TED2008
Brian Cox: CERN's supercollider
Brian Cox sobre o supercolisionador do CERN
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O "Físico e estrela de Rock" Brian Cox fala sobre o seu traballo no Gran Colisionador de Hadróns no CERN. Expoñendo o meirande da cencia dun xeito atractivo e accesible, Cox acompáñanos nunha viaxe arredor deste enorme proxecto.
Brian Cox - Physicist
Physicist Brian Cox has two jobs: working with the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and explaining big science to the general public. He's a professor at the University of Manchester. Full bio
Physicist Brian Cox has two jobs: working with the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and explaining big science to the general public. He's a professor at the University of Manchester. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:19
This is the Large Hadron Collider.
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Éste é o Gran Colisionador de Hadróns.
00:22
It's 27 kilometers in circumference.
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Ten 27 kilómetros de circunferencia;
00:24
It's the biggest scientific experiment ever attempted.
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é o meirande experimento centífico endexamais intentado.
00:27
Over 10,000 physicists and engineers
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Máis de 10.000 físicos e enxeñeiros
00:30
from 85 countries around the world
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De 85 países do mundo
00:32
have come together over several decades
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reunímonos durante varias décadas
00:34
to build this machine.
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para crear esta máquina.
00:36
What we do is we accelerate protons --
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O que facemos é acelerar protóns --
00:38
so, hydrogen nuclei --
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é dicir, núcleos de hidróxeno --
00:40
around 99.999999
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a aproximadamente o 99.999999
00:44
percent the speed of light.
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por cento da velocidade da luz.
00:46
Right? At that speed, they go around
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De acordo? A esa velocidade, atravesan
00:48
that 27 kilometers 11,000 times a second.
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eses 27 kilómetros 11.000 veces por segundo.
00:52
And we collide them with another beam of protons
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E facémolos colisionar con outro feixe de protóns
00:54
going in the opposite direction.
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que circulan en dirección oposta.
00:57
We collide them inside giant detectors.
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Facémolos colisionar en detectores xigantes.
00:59
They're essentially digital cameras.
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Son básicamente cámaras dixitais.
01:01
And this is the one that I work on, ATLAS.
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E ista é na que eu traballo, ATLAS.
01:03
You get some sense of the size --
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Fagámonos unha idea do tamaño --
01:05
you can just see these EU standard-size
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aquí debaixo podemos ver unha persoa
01:07
people underneath.
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tamaño estándar na UE.
01:09
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
01:11
You get some sense of the size: 44 meters wide,
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Fagámonos unha idea do tamaño: 44 metros de ancho,
01:14
22 meters in diameter, 7,000 tons.
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22 metros de diámetro, 7.000 toneladas.
01:17
And we re-create the conditions that were present
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E recreamos as condicións presentes
01:20
less than a billionth of a second after the universe began
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menos dunha milmillonésima de segundo despois do comenzo do universo --
01:23
up to 600 million times a second
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hasta 600 millóns de veces por segundo
01:25
inside that detector -- immense numbers.
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dentro dese detector -- números inmensos.
01:29
And if you see those metal bits there --
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E se ven esas pezas de metal ahí --
01:31
those are huge magnets that bend
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son enormes imáns que curvan
01:33
electrically charged particles,
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partículas eléctricamente cargadas,
01:35
so it can measure how fast they're traveling.
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para así medir a qué velocidade viaxan.
01:37
This is a picture about a year ago.
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Ista é unha imaxe de fai un ano.
01:39
Those magnets are in there.
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Os imáns están aí dentro.
01:41
And, again, a EU standard-size, real person,
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E, de novo, unha persona real tamaño estándar na UE,
01:43
so you get some sense of the scale.
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así que podedes facervos unha idea da escala.
01:46
And it's in there that those mini-Big Bangs will be created,
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E é aí onde se crearán esos mini-Big Bangs,
01:48
sometime in the summer this year.
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nalgún momento deste verán.
01:50
And actually, this morning, I got an email
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De feito, esta mañán recibín un correo
01:52
saying that we've just finished, today,
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decindo que hoxe rematamos
01:54
building the last piece of ATLAS.
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de construir a última peza do ATLAS
01:56
So as of today, it's finished. I'd like to say
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Así que a día de hoxe está rematado. Gostaríame dicir
01:58
that I planned that for TED,
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que planexaba iso para TED,
02:00
but I didn't. So it's been completed as of today.
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pero non foi así. Así que se rematou a día de hoxe.
02:03
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
02:07
Yeah, it's a wonderful achievement.
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Sí, é un logro marabilloso.
02:09
So, you might be asking, "Why?
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Pero preguntarédesvos, "¿Por qué?"
02:11
Why create the conditions that were present
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¿Por qué crear as condicións presentes
02:13
less than a billionth of a second after the universe began?"
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menos dunha milmillonésima de segundo tras o comezo do universo?
02:16
Well, particle physicists are nothing if not ambitious.
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Ben, se os físicos de partículas son algo é ambiciosos.
02:19
And the aim of particle physics is to understand
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E o obxectivo da física de partículas é comprender
02:22
what everything's made of, and how everything sticks together.
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de qué está feito todo, e como se mantén todo unido.
02:25
And by everything I mean, of course,
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E por "todo" quero dicir, por suposto,
02:27
me and you, the Earth, the Sun,
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ti e eu, a Terra, o Sol,
02:30
the 100 billion suns in our galaxy
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Os centos de miles de millóns de soles na nosa galaxia
02:33
and the 100 billion galaxies
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e os centos de miles de millóns de galaxias
02:35
in the observable universe.
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no universo observable.
02:37
Absolutely everything.
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Absolutamente todo.
02:39
Now you might say, "Well, OK, but why not just look at it?
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Agora podes dicir, "Ben, vale, ¿pero por qué non limitarnos a observar?
02:41
You know? If you want to know what I'm made of, let's look at me."
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¿Sabes? Se queres saber de qué estou feito, obsérvame."
02:44
Well, we found that as you look back in time,
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Ben, descubrimos que según miras atrás no tempo,
02:47
the universe gets hotter and hotter,
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o universo vólvese máis e máis quente,
02:50
denser and denser, and simpler and simpler.
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máis e máis denso, e máis e máis simple.
02:53
Now, there's no real reason I'm aware of for that,
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De momento non hai ningunha razón que coñeza para iso,
02:55
but that seems to be the case.
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pero ese parece ser o caso.
02:58
So, way back in the early times of the universe,
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Así que, de volta ós primeiros intres do universo,
03:00
we believe it was very simple and understandable.
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cremos que era moi simple e comprensible
03:03
All this complexity, all the way to these wonderful things --
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Toda esta complexidade, todo o camiño a éstas cousas marabillosas --
03:06
human brains -- are a property of an old
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o cerebro humán -- son unha propiedade dun vello,
03:08
and cold and complicated universe.
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frío e complicado universo.
03:11
Back at the start, in the first billionth of a second,
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De volta ó comezo, na primeira milmillonésima de segundo,
03:14
we believe, or we've observed, it was very simple.
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cremos, ou temos observado, que era moi simple.
03:16
It's almost like ...
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É case coma...
03:18
imagine a snowflake in your hand,
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imaxina un floco de neve na tua man,
03:20
and you look at it, and it's an incredibly complicated,
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míralo e é un obxecto increíblemente compricado
03:23
beautiful object. But as you heat it up,
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e belo. Pero se o quentas
03:26
it'll melt into a pool of water,
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derretirase nunha poza,
03:29
and you would be able to see that, actually, it was just made
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e poderás ver que en realidade estaba feito só
03:31
of H20, water.
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de H2O, auga.
03:34
So it's in that same sense that we look back in time
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Do mesmo xeito ollamos atrás no tempo
03:36
to understand what the universe is made of.
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para entender de qué está feito o universo.
03:39
And, as of today, it's made of these things.
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E, a día de hoxe, está feito destas cousas.
03:42
Just 12 particles of matter,
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Só 12 partículas de materia,
03:44
stuck together by four forces of nature.
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unidas por catro forzas da natureza.
03:48
The quarks, these pink things, are the things that make up protons and neutrons
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Os quarks, esas cousas rosadas, son as que forman protóns e neutróns
03:51
that make up the atomic nuclei in your body.
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que compoñen os núcleos atómicos do teu corpo.
03:54
The electron -- the thing that goes around
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O electrón -- iso que flota arredor
03:56
the atomic nucleus --
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do núcleo atómico --
03:58
held around in orbit, by the way, by the electromagnetic force
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mantido en órbita, por certo, pola forza electromagnética
04:01
that's carried by this thing, the photon.
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transportada por ésta cousa, o fotón.
04:03
The quarks are stuck together by other things called gluons.
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Os quarks mantéñense unidos por outras cousas chamadas gluóns.
04:06
And these guys, here, they're the weak nuclear force,
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E estes tipos daquí son a forza nuclear débil,
04:08
probably the least familiar.
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probablemente a menos familiar
04:10
But, without it, the sun wouldn't shine.
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Mais sen ela o sol non brillaría.
04:12
And when the sun shines, you get copious quantities
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E cando o sol brilla expúlsanse grandes cantidades
04:14
of these things, called neutrinos, pouring out.
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destas cousas chamadas neutrinos.
04:17
Actually, if you just look at your thumbnail --
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De feito, se miras á unlla do teu polgar --
04:20
about a square centimeter --
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aproximadamente un centímetro cadrado -- hai aproximadamente
04:23
there are something like 60 billion neutrinos per second
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uns 60 mil millóns de neutrinos por segundo
04:26
from the sun, passing
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do sol, pasando
04:28
through every square centimeter of your body.
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a través de cada centímetro cadrado do teu corpo.
04:30
But you don't feel them, because the weak force
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Mais non os sintes porque a forza débil
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is correctly named --
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está ben nomeada.
04:34
very short range and very weak,
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Moi curto alcance e moi débil,
04:36
so they just fly through you.
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así que simplemente voan a través de tí.
04:38
And these particles have been discovered
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E estas partículas foron descubertas
04:40
over the last century, pretty much.
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máis ben no último século.
04:42
The first one, the electron, was discovered in 1897,
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A primeira, o electrón, foi descuberta en 1897,
04:44
and the last one, this thing called the tau neutrino,
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e a última, esta cousa chamada o neutrino tauónico,
04:47
in the year 2000. Actually just --
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no ano 2000. De feito --
04:49
I was going to say, just up the road in Chicago. I know it's a big country,
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Ía decir aquí ó lado, en Chicago. Seica é un país grande
04:52
America, isn't it?
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América, ¿non sí?
04:55
Just up the road.
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Aquí ó lado.
04:58
Relative to the universe, it's just up the road.
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Respecto ó universo é aquí ó lado.
05:01
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
05:03
So, this thing was discovered in the year 2000,
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Isto foi descuberto no ano 2000,
05:05
so it's a relatively recent picture.
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así que é unha escea recente.
05:08
One of the wonderful things, actually, I find,
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Unha das cousas que atopo marabillosas
05:10
is that we've discovered any of them, when you realize how tiny they are.
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é que descubriramos calquera delas, cando descubres o pequenas que son.
05:13
You know, they're a step in size
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¿Sabes?, son un cambio de escala
05:15
from the entire observable universe.
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respecto a todo o universo observable.
05:17
So, 100 billion galaxies,
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100 mil millóns de galaxias,
05:19
13.7 billion light years away --
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a 13.700 millóns de anos luz --
05:22
a step in size from that to Monterey, actually,
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un cambio de escala de iso a Monterey
05:25
is about the same as from Monterey to these things.
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é aproximadamente o mesmo que de Monterey a éstas cousas.
05:28
Absolutely, exquisitely minute,
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Absoluta e exquisitamente diminutas,
05:31
and yet we've discovered pretty much the full set.
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e prácticamente descubrímolas todas.
05:35
So, one of my most illustrious forebears
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Un dos meus máis ilustres predecesores,
05:38
at Manchester University, Ernest Rutherford,
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na Universidade de Manchester, Ernest Rutherford,
05:40
discoverer of the atomic nucleus,
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descubridor do núcleo do átomo,
05:42
once said, "All science is either physics
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dixo unha vez, "Toda cencia é ou ben física
05:44
or stamp collecting."
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ou filatelia."
05:46
Now, I don't think he meant to insult
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Ben, non creo que quixera insultar
05:49
the rest of science,
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ó resto da cencia,
05:51
although he was from New Zealand, so it's possible.
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aínda que sendo de Nova Zelanda é posible.
05:54
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
05:56
But what he meant was that what we've done, really,
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O que quería dicir é que, en realidade, o que fixemos
05:58
is stamp collect there.
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aquí é filatelia --
06:00
OK, we've discovered the particles,
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De acordo, descubrimos as partículas,
06:02
but unless you understand the underlying
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mais a menos que entendas a razón
06:04
reason for that pattern -- you know, why it's built the way it is --
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subxacente para ese patrón -- é dicir, por qué está construido dese xeito --
06:07
really you've done stamp collecting. You haven't done science.
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en realidade o que fixeches é filatelia -- non fixeches ciencia.
06:10
Fortunately, we have
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Afortunadamente, temos ó que é probablemente
06:12
probably one of the greatest scientific achievements of the twentieth century
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un dos meirandes descubrimentos centíficos do século 20
06:15
that underpins that pattern.
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respaldando ese patrón.
06:17
It's the Newton's laws, if you want,
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Son as leis de Newton, se queres,
06:19
of particle physics.
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da física de partículas.
06:21
It's called the standard model -- beautifully simple mathematical equation.
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Chámase o "modelo estándar" -- ecuación matemática fermosamente simple.
06:24
You could stick it on the front of a T-shirt,
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Poderías poñela nunha camiseta,
06:26
which is always the sign of elegance.
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o que sempre é símbolo de elegancia.
06:29
This is it.
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Iso é.
06:31
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
06:33
I've been a little disingenuous, because I've expanded it out
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Fun algo insincero, porque prolonguei isto
06:35
in all its gory detail.
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ó seu maximo detalle.
06:37
This equation, though, allows you to calculate everything --
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Ista ecuación, porén, permíteche calcular todo o que ocorre no universo
06:39
other than gravity -- that happens in the universe.
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-- agás a gravidade --.
06:42
So, you want to know why the sky is blue, why atomic nuclei stick together --
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Así que se queres saber porqué é o ceo azul, porqué os núcleos atómicos permanecen unidos --
06:45
in principle, you've got a big enough computer --
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en principio cun ordenador grande abondo --
06:47
why DNA is the shape it is.
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porqué o ADN ten esa forma.
06:49
In principle, you should be able to calculate it from that equation.
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En principio deberías ser capaz de calculalo desde esa ecuación.
06:52
But there's a problem.
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Mais hai un problema.
06:55
Can anyone see what it is?
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Alguén sabe cal é?
06:59
A bottle of champagne for anyone that tells me.
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Unha botella de champaña para quen mo diga.
07:02
I'll make it easier, actually, by blowing one of the lines up.
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Poreino máis fácil, destacando unha das frases.
07:05
Basically, each of these terms
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Básicamente cada un deses termos
07:07
refers to some of the particles.
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refíresa a algunha das partículas.
07:09
So those Ws there refer to the Ws, and how they stick together.
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Así que esas Ws de aí refírense ás Ws, e a como se manteñen unidas.
07:12
These carriers of the weak force, the Zs, the same.
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Eses portadores da forza débil, os Zeds, igual.
07:15
But there's an extra symbol in this equation: H.
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Mais hai un símbolo extra nesta ecuación: H.
07:17
Right, H.
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Correcto, H
07:19
H stands for Higgs particle.
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H quere dicir partícula de Higgs.
07:21
Higgs particles have not been discovered.
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As partículas de Higgs non foron descubertas.
07:24
But they're necessary: they're necessary
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Mais son necesarias -- son necesarias
07:26
to make that mathematics work.
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para que as matemáticas funcionen.
07:28
So all the exquisitely detailed calculations we can do
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Así que todos os cálculos exquisitamente detallados que podemos facer
07:30
with that wonderful equation
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con esa ecuación marabillosa
07:32
wouldn't be possible without an extra bit.
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non serían posibles sen algo máis.
07:34
So it's a prediction:
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Así que é unha predicción --
07:36
a prediction of a new particle.
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unha predicción dunha nova partícula.
07:38
What does it do?
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¿Qué fai?
07:40
Well, we had a long time to come up with good analogies.
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Ben, tivemos moito tempo para atopar boas analoxías.
07:42
And back in the 1980s, when we wanted the money
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E nos anos 80, cando queriamos os cartos
07:45
for the LHC from the U.K. government,
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para o LHC do goberno de Reino Unido,
07:47
Margaret Thatcher, at the time, said,
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Margaret Thatcher, por entón dixo:
07:49
"If you guys can explain, in language
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"Rapaces, se podedes explicar de forma
07:51
a politician can understand,
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que un político poida entender
07:53
what the hell it is that you're doing, you can have the money.
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qué demos estades a facer, tedes os cartos.
07:56
I want to know what this Higgs particle does."
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Quero saber qué fai esa partícula de Higgs."
07:58
And we came up with this analogy, and it seemed to work.
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E fixemos esta analoxía e pareceu funcionar.
08:00
Well, what the Higgs does is, it gives mass to the fundamental particles.
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Ben, o que a partícula de Higgs fai é dar masa ás partículas fundamentais.
08:03
And the picture is that the whole universe --
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E a idea é que todo o universo --
08:05
and that doesn't mean just space, it means me as well, and inside you --
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e iso non quere dicir só o espacio, senón eu tamén, e dentro de ti --
08:08
the whole universe is full of something called a Higgs field.
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todo o universo está cheo de algo chamado o campo de Higgs.
08:11
Higgs particles, if you will.
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As partículas de Higgs, se queres.
08:13
The analogy is that these people in a room
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A analoxía é que a xente que está nesta habitación
08:15
are the Higgs particles.
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son as partículas de Higgs.
08:17
Now when a particle moves through the universe,
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Cando unha partícula se move polo universo,
08:19
it can interact with these Higgs particles.
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pode interactuar con éstas partículas de Higgs.
08:22
But imagine someone who's not very popular moves through the room.
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Pero imaxinade que alguén que non é moi popular se move pola habitación.
08:25
Then everyone ignores them. They can just pass through the room very quickly,
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Todos o ignoran. Poden pasar pola habitación moi rápido,
08:28
essentially at the speed of light. They're massless.
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esencialmente á velocidade da luz. Non teñen masa.
08:31
And imagine someone incredibly important
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E imaxinade que alguén incriblemente importante,
08:33
and popular and intelligent
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popular e intelixente
08:35
walks into the room.
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entra na habitación.
08:38
They're surrounded by people, and their passage through the room is impeded.
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Son rodeados por outros, e o seu paso pola habitación impedido.
08:41
It's almost like they get heavy. They get massive.
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É coma se se volveran pesados. Vólvense masivos.
08:44
And that's exactly the way the Higgs mechanism works.
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E así exactamente é como funciona o mecanismo de Higgs.
08:47
The picture is that the electrons and the quarks
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A idea é que os electróns e os quarks
08:49
in your body and in the universe that we see around us
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do teu corpo e do universo que vemos ó noso redor
08:52
are heavy, in a sense, and massive,
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son pesados, de algún xeito, e masivos,
08:54
because they're surrounded by Higgs particles.
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porque están rodeados de partículas de Higgs.
08:56
They're interacting with the Higgs field.
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Interactúan co campo de Higgs.
08:59
If that picture's true,
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Se esa idea é certa,
09:01
then we have to discover those Higgs particles at the LHC.
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temos que descubrir esas partículas de Higgs no LHC.
09:05
If it's not true -- because it's quite a convoluted mechanism,
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Se non é certo -- porque é un mecanismo moi intrincado,
09:07
although it's the simplest we've been able to think of --
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a pesares de ser o máis sinxelo que puidemos imaxinar --
09:10
then whatever does the job of the Higgs particles
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daquela o que sexa que fai o traballo das partículas de Higgs
09:12
we know have to turn up
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sabemos que ten que revelarse
09:14
at the LHC.
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no LHC.
09:16
So, that's one of the prime reasons we built this giant machine.
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Esa é unha das razóns principais de que construiramos esta máquina xigante.
09:19
I'm glad you recognize Margaret Thatcher.
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Estou encantado de que reconocerades a Margaret Thatcher.
09:21
Actually, I thought about making it more culturally relevant, but --
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De feito pensei en facelo máis relevante culturalmente, pero --
09:24
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
09:27
anyway.
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Dá igual.
09:29
So that's one thing.
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Iso por un lado.
09:31
That's essentially a guarantee of what the LHC will find.
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Esa é esencialmente unha garantía do que atopará o LHC.
09:34
There are many other things. You've heard
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Hai moitas mais cousas. Teñen oído falar
09:36
many of the big problems in particle physics.
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de moitos dos grandes problemas na física de partículas.
09:38
One of them you heard about: dark matter, dark energy.
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Un dos que teñen oído falar: materia escura, enerxía escura.
09:41
There's another issue,
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Aí hai outro problema,
09:43
which is that the forces in nature -- it's quite beautiful, actually --
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que é que as forzas da natureza -- en realidade é moi fermoso --
09:45
seem, as you go back in time,
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parecen, ollando atrás no tempo,
09:47
they seem to change in strength.
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parecen mudar de forza.
09:49
Well, they do change in strength.
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Ben, mudan de forza.
09:51
So, the electromagnetic force, the force that holds us together,
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Así que a forza electromagnética, a forza que nos mantén unidos,
09:54
gets stronger as you go to higher temperatures.
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vólvese máis forte ó aumentares a temperatura.
09:57
The strong force, the strong nuclear force, which sticks nuclei together,
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A forza intensa, a forza nuclear intensa, a que mantén os núcleos unidos,
10:00
gets weaker. And what you see is the standard model --
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tórnase máis feble. E o que ves é o modelo estándar --
10:03
you can calculate how these change -- is the forces,
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podes calcular como éstas cambian -- é que as forzas --
10:05
the three forces, other than gravity,
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as tres forzas, agás a gravidade --
10:07
almost seem to come together at one point.
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case parecen unirse chegado un punto.
10:09
It's almost as if there was one beautiful
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É case coma se houbese unha fermosa
10:11
kind of super-force, back at the beginning of time.
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especie de super forza, no comenzo dos tempos.
10:14
But they just miss.
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Pero fallan por pouco.
10:16
Now there's a theory called super-symmetry,
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Tamén hai unha teoría chamada supersimetría,
10:18
which doubles the number of particles in the standard model,
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que dobla o número de partículas no modelo estándar.
10:21
which, at first sight, doesn't sound like a simplification.
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O que, en principio, non parece unha simplificación.
10:23
But actually, with this theory,
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Pero en realidade, con esta teoría,
10:25
we find that the forces of nature
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atopamos que as forzas da natureza
10:27
do seem to unify together, back at the Big Bang --
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parecen unificarse, de volta ó Big Bang.
10:30
absolutely beautiful prophecy. The model wasn't built to do that,
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Unha profecía absolutamente fermosa. O modelo non se creou para facer iso,
10:33
but it seems to do it.
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pero parece facelo.
10:35
Also, those super-symmetric particles
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Ademáis, esas partículas supersimétricas
10:37
are very strong candidates for the dark matter.
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son grandes candidatos para ser materia escura.
10:39
So a very compelling theory
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Así que é unha teoría moi atractiva
10:41
that's really mainstream physics.
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que é realmente a corrente principal en física.
10:43
And if I was to put money on it, I would put money on --
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E se tivese que apostar algo, apostaría --
10:45
in a very unscientific way -- that
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dun xeito moi pouco centífico --
10:47
that these things would also crop up at the LHC.
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a que éstas cousas se amosarán tamén no LHC.
10:50
Many other things that the LHC could discover.
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E moitas outras cousas que o LHC podería descubrir.
10:53
But in the last few minutes, I just want to give you
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Mais nestes últimos minutos, quixera amosarlles
10:56
a different perspective
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unha perspectiva diferente
10:58
of what I think -- what particle physics
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do que penso -- o que a física de partículas
11:00
really means to me -- particle physics and cosmology.
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significa en realidade para mín -- a física de partículas e a cosmoloxía.
11:03
And that's that I think it's given us a wonderful
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E é iso o que penso que nos dou unha marabillosa
11:06
narrative -- almost a creation story,
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narrativa -- case unha historia da creación,
11:09
if you'd like -- about the universe,
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se queredes -- sobre o universo,
11:11
from modern science over the last few decades.
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da cencia moderna nas últimas décadas.
11:14
And I'd say that it deserves,
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E diría que se merece,
11:16
in the spirit of Wade Davis' talk,
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coma diría Wade Davis,
11:18
to be at least put up there with these wonderful creation stories
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cando menos compararse ás marabillosas historias da creación
11:21
of the peoples of the high Andes and the frozen north.
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da xente dos altos Andes e o xeado norte.
11:25
This is a creation story, I think, equally as wonderful.
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Creo que é unha historia da creación igualmente marabillosa.
11:29
The story goes like this: we know that
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A historia é a seguinte: sabemos que
11:31
the universe began 13.7 billion years ago,
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o universo comezou fai 13.700 millóns de anos,
11:34
in an immensely hot, dense state,
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nun estado inmensamente denso e quente,
11:37
much smaller than a single atom.
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moito máis pequeno que un só átomo.
11:39
It began to expand about
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Comenzou a expandirse máis ou menos
11:41
a million, billion, billion, billion billionth
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unha millonésima de milmillonésimas de milmillonésimas de milmillonésimas de milmillonésimas
11:44
of a second -- I think I got that right -- after the Big Bang.
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de segundo -- coido que está ben -- tralo Big Bang.
11:48
Gravity separated away from the other forces.
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A gravidade separouse das outras forzas.
11:50
The universe then underwent
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Entón o universo someteuse
11:52
an exponential expansion called inflation.
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a unha expansión exponencial chamada inflación.
11:55
In about the first billionth of a second or so,
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Máis ou menos na primeira milmillonésima de segundo
11:57
the Higgs field kicked in, and the quarks
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fixo acto de presencia o campo de Higgs, e os quarks
11:59
and the gluons and the electrons
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e os gluóns e os electróns
12:02
that make us up got mass.
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que nos forman adquiriron masa.
12:04
The universe continued to expand and cool.
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O universo continuou expandíndose e enfriándose.
12:07
After about a few minutes,
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Uns minutos despois
12:09
there was hydrogen and helium in the universe. That's all.
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había hidróxeno e helio no universo. Iso é todo.
12:12
The universe was about 75 percent hydrogen,
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O universo era sobre un 75 por cento hidróxeno,
12:15
25 percent helium. It still is today.
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25 por cento helio. Segue a selo hoxe.
12:18
It continued to expand
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Continuou expandíndose
12:20
about 300 million years.
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durante uns 300 millóns de anos.
12:22
Then light began to travel through the universe.
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Entón a luz comezou a viaxar a través do universo.
12:24
It was big enough to be transparent to light,
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Era grande abondo para ser transparente á luz,
12:26
and that's what we see in the cosmic microwave background
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e iso é o que vemos no fondo de microondas cósmico
12:28
that George Smoot described
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que George Smoot describiu
12:30
as looking at the face of God.
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coma mirar ó rostro de Deus.
12:32
After about 400 million years, the first stars formed,
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Tras uns 400 millóns de anos as primeiras estrelas formáronse,
12:35
and that hydrogen, that helium, then began to cook
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e ese hidróxeno, ese helio, comenzaron a cociñarse
12:37
into the heavier elements.
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para formar os elementos máis pesados.
12:39
So the elements of life --
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Así que os elementos da vida --
12:41
carbon, and oxygen and iron,
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carbono, e osíxeno e ferro,
12:43
all the elements that we need to make us up --
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todos os elementos que precisamos para formarnos --
12:45
were cooked in those first generations of stars,
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foron cociñados nesas primeiras xeracións de estrelas,
12:48
which then ran out of fuel, exploded,
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que entón quedaron sen combustible, estouraron,
12:50
threw those elements back into the universe.
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expulsaron esos elementos de volta ó universo.
12:53
They then re-collapsed into another generation
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Entón recolapsáronse noutra xeración
12:55
of stars and planets.
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de estrelas e planetas.
12:58
And on some of those planets, the oxygen, which had been created
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E nalgúns deses planetas o osíxeno que fora creado
13:01
in that first generation of stars, could fuse with hydrogen
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na primeira xeración de estrelas puido fusionarse con hidróxeno
13:04
to form water, liquid water on the surface.
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para formar auga, auga líquida na superficie.
13:07
On at least one, and maybe only one of those planets,
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Nun deses planetas, e tal vez só nun deles,
13:10
primitive life evolved,
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evolucionou vida primitiva,
13:13
which evolved over millions of years into
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que evolucionou durante millóns de anos para convertirse
13:15
things that walked upright and left footprints
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en cousas que camiñaban ergueitas e deixaban pegadas
13:17
about three and a half million years ago in the mud flats of Tanzania,
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nas terras chás de Tanzania fará tres millóns e medio de anos,
13:20
and eventually
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e eventualmente
13:22
left a footprint on another world.
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deixaron unha pegada en outro mundo.
13:24
And built this civilization,
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E crearon ésta civilización,
13:26
this wonderful picture,
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ésta marabillosa imaxe,
13:28
that turned the darkness into light,
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que converteu a escuridade en luz,
13:31
and you can see the civilization from space.
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e que permite ver a civilización dende o espacio.
13:33
As one of my great heroes, Carl Sagan, said,
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Coma dixera un dos meus grandes heroes, Carl Sagan,
13:36
these are the things -- and actually, not only these,
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éstas son as cousas -- de feito, non só éstas,
13:38
but I was looking around -- these are the things,
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botarei un vistazo -- éstas son as cousas,
13:40
like Saturn V rockets, and Sputnik,
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coma os cohetes Saturn V, e Sputnik,
13:43
and DNA, and literature and science --
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e o ADN, e a literatura e a cencia --
13:45
these are the things that hydrogen atoms do
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éstas son as cousas que fan os átomos de hidróxeno
13:47
when given 13.7 billion years.
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cando se lle dan 13.700 millóns de anos.
13:51
Absolutely remarkable.
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Absolutamente destacable.
13:53
And, the laws of physics. Right?
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E as leis da física. Correcto?
13:55
So, the right laws of physics --
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Así que as boas leis da física --
13:57
they're beautifully balanced.
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están fermosamente equilibradas.
13:59
If the weak force had been a little bit different,
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se a forza débil fose un pouco distinta,
14:01
then carbon and oxygen wouldn't be stable
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carbono e osíxeno non serían estables
14:03
inside the hearts of stars,
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nos corazóns das estrelas,
14:05
and there would be none of that in the universe.
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e non habería nada diso no universo.
14:08
And I think that's
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E creo que ésa é unha --
14:10
a wonderful and significant story.
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unha historia marabillosa e significativa.
14:12
50 years ago, I couldn't have told that story,
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Fai 50 anos non podería contar esa historia,
14:14
because we didn't know it.
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porque non a coñecíamos.
14:16
It makes me really feel that
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Iso faime sentir realmente que
14:18
that civilization --
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ésa civilización --
14:20
which, as I say, if you believe
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a cal, como digo, se cres
14:22
the scientific creation story,
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na historia da creación centífica,
14:24
has emerged purely as a result of the laws of physics,
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emerxeu puramente como resultado das leis da física,
14:27
and a few hydrogen atoms --
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e algúns átomos de hidróxeno --
14:29
then I think, to me anyway,
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entón penso que, a min en todo caso,
14:32
it makes me feel incredibly valuable.
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faime sentir incriblemente valioso.
14:34
So that's the LHC.
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Así que iso é o LHC.
14:36
The LHC is certainly, when it turns on in summer,
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O LHC seguramente, cando se poña en marcha no verán,
14:39
going to write the next chapter of that book.
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vai escribir o próximo capítulo dese libro.
14:42
And I'm certainly looking forward with
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E certamente agardo con
14:44
immense excitement to it being turned on.
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inmensa excitación a que se poña en marcha.
14:46
Thanks.
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Gracias.
14:48
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Brian Cox - PhysicistPhysicist Brian Cox has two jobs: working with the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and explaining big science to the general public. He's a professor at the University of Manchester.
Why you should listen
Based at the University of Manchester, Brian Cox works at CERN in Geneva on the ATLAS experiment, studying the forward proton detectors for the Large Hadron Collider there. He's a professor at the University of Manchester, working in the High Energy Physics group, and is a research fellow of the Royal Society.
He's also become a vital voice in the UK media for explaining physics to the public. With his rockstar hair and accessible charm, he's the go-to physicist for explaining heady concepts on British TV and radio. (If you're in the UK, watch him on The Big Bang Machine.) He was the science advisor for the 2007 film Sunshine. He answers science questions every Friday on BBC6 radio's Breakfast Show.
Brian Cox | Speaker | TED.com