学范围极其广泛, 从很小的事物,到很大的现象。
applies:v.适用;申请;运用;专心;(apply的第三人称单数)
You have to try very hard to get outside of this. 你很难脱离开这个领域。
And there is also a frontier in research physics here, it's just that nobody talks about it. 这里也有前沿的研究物理学, 只是没人会谈论它。
This is the world of the complex . 这是一个复杂的世界。
complex:adj.复杂的;合成的;n.复合体;综合设施;
When these laws work together, they bring about the beautiful, messy , complex world we live in. 当这些原理协同作用时,就产生了 我们所居住的 美妙、混乱和复杂的世界。
messy:adj.肮脏的;凌乱的;不整洁的;
Fundamentally, this is the bit that really matters to me on an everyday basis. 从根本上讲, 这才是基于日常生活, 对我意义重大的那部分,
And this is the bit that we don't talk about. 也是我们没有谈论的部分。
There's plenty of physics research going on here. 这里包含了大量的物理研究,
But because it doesn't involve pointing at stars, people for some reason think it's not that. 但是由于它不涉及天文学观测, 人们出于某种原因, 认为这里不涉及物理学。
involve:v.包含;需要;牵涉;牵连;影响;(使)参加;
Now, the cool thing about this is that there are so many things in this middle bit, all following the same physical laws, that we can see those laws at work almost all the time around us. 但真正有趣的是,中间领域 包含了许多事物, 都遵从同样的物理定律, 我们能看到这些定律 在我们身边一直作用着。
I've got a little video here. 我这里有一段视频:
So the game is, one of these eggs is raw and one of them has been boiled. 其中一个鸡蛋是生的, 另一个是煮熟的,
I want you to tell me which one is which. 我希望你能区分出它们。
Which one's raw? 哪一个是生鸡蛋？
(Audience responds) （观众回应）
The one on the left -- yes! 左边这个？ 回答正确！
And even though you might not have tried that, you all knew. 即使你没试过,也都知道答案。
The reason for that is, you set them spinning , and when you stop the cooked egg, the one that's completely solid, you stop the entire egg. 原因在于, 当你把它们转动起来, 再用手停住煮熟的鸡蛋时, 因为它已全部成为固体, 你就停住了整只鸡蛋。
spinning:n.纺纱(手艺):纺线v.(使)旋转:纺线:纺纱;(spin的现在分词)
When you stop the other one, you only stop the shell; the liquid inside is still rotating because nothing's made it stop. 当你停住另一只鸡蛋时, 你只是停住了鸡蛋壳, 里面的液体仍在旋转, 因为没有力量去停止它。
rotating:v.(使)旋转,转动;(工作)由…轮值;(rotate的现在分词)
And then it pushes the shell round again, so the egg starts to rotate again. 之后它会带动蛋壳再次旋转, 因此,鸡蛋再次转动起来。
shell:n.壳;炮弹;壳层;骨架;v.脱壳;剥壳;采集贝壳;用壳体包被;short.shewill; rotate:v.旋转;转动;轮换;使…轮流;
This is brilliant, right? 很奇妙,不是么？
It's a demonstration of something in physics that we call the law of conservation of angular momentum , which basically says that if you set something spinning about a fixed axis , that it will keep spinning unless you do something to stop it. 这证明了物理学的一些东西, 就是我们所说的动量守恒定律, 它讲的是,如果你让什么东西 沿固定轴转动, 它会一直旋转, 直到有外力迫使它停下。
demonstration:n.示范;演示;论证;证明; conservation:n.保存,保持;保护; angular:adj.[生物]有角的;生硬的,笨拙的;瘦削的; momentum:n.势头;[物]动量;动力;冲力; basically:adv.主要地,基本上; axis:n.轴;轴线;轴心国;
And that's really fundamental in how the universe works. 而这正是宇宙运转的基础。
And it's not just eggs that it applies to, although it's really useful if you're the sort of person -- and apparently , these people do exist -- who will boil eggs and then put them back in the fridge. 并非只有鸡蛋遵从这个规律, 虽然这很有用, 如果你是这样的人—— 显然这样的人确实存在—— 他们把鸡蛋煮熟, 然后再放回到冰箱。
apparently:adv.显然地;似乎,表面上;
Who does that? Don't admit to it -- it's OK. We won't judge you. 谁会这样做？别急着承认—— 没关系,没人会品头论足。
But it's also got much broader applicabilities. 但物理也有更广泛的应用性。
This is the Hubble Space Telescope . 这是哈勃太空望远镜、
Telescope:n.望远镜;v.(使)叠套缩短;精简;
The Hubble Ultra Deep Field, which is a very tiny part of the sky. 哈勃超深场, 它只观测太空很小的一部分。
Ultra:adj.极端的;过分的;n.极端主义者;过激论者;急进论者;
Hubble has been floating in free space for 25 years, not touching anything. 哈勃望远镜 已漂浮在太空中25年, 还没撞到过什么东西,
And yet it can point to a tiny region of sky. 它可以指向一小片区域,
region:n.地区;范围;部位;
For 11 and a half days, it did it in sections, accurately enough to take amazing images like this. 一张张地拍照,历时11.5天, 就足够精确地拍摄出 像这样的精美图片。
accurately:adv.精确地,准确地; images:n.印象;声誉;形象;画像;雕像;(image的第三人称单数和复数)
So the question is: 那么问题在于,
How does something that is not touching anything know where it is? 一个物体如何才能 不碰到其他东西？ 如何知道自己所处的位置？
The answer is that right in the middle of it, it has something that, to my great disappointment, isn't a raw egg, but basically does the same job. 答案是,就在中间的这片区域中, 让我极度失望的是, 存在的东西不是生鸡蛋, 但基本原理与其相似。
It's got gyroscopes which are spinning, and because of the law of conservation of angular momentum, they keep spinning with the same axis, indefinitely . 它有正在旋转的陀螺仪, 根据动量守恒定律, 它们以同一个轴为中心, 保持旋转、永不停息。
gyroscopes:n.陀螺仪(gyroscope的复数); indefinitely:adv.不确定地,无限期地;模糊地,不明确地;
Hubble kind of rotates around them, and so it can orient itself. 哈勃望远镜像是在围绕其运动, 因此它可以为自己导向。
rotates:旋转;轮流; orient:vt.使适应;确定方向;使朝东;n.东方;东方诸国;adj.东方的;vi.向东;
So the same little physical law we can play with in the kitchen and use, also explains what makes possible some of the most advanced technology of our time. 我们可以在厨房应用 同样的物理小定律, 这也解释了为什么 我们这个时代产生了 如此多的高新科技。
advanced:adj.先进的; v.前进; (advance的过去式和过去分词形式) technology:n.技术;工艺;术语;
So this is the fun bit of physics, that you learn these patterns and then you can apply them again and again and again. 这就是物理有趣的地方, 你了解了这些模式, 然后就可以一次又次地应用它们。
apply:v.申请;涂,敷;应用;适用;请求; again and again:adv.再三地,反复地;
And it's really rewarding when you spot them in new places. 当你发现它们应用在新领域时, 会觉得非常有成就感。
rewarding:adj.有益的;值得做的;报酬高的;v.奖励;奖赏;给以报酬;(reward的现在分词)
This is the fun of physics. 这就是物理的乐趣所在。
I have shown that egg video to an audience full of businesspeople once and they were all dressed up very smartly and trying to impress their bosses. 我曾经将鸡蛋视频展示给 一些来自商业领域的人们, 他们都西装笔挺, 试图给老板留下好印象。
businesspeople:商人; smartly:adv.刺痛地;漂亮地;潇洒地;火辣辣地;
And I was running out of time, so I showed the egg video and then said, "Well, you can work it out, and ask me afterwards to check." 当时我的演讲时间不多了, 就播放了刚才的鸡蛋视频, 说道:“你们可以想想, 然后跟我确认是否正确”。
Then I left the stage. 然后我就离开了讲台。
And I had, literally , middle-aged grown men tugging on my sleeve afterwards, saying, "Is it this? Is it this?" 稍后,毫不夸张地说, 这些中年人后来拉着我的衣袖问: “是不是这个？是不是这个呀？”
literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地: middle-aged:adj.中年的;具有中年人特点的;适合于中年人的; tugging:n.牵引感;v.用力拉(tug的ing形式); sleeve:n.袖子;套管;有…袖子的;唱片套;v.给…装袖子;
And when I said, "Yes." They went, "Yes!" 当我回答“是”的时候, 他们激动地喊出“噢耶！”
(Laughter)
The joy that you get from spotting these patterns doesn't go away when you're an adult. 发现这些规律的乐趣, 不会因为你的成年而消失。
And that's really important, because physics is all about patterns, and a small number of patterns give you access to almost all of the physics in our everyday world. 这一点尤为重要, 因为物理全部在于规律, 这些为数不多的规律, 能够让你接触到 日常生活中的所有物理知识,
The thing that's best about this is it involves playing with toys. 最棒的是,它和玩玩具有关。
involves:v.包含;需要;牵涉;牵连;影响;(使)参加,加入(involve的第三人称单数)
Things like the egg shouldn't be dismissed as the mundane little things that we just give the kids to play with on a Saturday afternoon to keep them quiet. 像鸡蛋这样的东西,不应当 被视为无聊小物而被忽视, 我们可以在周六下午 拿这种东西给孩子玩, 让他们安静一会儿。
dismissed:v.不予考虑;摒弃;去除,消除;解雇;(dismiss的过去分词和过去式) mundane:adj.世俗的,平凡的;世界的,宇宙的;
This is the stuff that actually really matters, because this is the laws of the universe and it applies to eggs and toast falling butter-side down and all sorts of other things, just as much as it applies to modern technology and anything else that's going on in the world. 实际上,这才是真正重要的东西, 因为这就是 宇宙定律应用在鸡蛋上, 面包片抹了黄油的那面会先着地, 当然还有其它类似的现象。 这些现象与现代科技 运用的原理相同, 世界上其他现象也是如此。
stuff:n.东西:物品:基本特征:v.填满:装满:标本:
So I think we should play with these patterns. 因此我认为, 我们应该学会玩转这些规律,
Basically, there are a small number of concepts that you can become familiar with using things in your kitchen, that are really useful for life in the outside world. 基本上来说, 当你使用厨房里的工具时, 会对一小部分概念熟悉起来, 在外界的生活中, 这些概念也同样适用。
familiar:adj.熟悉的;常见的;亲近的;n.常客;密友;
If you want to learn about thermodynamics, a duck is a good place to start, for example, why their feet don't get cold. 如果你想学习热动力学, 鸭子就是一个不错的开始。 譬如,为何它们的 脚蹼从来不会变凉？
Once you've got a bit of thermodynamics with the duck, you can also explain fridges. 一旦你从鸭子身上 弄懂了一点热动力学, 你就可以解释冰箱的工作原理。
Magnets that you can play with in your kitchen get you to wind turbines and modern energy generation. 你在厨房使用的磁铁, 会让你学到风力涡轮机 和现代能源产生的原理。
Magnets:n.磁铁;磁石;吸铁石;有吸引力的人(或地方、事物);(magnet的复数) turbines:n.[动力]涡轮;[动力]涡轮机(turbine的复数);[动力]汽轮机;
Raisins in [fizzy] lemonade , which is always a good thing to play with. 再比如苏打柠檬水里的葡萄干, 也是经常可以把玩的东西。
Raisins:n.葡萄干;(raisin的复数) lemonade:n.柠檬水;
If you're at a boring party, fish some raisins out of the bar snacks , put them in some lemonade. 如果你在派对上很无聊, 可以从零食上取下点葡萄干, 把它们放到柠檬水里,
boring:adj.无聊的;令人厌烦的;n.钻孔;v.使厌烦;钻孔;(bore的现在分词) snacks:n.点心; v.吃点心(或快餐、小吃); (snack的第三人称单数和复数)
It's got three consequences . 会得到三种结果:
consequences:n.后果,结果;影响(consequence的复数);
First thing is, it's quite good to watch; try it. 第一,它的观赏性很好, 不妨试试看;
Secondly, it sends the boring people away. 第二,它把无聊的人赶跑了;
Thirdly, it brings the interesting people to you. 第三,它会把有趣的人吸引过来！
You win on all fronts. 一箭三雕！
And then there's spin and gas laws and viscosity . 还有旋转和气体定律以及粘滞性,
viscosity:n.[物]粘性,[物]粘度;
There's these little patterns, and they're right around us everywhere. 这些都是我们身边 无处不在的小规律。
And it's fundamentally democratic , right? 这些基本上人人可见,
democratic:adj.民主的;民主政治的;大众的;
Everybody has access to the same physics; you don't need a big, posh lab. 人人都能接触到同样的物理学, 不是只有光鲜的实验室里才会有。
posh:adj.时髦的;漂亮的;奢侈的;
When I wrote the book, I had the chapter on spin. 当我写这本书的时候, 有一章是专门讲旋转的,
I had written a bit about toast falling butter-side down. 我写了一点点关于 面包片抹了黄油那面先着地,
I gave the chapter to a friend of mine who's not a scientist, for him to read and tell me what he thought, and he took the chapter away. 然后把这一章 给一位非科学家朋友看, 让他告诉我读后感。 他把这一章拿走了,
He was working overseas . 他在海外工作,
overseas:adv.在海外,海外;adj.海外的,国外的;
I got this text message back from him a couple of weeks later, and it said, "I'm at breakfast in a posh hotel in Switzerland, and I really want to push toast off the table, because I don't believe what you wrote." 几周之后我才收到他的来信。 信里写道:“我正在瑞士的 一家时尚酒店吃早餐, 我很想把面包片推下桌子, 因为我不相信你写的内容！“
text message:n.文本信息;短信息;
And that was the good bit -- he doesn't have to. 这正是好玩的地方—— 他根本没必要相信我,
He can push the toast off the table and try it for himself. 只需把面包片推下桌子, 自己试试就好啦！
And so there's two important things to know about science: the fundamental laws we've learned through experience and experimentation , work. 因此,关于科学 有两件事非常重要: 我们通过经验和实验 得到的基本法则 是成立的。
experimentation:n.实验;试验;
The day we drop an apple and it goes up, then we'll have a debate about gravity. 如果我们某天扔出苹果后, 苹果向上走, 那我们就要 好好辩论一下重力作用了。
debate:n.辩论;争论;考虑;v.辩论;争论;考虑;
Up to that point, we basically know how gravity works, and we can learn the framework. 那一刻,我们基本上 已了解重力的作用原理, 我们可以了解其框架;
Then there's the process of experimentation: having confidence in things, trying things out, critical thinking -- how we move science forward -- and you can learn both of those things by playing with toys in the everyday world. 接下来就是实验过程了: 对某个事情有信心, 对事情进行验证, 并进行批判性思维—— 我们如何推动科学向前—— 而且,你还可以 通过日常生活中的玩具 来学习这两方面的技能。
process:v.处理;加工;列队行进;n.过程,进行;方法,adj.经过特殊加工(或处理)的; confidence:n.信心;信任;秘密;adj.(美)诈骗的;骗得信任的; critical:adj.鉴定的;[核]临界的;批评的,爱挑剔的;危险的;决定性的;评论的;
And it's really important, because there's all this talk about technology, we've heard talks about quantum computing and all these mysterious , far-off things. 这一点十分重要, 因为我们本次讲的技术、 听说过的量子计算、 还有其他神秘的、 离我们很远的东西。
computing:n.计算;计算机技术;信息处理技术;v.计算;求出;(compute的现在分词) mysterious:adj.神秘的;不可思议的;难解的; far-off:adj.遥远的;
But fundamentally, we still live in bodies that are about this size, we still walk about, sit on chairs that are about this size, we still live in the physical world. 但究其根本,我们 依然生活在这么大的身体中, 我们依然走来走去, 坐在这么大的椅子上, 我们仍然生活在物理世界中。
And being familiar with these concepts means we're not helpless . 熟悉这些概念 意味着我们不会有无助感,
helpless:adj.无助的;无能的;没用的;
And I think it's really important that we're not helpless, that society feels it can look at things, because this isn't about knowing all the answers. 而且,我认为 没有无助感是非常重要的, 社会觉得能够思考 是非常重要的, 因为它是关于 要了解所有的答案,
It's about having the framework so you can ask the right questions. 而是在于你了解了框架后, 可以正确地提出问题。
And by playing with these fundamental little things in everyday life, we gain the confidence to ask the right questions. 通过把玩这些日常生活中 基本的小东西, 我们会拥有正确提问的信心。
So, there's a bigger thing. 还有一件更重要的事要说。
In answer to Nana's question about what can you do when you know that -- because there's lots of stuff in the everyday world that you can do when you know that, especially if you've got eggs in the fridge -- there's a much deeper answer. 在回答奶奶的问题 “当你了解这些后, 你能够做些什么”—— 因为在你了解这些物理规律后, 在日常世界中就可以做很多事情, 尤其是如果你冰箱有鸡蛋的时候—— 而这个问题 现在有了更深刻的答案。
In answer to:回答;应…要求; especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分;
And so there's all the fun and the curiosity that you could have playing with toys. 当你玩玩具时, 会获得极大乐趣,还有好奇心,
curiosity:n.好奇,好奇心;珍品,古董,古玩;
By the way -- why should kids have all the fun, right? 顺便说一句—— 为何只有孩子能玩乐呢？
All of us can have fun playing with toys, and we shouldn't be embarrassed about it. 我们大家都可以 通过玩玩具来获得乐趣, 而且我们不应对此感到难为情。
embarrassed:adj.尴尬的;窘迫的;v.使...局促不安;(embarrass的过去分词和过去式)
You can blame me, it's fine.
So when it comes to reasons for studying physics, for example, here is the best reason I can think of: 比如,说到学习物理的原因, 我能想到的最好的原因就是:
I think that each of us has three life-support systems. 我认为每个人都有 三个支撑我们生活的系统,
life-support:adj.保障生命的,维持生命的;
We've got our own body, we've got a planet and we've got our civilization . 即我们的身体、我们的星球、 和我们的文明。
civilization:n.文明;文明社会;文明世界;(特定时期和地区的)社会文明;
Each of those is an independent life-support system, keeping us alive in its own way. 每一个都是 独立的生活支撑系统, 以其独特的方式 维持着我们的生存;
independent:adj.独立的; n.无党派议员(或候选人等);
And they all run on the fundamental physical laws that you can learn in the kitchen with eggs and teacups and lemonade, and everything else you can play with. 它们都遵循 基本的物理定律运行着, 你可以在厨房用鸡蛋、 茶杯和柠檬水学到这些定律, 也可以通过 其它任何能玩的东西学到。
teacups:n.茶杯;(teacup的复数)
This is the reason, for example, why something like climate change is such a serious problem, because It's two of these life-support systems, our planet and our civilization, kind of butting up against each other; they're in conflict , and we need to negotiate that boundary . 这就是为什么说 像气候变化类的事情 是一个严峻的问题的原因, 因为它影响到 两个生命支持系统: 我们的星球和我们的文明, 使二者互相碰撞; 它们之间出现冲突, 这就需要我们去确定界限。
butting:v.(人)用头顶撞;(动物)用头(或角)顶;(butt的现在分词) conflict:n.冲突;矛盾;争执;抵触;v.抵触; negotiate:v.谈判,商议;转让;越过; boundary:n.边界;范围;分界线;
And the fundamental physical laws that we can learn that are the way the world around us works, are the tools at the basis of everything; they're the foundation . 我们能够学到的、 周围世界的运转方式的 最基本物理定律, 就是基于万物的工具, 它们才是根基所在。
foundation:n.基础;地基;基金会;根据;创立;
There's lots of things to know about in life, but knowing the foundations is going to get you a long way. 生活中需要了解的东西很多, 但了解了根本, 才会让你走得更远。
foundations:n.基础;地基;基金会;粉底;(foundations是foundation的复数)
And I think this, if you're not interested in having fun with physics or anything like that -- strange, but apparently, these people exist -- you surely are interested in keeping yourself alive and in how our life-support systems work. 我认为,如果你对物理 或类似事情带来的乐趣毫无兴趣, ——虽然奇怪,但很显然, 这样的人确实存在—— 你肯定会对自己如何生存、 我们的生命支持系统 如何运转感兴趣。
The framework for physics is remarkably constant; it's the same in lots and lots of things that we measure. 物理学的框架非常稳定, 它和我们所测量的 大量事物一样是恒定的,
remarkably:adv.非常;极为;格外;出乎意料地
It's not going to change anytime soon. 并且短时间内也不会改变,
They might discover some new quantum mechanics, but apples right here are still going to fall down. 他们可能会 发现一些新的量子力学, 但这里的苹果依然会下落。
So, the question is -- 这样,问题就来了——
I get asked sometimes: How do you start? 时常有人问我: 你是怎么开始的？
What's the place to start if you're interested in the physical world, in not being helpless, and in finding some toys to play with? “从哪儿学起呀, 如果你对物理世界感兴趣、 对不感到无助有兴趣、 对玩玩具有兴趣的话？”
Here is my suggestion to you: the place to start is that moment -- and adults do this -- you're drifting along somewhere, and you spot something and your brain goes, "Oh, that's weird." 以下就是我的建议: 开始的地方就是起点—— 成年人这么做—— 不经意间,你在某个地方 你发现了某个东西, 大脑会反应“哦,这个好奇怪”,
drifting:v.漂流;漂移;缓慢行走;顺其自然地做;(drift的现在分词)
And then your consciousness goes, "You're an adult. Keep going." 然后你的潜意识会说, “你是个成年人了,别管它”。
consciousness:n.意识;知觉;觉悟;感觉;
And that's the point -- hold that thought -- that bit where your brain went, "Oh, that's a bit odd ," 这就是关键所在—— 要抓住此时的想法—— 就是当大脑告诉你 “哦,这有点怪”的想法,
odd:adj.古怪的;奇数的;n.奇数;
because there's something there to play with, and it's worth you playing with it, so that's the place to start. 因为这是你可以把玩的东西, 并且值得你去钻研, 但如果在你参加完这个活动后,
But if you don't have any of those little moments on your way home from this event, here are some things to start with. 回家的路上并没有这种小瞬间, 你也可以从以下的事情着手。
Put raisins in [fizzy] lemonade; highly entertaining. 放点葡萄干在柠檬水里, 这非常有意思;
highly:adv.高度地;非常;非常赞许地;
Watch a coffee spill dry. 观察洒出来的咖啡 是如何干透的,
spill:v.溢出;涌出;蜂拥而出;n.跌落;洒出(量);泼出(量);溢出(量);
I know that sounds a little bit like watching paint dry, but it does do quite weird things; it's worth watching. 我知道这听起来 有点像看着油漆干透, 但确实会有奇怪的现象, 非常值得观察。
I'm an acquired taste at dinner parties if there are teacups around. 我渐渐喜欢上晚宴, 如果周围有茶杯的话。
acquired:adj.习得的; v.获得; (acquire的过去分词和过去式)
There are so many things you can do to play with teacups, it's brilliant. 你可以用茶杯玩出 很多花样,超级棒。
The most obvious one is to get a teacup, get a spoon, tap the teacup around the rim and listen, and you will hear something strange. 最棒的一个是, 你拿一个茶杯和一个小勺, 用勺子轻敲茶杯边缘, 然后仔细聆听, 你就会听到奇怪的声音。
obvious:adj.明显的;显著的;平淡无奇的;
And the other thing is, push your toast off the table because you can, and you'll learn stuff from it. 另一个可以玩的是 把面包片推下桌子, 因为你能、而且也会 从中学到东西。
And if you're feeling really ambitious , try and push it off in such a way that it doesn't fall butter-side down, which is possible. 如果你还是觉得不过瘾, 试试如何避免让抹黄油那面着地, 这也是可能的呦。
ambitious:adj.野心勃勃的;有雄心的;热望的;炫耀的;
The point of all of this is that, first of all , we should all play with toys. 这一切的重点在于: 首先,我们都应该把玩一些东西。
first of all:adv.首先;
We shouldn't be afraid to investigate the physical world for ourselves with the tools around us, because we all have access to them. 我们不应该 惧怕利用周围的工具 来探索自己的物理世界, 因为它们唾手可得。
investigate:v.调查;研究;审查;
It matters, because if we want to understand society, if we want to be good citizens, we need to understand the framework on which everything else must be based. 这一点非常重要, 因为如果我们想了解社会、 想做优秀公民的话, 我们就需要了解 生活中的一切所基于的框架,
Playing with toys is great. 玩玩具就非常好,
Understanding how to keep our life-support systems going is great. 了解我们的生命支持系统 是如何运转的也很棒,
But fundamentally, the thing that we need to change in the way that we talk about physics, is we need to understand that physics isn't out there with weird people and strange hieroglyphics for somebody else in a posh lab. 但根本上,我们需要改变 谈论物理的方式是, 我们需要明白 物理不是那些怪人们的专利, 不是专供在华丽实验室的人们 阅读的奇怪而晦涩的文字。
in the way:妨碍;挡道;
Physics is right here; it's for us, and we can all play with it. 物理就在这里,它是所有人的, 我们都可以与它互动。
Thank you very much. 非常感谢！
(Applause) （掌声）