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KatieMack_2020F-_宇宙之死以及其对生命的意义_-
[SHAPE YOUR FUTURE] ［塑造你的未来］
I love the universe. 我酷爱宇宙——
The vastness , the mystery, the astonishing beauty of the stars. 它的浩瀚、它的神秘, 还有绝美的星辰。
I love everything about it, and I've devoted my life to studying it. 宇宙的一切我无所不爱。 所以我奉献一生来研究它:
From atoms to galaxies , from beginning to end . 小至原子,大至星系, 从初始到尽头。
But lately, I've gotten stuck on that last bit. 但最近,我的研究 卡在宇宙的「尽头」上。
vastness:n.巨大;广大;广漠; astonishing:adj.令人十分惊讶的;v.使十分惊讶;使吃惊;(astonish的现在分词) devoted:adj.专心致志; v.献身; (devote的过去分词和过去式) atoms:n.[物]原子(atom的复数); galaxies:n.银河; (galaxy的复数) from beginning to end:自始至终;
The fact that the universe is dying. 宇宙已趋近死亡。
I know this may come as a shock. 你听了可能会吓一跳:
I mean, it's the universe, it's everything. 宇宙耶！所有东西都在宇宙里。
It's supposed to be eternal , right? 宇宙应该是永恒的吧！
But it isn't. 可惜不是。
We know the universe had a beginning and everything that begins ends. 我们知道宇宙有个开端, 也知道有开始就会有尽头。
The start of the story is a familiar one. 我们都熟悉故事怎么开始的:
In the beginning, there was light. 混沌初开时,有光,[00:52]
supposed:adj.误信的;所谓的;v.认为;假设;设想;(suppose的过去分词和过去式) eternal:adj.永恒的;不朽的; familiar:adj.熟悉的;常见的;亲近的;n.常客;密友;
We know that because we can see it directly . 因为我们都看得见这些光, 所以我们知道。
The cosmos today is filled with low-energy background radiation left over from a time when the whole universe was an all-encompassing inferno . 今天的宇宙中充满了在还是一团烈焰的混沌之时 所遗留下来的低能量的背景辐射。
In its first 380,000 years, space wasn't cold or dark. 在刚开始的 38 万年, 太空并不寒冷、黑暗,
directly:adv.直接地;立即;马上;正好地;坦率地;conj.一…就; cosmos:n.宇宙;和谐;秩序;大波斯菊; low-energy:低能耗; radiation:n.辐射;放射线;放射疗法; all-encompassing:包罗万象的; inferno:n.阴间,地狱;
It was thick with a churning , humming plasma . 它充满着不断翻腾、隆隆作响的电浆,
It was hot and dense . 炙热、稠密,
It was loud. 而且震耳欲聋;
But it was also expanding . 但它也在膨胀。
Over time, the fire dissipated and space cooled. 渐渐地,火焰散去,太空冷却下来。[01:21]
churning:n.搅乳;一次提制的奶油;v.搅拌(churn的现在分词); humming:v.哼(曲子);发嗡嗡声;活跃;繁忙;(hum的现在分词) plasma:n.[等离子]等离子体;血浆;[矿物]深绿玉髓; dense:adj.稠密的;浓厚的;愚钝的; expanding:v.扩大,增加,增强细谈;详述;(expand的现在分词) dissipated:adj.消散的; vt.消散; (dissipate的过去分词和过去式)
Clouds of gas pulled together by their own gravity formed stars and galaxies and planets and us. 散布在太空中的气体被自己的质量 所产生的重力凝聚成一团一团, 形成了恒星、星系、 行星,还有我们。
And one day, astronomers using a microwave receiver detected a bit of static coming from every direction in the sky, the leftover radiation from that primordial fire. 现在, 天文学家使用微波接收器 侦测在天空中从四面八方而来的 那团原始火焰所残留的辐射。
We can now map out the cosmos to the farthest reaches of the observable universe. 我们现在能够绘制 可观测范围的宇宙地图。
We can see distant galaxies whose light has taken billions of years to reach us. 我们看得到遥远的星系, 这些星系的光 历经了数十亿年才到达这里。
astronomers:天文学家; microwave:n.微波; detected:v.发现;查明;侦察出;(detect的过去分词和过去式) static:adj.静止的; n.[物]静电(干扰); leftover:n.吃剩的食物;遗留物;adj.剩余的;吃剩的;未用完的; primordial:adj.原始的;根本的;原生的; observable:adj.显著的;觉察得到的;看得见的;n.[物]可观察量;感觉到的事物; distant:adj.遥远的;远处的;久远的;
So by looking at them, we are looking deep into the past. 透过观察它们, 我们能够看到遥远的过去;
We can watch how the expansion of the universe has slowed down since that hot early phase 13.8 billion years ago. 我们能够看到宇宙的膨胀 如何从 138 亿年前 炙热的早期阶段减缓下来。
We can see collisions of entire galaxies and watch the bursts of star formation , that result from the sudden conflagration of all that cosmic hydrogen . 我们能够看到所有星系里发生的碰撞, 并观察恒星形成时的爆发, 那是所有宇宙里大量氢气 突然起火的结果。
expansion:n.扩张;膨胀;扩展;扩大; phase:n.阶段;时期;月相;(月亮的)盈亏;v.分阶段进行;逐步做; collisions:n.[物]碰撞;冲突;撞击(collision的复数形式); bursts:[天]爆发;破裂(burst的第三人称单数); formation:n.形成;编队;组成;队形; conflagration:n.大火;快速燃烧;突发;冲突; cosmic:adj.宇宙的; hydrogen:n.氢;氢气;
And we can see that these collisions are happening less and less. 我们可以看到, 这些碰撞的发生次数越来越少。
The expansion of the universe isn't slowing down anymore. 宇宙的膨胀不再减慢。
A few billion years ago, it started speeding up. 几十亿年前,它开始加速。
Distant galaxies are getting farther apart faster and faster. 本来就很遥远的星系越来越远, 速度也越来越快。
Star formation has slowed. 恒星形成的速度已经放慢。
In fact, we can calculate exactly how much. 事实上,我们计算得出 到底放慢了多少。
And when we do, we find something shocking. 计算后,我们发现了一件骇人的事。
Of all the stars that have ever been born or that ever will be, around 90 percent have already come into being. 在所有已经诞生 或未来要诞生的恒星中, 大约 90% 已经形成。
From now until the end of time, the universe is working on just that last 10 percent. 从现在开始到时间的尽头, 宇宙只剩下 10% 的工作要完成。
The end of the universe is coming. 宇宙的灭亡就要来了。
There are a few ways it could happen, but the most likely is called the heat death, and it's an agonizing , slow languishing of the cosmos. 宇宙的灭亡有几种可能的方式, 最有可能的方式叫做「热之死」, 对宇宙来说,这是一个 痛苦、缓慢煎熬的过程。
Stars burn out and leave smoldering ash. 恒星燃烧殆尽,留下闷烧的灰烬。
Galaxies become increasingly isolated in their own dim pools of light. 星系在各自微弱的光团中 变得越来越孤立。
Particles decay . 粒子衰变,
Even black holes evaporate into the void . 黑洞也蒸发得无影无踪。[03:15]
agonizing:adj.痛苦的;令人焦虑不安的;v.苦苦思索;焦虑不已;(agonize的现在分词) languishing:adj.衰弱下去的; v.被迫滞留; (languish的现在分词) smoldering:n.闷烧,阴燃;adj.(情绪)郁积的(smoder的变形); increasingly:adv.越来越多地;渐增地; isolated:adj.偏远的; v.隔离,孤立,脱离; dim:adj.暗淡的,昏暗的; v.使暗淡,使失去光泽; n.笨蛋,傻子; Particles:n.微粒,粒子;粒子系统;碎木料(particle的复数形式); decay:v.(使)腐烂;破败;(力量、影响等)衰弱;n.腐烂;腐朽;衰退; evaporate:vt.使…蒸发;使…脱水;使…消失;vi.蒸发,挥发;消失,失踪; void:adj.空的;无效的;无人的;n.空虚;空间;空隙;v.使无效;排放;
Of course, we still have some time. 当然我们还有点时间。
The heat death is so far in the future, we hardly have words to describe it. 「热之死」离我们还很遥远, 所以很难形容得恰当。
Long past a billion years, when the sun expands and boils off the oceans of the Earth. 远在距我们十亿年时, 太阳膨胀并煮沸了地球的海洋之后;
Long past 100 billion years, when we lose the ability to see distant galaxies and that faint trace of Big Bang light. 远在距我们千亿年时, 我们无法再看到遥远星系 和大爆炸发出的光 所遗留的微弱痕迹之后;
have words:争吵; describe:v.描述;形容;把…称为;画出…图形; expands:v.展开; (expand的第三人称单数) faint:n.昏厥;v.昏厥;adj.昏眩;(光,声,味)微弱的;微小的;可能性不大的; trace:追溯,追踪 Bang:n.猛敲; v.猛敲; v.正好;
Long after we are left alone in the darkness watching the Milky Way fade . 远在地球孤独地处于一片黑暗中, 看着我们的银河系消逝之后。
It's OK to be sad about it, even if it is trillions of years in the future. 悲伤是可以理解的, 即使是未来几兆年后才会发生。
No one wants to think about something they love coming to an end. 没有人想要思考所爱的事物 也有结束的一天。
As disconnected as it may be to us here and now , it is somehow more profound than personal death. 虽然和现在的我们好像没有甚么关联, 但它似乎比人的死亡更深刻。
Milky Way:na.[天]银河; fade:v.褪色; adj.平淡的; n.[电影][电视]淡出; trillions:n.[数]万亿;adj.万亿的;num.[数]万亿; disconnected:adj.分离的; v.切断(煤气、水或电的供应); (disconnect的过去式和过去分词) here and now:此时此地;立刻; somehow:adv.以某种方法;莫名其妙地; profound:adj.深厚的;意义深远的;渊博的; personal:adj.个人的;身体的;亲自的;n.人事消息栏;人称代名词;
We have strategies for accepting the inevitability of that. 我们有接受人必有一死的策略。
After all, we tell ourselves, something of us will live on. 我们会告诉自己, 我们身后总会留下一些东西,
Maybe it will be our great works. 也许是我们伟大的成就,
Maybe it will be our children, carrying on our genetic material or perhaps our basic outlook on life. 也许是我们的孩子, 带着我们的遗传物质继续繁衍, 也许是我的们基本人生观,
strategies:n.策略;行动计划;部署;战略;(strategy的复数) inevitability:n.必然性;不可逃避; genetic:adj.基因的;遗传学的; outlook:n.见解;前景;人生观;可能性;
Maybe it will be some idea worth spreading. 也许是一个值得散播的想法。
Humanity might venture out into the stars and evolve and change, but something of us will survive. 人类可能会将脚步 探入星空、演化、改变, 但我们的某些东西将会继续存在。
But if the universe ends, at some point we have no legacy . 但如果宇宙在灭亡, 总有让我们无法遗留下 任何东西的时候。
There will come a time when, in a very real sense, our existence will not have mattered. 总有个时候,就事实而论, 曾经存在的我们 将无关紧要、不留痕迹。
Humanity:n.人类;人道;仁慈;人文学科; venture:v.敢于;冒险;投机;n.企业;风险;冒险; evolve:v.(使)逐渐形成;进化;进化形成; legacy:n.遗赠,遗产;
The slate will be wiped clean completely. 一切都变成完全空白。
Why should we spend our lives seeking answers to the ultimate questions of reality if eventually there will be no one left to tell? 我们为什么要用一生的时间 寻找现实终极问题的答案, 如果最终人去楼空,没有人听？
Why build a sandcastle when you can see that the tide is coming in? 潮水将至,为什么还要建造沙堡？
slate:n.石板;板岩;候选人名单;v.批评;抨击;预定;计划;安排;选定; seeking:v.寻找;寻求;谋求;争取;(向人)请求(seek的现在分词) ultimate:adj.最终的;极限的;根本的;n.终极;根本;基本原则; eventually:adv.最后,终于; sandcastle:n.沙塔; tide:n.潮汐; v.顺应潮水航行;
I've asked a dozen other cosmologists and they all had different answers. 我问过十几位宇宙学家, 他们各有不同的答案。
To some, the death of the cosmos just seems right. 对一些人来说, 宇宙的死亡似乎很合理。
It's freeing to know that we are temporary . 知道我们只是过客, 有种被释放的自由感。
'"I very much like our blipness," one told me. 其中一个人说:「我很喜欢 我们只是时空中的一个小点点。」
cosmologists:n.宇宙论者,宇宙学家; temporary:adj.暂时的,临时的;n.临时工,临时雇员;
To others, the question itself motivates the search for some alternative theory. 对另一些人来说,这个问题本身 促使他们寻找一些替代理论:
There must be some way to carry on. 我们一定有办法继续下去。
The slow fade to black just cannot be how our story ends. 慢慢淡入黑暗中 不可能是我们故事的结局。
One found comfort in the possibility of the multiverse . 有一个人认为 有多重宇宙存在的可能性,
'"It's not all about us," he said. 他说:「我们的世界 不会是唯一的世界。」[05:27]
motivates:v.促使;刺激;给与动机(motivate的三单形式); alternative:adj.供选择的;选择性的;交替的;n.二中择一;供替代的选择; multiverse:n.多元宇宙;
Personally , I feel lucky. 就我个人而言,我感到很幸运。
Our cosmos existed for billions of years before us and it will carry on long after we are gone. 我们的宇宙在我们之前 存在了数十亿年, 在我们离开之后,还会持续很久。
For this brief moment, we are here. 我们在这个短暂的时刻存在于此。
We may be insignificant to the cosmos as a whole , but we have an immense power to understand it, to see the beginning, to contemplate the end, to look up into the sky and see ourselves reflected in every tiny point of light. 以整个宇宙来说,我们可能微不足道, 但我们却具有强大的力量去理解它, 看到宇宙的生成, 思考它会如何终了, 并在仰望星空时, 看到自己映在每个微小的光点中。
Personally:adv.个人;亲自;本人;就本人而言; insignificant:adj.无关紧要的; as a whole:总的来说; immense:adj.巨大的,广大的;无边无际的;非常好的; contemplate:v.沉思;注视;思忖;预期; reflected:adj.反射的;得自他人的;v.反射;思考;(reflect的过去式和过去分词)
There is a kind of luxury in the freedom to look beyond our own little lives and contemplate the end of everything. 我们的视界能够超越自己的小生命, 思考一切的终结, 这种自由是一种奢侈。
We, fragile , doomed humans carry within us a sense of discovery and wonder. 我们——脆弱、 注定终将灭亡的人类—— 带着一种发现的精神 和对事物的惊奇感,
It will persist as long as there are thinking beings in the cosmos. 只要宇宙中有能够思考的物种存在, 这种精神就会持续下去,
luxury:n.奢侈,奢华;奢侈品;享受;adj.奢侈的; fragile:adj.脆的;易碎的; doomed:adj.注定的;命定的;v.使…注定失败(doom的过去分词和过去式) persist:v.保持;持续存在;维持;顽强地坚持; as long as:conj.只要;长达;如果;既然;
And we can decide how to use it. 而我们能够决定如何利用它。
Thank you. 谢谢。