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JamesBeacham_2016X-_如何探索物理的未解题？_
There is something about physics that has been really bothering me since I was a little kid. 物理学中有件事情 自幼时就一直非常困扰我。
bothering:v.使某人烦恼或担忧;打扰;(bother的现在分词)
And it's related to a question that scientists have been asking for almost 100 years, with no answer. 近百年来科学家思索着这个问题 但没有答案。
How do the smallest things in nature,the particles of the quantum world, match up with the largest things in nature — planets and stars and galaxies held together by gravity? 自然界中最小的东西,即量子世界的微粒子,如何与 自然界中最大的东西, 即星系里以重力连结的行星和恒星相对应呢？
particles:n.微粒,粒子;粒子系统;碎木料(particle的复数形式); quantum:n.量子论;额;美国昆腾公司(世界领先的硬盘生产商); galaxies:n.银河; (galaxy的复数)
As a kid, I would puzzle over questions just like this. 童年的我,为这样的问题搜索枯肠。
puzzle over:努力思考;为…烦恼;苦苦思考;
I would fiddle around with microscopes and electromagnets , and I would read about the forces of the small and about quantum mechanics and I would marvel at how well that description matched up to our observation . 我操作显微镜和电磁铁, 我研读微物质的力学 和量子力学, 赞叹其描述和我们的观察是如此的相应。
fiddle around:玩弄;吊儿郎当;虚度光阴;不务正业; microscopes:n.[光]显微镜(microscope的复数); electromagnets:[电]电磁铁; quantum mechanics:n.量子力学; marvel:n.奇迹;vt.对…感到惊异;vi.感到惊讶; description:n.说明;形容;描写(文字);类型; observation:n.观察;观测;监视;(尤指据所见、所闻、所读而作的)评论;
Then I would look at the stars, and I would read about how well we understand gravity, and I would think surely, there must be some elegant way that these two systems match up. 我也观看星星, 阅读我们所知的重力, 想当然耳,大和小的两个系统必然有种精美而优雅的相应方式。
elegant:adj.高雅的,优雅的;讲究的;简炼的;简洁的;
But there's not. 但可惜却没有。
And the books would say, yeah, we understand a lot about these two realms separately , but when we try to link them mathematically , everything breaks. 根据书本, 我们很懂这两个各别的系统, 但是一旦尝试以数学模式来连结, 就完全行不通了。
realms:n.领域(realm的复数); separately:adv.分别地;分离地;个别地; mathematically:adv.算术地,数学上地;
And for 100 years, none of our ideas as to how to solve this basically physics disaster , has ever been supported by evidence . 百年来, 我们对于如何解决这基本的物理问题一筹莫展, 没有可以支持的证据。
basically:adv.主要地,基本上; disaster:n.灾难,灾祸;不幸; evidence:n.证据,证明;迹象;明显;v.证明;
And to little old me — little, curious , skeptical James — this was a supremely unsatisfying answer. 对于小老弟在下 — 小小,好奇,不信服的詹姆斯 — 这是绝对不可接受的。
curious:adj.好奇的,有求知欲的;古怪的;爱挑剔的; skeptical:adj.怀疑的;怀疑论的,不可知论的; supremely:adv.至上地;崇高地; unsatisfying:adj.无法令人满足的;v.不满意;不安心(unsatisfy的ing形式);
So, I'm still a skeptical little kid. 今天的我,仍是个不易信服的小孩。
Flash-forward now to December of 2015, when I found myself smack in the middle of the physics world being flipped on its head. 时间快转到 2015 年十二月, 我重拍额头 突有个物理世界里的灵光一闪。
Flash-forward:n.提前叙述未来事件(小说,电影等中的); smack:v.用巴掌打; n.打巴掌; v.恰好; flipped:v.(使)快速翻转;按(开关);轻掷;(flip的过去分词和过去式)
It all started when we at CERN saw something intriguing in our data: a hint of a new particle, an inkling of a possibly extraordinary answer to this question. 始自我们在 CERN看到有趣的数据: 它们隐射一种新的粒子, 暗示一个可能不同凡响的解答。
intriguing:adj.有趣的;迷人的;v.引起…的兴趣;策划阴谋;私通;(intrigue的现在分词) hint:n.提示;暗示;迹象;窍门;v.暗示;透露;示意; inkling:n.暗示;略知;模糊概念;v.暗示(inkle的ing形式);略知;低声说出; extraordinary:adj.非凡的;特别的;离奇的;临时的;特派的;
So I'm still a skeptical little kid, I think, but I'm also now a particle hunter. 我仍是个不信服的小子, 现在也是个找寻粒子的人。
I am a physicist at CERN's Large Hadron Collider , the largest science experiment ever mounted . 我是 CERN 的物理学家,用「大强子对撞机（LHC）」, 一具到目前为止所安装过的最大型的科学实验仪器。
physicist:n.物理学家;物理学研究者; Hadron:n.[高能]强子(参与强相互作用的基本粒子); Collider:n.对撞机;碰撞机; mounted:adj.骑马的; v.准备; (mount的过去分词和过去式)
It's a 27-kilometer tunnel on the border of France and Switzerland buried 100 meters underground. 这是条在法国和瑞士边界间的二十七公里长的隧道, 埋在一百公尺深的地下。
tunnel:n.地下通道;地道;隧道;(动物的)洞穴通道;v.开凿隧道;挖地道;
And in this tunnel, we use superconducting magnets colder than outer space to accelerate protons to almost the speed of light and slam them into each other millions of times per second, collecting the debris of these collisions to search for new, undiscovered fundamental particles. 隧道里, 我们用比外太空更低温的超导磁体 把质子加速到接近光速, 使它们每秒彼此互相撞击数百万次, 收集碰撞的碎片, 搜索新的,尚未被发现的基本粒子。
superconducting:adj.[低温]超导的;v.起超导体作用;(superconduct的现在分词) outer:adj.外面的,外部的;远离中心的;n.环外命中; accelerate:v.加快;加速;n.接受速成教育的学生; protons:n.[物]质子;氢核(proton的复数); slam:v.(使…)砰地关上; n.猛关(或推,摔,撞等); debris:n.碎片,残骸; collisions:n.[物]碰撞;冲突;撞击(collision的复数形式); undiscovered:adj.未被发现的;未勘探的; fundamental:n.基础; adj.十分重大的;
Its design and construction took decades of work by thousands of physicists from around the globe, and in the summer of 2015, we had been working tirelessly to switch on the LHC at the highest energy that humans have ever used in a collider experiment. 其设计和施工费时几十年, 全球各地数以千计的物理学家通力合作, 在 2015 年夏天, 我们不眠不休地让LHC 开始运转, 实验用到人类前所未有的最高撞击能量。
construction:n.建设;建筑物;解释;造句; physicists:n.物理学家;机械唯物论者(physicist的复数); tirelessly:adv.不知疲倦地;不屈不挠地; switch on:n.接通;
Now, higher energy is important because for particles, there is an equivalence between energy and particle mass , and mass is just a number put there by nature. 高能量至关重要,对粒子而言, 能量和质量转换守恒, 质量只是个自然界摆在那儿的数字。
equivalence:n.等值;相等; mass:n.块,团; adj.群众的,民众的; v.聚集起来,聚集;
To discover new particles, we need to reach these bigger numbers. 为要发现新的粒子, 我们必须耗费更多的能量。
And to do that, we have to build a bigger, higher energy collider, and the biggest, highest energy collider in the world is the Large Hadron Collider. 因此,我们必须建造更大、更耗能的对撞机; 而世界上最大的对撞机 是 LHC。
And then, we collide protons quadrillions of times, and we collect this data very slowly, over months and months. 然后,我们碰撞质子千万亿（10 的 24 方）次 我们经年累月慢慢地收集资料。
quadrillions:n.百万之四次方;千的五次方;adj.千之五次方的;
And then new particles might show up in our data as bumps — slight deviations from what you expect, little clusters of data points that make a smooth line not so smooth. 或许新的粒子会以突起的形状呈现在资料的平滑线外 — 稍微偏离预期值, 小小群集的数据点,使得平滑的线不再那么地平滑。
bumps:碰撞(bump的第三人称单数);碰撞(bump的复数); slight:adj.轻微的;略微的;细小的;纤细的;n.侮慢;冷落;轻视;v.侮慢;冷落;轻视; deviations:n.差异,偏差(deviation复数); clusters:n.[植]簇;丛(cluster的复数形式);[计]群集;
For example, this bump, after months of data-taking in 2012, led to the discovery of the Higgs particle — and to a Nobel Prize for the confirmation of its existence. 例如,这个凸起, 2012 年累月的数据采集后, 导致发现了「希格斯粒子」, 和因证明它存在而获得的诺贝尔奬。
Nobel Prize:n.诺贝尔奖;
This jump up in energy in 2015 represented the best chance that we as a species had ever had of discovering new particles — new answers to these long-standing questions, because it was almost twice as much energy as we used when we discovered the Higgs boson . 2015 年看到的能量凸起 代表人类发现新粒子的绝佳机会 这些长期谜题的新解答, 因它所耗的能量几乎是发现希格斯玻色子时耗能的两倍。
represented:v.代表; (represent的过去式和过去分词) species:n.[生物]物种;种类; long-standing:adj.长期存在的;存在已久的; boson:n.[高能]玻色子;
Many of my colleagues had been working their entire careers for this moment, and frankly, to little curious me, this was the moment I'd been waiting for my entire life. 我的许多同事整个职涯都在追寻此刻, 坦率地说,对好奇的我而言, 这是我一辈子等待的时刻。
colleagues:n.同事;同行(colleague的复数); careers:n.职业(career的复数);事业;职业生涯;v.全速前进(career的三单形式);
So 2015 was go time. 2015 年是跳下去做,不回头的时刻。
So June 2015, the LHC is switched back on. 因此于 2015 年六月, LHC 又运转了。
My colleagues and I held our breath and bit our fingernails , and then finally we saw the first proton collisions at this highest energy ever. 同事和我屏息、紧张又兴奋, 终于看到质子以有史以来最高的能量互撞。
fingernails:n.手指甲;(fingernail的复数) finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地;
Applause , champagne , celebration. 鼓掌,开香槟,庆祝。
Applause:n.欢呼,喝采;鼓掌欢迎; champagne:n.香槟酒;香槟酒色;
This was a milestone for science, and we had no idea what we would find in this brand-new data. 这是科学的里程碑, 我们不知道会在这全新的数据里找到什么。
milestone:n.里程碑,划时代的事件; brand-new:adj.崭新的;最近获得的;
And then a few weeks later, we found a bump. 数周后,我们发现了凸起的数据。
It wasn't a very big bump, but it was big enough to make you raise your eyebrow . 凸起虽不算大, 但已足以让人讶异。
eyebrow:n.眉;眉毛;
But on a scale of one to 10 for eyebrow raises, if 10 indicates that you've discovered a new particle, this eyebrow raise is about a four. 从 1 到 10 的讶异程度, 10 代表你已发现了新的粒子, 这是个程度大约 4 的讶异。
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; indicates:v.表明指示,显示;(indicate的第三人称单数)
(Laughter) （笑声）
I spent hours, days, weeks in secret meetings, arguing with my colleagues over this little bump, poking and prodding it with our most ruthless experimental sticks to see if it would withstand scrutiny . 我花了无数的时间秘密开会, 和同事辩论这个小凸起, 努力在鸡蛋裏挑骨头, 看它是否经得起最严厉的檢视。
poking:v.捅;推;戳;探;露出;伸出;探出;(poke的现在分词) prodding:n.催促;督促;鼓励;激励;v.戳;杵;捅;催促;鼓动;(prod的现在分词) ruthless:adj.无情的,残忍的; experimental:adj.实验的;根据实验的;试验性的; withstand:vt.抵挡;禁得起;反抗;vi.反抗; scrutiny:n.详细审查;监视;细看;选票复查;
But even after months of working feverishly — sleeping in our offices and not going home, candy bars for dinner, coffee by the bucketful — physicists are machines for turning coffee into diagrams — 即使在数月不眠不休地工作后 — 不回家,而是睡在办公室, 以糖果零嘴当晚餐, 大桶大桶地喝咖啡 — 物理学家就是把咖啡变成图表的机器 —
feverishly:adv.狂热地;兴奋地; bucketful:n.满桶;一桶之量;
(Laughter) （笑声）
This little bump would not go away. 这个小凸起并未消失。
So after a few months, we presented our little bump to the world with a very clear message: this little bump is interesting but it's not definitive , so let's keep an eye on it as we take more data. 几个月后, 我们向世界展示了这个小凸起和一个非常明确的信息: 这个小凸起有趣,但是不明确, 让我们收集更多的数据并持续关注它。
definitive:n.限定词;adj.决定性的;最后的;限定的; keep an eye on:v.照看;留意;密切注视;
So we were trying to be extremely cool about it. 我们试图非常冷静地看待它。
extremely:adv.非常,极其;极端地;
And the world ran with it anyway. 尽管如此,世界随它起舞。
The news loved it. 新闻界喜爱它。
People said it reminded them of the little bump that was shown on the way toward the Higgs boson discovery. 人们说它像是落在引导发现希格斯玻色子路上的那个小凸起。
reminded:v.提醒;使想起;(remind的过去分词和过去式)
Better than that, my theorist colleagues — 更棒的是,我的理论派同事们 —
theorist:n.理论家;
I love my theorist colleagues — my theorist colleagues wrote 500 papers about this little bump. 我喜欢我的理论派同事们 — 我的理论派同事们写了五百篇关于这个小凸起的文章。
(Laughter) （笑声）
The world of particle physics had been flipped on its head. 粒子物理学的世界已然翻转。
But what was it about this particular bump that caused thousands of physicists to collectively lose their cool? 这个小凸起的什么特点 使得成千上万的物理学家热血沸腾呢？
collectively:adv.共同地,全体地;
This little bump was unique . 这个小凸起独一无二。
unique:adj.独特的,稀罕的;[数]唯一的;n.独一无二的人或物;
This little bump indicated that we were seeing an unexpectedly large number of collisions whose debris consisted of only two photons , two particles of light. 这个小凸起显示 我们看到了意料之外的大量碰撞, 碰撞后只残留两个光子, 两个光粒子。
indicated:v.表明;显示;象征;暗示;示意;(indicate的过去分词和过去式) unexpectedly:adv.出乎意料地,意外地; consisted:vi.组成;在于;符合; photons:n.[物]光子;[量子]光量子(photon的复数);
And that's rare. 这相当罕见。
Particle collisions are not like automobile collisions. 粒子碰撞不像汽车碰撞。
automobile:n.汽车;v.开汽车;坐汽车;adj.自动的;
They have different rules. 碰撞的规则不同。
When two particles collide at almost the speed of light, the quantum world takes over. 当两个粒子以接近光速的速度互撞, 行为就由量子世界的规则所掌控。
And in the quantum world, these two particles can briefly create a new particle that lives for a tiny fraction of a second before splitting into other particles that hit our detector . 在量子世界中, 这两个粒子能短暂地创造一个新粒子, 只瞬间存在, 顷刻后分裂成其他粒子,并击中我们的侦测器。
briefly:adv.简要地;简短地;暂时地; fraction:n.分数;小部分;小数;少量; detector:n.探测器;检测器;发现者;侦察器;
Imagine a car collision where the two cars vanish upon impact , a bicycle appears in their place — 想像一下两辆汽车互撞,汽车在相撞的当下消失, 原地出现了一辆自行车 —
vanish:v.消失;突然不见;成为零;n.弱化音; impact:n.影响;效果;碰撞;冲击力;v.挤入,压紧;撞击;对…产生影响;
(Laughter) （笑声）
And then that bicycle explodes into two skateboards , which hit our detector. 那辆自行车紧接着爆炸,变成两个滑板, 撞到我们的侦测器。
explodes:v.爆炸,爆发;激增; skateboards:n.滑板(skateboard的复数);v.参加滑板运动(skateboard的单三形式);
(Laughter) （笑声）
Hopefully, not literally . 当然不是字面上的撞上,
literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地:
They're very expensive. 侦测器可是很贵的啊。
Events where only two photons hit out detector are very rare. 仅仅两个光子撞击侦测器的事件非常地罕见。
And because of the special quantum properties of photons, there's a very small number of possible new particles — these mythical bicycles — that can give birth to only two photons. 由于光子具有量子的特性, 新粒子,也就是这些虚构的自行车,出现的机率相当罕见, 只产生两个光子的新粒子非常罕见。
mythical:adj.神话的;虚构的; give birth to:产生,造成;生孩子;
But one of these options is huge, and it has to do with that long-standing question that bothered me as a tiny little kid,about gravity. 但是有一选项极可能发生, 和一个长期存在的未解题有关, 就是那个自幼就困扰我的重力问题。
options:n.选择; v.得到或获准进行选择; (option的三单形式) bothered:adj.烦(恼)的; v.使(某人)烦恼;
Gravity may seem super strong to you, but it's actually crazily weak compared to the other forces of nature. 或许你认为重力强而有力, 但是相较于自然界的其他力量,它其实超弱的。
crazily:adv.发狂地;狂热地; compared:adj.比较的,对照的; v.相比; (compare的过去式和过去分词)
I can briefly beat gravity when I jump, but I can't pick a proton out of my hand. 当我跳起时,能够短暂地摆脱重力, 但我却无法用手捡起一粒质子。
The strength of gravity compared to the other forces of nature? 相较于自然界的其他力量,重力的强度如何呢？
It's 10 to the minus 39. 是 10 的负 39 次方。
minus:prep.减,减去;n.负号,减号;不足;负数;adj.减的;负的;
That's a decimal with 39 zeros after it. 小数点之后跟着 39 个零。
decimal:adj.小数的;十进位的;n.小数;
Worse than that, all of the other known forces of nature are perfectly described by this thing we call the Standard Model, which is our current best description of nature at its smallest scales , and quite frankly, 更糟的是, 所有其他已知的自然界力量都可被所谓的「标准模型」完美地描述。 那是我们目前描述自然界最小尺度的最佳模型。 坦白说,
described:v.描述;形容;把…称为;做…运动;(describe的过去分词和过去式) Standard:n.标准;水准;旗;度量衡标准;adj.标准的;合规格的;公认为优秀的; scales:n.规模范围; v.攀登; (scale的第三人称单数和复数)
one of the most successful achievements of humankind — except for gravity, which is absent from the Standard Model. 那是人类最大的成就之一, 重力标准模型不存在是唯一的例外。
humankind:n.人类(总称); absent:adj.缺席的;缺少的;心不在焉的;茫然的;v.使缺席;
It's crazy. 难以置信。
It's almost as though most of gravity has gone missing. 彷佛大部分的重力消失不见了。
We feel a little bit of it, but where's the rest of it? 我们察觉到少许重力, 但其他的部分呢？
No one knows. 没有人知道。
But one theoretical explanation proposes a wild solution . 但有个理论提供了疯狂的解释。
theoretical:adj.理论的;理论上的;假设的;推理的; proposes:建议;提议; solution:n.解决方案;溶液;溶解;解答;
even you in the back — we live in three dimensions of space. 包括坐在后面的诸位 — 我们生活在三度空间里。
dimensions:n.规模,大小;
I hope that's a non-controversial statement . 希望这并无争议。
non-controversial:一致的,不会引起争议的; statement:n.声明;陈述,叙述;报表,清单;
(Laughter) （笑声）
All of the known particles also live in three dimensions of space. 所有已知的粒子也存在三度空间里。
In fact, a particle is just another name for an excitation in a three-dimensional field; a localized wobbling in space. 事实上,粒子只是别名, 是三度空间里的波动; 空间中的局部晃动。
excitation:n.激发,刺激;激励;激动; three-dimensional:adj.三维的;立体的;真实的; localized:adj.局部的;地区的;小范围的;v.定位(localize的过去分词); wobbling:adj.摇晃的;颤动的;n.摆动;颤动;v.蹒跚;晃动;踌躇(wobble的ing形式);
More importantly, all the math that we use to describe all this stuff assumes that there are only three dimensions of space. 更重要的是,我们用来描述所有这些玩意的数学 全都假设只有三度空间。
stuff:n.东西:物品:基本特征:v.填满:装满:标本: assumes:v.假定;采用;承担;呈;(assumes是assume的第三人称单数)
But math is math, and we can play around with our math however we want. 但数学就是数学,我们可以随意摆弄数学。
play around:玩耍;胡搞;轻率对待;
And people have been playing around with extra dimensions of space for a very long time, but it's always been an abstract mathematical concept. 长久以来,人们一直悠游于更多维度的数学中, 但仅仅是个抽象的数学概念而已。
abstract:n.摘要; adj.抽象的; vt.摘要; vi.做摘要;
I mean, just look around you — you at the back, look around — there's clearly only three dimensions of space. 我的意思是,看看你们的周围 —坐在后面的诸位,请环顾四周 — 显然只有三度空间。
But what if that's not true? 但,倘若事实并非如此呢？
what if:如果…怎么办?
What if the missing gravity is leaking into an extra-spatial dimension that's invisible to you and I? 如果消失的重力,流入了我们看不见的第四度空间呢？
leaking:v.渗漏;泄露(秘密信息);走漏;(leak的现在分词) invisible:adj.看不见的;n.看不见的人或物;
What if gravity is just as strong as the other forces if you were to view it in this extra-spatial dimension, and what you and I experience is a tiny slice of gravity make it seem very weak? 如果重力和其他的力量同样有力, 前提是增加维度来看待它; 如果你我目前体验到的重力只是一小部分, 所以才会看起来这么弱呢？
slice:n.片; v.切成片; (很容易地)切开;
If this were true, we would have to expand our Standard Model of particles to include an extra particle, a hyperdimensional particle of gravity, a special graviton that lives in extra-spatial dimensions. 假如这是真的, 我们就必须扩大粒子的标准模型,包括其他的粒子, 「超维度的重力粒子」, 存在另一度空间的重力粒子。
expand:v.扩张;使膨胀;详述;发展;张开,展开; graviton:n.[相对][高能]引力子;万有吸引力;
I see the looks on your faces. 我注意到你们的脸上的表情。
You should be asking me the question, "How in the world are we going to test this crazy, science fiction idea, stuck as we are in three dimensions?" 你们该问我: 「要怎样去测试这疯狂而科幻的想法呢？ 我们到底身处在三度空间里啊！」
science fiction:科幻小说;
The way we always do, by slamming together two protons — 老法子, 使两个光子互撞 —
slamming:v.(使…)砰地关上;使劲一推;猛烈抨击;(slam的现在分词)
(Laughter) （笑声）
Hard enough that the collision reverberates into any extra-spatial dimensions that might be there, momentarily creating this hyperdimensional graviton that then snaps back into the three dimensions of the LHC and spits off two photons, two particles of light. 碰撞绕樑到或许存在的多度空间已经够难了, 遑论顷刻间造出超维度的重力粒子, 并且撞击到三度空间的 LHC, 又再分裂为两个光子, 两个光粒子。
reverberates:v.回响;回荡;摇晃;产生广泛影响;(reverberate的第三人称单数) momentarily:adv.随时地;暂时地;立刻; snaps:n.纽扣; v.猛咬;
And this hypothetical , extra-dimensional graviton is one of the only possible, hypothetical new particles that has the special quantum properties that could give birth to our little, two-photon bump. 这假设的超维度重力粒子, 唯一可能假设的新粒子, 具有特别的量子空间特性, 能产生我们这个小小的二光子凸起。
hypothetical:adj.假设的;爱猜想的;
So, the possibility of explaining the mysteries of gravity and of discovering extra dimensions of space — perhaps now you get a sense as to why thousands of physics geeks collectively lost their cool over our little, two-photon bump. 因此,解释重力的奥秘, 和发现另一度空间的可能性 — 现在或许你们稍稍明白了 为何成千上万的怪胎物理学家 会因小小的两光子凸起而集体激动。
geeks:n.奇葩(指反常的人,畸形人,野人,现也指智力超群,善于钻研但不懂与人交往的学者或知识分子);
A discovery of this type would rewrite the textbooks. 这样的发现将会改写教科书。
But remember, the message from us experimentalists that actually were doing this work at the time, was very clear: we need more data. 但请记住 我们这些当时真正做实验的人的讯息非常的清楚: 我们需要更多的数据。
experimentalists:n.实验主义者;经验主义者;实验者;
With more data, the little bump will either turn into a nice, crisp Nobel Prize — 有了更多的数据, 这小小的凸起可能会成为漂亮、清新的诺贝尔奖 —
crisp:adj.脆的;新鲜的;易碎的;v.使卷曲;使发脆;n.松脆物;油炸马铃薯片;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Or the extra data will fill in the space around the bump and turn it into a nice, smooth line. 或者增加的数据会填满凸起周边的空间, 使它成为平滑、顺畅的线条。
So we took more data, and with five times the data, several months later, our little bump turned into a smooth line. 因此我们收取更多的数据, 又经过几个月,增加了五倍的数据, 我们的小凸起 成为平滑的线条。
The news reported on a "huge disappointment," on " faded hopes," 新闻报导了「大失望」、「消逝的希望」,
faded:adj.已褪色的;已凋谢的;
and on particle physicists "being sad." 以及粒子物理学家们很「悲伤」。
Given the tone of the coverage , you'd think that we had decided to shut down the LHC and go home. 根据报导的语气, 你们会认为我们已经决定关掉 LHC,打道回府了。
coverage:n.覆盖,覆盖范围;
(Laughter) （笑声）
But that's not what we did. 但我们没那样做。
But why not? 为什么不呢？
I mean, if I didn't discover a particle — and I didn't — if I didn't discover a particle, why am I here talking to you? 如果我没发现新粒子 —而我的确没发现 — 如果我没发现新粒子,怎么还在这里对你们演讲？
Why didn't I just hang my head in shame and go home? 我怎么没羞耻地低着头, 躲回家里去呢？
Particle physicists are explorers . 粒子物理学家是探索者。
explorers:n.探险者;勘探者;考察者;(explorer的复数)
And very much of what we do is cartography . 我们绘制很多的图。
cartography:n.地图制作,制图;制图学,绘图法;
Let me put it this way: forget about the LHC for a second. 暂时先不管 LHC,让我这样来描述:
Imagine you are a space explorer arriving at a distant planet,searching for aliens. 想像你是个太空探险家,飞到一个遥远的行星去搜索外星人。
distant:adj.遥远的;远处的;久远的;
What is your first task? 你的第一个任务是什么？
To immediately orbit the planet, land, take a quick look around for any big, obvious signs of life, and report back to home base . 是立刻环绕行星、扫视地面, 看有没有大的、显着的生命迹象, 并回报基地。
orbit:n.轨道;眼眶;势力范围;生活常规;vi.盘旋;绕轨道运行;vt.绕…轨道而行; obvious:adj.明显的;显著的;平淡无奇的; home base:n.大本营;基地;
That's the stage we're at now. 这正是我们眼前的阶段。
We took a first look at the LHC for any new, big, obvious-to-spot particles, and we can report that there are none. 我们先快巡 LHC, 看有没有大的、显着的粒子, 我们回报没有。
We saw a weird-looking alien bump on a distant mountain, but once we got closer, we saw it was a rock. 如同我们看到远处有个像是外星人的怪异凸起, 一旦近看,发现只是个石头。
But then what do we do? Do we just give up and fly away? 接下来呢？我们放弃、飞离吗？
Absolutely not; we would be terrible scientists if we did. 绝不; 若那样做,我们就是差劲的科学家。
Absolutely:adv.绝对地;完全地;
No, we spend the next couple of decades exploring , mapping out the territory , sifting through the sand with a fine instrument , peeking under every stone, drilling under the surface. 不,我们用接下来的几十年去探索, 绘制地图, 用精密仪器仔细地筛过沙土, 翻遍每块石头, 往地表下钻。
exploring:v.探索:考察:探查;(explore的现在分词) territory:n.领土,领域;范围;地域;版图; sifting:n.过筛,过滤;筛选;v.筛撒,纷落,详察(sift的现在分词形式); instrument:n.仪器;工具;乐器;手段;器械; peeking:v.窥视;偷看;微露出;探出;(peek的现在分词)
New particles can either show up immediately as big, obvious-to-spot bumps, or they can only reveal themselves after years of data taking. 新粒子可能以大而显着的型态立即显现, 或在收集许多数据后才会显露出来。
reveal:v.显示;透露;揭露;泄露;n.揭露;暴露;门侧,窗侧;
Humanity has just begun its exploration at the LHC at this big high energy, and we have much searching to do. 人类才刚开始以如此高的能量在 LHC 上探索, 我们要找的可多着呢。
Humanity:n.人类;人道;仁慈;人文学科; exploration:n.探索;勘探;探险;[医]探查术;
But what if, even after 10 or 20 years, we still find no new particles? 如果十或二十年后,我们仍然没发现新的粒子呢？
We build a bigger machine. 我们就建造更大的机器。
(Laughter) （笑声）
We search at higher energies. 我们用更高的能量去寻找。
We search at higher energies. 我们用更高的能量寻找。
Planning is already underway for a 100-kilometer tunnel that will collide particles at 10 times the energy of the LHC. 我们已在规画一百公里长的隧道, 它的撞击力道是 LHC 的十倍。
underway:adj.进行中的;起步的;航行中的;n.[公路]水底通道;
We don't decide where nature places new particles. 大自然在何处摆放新粒子不归我们作主。
We only decide to keep exploring. 我们只能决定继续探索。
But what if, even after a 100-kilometer tunnel or a 500-kilometer tunnel or a 10,000-kilometer collider floating in space between the Earth and the Moon, we still find no new particles? 倘若用了一百公里的加速隧道, 五百公里的隧道, 或是一万公里长, 漂浮在地球和月亮间太空中的隧道, 仍然找不到新粒子呢？
Then perhaps we're doing particle physics wrong. 也许我们粒子物理的理论是错的。
(Laughter) （笑声）
Perhaps we need to rethink things. 也许我们需要重新思考。
rethink:v.重新考虑;再想;n.重新考虑;反思;新想法;
Maybe we need more resources , technology , expertise than what we currently have. 也许我们需要比现有更多的资源、技术和专業知识。
resources:n.[计][环境]资源; v.向…提供资金(resource的第三人称单数); technology:n.技术;工艺;术语; expertise:n.专门知识;专门技术;专家的意见; currently:adv.当前;一般地;
We already use artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques in parts of the LHC, but imagine designing a particle physics experiment using such sophisticated algorithms that it could teach itself to discover a hyperdimensional graviton. 我们已经将人工智能和机器学习技术 用在部分的 LHC 中, 想像把这种复杂的演算法设计在粒子物理实验里, 教会它自己去发现超维引力。
artificial intelligence:n.人工智能; techniques:n.技巧;技艺;工艺;技术;(technique的复数) sophisticated:adj.复杂的;老练的;见多识广的;水平高的;
But what if? 如果,
What if the ultimate question: 如果最终的问题:
ultimate:adj.最终的;极限的;根本的;n.终极;根本;基本原则;
What if even artificial intelligence can't help us answer our questions? 如果连人工智慧也不能幫助我们回答问题呢？
What if these open questions, for centuries, are destined to be unanswered for the foreseeable future? 如果这些数百年无解的问题, 注定在可预见的未来仍然无解呢？
destined:adj.注定的;命定的;去往…的;v.注定;(destine的过去式和过去分词) unanswered:adj.未答复的;无反应的; foreseeable:adj.可预知的;能预测的;
What if the stuff that's bothered me since I was a little kid is destined to be unanswered in my lifetime? 如果那自幼就困扰我的问题 注定在我的有生之年无解呢？
Then that ...
will be even more fascinating . 就会更加地迷人了。
fascinating:adj.极有吸引力的;迷人的;v.深深吸引;迷住;(fascinate的现在分词)
We will be forced to think in completely new ways. 我们将被迫以全新的方式思考。
We'll have to go back to our assumptions , and determine if there was a flaw somewhere. 我们必须回到原先的假设, 确定是否某个环节有着缺陷。
assumptions:n.假定;假设;承担;获得;(assumption的复数) determine:v.决定;确定;测定;查明;形成;影响;裁决;安排; flaw:n.瑕疵,缺点; v.使生裂缝,使有裂纹; vi.生裂缝;
And we'll need to encourage more people to join us in studying science since we need fresh eyes on these century-old problems. 我们需要鼓励更多人加入我们学习科学, 因为我们需要清新的眼睛研究这些百年的老问题。
I don't have the answers, and I'm still searching for them. 我仍在寻找,没有答案。
But someone — maybe she's in school right now, maybe she's not even born yet — could eventually guide us to see physics in a completely new way, and to point out that perhaps we're just asking the wrong questions. 但某人 — 也许正在就学, 也许尚未出生 — 最终能引导我们以全新的方式去看待物理学, 指出来,我们可能只是问错了问题。
eventually:adv.最后,终于;
Which would not be the end of physics, but a novel beginning. 这不会终结物理学, 而会是个崭新的开始。
novel:adj.新奇的;异常的;n.小说;
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （鼓掌）