ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Henry Lin - Student scientist
At 17, Henry Lin won an Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award for his mathematical models of distant galaxy clusters.

Why you should listen

Henry Lin studies the very hot, very large and very strange -- that is, distant galaxy clusters. (Obviously.) Lin, who matriculated at Harvard University in the fall of 2013, thinks we can learn a lot about astrophysics by studying these giant celestial bodies. In early 2013 he won the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award, the second-highest award at the Intel Science Fair, for his models of far-away galaxies. Lin is a graduate of Caddo Magnet High School in Shreveport, Louisiana.

More profile about the speaker
Henry Lin | Speaker | TED.com
TEDYouth 2013

Henry Lin: What we can learn from galaxies far, far away

亨利·林: 从遥远的星系中我们可以学到什么

Filmed:
1,400,407 views

在这个有趣而激动人心的演讲中,亨利·林出人意料地介绍了天空中的一样东西——遥远的星团。通过研究宇宙的这些最大的部件,这位英特尔科学奖获得者说,我们可以了解关于我们这个世界和星系的许多神秘的科学。
- Student scientist
At 17, Henry Lin won an Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award for his mathematical models of distant galaxy clusters. Full bio

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

00:12
Here are some images图片 of clusters集群 of galaxies星系.
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这是一些星团的照片
00:16
They're exactly究竟 what they sound声音 like.
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正如听上去一样
00:18
They are these huge巨大 collections集合 of galaxies星系,
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它们是一堆星系
00:20
bound together一起 by their mutual相互 gravity重力.
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由于互相的引力而吸引在一起
00:22
So most of the points that you see on the screen屏幕
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你在屏幕上看到的大部分点
00:25
are not individual个人 stars明星,
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不是单独的恒星
00:28
but collections集合 of stars明星, or galaxies星系.
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而是一系列恒星,或者称为星系
00:30
Now, by showing展示 you some of these images图片,
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现在通过展示这些图片
00:33
I hope希望 that you will quickly很快 see that
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希望你已经看到
00:35
galaxy星系 clusters集群 are these beautiful美丽 objects对象,
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星团是很美丽的东西
00:37
but more than that,
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都不止于此
00:39
I think galaxy星系 clusters集群 are mysterious神秘,
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我认为星团是神秘的
00:41
they are surprising奇怪,
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它们让人惊奇
00:43
and they're useful有用.
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而且它们很有用
00:44
Useful有用 as the universe's宇宙 most massive大规模的 laboratories实验室.
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作为宇宙里最大的实验室,它们很有用
00:48
And as laboratories实验室, to describe描述 galaxy星系 clusters集群
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就像描述实验室一样,要描述星团
00:51
is to describe描述 the experiments实验
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就要去描述你能够通过它们
00:53
that you can do with them.
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做的实验
00:55
And I think there are four major重大的 types类型,
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我认为那包括四种主要类型
00:57
and the first type类型 that I want to describe描述
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我想描述的第一类
01:00
is probing探测 the very big.
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是去探测“极大”。
01:02
So, how big?
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那么,是多大?
01:04
Well, here is an image图片 of a particular特定 galaxy星系 cluster.
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这里是某个星团的一张照片
01:08
It is so massive大规模的 that the light passing通过 through通过 it
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它的质量非常大,以至于光在经过的时候
01:11
is being存在 bent弯曲, it's being存在 distorted扭曲
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由于其引力的作用
01:14
by the extreme极端 gravity重力 of this cluster.
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而变弯了
01:16
And, in fact事实, if you look very carefully小心
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事实上,如果你仔细看
01:18
you'll你会 be able能够 to see rings戒指 around this cluster.
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能够看到这个星团周围的光环
01:21
Now, to give you a number,
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具体到数字
01:22
this particular特定 galaxy星系 cluster
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这个星团的质量
01:24
has a mass of over one million百万 billion十亿 suns太阳.
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有超过10的15次方个太阳那么大
01:28
It's just mind-boggling令人难以置信 how
massive大规模的 these systems系统 can get.
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这些系统质量之巨大简直让人瞠目结舌
01:31
But more than their mass,
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但除了巨大的质量之外
01:33
they have this additional额外 feature特征.
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他们还有其他特殊之处
01:35
They are essentially实质上 isolated孤立 systems系统,
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它们基本上可以算是孤立的系统
01:37
so if we like, we can think of them
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如果愿意的话,我们可以将它们
01:39
as a scaled-down缩小比例 version of the entire整个 universe宇宙.
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想象为整个宇宙的缩小版本
01:43
And many许多 of the questions问题 that we might威力 have
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我们关于宇宙在宏观上
01:45
about the universe宇宙 at large scales,
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有很多问题
01:47
such这样 as, how does gravity重力 work?
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比如,引力是怎么起作用的?
01:49
might威力 be answered回答 by studying研究 these systems系统.
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这些问题可能可以通过研究这些系统来解决
01:52
So that was very big.
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所以这就是“非常大”
01:53
The second第二 things is very hot.
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第二个特点是“非常热”
01:55
Okay, if I take an image图片 of a galaxy星系 cluster,
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如果我拿出一幅星团的照片
01:58
and I subtract减去 away all of the starlight星光,
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去掉其中所有的星光
02:01
what I'm left with is this big, blue蓝色 blobBLOB.
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留下的是这个巨大的蓝色的一团
02:03
This is in false color颜色.
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这个颜色不是真的
02:05
It's actually其实 X-rayX-射线 light that we're seeing眼看.
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事实上这是X光
02:07
And the question is, if it's not galaxies星系,
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问题是,如果不是这些星系
02:10
what is emitting发光 this light?
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那么是什么在发出这X光呢
02:12
The answer回答 is hot gas加油站,
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答案是高温气体
02:14
million-degree亿度 gas加油站 --
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一百万度的气体
02:16
in fact事实, it's plasma等离子体.
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事实上是等离子
02:17
And the reason原因 why it's so hot
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温度如此之高的原因
02:19
goes back to the previous以前 slide滑动.
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要回到前一张幻灯片
02:21
The extreme极端 gravity重力 of these systems系统
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这些系统的超强引力
02:24
is accelerating加速 particles粒子 of gas加油站 to great speeds速度,
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将气体粒子加速到非常高的速度
02:27
and great speeds速度 means手段 great temperatures温度.
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而高速则意味着高温
02:29
So this is the main主要 idea理念,
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这是主要的想法
02:31
but science科学 is a rough draft草案.
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但是里面的科学还不太明晰
02:33
There are many许多 basic基本 properties性能 about this plasma等离子体
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关于等离子气体,还有很多基本性质的问题
02:36
that still confuse迷惑 us,
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仍让我们困扰
02:38
still puzzle难题 us,
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仍然是谜团
02:39
and still push our understanding理解
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但它正在推进我们对超高温物理
02:41
of the physics物理 of the very hot.
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的理解
02:43
Third第三 thing: probing探测 the very small.
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第三个问题是:研究“极小”
02:47
Now, to explain说明 this, I need to tell you
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为了解释这个,我要说一件
02:49
a very disturbing烦扰的 fact事实.
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很让人困扰的事实
02:51
Most of the universe's宇宙 matter
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宇宙的大部分物质
02:54
is not made制作 up of atoms原子.
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不是由原子构成
02:56
You were lied说谎 to.
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你们以前被骗了
02:58
Most of it is made制作 up of something
very, very mysterious神秘,
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宇宙大部分是一种非常神秘的物质
03:01
which哪一个 we call dark黑暗 matter.
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我们称为暗物质
03:03
Dark黑暗 matter is something that
doesn't like to interact相互作用 very much,
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暗物质不太与周围发生作用
03:07
except through通过 gravity重力,
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除了通过引力
03:09
and of course课程 we would like to learn学习 more about it.
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理所当然的我们希望对其了解更多
03:10
If you're a particle粒子 physicist物理学家,
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如果你是粒子物理学家
03:12
you want to know what happens发生
when we smash粉碎 things together一起.
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你会想知道当我们撞击物体的时候发生什么
03:14
And dark黑暗 matter is no exception例外.
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暗物质也不例外
03:16
Well, how do we do this?
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那么,我们怎么做呢
03:18
To answer回答 that question,
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为了回答这个问题
03:19
I'm going to have to ask another另一个 one,
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我要问另一个问题
03:21
which哪一个 is, what happens发生 when galaxy星系 clusters集群 collide碰撞?
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那就是,当星团碰撞的时候会发生什么?
03:24
Here is an image图片.
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这是一张照片
03:26
Since以来 galaxy星系 clusters集群 are representative代表
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因为星团可以看做
03:29
slices of the universe宇宙, scaled-down缩小比例 versions版本.
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是宇宙的缩小版
03:33
They are mostly大多 made制作 up of dark黑暗 matter,
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它们也是大部分由暗物质构成
03:35
and that's what you see in this bluish偏蓝 purple紫色.
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这就是你看到的偏蓝的紫色
03:37
The red represents代表 the hot gas加油站,
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红色代表高温气体
03:39
and, of course课程, you can see many许多 galaxies星系.
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当然,你可以看到很多星系
03:41
What's happened发生 is a particle粒子 accelerator加速器
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发生的事情就是一个非常巨大版本的
03:43
at a huge巨大, huge巨大 scale规模.
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粒子加速器
03:45
And this is very important重要,
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这很重要
03:47
because what it means手段 is that very, very small
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因为这意味着,在实验室里
03:49
effects效果 that might威力 be difficult to detect检测 in the lab实验室,
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某些因为太小而很难检测到的效果
03:52
might威力 be compounded复合 and compounded复合
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可能因为不断的叠加
03:54
into something that we could
possibly或者 observe in nature性质.
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而让我们在自然界观测到
03:58
So, it's very funny滑稽.
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这很好玩
03:59
The reason原因 why galaxy星系 clusters集群
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为什么星团可以
04:01
can teach us about dark黑暗 matter,
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教我们暗物质的知识
04:03
the reason原因 why galaxy星系 clusters集群
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为什么它们
04:05
can teach us about the physics物理 of the very small,
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可以教我们关于“极小”的物理
04:07
is precisely恰恰 because they are so very big.
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其原因就是因为它们太大了
04:10
Fourth第四 thing: the physics物理 of the very strange奇怪.
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第四个问题:关于“非常奇怪”的物理学
04:14
Certainly当然 what I've said so far is crazy.
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我刚才所说的已经很疯狂了
04:17
Okay, if there's anything stranger陌生人
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但是,如果有比那些更疯狂的
04:20
I think it has to be dark黑暗 energy能源.
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我认为就是暗能量了
04:22
If I throw a ball into the air空气,
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如果我把一个球扔向空中
04:24
I expect期望 it to go up.
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我预计它将上升
04:26
What I don't expect期望 is that it go up
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而我不会预计它
04:28
at an ever-increasing不断增加 rate.
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以越来越快的速度上升
04:30
Similarly同样, cosmologists宇宙学家 understand理解 why
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同样的,宇宙学家理解
04:33
the universe宇宙 is expanding扩大.
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为什么宇宙在膨胀
04:34
They don't understand理解 why it's expanding扩大
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他们不理解的是,为什么宇宙
04:36
at an ever-increasing不断增加 rate.
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膨胀的速度越来越快
04:38
They give the cause原因 of this
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他们为加速膨胀的原因
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accelerated加速 expansion扩张 a name名称,
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取了个名字
04:42
and they call it dark黑暗 energy能源.
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叫做暗能量
04:44
And, again, we want to learn学习 more about it.
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同样,我们希望对它了解更多
04:46
So, one particular特定 question that we have is,
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其中一个问题是
04:49
how does dark黑暗 energy能源 affect影响 the universe宇宙
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暗能量是如何
04:51
at the largest最大 scales?
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在极大的尺度上影响宇宙的?
04:53
Depending根据 on how strong强大 it is,
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取决于能量的强弱
04:54
maybe structure结构体 forms形式 faster更快 or slower比较慢.
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或许结构的形成会有快有慢
04:58
Well, the problem问题 with the large-scale大规模 structure结构体
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但是对于宇宙的大尺度结构
05:00
of the universe宇宙 is that it's horribly可怕 complicated复杂.
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问题是它复杂得可怕
05:03
Here is a computer电脑 simulation模拟.
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这是计算机模拟
05:05
And we need a way to simplify简化 it.
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我们需要简化它的方法
05:07
Well, I like to think about this using运用 an analogy比喻.
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我会用一个类比来理解
05:11
If I want to understand理解 the sinking下沉 of the Titanic泰坦尼克号,
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如果我想了解泰坦尼克号的沉没
05:13
the most important重要 thing to do
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最重要的事情
05:15
is not to model模型 the little positions位置
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不是去模拟每一片断裂的小碎片
05:17
of every一切 single little piece of the boat that broke打破 off.
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的每一个位置
05:20
The most important重要 thing to do is
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最重要的是
05:21
to track跟踪 the two biggest最大 parts部分.
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抓住断裂的两半船体的位置
05:23
Similarly同样, I can learn学习 a lot about the universe宇宙
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同样,我可以通过追踪宇宙的
05:27
at the largest最大 scales
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最大的部件
05:29
by tracking追踪 its biggest最大 pieces
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来学到宇宙大尺度的很多信息
05:30
and those biggest最大 pieces are clusters集群 of galaxies星系.
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而这最大的部件就是星团
05:34
So, as I come to a close,
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现在我即将结尾
05:37
you might威力 feel slightly cheated被骗.
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你可能觉得有点受骗上当
05:39
I mean, I began开始 by talking about
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我的意思是,刚开始我说
05:42
how galaxy星系 clusters集群 are useful有用,
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星团非常有用
05:44
and I've given特定 some reasons原因,
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我也给了一些理由
05:45
but what is their use really?
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但是他们真正的用处在哪里?
05:48
Well, to answer回答 this,
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为了回答这个
05:50
I want to give you a quote引用 by Henry亨利 Ford
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我将引用亨利·福特的一句话
05:52
when he was asked about cars汽车.
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当他被问到汽车时
05:54
He had this to say:
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他说
05:55
"If I had asked people what they wanted,
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“如果我之前问人们他们想要什么
05:58
they would have said faster更快 horses马匹."
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他们只会说更快的马。”
06:00
Today今天, we as a society社会 are faced面对
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我们社会在现今
06:03
with many许多, many许多 difficult problems问题.
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面临很多很困难的问题
06:05
And the solutions解决方案 to these
problems问题 are not obvious明显.
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这些问题的解决之道并不明显
06:09
They are not faster更快 horses马匹.
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解决之道不会是更快的马
06:11
They will require要求 an enormous巨大 amount of
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要解决问题,要求有非常多的
06:13
scientific科学 ingenuity创造力.
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科学才能
06:15
So, yes, we need to focus焦点,
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是的,我们需要集中注意力
06:17
yes, we need to concentrate集中,
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我们需要专心
06:18
but we also need to remember记得 that
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但我们也要记得
06:20
innovation革新, ingenuity创造力, inspiration灵感 --
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创造力、新颖的主意、灵感
06:23
these things come
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这些是在我们开阔眼界时
06:25
when we broaden扩大 our field领域 of vision视力
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产生的
06:26
when we step back
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当我们退后一步
06:28
when we zoom放大 out.
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当我们把画面拉远
06:29
And I can't think of a better way to do this than
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我想不出更好的办法做这件事
06:31
by studying研究 the universe宇宙 around us. Thanks谢谢.
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除了研究我们头顶的宇宙。谢谢。
06:34
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Xuwen Zhu
Reviewed by Michael Ge 葛叔

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Henry Lin - Student scientist
At 17, Henry Lin won an Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award for his mathematical models of distant galaxy clusters.

Why you should listen

Henry Lin studies the very hot, very large and very strange -- that is, distant galaxy clusters. (Obviously.) Lin, who matriculated at Harvard University in the fall of 2013, thinks we can learn a lot about astrophysics by studying these giant celestial bodies. In early 2013 he won the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award, the second-highest award at the Intel Science Fair, for his models of far-away galaxies. Lin is a graduate of Caddo Magnet High School in Shreveport, Louisiana.

More profile about the speaker
Henry Lin | Speaker | TED.com