ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Allan Adams - Theoretical physicist
Allan Adams is a theoretical physicist working at the intersection of fluid dynamics, quantum field theory and string theory.

Why you should listen

Allan Adams is a theoretical physicist working at the intersection of fluid dynamics, quantum field theory and string theory. His research in theoretical physics focuses on string theory both as a model of quantum gravity and as a strong-coupling description of non-gravitational systems.

Like water, string theory enjoys many distinct phases in which the low-energy phenomena take qualitatively different forms. In its most familiar phases, string theory reduces to a perturbative theory of quantum gravity. These phases are useful for studying, for example, the resolution of singularities in classical gravity, or the set of possibilities for the geometry and fields of spacetime. Along these lines, Adams is particularly interested in microscopic quantization of flux vacua, and in the search for constraints on low-energy physics derived from consistency of the stringy UV completion.

In other phases, when the gravitational interactions become strong and a smooth spacetime geometry ceases to be a good approximation, a more convenient description of string theory may be given in terms of a weakly-coupled non-gravitational quantum field theory. Remarkably, these two descriptions—with and without gravity—appear to be completely equivalent, with one remaining weakly-coupled when its dual is strongly interacting. This equivalence, known as gauge-gravity duality, allows us to study strongly-coupled string and quantum field theories by studying perturbative features of their weakly-coupled duals. Gauge-gravity duals have already led to interesting predictions for the quark-gluon plasma studied at RHIC. A major focus of Adams's present research is to use such dualities to find weakly-coupled descriptions of strongly-interacting condensed matter systems which can be realized in the lab.
More profile about the speaker
Allan Adams | Speaker | TED.com
TED2016

Allan Adams: What the discovery of gravitational waves means

艾伦·亚当斯: 引力波的发现意味着什么

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2,709,056 views

十几亿年前,遥远星系中的两个黑洞陷入了一个漩涡之中,以不可阻挡之势冲向彼此,最终相互碰撞。“所有产生的能量都被注入时间和空间本身,” 理论物理学家艾伦·亚当斯说,“使宇宙以引力波的形式延展。” 大约25年前,一队科学家建造了一个巨大的名为LIGO的激光探测器,以此来搜寻这种只存在于预测之中但还没有被观测到的引力波。在这段不太容易理解的演讲中,亚当斯讲述了2015年9月LIGO探测到了一个非常微弱的异常现象——这是物理学发展史上最为激动人心的发现之一。
- Theoretical physicist
Allan Adams is a theoretical physicist working at the intersection of fluid dynamics, quantum field theory and string theory. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
1.3 billion十亿 years年份 ago,
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13亿年前,
在一个无比遥远的星系,
00:16
in a distant遥远, distant遥远 galaxy星系,
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00:19
two black黑色 holes locked锁定 into a spiral螺旋,
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两个黑洞陷入了一个漩涡之中,
以不可阻挡之势冲向彼此,
00:22
falling落下 inexorably无情 towards each other
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00:25
and collided相撞,
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然后相撞,
由此将等同于三个太阳的物质
00:26
converting转换 three Suns'太阳队 worth价值 of stuff东东
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在十分之一秒内转化成了纯能量。
00:29
into pure energy能源 in a tenth第十 of a second第二.
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00:33
For that brief简要 moment时刻 in time,
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在那短暂的一瞬间,
00:36
the glow辉光 was brighter光明 than all the stars明星
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碰撞产生的光芒
令已知宇宙中所有星系中的
00:39
in all the galaxies星系
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00:41
in all of the known已知 Universe宇宙.
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所有恒星都黯然失色。
00:44
It was a very
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那是一个名副其实的
00:46
big
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大——
00:47
bang.
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爆炸。
00:50
But they didn't release发布
their energy能源 in light.
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然而它们并没有
以光的形式释放能量。
00:53
I mean, you know, they're black黑色 holes.
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因为它们是黑洞。
00:57
All that energy能源 was pumped
into the fabric of space空间 and time itself本身,
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所有产生的能量
都被注入时间和空间本身,
01:02
making制造 the Universe宇宙 explode爆炸
in gravitational引力 waves波浪.
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使宇宙以引力波的形式延展。
让我来对所涉及的
时间标度做一下说明。
01:05
Let me give you a sense
of the timescale时间表 at work here.
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13亿年前,
01:09
1.3 billion十亿 years年份 ago,
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01:11
Earth地球 had just managed管理 to evolve发展
multicellular life.
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地球上刚出现了多细胞生物。
在那之后,地球上的生物不断进化,
01:16
Since以来 then, Earth地球 has made制作 and evolved进化
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珊瑚、鱼类、植物、恐龙、人类相继出现,
当然,还有互联网。
01:19
corals珊瑚虫, fish, plants植物, dinosaurs恐龙, people
and even -- God save保存 us -- the Internet互联网.
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01:26
And about 25 years年份 ago,
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大约25年前,
01:28
a particularly尤其 audacious胆大 set of people --
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一群极具冒险精神的人,
01:30
Rai清莱 Weiss魏斯 at MITMIT, Kip基普 Thorne索恩
and Ronald罗纳德 DreverDrever的 at Caltech加州理工学院 --
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麻省理工学院的瑞伊·维斯,
以及加州理工学院的
奇普·索恩和罗纳德·德雷弗,
产生了一个他们认为
非常了不起的想法:
01:36
decided决定 that it would be really neat整齐
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01:37
to build建立 a giant巨人 laser激光 detector探测器
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他们想要制造
一台庞大的激光探测器,
01:40
with which哪一个 to search搜索
for the gravitational引力 waves波浪
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来搜寻由黑洞撞击等产生的引力波。
01:43
from things like colliding碰撞 black黑色 holes.
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01:46
Now, most people thought they were nuts坚果.
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大多数人都觉得他们疯了。
01:49
But enough足够 people realized实现
that they were brilliant辉煌 nuts坚果
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但也有很多人认为
他们是了不起的疯子,
所以美国国家科学基金会决定
为他们这一疯狂的想法提供资金支持。
01:53
that the US National国民 Science科学 Foundation基础
decided决定 to fund基金 their crazy idea理念.
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01:58
So after decades几十年 of development发展,
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由此,经历了这几十年的发展,
02:01
construction施工 and imagination想像力
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通过不断的建设和构想,
02:04
and a breathtaking惊险 amount of hard work,
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以及惊人数量的辛勤工作,
他们最终建成了这台
名为LIGO的探测器:
02:08
they built内置 their detector探测器, called LIGOLIGO:
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全称叫做“激光干涉引力波观测台”。
02:11
The Laser激光 Interferometer干涉仪
Gravitational-Wave引力波 Observatory天文台.
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02:16
For the last several一些 years年份,
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在过去的几年中,
LIGO的准确性得到了巨大的提升,
02:17
LIGO'sLIGO的 been undergoing经历
a huge巨大 expansion扩张 in its accuracy准确性,
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02:21
a tremendous巨大 improvement起色
in its detection发现 ability能力.
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其探测能力也有了惊人的进步。
所以现在它可以被称为“高端LIGO”。
02:24
It's now called Advanced高级 LIGOLIGO as a result结果.
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02:28
In early September九月 of 2015,
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2015年9月初,
02:31
LIGOLIGO turned转身 on for a final最后 test测试 run
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LIGO进行了最后一次试运行,
02:33
while they sorted分类 out
a few少数 lingering缠绵 details细节.
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辨识出了少量滞留的细节。
02:37
And on September九月 14 of 2015,
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随后,在2015年9月14日,
02:42
just days after the detector探测器
had gone走了 live生活,
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即探测器正式运行数天后,
由黑洞撞击所产生的引力波
02:46
the gravitational引力 waves波浪
from those colliding碰撞 black黑色 holes
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经过了地球。
02:50
passed通过 through通过 the Earth地球.
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02:52
And they passed通过 through通过 you and me.
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它经过了我们每一个人。
02:55
And they passed通过 through通过 the detector探测器.
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它也经过了那台探测器。
02:59
(Audio音频) Scott斯科特 Hughes休斯:
There's two moments瞬间 in my life
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(音频)斯科特·休斯:
在我生命中只有两个时刻
给予过我比这更为强烈的情感冲击。
03:01
more emotionally感情上 intense激烈 than that.
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一个是我女儿出生的时候。
03:03
One is the birth分娩 of my daughter女儿.
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另一个是我父亲病逝前
我与他告别的时候。
03:04
The other is when I had to say goodbye再见
to my father父亲 when he was terminally终末 ill生病.
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03:10
You know, it was the payoff付清
of my career事业, basically基本上.
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可以说我从事这项事业就是为了这一刻,
03:14
Everything I'd been working加工 on --
it's no longer science科学 fiction小说! (Laughs)
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我为其付出努力的事情
都不再是科幻小说了!(大笑)
03:21
Allan艾伦 Adams亚当斯: So that's my very good friend朋友
and collaborator合作者, Scott斯科特 Hughes休斯,
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艾伦·亚当斯:
这是我的好友兼合作伙伴,
斯科特·休斯,
麻省理工学院理论物理学家,
03:25
a theoretical理论 physicist物理学家 at MITMIT,
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03:27
who has been studying研究
gravitational引力 waves波浪 from black黑色 holes
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他研究产生于黑洞的引力波
03:30
and the signals信号 that they could impart传授
on observatories天文台 like LIGOLIGO,
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以及其传递给
像LIGO这样的观测台的信号
03:34
for the past过去 23 years年份.
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已经有23年之久。
03:36
So let me take a moment时刻 to tell you
what I mean by a gravitational引力 wave.
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现在让我来简单介绍一下
什么是引力波。
03:41
A gravitational引力 wave is a ripple波纹
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引力波是以时间和
空间的形式产生的波动。
03:44
in the shape形状 of space空间 and time.
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03:47
As the wave passes通行证 by,
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当引力波通过时,
03:49
it stretches舒展 space空间 and everything in it
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它将空间及其中的所有事物
03:51
in one direction方向,
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向同一方向拉伸,
同时将其在另一方向上压缩。
03:53
and compresses压缩 it in the other.
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03:55
This has led to countless无数 instructors教官
of general一般 relativity相对论
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这使得许多广义相对论教授
在课堂上说明广义相对论时
都跳起了滑稽的舞蹈,
03:58
doing a really silly愚蠢 dance舞蹈 to demonstrate演示
in their classes on general一般 relativity相对论.
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“拉伸再扩展,拉伸再扩展。”
04:02
"It stretches舒展 and expands展开,
it stretches舒展 and expands展开."
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研究引力波的难点在于
04:08
So the trouble麻烦 with gravitational引力 waves波浪
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04:10
is that they're very weak;
they're preposterously荒谬的 weak.
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它们太微弱了;
微弱得不合常理。
04:13
For example, the waves波浪 that hit击中 us
on September九月 14 --
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就拿9月14日穿过我们的引力波为例,
04:16
and yes, every一切 single one of you
stretched拉伸 and compressed压缩
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确实,在其作用下,
我们每一个人都被
拉伸和压缩了——
04:21
under the action行动 of that wave --
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04:23
when the waves波浪 hit击中, they stretched拉伸
the average平均 person
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但这个过程中平均每个人仅被拉伸了
10的21次方分之一。
04:26
by one part部分 in 10 to the 21.
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也就是小数点后20个零,
04:29
That's a decimal十进制 place地点, 20 zeroes,
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再加1个一。
04:32
and a one.
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04:35
That's why everyone大家 thought
the LIGOLIGO people were nuts坚果.
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这就是为什么
人们认为LIGO的研究者们都是疯子。
04:39
Even with a laser激光 detector探测器 five kilometers公里
long -- and that's already已经 crazy --
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即使使用5千米长的激光探测器,
——这本身就很疯狂,
他们还是需要以比原子核半径的
04:45
they would have to measure测量
the length长度 of those detectors探测器
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04:49
to less than one thousandth千分之一
of the radius半径 of the nucleus
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千分之一还小的单位来测量那些
04:53
of an atom原子.
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探测器的长度。
04:54
And that's preposterous荒谬.
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这真是超乎常人所能想象。
在其关于万有引力的
经典著作的末尾,
04:56
So towards the end结束
of his classic经典 text文本 on gravity重力,
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LIGO的联合发明人奇普·索恩
05:00
LIGOLIGO co-founder联合创始人 Kip基普 Thorne索恩
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05:04
described描述 the hunt打猎
for gravitational引力 waves波浪 as follows如下:
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对引力波的探索进行了如下描述,
05:07
He said, "The technical技术 difficulties困难
to be surmounted超越Liu
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他说:“要建成这样的探测器,
需要克服巨大的
05:10
in constructing建设 such这样 detectors探测器
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技术难题。
05:13
are enormous巨大.
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05:15
But physicists物理学家 are ingenious巧妙,
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但是,物理学家都是天才,
05:18
and with the support支持
of a broad广阔 lay铺设 public上市,
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再加上公众的广泛支持,
05:21
all obstacles障碍 will surely一定 be overcome克服."
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所有的难关都会被攻克。”
05:26
Thorne索恩 published发表 that in 1973,
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这本著作出版于1973年,
05:29
42 years年份 before he succeeded成功.
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42年后,他才获得了成功。
05:35
Now, coming未来 back to LIGOLIGO,
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让我们回到LIGO的话题上来,
05:36
Scott斯科特 likes喜欢 to say that LIGOLIGO
acts行为 like an ear
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斯科特总是说,
LIGO的运作方式
更像是耳朵而非眼睛。
05:39
more than it does like an eye.
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05:41
I want to explain说明 what that means手段.
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让我来解释一下这句话的意思。
可见光的波长
05:43
Visible可见 light has a wavelength波长, a size尺寸,
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比我们身边的事物都要短,
05:46
that's much smaller
than the things around you,
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比如人的五官,
05:48
the features特征 on people's人们 faces面孔,
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05:50
the size尺寸 of your cell细胞 phone电话.
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或是你们的手机。
05:53
And that's really useful有用,
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这样的波长非常有用处,
因为它令人们借助来自
05:54
because it lets让我们 you make an image图片
or a map地图 of the things around you,
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身边场景的不同位置的光线,
05:58
by looking at the light
coming未来 from different不同 spots斑点
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获得周围事物的直观影像。
06:00
in the scene现场 about you.
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06:01
Sound声音 is different不同.
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声音就不同了。
06:04
Audible听得见 sound声音 has a wavelength波长
that can be up to 50 feet long.
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人们能听到的声音的波长
可以达到50英尺。
06:07
And that makes品牌 it really difficult --
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这使得声音很难——
事实上,从实用意义来讲,
根本不可能,
06:09
in fact事实, in practical实际的 purposes目的,
impossible不可能 -- to make an image图片
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06:12
of something you really care关心 about.
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去形成你所在意的事物的直观影像。
06:14
Your child's孩子的 face面对.
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比如你的孩子长什么样子。
06:16
Instead代替, we use sound声音
to listen for features特征 like pitch沥青
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相反,我们通过声音
来辨识音高、声调、节奏、音量等特征,
06:20
and tone and rhythm韵律 and volume
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以此来推断声音背后的故事。
06:24
to infer推断 a story故事 behind背后 the sounds声音.
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06:28
That's Alice爱丽丝 talking.
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爱丽丝正在讲话。
06:29
That's Bob短发 interrupting中断.
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鲍勃插话进来了。
鲍勃真是不分场合。
06:31
Silly愚蠢 Bob短发.
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06:33
So, the same相同 is true真正
of gravitational引力 waves波浪.
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引力波也有同样的作用。
06:37
We can't use them to make simple简单 images图片
of things out in the Universe宇宙.
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我们虽然不能通过引力波
获得宇宙中事物的直观影像,
但通过倾听
06:42
But by listening to changes变化
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引力波振幅和频率的变化,
06:44
in the amplitude振幅 and frequency频率
of those waves波浪,
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我们能够听出它们所传达的故事。
06:47
we can hear the story故事
that those waves波浪 are telling告诉.
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06:52
And at least最小 for LIGOLIGO,
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至少LIGO接收到的
06:53
the frequencies频率 that it can hear
are in the audio音频 band.
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波频在人们能听到的范围内。
所以,如果我们把波形
转化为压力波和空气波,即声音,
06:58
So if we convert兑换 the wave patterns模式
into pressure压力 waves波浪 and air空气, into sound声音,
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07:03
we can literally按照字面 hear
the Universe宇宙 speaking请讲 to us.
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我们就能确实地听到
宇宙传达给我们的信息。
07:07
For example, listening to gravity重力,
just in this way,
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比如,以这种形式倾听引力波,
07:11
can tell us a lot about the collision碰撞
of two black黑色 holes,
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我们就能获得很多
有关两个黑洞撞击的信息,
07:13
something my colleague同事 Scott斯科特 has spent花费
an awful可怕 lot of time thinking思维 about.
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这也是我的同事斯科特
花了大量时间探索的事情。
07:17
(Audio音频) SHSH: If the two black黑色 holes
are non-spinning非纺,
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(音频)斯科特:
如果两个黑洞没有旋转,
你听到的是“嗡——”一声鸣响。
07:20
you get a very simple简单 chirp叽叽喳喳: whoop叫喊!
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07:22
If the two bodies身体 are spinning纺织
very rapidly急速, I have that same相同 chirp叽叽喳喳,
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如果这两个黑洞高速旋转,
响声是相同的,
07:26
but with a modulation调制 on top最佳 of it,
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但调制却发生了变化,
听起来就像这样:嗡——嗡——嗡——
07:27
so it kind of goes: whir呼呼, whir呼呼, whir呼呼!
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07:30
It's sort分类 of the vocabulary词汇 of spin
imprinted on this waveform波形.
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可以说这就是旋转
在波形图上留下的只言片语。
07:35
AAAA: So on September九月 14, 2015,
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艾伦:在2015年9月14日,
07:38
a date日期 that's definitely无疑
going to live生活 in my memory记忆,
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一个我将永远铭记的日子,
LIGO听到了这样的声音:
07:41
LIGOLIGO heard听说 this:
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(嗡鸣声)
07:43
[Whirring呼呼 sound声音]
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07:46
So if you know how to listen,
that is the sound声音 of --
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懂得如何倾听它的人知道,
这个声音来自——
斯科特:
......两个质量均为太阳30倍左右的黑洞,
07:51
(Audio音频) SHSH: ... two black黑色 holes,
each of about 30 solar太阳能 masses群众,
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以相当于搅拌机运转的速度
07:54
that were whirling旋转 around at a rate
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旋转时所发出的声音。
07:56
comparable可比 to what goes on
in your blender搅拌机.
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07:59
AAAA: It's worth价值 pausing暂停 here
to think about what that means手段.
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艾伦:我们有必要停下来好好想想
这意味着什么。
08:02
Two black黑色 holes, the densest最密集 thing
in the Universe宇宙,
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两个黑洞,
宇宙中密度最高的物体,
08:05
one with a mass of 29 Suns太阳队
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其中一个的质量是太阳的29倍,
08:07
and one with a mass of 36 Suns太阳队,
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另一个是太阳的36倍,
08:10
whirling旋转 around each other
100 times per second第二
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它们以每秒钟100次的速度
绕着彼此旋转,
08:13
before they collide碰撞.
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然后相互碰撞。
08:14
Just imagine想像 the power功率 of that.
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想象一下其中的能量。
08:16
It's fantastic奇妙.
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简直不可思议。
08:19
And we know it because we heard听说 it.
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我们之所以知道这一切,
是因为我们听到了它们。
而这就是LIGO的长远价值所在。
08:23
That's the lasting持久 importance重要性 of LIGOLIGO.
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08:27
It's an entirely完全 new way
to observe the Universe宇宙
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它为我们提供了一种前所未有的
08:30
that we've我们已经 never had before.
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观察宇宙的途径。
08:32
It's a way that lets让我们 us hear the Universe宇宙
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通过这一途径,
我们可以倾听宇宙,
倾听不可见的事物。
08:35
and hear the invisible无形.
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08:39
And there's a lot out there
that we can't see --
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在实践中甚至是理论上,
宇宙中的许多事物都是不可见的。
08:42
in practice实践 or even in principle原理.
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举个例子,超新星——
08:44
So supernova超新星, for example:
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08:46
I would love to know why very massive大规模的
stars明星 explode爆炸 in supernovae超新星.
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我非常想知道为什么恒星质量
达到一定程度时就会发生超新星爆发。
08:50
They're very useful有用;
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这很有价值,
08:51
we've我们已经 learned学到了 a lot
about the Universe宇宙 from them.
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它们帮助我们
获得了许多有关宇宙的信息。
08:54
The problem问题 is, all the interesting有趣
physics物理 happens发生 in the core核心,
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问题是,所有有趣的物理现象
都发生在内核,
而内核掩藏在数千公里厚的
08:57
and the core核心 is hidden behind背后
thousands数千 of kilometers公里
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08:59
of iron and carbon and silicon.
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铁、碳、硅元素之下。
09:01
We'll never see through通过 it,
it's opaque不透明 to light.
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这些元素不透光,
我们永远无法看穿它们。
而引力波却能穿过铁;
09:04
Gravitational引力 waves波浪 go through通过 iron
as if it were glass玻璃 --
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就像穿过完全透明的玻璃一样。
09:08
totally完全 transparent透明.
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09:10
The Big Bang: I would love
to be able能够 to explore探索
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再举个例子,大爆炸。
我很想研究
宇宙初始的时刻发生的一切,
09:12
the first few少数 moments瞬间 of the Universe宇宙,
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但是我们已经无法看到了,
09:15
but we'll never see them,
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因为大爆炸本身
已经被其发出的余辉所掩盖。
09:17
because the Big Bang itself本身
is obscured模糊 by its own拥有 afterglow余辉.
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09:22
With gravitational引力 waves波浪,
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利用引力波,
09:24
we should be able能够 to see
all the way back to the beginning开始.
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我们有可能看到其最初的状态。
09:28
Perhaps也许 most importantly重要的,
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或许,最重要的是,
09:30
I'm positive that there
are things out there
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我肯定宇宙中还有很多事物
是我们见所未见的,
09:33
that we've我们已经 never seen看到
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或是永不可见的,
09:34
that we may可能 never be able能够 to see
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甚至是我们无法想象的——
09:36
and that we haven't没有 even imagined想象 --
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09:39
things that we'll only
discover发现 by listening.
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我们只能通过倾听
去发现这一切。
09:43
And in fact事实, even
in that very first event事件,
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事实上,在运行之初,
09:45
LIGOLIGO found发现 things that we didn't expect期望.
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LIGO就发现了
我们意想不到的事物。
09:49
Here's这里的 my colleague同事 and one of the key
members会员 of the LIGOLIGO collaboration合作,
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下面的录音来自我的同事,
一位LIGO合作研究的主要成员,
麻省理工学院的马特·埃文斯,
09:53
Matt马特 Evans埃文斯, my colleague同事 at MITMIT,
addressing解决 exactly究竟 that:
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他提到的正是这一点——
马特·埃文斯:我们现在
观察到的这两个黑洞,
09:56
(Audio音频) Matt马特 Evans埃文斯: The kinds of stars明星
which哪一个 produce生产 the black黑色 holes
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09:59
that we observed观察到的 here
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它们源自的恒星
可以说是宇宙中的恐龙。
10:01
are the dinosaurs恐龙 of the Universe宇宙.
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10:03
They're these massive大规模的 things
that are old, from prehistoric史前 times,
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它们是来自于史前时代
古老而巨大的存在,
而黑洞则像是恐龙的骨骼化石,
10:06
and the black黑色 holes are kind of like
the dinosaur恐龙 bones骨头
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我们通过它们进行考古研究。
10:09
with which哪一个 we do this archeology考古学.
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10:11
So it lets让我们 us really get
a whole整个 nother诺特尔 angle角度
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这给了我们一个全新的视角,
去思考宇宙中存在的事物,
10:13
on what's out there in the Universe宇宙
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10:15
and how the stars明星 came来了 to be,
and in the end结束, of course课程,
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思考星体的形成过程,
当然,最终要去思考
10:18
how we came来了 to be out of this whole整个 mess食堂.
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人类在宇宙混沌中的发展之道。
10:22
AAAA: Our challenge挑战 now
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亚伦:我们当下的挑战
10:23
is to be as audacious胆大 as possible可能.
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就是要更加大胆尝试。
10:27
Thanks谢谢 to LIGOLIGO, we know how
to build建立 exquisite精美 detectors探测器
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LIGO让我们知道如何去建造
精密的探测器,
10:30
that can listen to the Universe宇宙,
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以此来倾听宇宙,
10:32
to the rustle沙沙 and the chirp叽叽喳喳 of the cosmos宇宙.
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倾听其中的低簌与鸣响。
10:35
Our job工作 is to dream梦想 up and build建立
new observatories天文台 --
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我们的工作是要大胆想象
并建造新的观测台——
10:39
a whole整个 new generation of observatories天文台 --
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在地球上和太空中建立
10:41
on the ground地面, in space空间.
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全新一代的观测台。
10:43
I mean, what could be more glorious辉煌
than listening to the Big Bang itself本身?
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我是说,还有什么事能比
倾听宇宙大爆炸更为美妙呢?
我们的工作就是创造伟大的梦想。
10:48
Our job工作 now is to dream梦想 big.
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跟我们一起梦想吧!
10:51
Dream梦想 with us.
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10:52
Thank you.
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谢谢。
10:53
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Yan Ge
Reviewed by Huazhe Xie

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Allan Adams - Theoretical physicist
Allan Adams is a theoretical physicist working at the intersection of fluid dynamics, quantum field theory and string theory.

Why you should listen

Allan Adams is a theoretical physicist working at the intersection of fluid dynamics, quantum field theory and string theory. His research in theoretical physics focuses on string theory both as a model of quantum gravity and as a strong-coupling description of non-gravitational systems.

Like water, string theory enjoys many distinct phases in which the low-energy phenomena take qualitatively different forms. In its most familiar phases, string theory reduces to a perturbative theory of quantum gravity. These phases are useful for studying, for example, the resolution of singularities in classical gravity, or the set of possibilities for the geometry and fields of spacetime. Along these lines, Adams is particularly interested in microscopic quantization of flux vacua, and in the search for constraints on low-energy physics derived from consistency of the stringy UV completion.

In other phases, when the gravitational interactions become strong and a smooth spacetime geometry ceases to be a good approximation, a more convenient description of string theory may be given in terms of a weakly-coupled non-gravitational quantum field theory. Remarkably, these two descriptions—with and without gravity—appear to be completely equivalent, with one remaining weakly-coupled when its dual is strongly interacting. This equivalence, known as gauge-gravity duality, allows us to study strongly-coupled string and quantum field theories by studying perturbative features of their weakly-coupled duals. Gauge-gravity duals have already led to interesting predictions for the quark-gluon plasma studied at RHIC. A major focus of Adams's present research is to use such dualities to find weakly-coupled descriptions of strongly-interacting condensed matter systems which can be realized in the lab.
More profile about the speaker
Allan Adams | Speaker | TED.com