ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Anil Ananthaswamy - Author, journalist
Anil Ananthaswamy specializes in writing about neuroscience and physics. He is the author of "The Man Who Wasn’t There," "The Edge of Physics" and the forthcoming "Through Two Doors at Once."

Why you should listen

Anil Ananthaswamy is a consultant for New Scientist in London. He has worked at the magazine in various capacities since 2000, most recently as deputy news editor. He is also a contributor to National Geographic News.

Ananthaswamy worked as a software engineer in Silicon Valley before training as a journalist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He's the author of The Edge of Physics (published as The Edge of Reason by Penguin in India) and The Man Who Wasn’t There.

More profile about the speaker
Anil Ananthaswamy | Speaker | TED.com
INK Conference

Anil Ananthaswamy: What it takes to do extreme astrophysics

Anil Ananthaswamy : 勇往直前的開拓極限天文物理學

Filmed:
572,135 views

這個星球上有許多巨大的望遠鏡和探測儀器,正在尋找和聆聽宇宙如何運作的消息。一場INK聚會中,科普作家安尼 阿拿司旺米,引領我們周遊這些了不起的設備,以及如何佈建架設的背後秘辛。向我們介紹地球上最寧靜的幾個角落。
- Author, journalist
Anil Ananthaswamy specializes in writing about neuroscience and physics. He is the author of "The Man Who Wasn’t There," "The Edge of Physics" and the forthcoming "Through Two Doors at Once." Full bio

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

00:15
I would like to talk today今天
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今天我要講的是
00:17
about what I think is one of the greatest最大 adventures冒險
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一種最棒的探險
00:19
human人的 beings眾生 have embarked開始 upon,
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自人類啟程去尋找以來,最重要探險活動
00:21
which哪一個 is the quest尋求 to understand理解 the universe宇宙
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那就是,了解宇宙
00:24
and our place地點 in it.
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以及我們在宇宙中的地位
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My own擁有 interest利益 in this subject學科, and my passion for it,
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我自己對這個主題的興趣及熱情從何而來?
00:29
began開始 rather accidentally偶然.
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開始其實很偶然
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I had bought a copy複製 of this book,
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我買過ㄧ本書
00:34
"The Universe宇宙 and Dr博士. Einstein愛因斯坦" --
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「宇宙和愛因斯坦先生」
00:36
a used paperback平裝 from a secondhand二手 bookstore書店 in Seattle西雅圖.
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在西雅圖的二手書店買的
00:39
A few少數 years年份 after that, in Bangalore班加羅爾,
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買了之後的幾年,在印度班加羅爾
00:42
I was finding發現 it hard to fall秋季 asleep睡著 one night,
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有天晚上,睡不著
00:44
and I picked採摘的 up this book,
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我順手拿起這本書
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thinking思維 it would put me to sleep睡覺 in 10 minutes分鐘.
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以為它能幫我快速在10分鐘內進入夢鄉
00:48
And as it happened發生,
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結果
00:50
I read it from midnight午夜 to five in the morning早上 in one shot射擊.
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我從夜半讀到天色微明
00:53
And I was left with this intense激烈 feeling感覺
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那書帶給我極大的震撼
00:56
of awe威嚴 and exhilaration不亦樂乎
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對宇宙敬畏
00:58
at the universe宇宙
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和興奮兼而有之
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and our own擁有 ability能力 to understand理解 as much as we do.
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以及我們雖然極盡的想要了解,但了解的又那麼的有限
01:03
And that feeling感覺 hasn't有沒有 left me yet然而.
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那種感覺迄今猶存
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That feeling感覺 was the trigger觸發 for me
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並且引發我
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to actually其實 change更改 my career事業 --
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起了「轉行」念頭
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from being存在 a software軟件 engineer工程師 to become成為 a science科學 writer作家 --
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從軟體工程師,成為一名科普文學作者
01:13
so that I could partake參加 in the joy喜悅 of science科學,
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使我可以參與科學帶來的喜悅
01:16
and also the joy喜悅 of communicating通信 it to others其他.
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以及和其他人分享科學知識的喜悅
01:19
And that feeling感覺 also led me
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也是那種感覺
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to a pilgrimage朝聖 of sorts排序,
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引領我啟動一場朝聖之旅
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to go literally按照字面 to the ends結束 of the earth地球
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朝著地球上的天之涯,水之巔向前
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to see telescopes望遠鏡, detectors探測器,
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去探訪望遠鏡,探測器
01:28
instruments儀器 that people are building建造, or have built內置,
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這些人類曾經打造過,或正在興建中的科學儀器
01:31
in order訂購 to probe探測 the cosmos宇宙
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奉宇宙之名而為之的探索
01:33
in greater更大 and greater更大 detail詳情.
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一步步探入了更多細節
01:35
So it took me from places地方 like Chile智利 --
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所以,我去過智利
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the Atacama阿塔卡馬 Desert沙漠 in Chile智利 --
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智利的阿塔卡瑪沙漠
01:39
to Siberia西伯利亞,
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到過西伯利亞
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to underground地下 mines礦山
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下過地底礦脈坑道
01:43
in the Japanese日本 Alps阿爾卑斯山, in Northern北方 America美國,
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在日本阿爾卑斯山,北美洲
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all the way to Antarctica南極洲
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一路直到南極洲
01:47
and even to the South Pole.
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甚至到了南極圈
01:49
And today今天 I would like to share分享 with you
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今天要和各位分享
01:51
some images圖片, some stories故事 of these trips旅行.
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其中一些照片,及這些探索之旅的一些故事
01:54
I have been basically基本上 spending開支 the last few少數 years年份
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最近幾年
01:56
documenting文檔化 the efforts努力
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我一直在記錄著這些人的努力
01:58
of some extremely非常 intrepid強悍 men男人 and women婦女
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這些有著大無畏精神的男性及女性
02:01
who are putting,
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他們投入的
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literally按照字面 at times, their lives生活 at stake賭注
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有時候是冒著生命危險
02:05
working加工 in some very remote遠程 and very hostile敵對 places地方
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在一些極遙遠,極惡劣下的環境工作
02:08
so that they may可能 gather收集 the faintest微弱 signals信號 from the cosmos宇宙
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為了收集宇宙中最微弱的一些信號
02:12
in order訂購 for us to understand理解 this universe宇宙.
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然後,我們才能更多一點了解宇宙
02:15
And I first begin開始 with a pie餡餅 chart圖表 --
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我要從餅形圖先開始說起
02:17
and I promise諾言 this is the only pie餡餅 chart圖表
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我保證這是唯一一張會講數字的投影片
02:19
in the whole整個 presentation介紹 --
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整個短講中唯一的一張餅形圖
02:21
but it sets up the state of our knowledge知識 of the cosmos宇宙.
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它用來說明我們對宇宙的粗淺認識
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All the theories理論 in physics物理 that we have today今天
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今天已知的所有物理學理論
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properly正確 explain說明 what is called normal正常 matter --
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對正常物質都可以略做解釋
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the stuff東東 that we're all made製作 of --
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正常物質指的是我們身體組成物的這一類東西
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and that's four percent百分 of the universe宇宙.
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這些一共只佔宇宙的4%
02:34
Astronomers天文學家 and cosmologists宇宙學家 and physicists物理學家 think
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天文學家,宇宙學家和物理學者認為
02:37
that there is something called dark黑暗 matter in the universe宇宙,
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宇宙裡有暗物質
02:40
which哪一個 makes品牌 up 23 percent百分 of the universe宇宙,
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構成宇宙的23%
02:42
and something called dark黑暗 energy能源,
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然後還有暗能量
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which哪一個 permeates滲透 the fabric of space-time時空,
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是瀰漫在整個空時架構當中的
02:46
that makes品牌 up another另一個 73 percent百分.
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暗能量佔了宇宙的73%
02:48
So if you look at this pie餡餅 chart圖表, 96 percent百分 of the universe宇宙,
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看看這張大餅圖,宇宙中96%
02:51
at this point in our exploration勘探 of it,
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以當今我們對它的探索而言
02:53
is unknown未知 or not well understood了解.
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都仍屬未知,或不甚了解
02:56
And most of the experiments實驗, telescopes望遠鏡 that I went to see
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大多數我去看過在進行中的實驗或望遠鏡設備
02:59
are in some way addressing解決 this question,
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為的都是要解答這個奧秘
03:02
these two twin雙胞胎 mysteries奧秘 of dark黑暗 matter and dark黑暗 energy能源.
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暗物質和暗能量的雙子之謎
03:05
I will take you first to an underground地下 mine
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首先帶各位去看一個地下坑道
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in Northern北方 Minnesota明尼蘇達
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位在明尼蘇達北方
03:09
where people are looking
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這裡有些人在找
03:11
for something called dark黑暗 matter.
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暗物質這種東西
03:13
And the idea理念 here is that they are looking for a sign標誌
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概念上來說,他們找一個訊號
03:16
of a dark黑暗 matter particle粒子 hitting one of their detectors探測器.
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如果有暗物質粒子撞上了它們的偵測器的話,會發出一個信號
03:19
And the reason原因 why they have to go underground地下
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為什麼他們得待在地底下
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is that, if you did this experiment實驗 on the surface表面 of the Earth地球,
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原因,這個實驗若在地表上進行
03:24
the same相同 experiment實驗 would be swamped淹沒 by signals信號
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太多地面上的雜訊會把這個關鍵信號淹沒掉
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that could be created創建 by things like cosmic宇宙的 rays陽光,
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譬如說宇宙射線之物
03:28
ambient周圍 radio無線電 activity活動,
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到處都有的無線電信號
03:30
even our own擁有 bodies身體. You might威力 not believe it,
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甚至我們的身體,也許難以置信
03:33
but even our own擁有 bodies身體 are radioactive放射性的 enough足夠 to disturb打擾 this experiment實驗.
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但是你身體發出的信號都可能引響實驗的結果
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So they go deep inside mines礦山
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所以他們得深入地底下
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to find a kind of environmental環境的 silence安靜
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找到一個沉寂之處
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that will allow允許 them to hear
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以便聽得到
03:43
the ping of a dark黑暗 matter particle粒子 hitting their detector探測器.
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暗物質粒子撞上偵測器時發出的那個聲響
03:46
And I went to see one of these experiments實驗,
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我去看過他們的一場試驗
03:48
and this is actually其實 -- you can barely僅僅 see it,
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現場像這樣 -- 幾乎啥都看不見
03:50
and the reason原因 for that is it's entirely完全 dark黑暗 in there --
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原因是那裡幾乎完全漆黑一片
03:53
this is a cavern洞穴 that was left behind背後 by the miners礦工
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這是個礦產業所留下來的洞穴
03:56
who left this mine in 1960.
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他們1960年左右停止採礦
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And physicists物理學家 came來了 and started開始 using運用 it
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然後物理學者開始接手
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sometime某時 in the 1980s.
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運用這座礦坑是在1980年
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And the miners礦工 in the early part部分 of the last century世紀
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上個世紀早期的礦工事實上
04:05
worked工作, literally按照字面, in candlelight燭火.
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是靠著燭光在這裡工作
04:07
And today今天, you would see this inside the mine,
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今天在這個地方
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half a mile英里 underground地下.
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大約深達地下半英里之處
04:11
This is one of the largest最大 underground地下 labs實驗室 in the world世界.
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這是世上少數幾個大型地下實驗室之ㄧ
04:13
And, among其中 other things, they're looking for dark黑暗 matter.
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他們有好幾個目標,其中之ㄧ是尋找暗物質
04:16
There is another另一個 way to search搜索 for dark黑暗 matter,
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有好幾個方法可以尋找暗物質
04:18
which哪一個 is indirectly間接.
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是以間接方式
04:20
If dark黑暗 matter exists存在 in our universe宇宙,
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如果暗物質存在於宇宙中
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in our galaxy星系,
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在我們的銀河系裡
04:24
then these particles粒子 should be smashing together一起
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那麼這些粒子應該會撞在一起
04:26
and producing生產 other particles粒子 that we know about --
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創造出其他我們已知的粒子
04:29
one of them being存在 neutrinos中微子.
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其中之ㄧ就是微中子
04:31
And neutrinos中微子 you can detect檢測
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探測微中子的方式是
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by the signature簽名 they leave離開
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可追蹤它們遺留的軌跡
04:35
when they hit擊中 water molecules分子.
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它們撞擊水分子時
04:37
When a neutrino中微子 hits點擊 a water molecule分子
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當微中子撞擊水分子時
04:39
it emits發射 a kind of blue藍色 light,
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它會發出一種藍色光
04:41
a flash of blue藍色 light,
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藍色的閃光
04:43
and by looking for this blue藍色 light,
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尋找這種藍色光
04:45
you can essentially實質上 understand理解 something about the neutrino中微子
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對微中子的了解可能會增加一些認識
04:47
and then, indirectly間接, something about the dark黑暗 matter
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意味著我們對暗物質的認識也能更進一步
04:50
that might威力 have created創建 this neutrino中微子.
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微中子,有可能是由暗物質而來
04:52
But you need very, very large volumes of water
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但我們需要很大量的水
04:55
in order訂購 to do this.
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才能進行這個觀察實驗
04:57
You need something like tens of megatons百萬噸 of water --
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需要上千萬噸的水
04:59
almost幾乎 a gigaton十億噸 of water --
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幾乎上億噸的水
05:01
in order訂購 to have any chance機會 of catching this neutrino中微子.
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為了要有點機會抓住微中子
05:04
And where in the world世界 would you find such這樣 water?
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世界上哪裡有這麼多水的地方?
05:06
Well the Russians俄羅斯 have a tank坦克 in their own擁有 backyard後院.
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俄羅斯的後院裡有個水庫
05:09
This is Lake Baikal貝加爾.
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貝加爾湖
05:11
It is the largest最大 lake in the world世界. It's 800 km千米 long.
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全世界最大的湖。長800公里
05:14
It's about 40 to 50 km千米 wide
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寬度40到50公里
05:16
in most places地方,
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多數的深度
05:18
and one to two kilometers公里 deep.
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約1到2公里
05:20
And what the Russians俄羅斯 are doing
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俄羅斯人現在做的工作是
05:22
is they're building建造 these detectors探測器
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建造這些探測器
05:24
and immersing浸泡 them about a kilometer公里 beneath下面 the surface表面 of the lake
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埋到河面底下一公里深的地方
05:27
so that they can watch for these flashes閃爍 of blue藍色 light.
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為了找尋這些一閃而過的藍色光
05:30
And this is the scene現場 that greeted歡迎 me when I landed登陸 there.
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我降落在那裡的時候迎接我的就是這樣的景象
05:33
This is Lake Baikal貝加爾
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這是貝加爾湖
05:35
in the peak of the Siberian西伯利亞 winter冬季.
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在西伯利亞冬季最低溫時
05:37
The lake is entirely完全 frozen凍結的.
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整個湖完全結冰
05:39
And the line of black黑色 dots
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黑色點點的線
05:42
that you see in the background背景,
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就是你在背景上看到的那些線
05:44
that's the ice camp where the physicists物理學家 are working加工.
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是在那裡工作的物理學家紮營的地點
05:46
The reason原因 why they have to work in winter冬季
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必須在冬季裡工作的原因是
05:48
is because they don't have the money to work in summer夏季 and spring彈簧,
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他們沒有在春夏季裡進行這些工作所需要的經費
05:51
which哪一個, if they did that,
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因為如果那樣的話
05:53
they would need ships船舶 and submersibles潛水 to do their work.
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他們需要船和潛水艇才行
05:55
So they wait until直到 winter冬季 --
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所以等到冬季
05:57
the lake is completely全然 frozen凍結的 over --
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這時湖面完全結冰
05:59
and they use this meter-thick米厚 ice
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運用厚度達一公尺的冰
06:01
as a platform平台 on which哪一個 to establish建立 their ice camp and do their work.
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得以在冰上建立營地以便工作得以展開
06:04
So this is the Russians俄羅斯 working加工 on the ice
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所以俄羅斯人在冰上的工作
06:08
in the peak of the Siberian西伯利亞 winter冬季.
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是這樣在西伯利亞最天寒地凍的冬季裡進行的
06:10
They have to drill鑽頭 holes in the ice,
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必須在冰上鑿洞
06:12
dive潛水 down into the water -- cold, cold water --
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潛水到水中 -- 很冷很冷的水中
06:14
to get hold保持 of the instrument儀器, bring帶來 it up,
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取得儀器,帶上水面來
06:17
do any repairs維修 and maintenance保養 that they need to do,
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進行任何必要的修理和維修
06:20
put it back and get out before the ice melts熔體.
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然後在冰層融化之前再趕快把儀器放回水底下去
06:22
Because that phase of solid固體 ice lasts持續 for two months個月
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因為堅硬冰層只維持為期兩個月
06:24
and it's full充分 of cracks裂縫.
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完全像石頭一樣硬
06:26
And you have to imagine想像, there's an entire整個 sea-like大海般 lake
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想像一面向海一樣遼闊無邊的湖
06:29
underneath, moving移動.
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在那湖面底下移動
06:31
I still don't understand理解 this one Russian俄語 man
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我迄今仍未明白這位俄羅斯男人
06:34
working加工 in his bare chest胸部,
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赤裸著胸膛工作
06:36
but that tells告訴 you how hard he was working加工.
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但這至少說明他有多認真工作
06:39
And these people, a handful少數 of people,
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這些人,數量不算少
06:41
have been working加工 for 20 years年份,
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已經如此工作了20年
06:43
looking for particles粒子 that may可能 or may可能 not exist存在.
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尋找或許存在或不存在的粒子
06:45
And they have dedicated專用 their lives生活 to it.
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為此獻上自己的生命
06:48
And just to give you an idea理念,
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為了讓你有點概念
06:50
they have spent花費 20 million百萬 over 20 years年份.
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20年來他們只花了2千萬
06:53
It's very harsh苛刻 conditions條件.
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條件很差
06:55
They work on a shoestring鞋帶 budget預算.
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預算極為微薄
06:57
The toilets洗手間 there are literally按照字面 holes in the ground地面
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冰上挖的洞就是洗手間
06:59
covered覆蓋 with a wooden shack窩棚.
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上面加塊木板
07:02
And it's that basic基本,
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這麼原始
07:04
but they do this every一切 year.
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年復一年的做
07:06
From Siberia西伯利亞 to the Atacama阿塔卡馬 Desert沙漠 in Chile智利,
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接下來,從西伯利亞我們去看智利的阿塔卡瑪沙漠
07:09
to see something called The Very Large Telescope望遠鏡.
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去看一組叫做甚大望遠鏡的光學望遠鏡
07:11
The Very Large Telescope望遠鏡
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「甚大望遠鏡」
07:13
is one of these things that astronomers天文學家 do --
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天文學家習慣
07:15
they name名稱 their telescopes望遠鏡 rather unimaginativelyunimaginatively.
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取一些沒什麼想像力的名字
07:17
I can tell you for a fact事實,
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我直接告訴各位
07:19
that the next下一個 one that they're planning規劃 is called The Extremely非常 Large Telescope望遠鏡.
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下一個計畫中的陣列,名字就叫做特大陣列望遠鏡
07:22
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
07:24
And you wouldn't不會 believe it,
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你不會相信
07:26
but the one after that is going to be called The Overwhelmingly壓倒性 Large Telescope望遠鏡.
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再下一個又會叫做超級特大陣列望遠鏡
07:29
But nonetheless儘管如此,,
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不管怎麼說
07:31
it's an extraordinary非凡 piece of engineering工程.
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這是工程史上了不起的一個傑作
07:33
These are four 8.2 meter儀表 telescopes望遠鏡.
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4架8.2米望遠鏡
07:36
And these telescopes望遠鏡, among其中 other things,
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這些望遠鏡有許多目的
07:38
they're being存在 used to study研究
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還包括用來研究
07:40
how the expansion擴張 of the universe宇宙 is changing改變 with time.
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宇宙如何隨著時間而擴張
07:43
And the more you understand理解 that,
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愈多了解一些
07:45
the better you would understand理解
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就愈明白
07:47
what this dark黑暗 energy能源 that the universe宇宙 is made製作 of is all about.
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暗能量--一種生成了宇宙的東西--是什麼
07:50
And one piece of engineering工程 that I want to leave離開 you with
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我要把一樣了不起的
07:53
as regards問候 this telescope望遠鏡
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和這望遠鏡相關的工程傑作向各位介紹
07:55
is the mirror鏡子.
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是望遠鏡的鏡面
07:57
Each mirror鏡子, there are four of them,
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一共有四個鏡面,每一面
07:59
is made製作 of a single piece of glass玻璃,
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都由一塊玻璃製成
08:01
a monolithic單片 piece of high-tech高科技 ceramic陶瓷的,
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單一一塊高科技陶瓷技術
08:03
that has been ground地面 down and polished to such這樣 accuracy準確性
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被細磨,拋光到非常精準之程度
08:06
that the only way to understand理解 what that is
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怎樣想像了解這研磨達到多精密?
08:09
is [to] imagine想像 a city like Paris巴黎,
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你可以想像一個像巴黎一樣大的城市
08:11
with all its buildings房屋 and the Eiffel艾菲爾 Tower,
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所有建築物和艾菲爾鐵塔
08:14
if you grind研磨 down Paris巴黎 to that kind of accuracy準確性,
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如果你以它的精準度去磨碎巴黎的話
08:17
you would be left with bumps顛簸 that are one millimeter毫米 high.
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碎塊大約只有一毫米厚
08:21
And that's the kind of polishing拋光 that these mirrors鏡子 have endured忍受.
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這些鏡面承受過的研磨拋光精細度就是如此高
08:24
An extraordinary非凡 set of telescopes望遠鏡.
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令人驚嘆的望遠鏡陣列組
08:26
Here's這裡的 another另一個 view視圖 of the same相同.
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另一個圖像
08:28
The reason原因 why you have to build建立 these telescopes望遠鏡
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建造這些望遠鏡的理由
08:30
in places地方 like the Atacama阿塔卡馬 Desert沙漠
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建造在阿塔卡瑪沙漠中
08:32
is because of the high altitude高度 desert沙漠.
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是因為在高緯度的沙漠中
08:35
The dry air空氣 is really good for telescopes望遠鏡,
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乾燥的空氣才適合望遠鏡看得遠
08:38
and also, the cloud cover is below下面 the summit首腦 of these mountains
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並且,山頂高度已超過雲層
08:40
so that the telescopes望遠鏡 have
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這些望遠鏡一年
08:42
about 300 days of clear明確 skies天空.
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有300個無雲的天空可進行觀測
08:44
Finally最後, I want to take you to Antarctica南極洲.
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最後我要帶你到北極洲
08:46
I want to spend most of my time on this part部分 of the world世界.
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我很想把大部分時間都花在這個角落
08:50
This is cosmology's宇宙學的 final最後 frontier邊境.
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這裡是宇宙學的最後一個前線區
08:52
Some of the most amazing驚人 experiments實驗,
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最奇異的一些實驗
08:54
some of the most extreme極端 experiments實驗,
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最最超乎想像的實驗
08:56
are being存在 doneDONE in Antarctica南極洲.
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就是在南極洲這裡進行的
08:58
I was there to view視圖 something called a long-duration長時間 balloon氣球 flight飛行,
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我在那裡要看的是個叫做超長續航時間的氣球飛行計畫
09:01
which哪一個 basically基本上 takes telescopes望遠鏡 and instruments儀器
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基本上搭載的全都是望遠鏡和儀器
09:04
all the way to the upper atmosphere大氣層,
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飛上大氣層高層
09:06
the upper stratosphere平流層, 40 km千米 up.
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同溫層的上層,約40公里以上
09:09
And that's where they do their experiments實驗,
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實驗就在那裡進行
09:11
and then the balloon氣球, the payload有效載荷, is brought down.
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然後氣球以及乘載之物,又再被帶下來
09:14
So this is us landing降落 on the Ross羅斯 Ice Shelf in Antarctica南極洲.
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這是我們,降落在南極洲的Ross Ice Shelf 這個地方
09:17
That's an American美國 C-C-17 cargo貨物 plane平面
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這是一架美國 C-17 貨機
09:19
that flew us from New Zealand新西蘭
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我們從紐西蘭啟程
09:21
to McMurdo麥克默多 in Antarctica南極洲.
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抵達南極區的McMurdo
09:23
And here we are about to board our bus總線.
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在這裡我們要搭轉乘巴士
09:25
And I don't know if you can read the lettering刻字,
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不知你能否看清楚上面寫的字
09:27
but it says, "Ivan伊万 the TerribusTerribus."
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可以的話,所寫上的是「伊凡的恐怖巴士」
09:30
And that's taking服用 us to McMurdo麥克默多.
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就是這個車,載我們前往McMurdo
09:33
And this is the scene現場 that greets招呼 you in McMurdo麥克默多.
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那裡,列隊歡迎您光臨的是這個景象
09:36
And you barely僅僅 might威力 be able能夠 to make out
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在那裡幾乎很難拼湊出
09:38
this hut棚屋 here.
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甚至只是一間像這樣的小屋
09:40
This hut棚屋 was built內置 by Robert羅伯特 Falcon Scott斯科特 and his men男人
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它是由羅伯法坎司考特和他的團隊建造的
09:43
when they first came來了 to Antarctica南極洲
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當他們第一次來到南極區
09:45
on their first expedition遠征 to go to the South Pole.
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第一次進行南極探險時
09:47
Because it's so cold,
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因為天氣酷寒
09:49
the entire整個 contents內容 of that hut棚屋 is still as they left it,
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他們離去時在小屋裡留下的東西都還和當初一樣
09:52
with the remnants殘餘 of the last meal膳食 they cooked still there.
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最後一次開火烹煮所剩餘食物都還在那裡
09:55
It's an extraordinary非凡 place地點.
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非常特別的地方
09:57
This is McMurdo麥克默多 itself本身. About a thousand people work here in summer夏季,
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這是McMurdo,夏季約有1000人在這裡工作
10:00
and about 200 in winter冬季
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冬季則約200人
10:02
when it's completely全然 dark黑暗 for six months個月.
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冬季時天全是黑的,要過6個月
10:04
I was here to see the launch發射
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我在那裡要看發射
10:06
of this particular特定 type類型 of instrument儀器.
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這種特殊儀器的發射升空
10:08
This is a cosmic宇宙的 ray射線 experiment實驗
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這是一種探測宇宙射線用的儀器
10:10
that has been launched推出 all the way to the upper-stratosphere上平流層
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向上發射直達同溫層上層
10:13
to an altitude高度 of 40 km千米.
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距離地面海拔約40公里處
10:15
What I want you to imagine想像 is this is two tons in weight重量.
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我希望各位想像一下的是,這裡有兩噸的重量
10:18
So you're using運用 a balloon氣球
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用一個氣球當作飛行器
10:20
to carry攜帶 something that is two tons
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用來乘載兩噸的重量
10:22
all the way to an altitude高度 of 40 km千米.
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要到海拔約40公里的高空
10:25
And the engineers工程師, the technicians技師, the physicists物理學家
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工程師技術人員和物理學家
10:28
have all got to assemble集合 on the Ross羅斯 Ice Shelf,
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都必須在這塊 Ross Ice Shelf 完成組裝
10:31
because Antarctica南極洲 -- I won't慣於 go into the reasons原因 why --
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因為南極區 - 我不花時間解釋為什麼
10:34
but it's one of the most favorable有利 places地方 for doing these balloon氣球 launches發布會,
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是最適合從事這種實驗的地方之ㄧ
10:36
except for the weather天氣.
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除了氣候以外
10:38
The weather天氣, as you can imagine想像,
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可以想像,它的氣候
10:40
this is summer夏季, and you're standing常設 on 200 ftFT of ice.
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即便夏天裡,也是站在厚200呎的冰層上
10:42
And there's a volcano火山 behind背後,
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後面有火山
10:44
which哪一個 has glaciers冰川 at the very top最佳.
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火山頂上有冰層覆蓋
10:46
And what they have to do
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他們必須做的是
10:48
is they have to assemble集合 the entire整個 balloon氣球 --
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組裝整個氣球
10:50
the fabric, parachute降落傘 and everything -- on the ice
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編織品,降落傘和所有東西 -- 都在冰上完成
10:53
and then fill it up with helium.
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再以氫氣將它灌飽
10:55
And that process處理 takes about two hours小時.
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這個過程費時約2小時
10:57
And the weather天氣 can change更改 as they're putting together一起 this whole整個 assembly部件.
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當組裝進行中,天氣可能說變就變
11:00
For instance, here they are laying鋪設 down the balloon氣球 fabric behind背後,
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例如,他們把未充氣前的氣球拖拉在後面
11:03
which哪一個 is eventually終於 going to be filled填充 up with helium.
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最後會以氦氣灌滿這支氣球
11:06
Those two trucks卡車 you see at the very end結束
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所看到最後兩台卡車
11:08
carry攜帶 12 tanks坦克 each of compressed壓縮 helium.
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每輛乘載著12桶壓縮氦氣
11:11
Now, in case案件 the weather天氣 changes變化 before the launch發射,
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要是天氣在發射升空之前起變化
11:14
they have to actually其實 pack everything back up into their boxes盒子
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所有東西都得裝回箱子裡恢復原狀
11:17
and take it out back to McMurdo麥克默多 Station.
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再運回McMurdo基地站
11:20
And this particular特定 balloon氣球,
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這顆特製的汽球
11:22
because it has to launch發射 two tons of weight重量,
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設計是要乘載兩噸重的物品升空
11:24
is an extremely非常 huge巨大 balloon氣球.
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所以非常非常大
11:27
The fabric alone單獨 weighs two tons.
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氣球體本身重量兩噸
11:29
In order訂購 to minimize最小化 the weight重量,
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為了縮減重量
11:32
it's very thin, it's as thin as a sandwich三明治 wrapper包裝紙.
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它很薄,厚度只和包裝三明治包裝紙一樣
11:34
And if they have to pack it back,
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要重新打包
11:36
they have to put it into boxes盒子
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裝回箱子的話
11:38
and stamp郵票 on it so that it fits適合 into the box again --
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得要用力推壓加上封印
11:41
except, when they did it first,
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最初裝箱作業
11:43
it would have been doneDONE in Texas德州.
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是在德州完成
11:45
Here, they can't do it with the kind shoes they're wearing穿著,
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這裡他們腳上穿的鞋子不適合完成這個工作
11:48
so they have to take their shoes off,
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所以鞋子得脫掉
11:50
get barefoot赤腳 into the boxes盒子, in this cold,
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在南極的天候中光腳進入箱子裡
11:52
and do that kind of work.
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完成打包的工作
11:54
That's the kind of dedication貢獻 these people have.
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這就是這些人對科學作出的貢獻
11:56
Here's這裡的 the balloon氣球 being存在 filled填充 up with helium,
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這些氣球充滿了氦氣以後
11:58
and you can see it's a gorgeous華麗 sight視力.
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這是甚為壯觀的一幕
12:00
Here's這裡的 a scene現場
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請看
12:02
that shows節目 you the balloon氣球 and the payload有效載荷 end-to-end端至端.
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完整的氣球外加上承載物品一覽
12:04
So the balloon氣球 is being存在 filled填充 up with helium on the left-hand左手 side,
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左邊的氣球正在充灌氦氣
12:07
and the fabric actually其實 runs運行 all the way to the middle中間
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一直到中間都是氣球
12:10
where there's a piece of electronics電子產品 and explosives炸藥
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中段附近有一個電子裝置負責點火引爆
12:13
being存在 connected連接的 to a parachute降落傘,
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是和一張降落傘相連
12:15
and then the parachute降落傘 is then connected連接的 to the payload有效載荷.
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降落傘再和裝載物相連
12:17
And remember記得, all this wiring接線 is being存在 doneDONE
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提醒您,這些佈線工作
12:19
by people in extreme極端 cold, in sub-zero零度以下 temperatures溫度.
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都是在極度寒冷零下氣候中靠人力施工的
12:22
They're wearing穿著 about 15 kg公斤 of clothing服裝 and stuff東東,
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他們身上穿著重達15公斤的衣物和設備
12:25
but they have to take their gloves手套 off in order訂購 to do that.
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但是有時為了工作的緣故手套卻得脫掉
12:28
And I would like to share分享 with you a launch發射.
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這裡和大家分享一段升空的影片
12:31
(Video視頻) Radio無線電: Okay, release發布 the balloon氣球,
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(來自影片的聲音)無線電:OK,釋放氣球
12:33
release發布 the balloon氣球, release發布 the balloon氣球.
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釋放氣球,釋放氣球
13:04
Anil阿尼爾 AnanthaswamyAnanthaswamy: And I'll finally最後 like to leave離開 you with two images圖片.
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安尼 阿拿司旺米: 結束前我還有兩張圖片
13:07
This is an observatory天文台 in the Himalayas喜馬拉雅山, in Ladakh拉達克 in India印度.
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這是位在喜馬拉雅山上的觀測站,印度的拉達克
13:10
And the thing I want you to look at here
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請細看
13:12
is the telescope望遠鏡 on the right-hand右手 side.
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右手邊的望遠鏡
13:14
And on the far left there
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及最左邊
13:16
is a 400 year-old Buddhist佛教徒 monastery修道院.
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一間400年歷史的佛寺
13:18
This is a close-up特寫 of the Buddhist佛教徒 monastery修道院.
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建築物近照
13:20
And I was struck來襲 by the juxtaposition並列
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兩相並列之下令我心頭一震
13:23
of these two enormous巨大 disciplines學科 that humanity人性 has.
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是這人類的兩大學科
13:26
One is exploring探索 the cosmos宇宙 on the outside,
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一個向外探索無邊的宇宙
13:29
and the other one is exploring探索 our interior室內 being存在.
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一個是向內探索深層的內在
13:31
And both require要求 silence安靜 of some sort分類.
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二者都需要某種寂靜的要素
13:34
And what struck來襲 me was
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令我震撼的是
13:36
every一切 place地點 that I went to to see these telescopes望遠鏡,
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每一處我前往參觀的望遠鏡
13:38
the astronomers天文學家 and cosmologists宇宙學家
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每一位天文學家和宇宙學者
13:40
are in search搜索 of a certain某些 kind of silence安靜,
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無不是正尋找著一種,無聲的狀態
13:42
whether是否 it's silence安靜 from radio無線電 pollution污染
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或在電波訊號受干擾的環境中尋找
13:44
or light pollution污染 or whatever隨你.
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或在光害嚴重的環境中尋找
13:47
And it was very obvious明顯
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顯然
13:49
that, if we destroy破壞 these silent無聲 places地方 on Earth地球,
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破壞地球上的無聲寧靜以後
13:51
we will be stuck卡住 on a planet行星 without the ability能力 to look outwards向外,
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也就失去了對大千宇宙感知的能力
13:54
because we will not be able能夠 to understand理解 the signals信號 that come from outer space空間.
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因為我們理解不了,那來自外太空的訊號
13:57
Thank you.
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謝謝
13:59
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Lauren Huang
Reviewed by Chih-Yuan Huang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Anil Ananthaswamy - Author, journalist
Anil Ananthaswamy specializes in writing about neuroscience and physics. He is the author of "The Man Who Wasn’t There," "The Edge of Physics" and the forthcoming "Through Two Doors at Once."

Why you should listen

Anil Ananthaswamy is a consultant for New Scientist in London. He has worked at the magazine in various capacities since 2000, most recently as deputy news editor. He is also a contributor to National Geographic News.

Ananthaswamy worked as a software engineer in Silicon Valley before training as a journalist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He's the author of The Edge of Physics (published as The Edge of Reason by Penguin in India) and The Man Who Wasn’t There.

More profile about the speaker
Anil Ananthaswamy | Speaker | TED.com