TEDSalon London 2010
Brian Cox: Why we need the explorers
Brian Cox：為何我們需要科學探索?
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在這經濟艱困的時代，我們探索式科學研究，如太空探險、大型粒子加速器，通常是最先面臨縮減預算。Brian Cox試著說明，這些純由好奇心驅使下的科學研究，是能回饋與充實創新的。他也提醒我們，對於能存在這個宇宙中而感恩。
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.
00:16
We live in difficult and challenging
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我們生活在這艱難而極具挑戰性的
00:18
economic times, of course.
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經濟時代中, 當然
00:20
And one of the first victims
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在這樣的情況下
00:23
of difficult economic times,
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首當其衝受害的一環
00:25
I think, is public spending of any kind,
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莫過於任何種類的公共支出
00:28
but certainly in the firing line at the moment
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但明顯地被猛烈抨擊的
00:30
is public spending for science,
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是科學領域上的公共支出
00:32
and particularly curiosity-led science
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尤其是純好奇心驅使的科學
00:34
and exploration.
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和探索
00:36
So I want to try and convince you in about 15 minutes
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我希望在接下來的15分鐘內
00:39
that that's a ridiculous
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試著說服大家
00:41
and ludicrous thing to do.
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削減科研開支是荒謬和不合理的
00:43
But I think to set the scene,
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為我的論述定調
00:45
I want to show -- the next slide is not my attempt
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我想給大家看張投影片 --
00:47
to show the worst TED slide in the history of TED,
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我無意播放這TED有史以來最糟的投影片 --
00:50
but it is a bit of a mess.
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但它實在是有點混亂
00:52
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
00:54
But actually, it's not my fault; it's from the Guardian newspaper.
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這是來自英國衛報(The Guardian)
00:57
And it's actually a beautiful demonstration
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對於科學研究支出
00:59
of how much science costs.
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的一個精彩的呈現
01:01
Because, if I'm going to make the case
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因為，如果我要建立
01:03
for continuing to spend on curiosity-driven science and exploration,
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在好奇驅使的科研及探索上繼續投資的論點
01:06
I should tell you how much it costs.
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我就該解釋其支出佔比
01:08
So this is a game called "spot the science budgets."
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所以來玩個"尋找科研預算"的遊戲
01:10
This is the U.K. government spend.
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這是英國政府每年總支出
01:12
You see there, it's about 620 billion a year.
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這裡，大概一年6200億英鎊
01:15
The science budget is actually --
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其中用於科學的預算是 -
01:17
if you look to your left, there's a purple set of blobs
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在左手邊，看到那紫色的圓圈團
01:20
and then yellow set of blobs.
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以及下面黃色的圓圈團
01:22
And it's one of the yellow set of blobs
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科研的預算是黃色圓圈團中的一小圈
01:24
around the big yellow blob.
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其中大的黃色圓圈
01:26
It's about 3.3 billion pounds per year
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只佔了大約每年33億
01:28
out of 620 billion.
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是6200億的一小部分
01:30
That funds everything in the U.K.
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那包括所有英國科學研究支出
01:32
from medical research, space exploration,
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由醫療研究、太空探索、
01:35
where I work, at CERN in Geneva, particle physics,
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粒子物理 --- 我在日內瓦CERN的工作、
01:37
engineering, even arts and humanities,
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工程學，甚至藝術和人文，
01:40
funded from the science budget,
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都是由科學研究預算支出的
01:42
which is that 3.3 billion, that little, tiny yellow blob
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就只有33億，那小小的黃色圈圈
01:45
around the orange blob at the top left of the screen.
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繞著左上角橘色的圈圈團
01:48
So that's what we're arguing about.
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這就是我們爭議的焦點
01:50
That percentage, by the way, is about the same
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還有，此佔比與其他國家作比較如
01:52
in the U.S. and Germany and France.
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美國，德國，法國的
01:54
R&D in total in the economy,
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也是差不多
01:56
publicly funded, is about
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以公共經費支出佔了
01:58
0.6 percent of GDP.
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約國內生產總額的0.6%
02:00
So that's what we're arguing about.
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這就是我們爭議的焦點
02:02
The first thing I want to say,
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我想說的第一件事
02:04
and this is straight from "Wonders of the Solar System,"
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取自BBC專輯"太陽系的奇蹟"
02:07
is that our exploration of the solar system and the universe
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就是從我們對太陽系和宇宙的探索之中
02:10
has shown us that it is indescribably beautiful.
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得知宇宙是筆墨無法形容的那般美麗
02:13
This is a picture that actually was sent back
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這幅照片是
02:15
by the Cassini space probe around Saturn,
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在我們完成"太陽系的奇蹟"的拍攝後
02:17
after we'd finished filming "Wonders of the Solar System."
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卡西尼(Cassini)太空船才從土星傳回地球的
02:19
So it isn't in the series.
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所以在專輯內沒有
02:21
It's of the moon Enceladus.
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這是土星的土衛二: "恩克拉多斯"(Enceladus)
02:23
So that big sweeping, white
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那又大又白
02:25
sphere in the corner is Saturn,
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在左下角的圓圈就是土星
02:27
which is actually in the background of the picture.
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在這幅照片裡面比較像是背景
02:30
And that crescent there is the moon Enceladus,
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那邊的彎月就是"恩克拉多斯“
02:32
which is about as big as the British Isles.
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大概有英倫群島那般大
02:35
It's about 500 kilometers in diameter.
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直徑有五百公里左右
02:37
So, tiny moon.
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很小的月亮，是吧
02:39
What's fascinating and beautiful ...
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他美麗和引人入勝的地方
02:41
this an unprocessed picture, by the way, I should say,
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對了，要提一下，這是一張未經處理的照片
02:43
it's black and white, straight from Saturnian orbit.
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從土星軌道拍下來的黑白照片
02:46
What's beautiful is, you can probably see on the limb there
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它最美麗的地方，是在"恩克拉多斯"下方
02:48
some faint, sort of,
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有一些朦朧的
02:50
wisps of almost smoke
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類似輕煙一般的東西
02:52
rising up from the limb.
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從彎月下方冒出
02:54
This is how we visualize that in "Wonders of the Solar System."
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這是我們在”太陽系的奇蹟“中，對這冒煙地帶做的一個虛擬影像
02:57
It's a beautiful graphic.
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很美，是吧。
02:59
What we found out were that those faint wisps
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根據我們的發現，那些輕煙
03:01
are actually fountains of ice
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原來是一個冰噴泉群
03:03
rising up from the surface of this tiny moon.
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從這細小的月亮上冒起
03:06
That's fascinating and beautiful in itself,
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這種景象本身就是美麗和引人入勝
03:09
but we think that the mechanism
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但我們如果想像一下這景象背後的原理
03:11
for powering those fountains
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噴泉群背後的動力
03:13
requires there to be lakes of liquid water
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需要的是在這個月亮的下面
03:16
beneath the surface of this moon.
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很多液態水做成的湖泊
03:18
And what's important about that
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重要的是
03:20
is that, on our planet, on Earth,
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在地球上
03:22
wherever we find liquid water,
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當我們發現有水的地方
03:24
we find life.
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便能發現生命
03:26
So, to find strong evidence
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因此 能找到有水的證據
03:29
of liquid, pools of liquid, beneath the surface of a moon
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在一距離地球7億5千萬英哩之外
03:32
750 million miles away from the Earth
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更是從一衛星的地表之下
03:35
is really quite astounding.
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就是一件令人振奮的事
03:38
So what we're saying, essentially,
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要強調的是
03:40
is maybe that's a habitat for life in the solar system.
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那可能是在太陽系中另一生命的棲息地
03:44
Well, let me just say, that was a graphic. I just want to show this picture.
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讓我呈現另一張圖片
03:47
That's one more picture of Enceladus.
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“恩克拉多斯”的另一張照片
03:49
This is when Cassini flew beneath Enceladus.
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這是當"卡西尼"飛掠過“恩克拉多斯”所攝
03:52
So it made a very low pass,
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它低空掠過
03:54
just a few hundred kilometers above the surface.
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距離地面只有幾百公里
03:56
And so this, again, a real picture of the ice fountains rising up into space,
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所以這是一個確實的照片 顯示冰泉湧向宇宙
03:59
absolutely beautiful.
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真是美
04:01
But that's not the prime candidate for life in the solar system.
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而這還不是太陽系中，探索生命的主要研究對象
04:04
That's probably this place,
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而是這個
04:06
which is a moon of Jupiter, Europa.
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是木星系統中的 木衛二"Europa"
04:08
And again, we had to fly to the Jovian system
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再次的 我們得飛進木星系統
04:11
to get any sense that this moon, as most moons,
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去驗證這個衛星 就像大多數的衛星
04:14
was anything other than a dead ball of rock.
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都只是一個無生命跡象的大石球體
04:16
It's actually an ice moon.
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而它實際是個冰凍的月球
04:18
So what you're looking at is the surface of the moon Europa,
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現在看到的是木衛二的表面
04:21
which is a thick sheet of ice, probably a hundred kilometers thick.
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是幾百公里深的冰原層
04:24
But by measuring the way that
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根據研究
04:26
Europa interacts
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木衛二與木星的
04:28
with the magnetic field of Jupiter,
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磁場交互作用下
04:30
and looking at how those cracks in the ice
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長期觀察冰原的裂縫
04:32
that you can see there on that graphic move around,
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可以見到某些圖案的移動
04:35
we've inferred very strongly
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我們強烈的相信
04:37
that there's an ocean of liquid surrounding
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冰原下方是有流動的海洋
04:39
the entire surface of Europa.
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在整個木衛二的表面下!
04:42
So below the ice, there's an ocean of liquid around the whole moon.
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也就是整個冰凍的衛星表面下 是有流動的海洋
04:45
It could be hundreds of kilometers deep, we think.
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我們猜想 是有幾百公里深
04:48
We think it's saltwater, and that would mean that
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也認為是鹽水 這也說明
04:50
there's more water on that moon of Jupiter
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木衛二有比地球
04:53
than there is in all the oceans of the Earth combined.
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還多的海洋
04:56
So that place, a little moon around Jupiter,
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所以那個木星旁的木衛二
04:59
is probably the prime candidate
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就是主要的研究對象
05:02
for finding life on a moon
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期待發現地球以外的
05:04
or a body outside the Earth, that we know of.
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生命希統
05:07
Tremendous and beautiful discovery.
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經過了這麼多的探索
05:10
Our exploration of the solar system
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我們對太陽系的持續探索
05:12
has taught us that the solar system is beautiful.
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顯示我們的太陽系是如此的美麗
05:14
It may also have pointed the way to answering
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也試著回答
05:17
one of the most profound questions that you can possibly ask,
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你會想問的問題
05:20
which is: "Are we alone in the universe?"
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也就是: "浩瀚的宇宙中, 地球是孤單地有著生命嗎?"
05:23
Is there any other use to exploration and science,
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純科學探索的用途
05:25
other than just a sense of wonder?
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除了好奇心, 還有別的嗎?
05:27
Well, there is.
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還是有的
05:29
This is a very famous picture
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這是個非常有名的照片
05:31
taken, actually, on my first Christmas Eve,
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攝於我的第一個聖誕夜
05:33
December 24th, 1968,
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1968年的12月24日
05:36
when I was about eight months old.
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當我約8個月大
05:38
It was taken by Apollo 8
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由阿波羅8號所攝
05:40
as it went around the back of the moon.
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當它繞到月球背面
05:42
Earthrise from Apollo 8.
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看到地球升起
05:44
A famous picture; many people have said that it's the picture
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很多人也說是這張照片
05:46
that saved 1968,
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救回了在動盪邊緣的
05:48
which was a turbulent year --
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1968年世界 ---
05:50
the student riots in Paris,
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巴黎的學生暴動、
05:52
the height of the Vietnam War.
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越戰的高峰期，
05:54
The reason many people think that about this picture,
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這張照片所啟發的
05:57
and Al Gore has said it many times, actually, on the stage at TED,
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也是高爾(Al Gore)在TED一直強調的
06:00
is that this picture, arguably, was
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這張照片是
06:02
the beginning of the environmental movement.
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地球環境保護的開始
06:04
Because, for the first time,
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因為是第一次讓我們
06:06
we saw our world,
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看到我們的世界
06:08
not as a solid, immovable,
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不再是堅不可摧
06:11
kind of indestructible place,
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無法動搖的環境
06:13
but as a very small, fragile-looking world
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而是一個渺小易碎的星球
06:16
just hanging against the blackness of space.
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掛在漆黑的宇宙當中
06:19
What's also not often said
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但卻不會聯想到
06:21
about the space exploration, about the Apollo program,
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是因太空探索或是阿波羅計畫
06:24
is the economic contribution it made.
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而帶動的經濟貢獻
06:26
I mean while you can make arguments that it was wonderful
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我的意思是 我們會讚賞這景象的美麗
06:29
and a tremendous achievement
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以及偉大的成就
06:31
and delivered pictures like this,
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傳送的照片等等
06:33
it cost a lot, didn't it?
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但是花費不貲, 不是嗎?
06:35
Well, actually, many studies have been done
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實際上也做了許多
06:37
about the economic effectiveness,
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關於經濟上成效的研究
06:39
the economic impact of Apollo.
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像是阿波羅計畫之成本效益分析
06:41
The biggest one was in 1975 by Chase Econometrics.
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最大規模的是"大通計量經濟預測公司"於1975的研究
06:44
And it showed that for every $1 spent on Apollo,
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顯示花在阿波羅計畫上的每一美元
06:47
14 came back into the U.S. economy.
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對美國經濟有著14美元的效益
06:50
So the Apollo program paid for itself
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也就是說阿波羅計畫支撐其所有花費
06:52
in inspiration,
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同時啟發了
06:54
in engineering, achievement
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工程的成就
06:56
and, I think, in inspiring young scientists and engineers
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我認為，也啟發了年輕的科學家與工程師
06:59
14 times over.
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以14倍之多的方式
07:01
So exploration can pay for itself.
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所以科學探索本身就是能打平的
07:03
What about scientific discovery?
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更不用提科學發現的成果
07:06
What about driving innovation?
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或是刺激更多的創新
07:08
Well, this looks like a picture of virtually nothing.
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這張照片看起來似乎沒什麼重要
07:11
What it is, is a picture of the spectrum
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它實際是氫原子的
07:13
of hydrogen.
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放射光譜
07:16
See, back in the 1880s, 1890s,
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回溯到1880 1890年代
07:19
many scientists, many observers,
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許多科學家觀測家
07:22
looked at the light given off from atoms.
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研究諸多原子的放射光譜
07:24
And they saw strange pictures like this.
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得到許多像這樣的奇怪照片
07:26
What you're seeing when you put it through a prism
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我們看到的是經由菱鏡折射
07:28
is that you heat hydrogen up and it doesn't just glow
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得出氫原子加熱所放出的光線
07:31
like a white light,
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像是白光
07:33
it just emits light at particular colors,
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但其實是特定顏色的光
07:35
a red one, a light blue one, some dark blue ones.
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紅光 青藍光 與一些深藍光
07:38
Now that led to an understanding of atomic structure
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也得到些對原子結構的理解
07:41
because the way that's explained
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是如此解釋的
07:43
is atoms are a single nucleus
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原子有著單一原子核
07:45
with electrons going around them.
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另外有電子繞著原子核
07:47
And the electrons can only be in particular places.
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而電子只能在特定軌道
07:50
And when they jump up to the next place they can be,
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當電子跳到更高能階的軌道
07:52
and fall back down again,
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也能降回較低軌域
07:54
they emit light at particular colors.
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同時方出特定能量(顏色)的光
07:56
And so the fact that atoms, when you heat them up,
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所以當加熱的原子是放光線
07:58
only emit light at very specific colors,
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只有特定的顏色光譜
08:01
was one of the key drivers
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而這也是當時重要的刺激
08:03
that led to the development of the quantum theory,
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引導推展出量子理論
08:05
the theory of the structure of atoms.
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來解釋原子的構造
08:08
I just wanted to show this picture because this is remarkable.
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我也要放出這張特別的照片
08:11
This is actually a picture of the spectrum of the Sun.
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這是太陽的放射光譜
08:13
And now, this is a picture of atoms in the Sun's atmosphere
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假設有一種原子在太陽的大氣層中
08:16
absorbing light.
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吸收光線
08:18
And again, they only absorb light at particular colors
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所以它只吸收特定顏色
08:20
when electrons jump up and fall down,
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當電子跳上能階又跳下
08:22
jump up and fall down.
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跳上又跳下
08:24
But look at the number of black lines in that spectrum.
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所以從光譜中的黑線比對
08:27
And the element helium
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早先氦元素便是
08:29
was discovered just by staring at the light from the Sun
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如此從太陽光譜中發現
08:32
because some of those black lines were found
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因為這些黑條紋
08:34
that corresponded to no known element.
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並未能相對應到當時已知的元素
08:36
And that's why helium's called helium.
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也就是氦的英文名是"Helium"
08:38
It's called "helios" -- helios from the Sun.
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源自"helios" --- "太陽的"
08:41
Now, that sounds esoteric,
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聽起來有些深奧
08:43
and indeed it was an esoteric pursuit,
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而當時的確有些難理解
08:46
but the quantum theory quickly led
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但是量子理論很快的就推導出
08:48
to an understanding of the behaviors of electrons in materials
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電子在物質中的行為
08:51
like silicon, for example.
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以矽為例
08:53
The way that silicon behaves,
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說明矽的特性
08:55
the fact that you can build transistors,
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之所以能做出電晶體
08:57
is a purely quantum phenomenon.
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就純粹是量子效應
08:59
So without that curiosity-driven
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因此若沒有好奇心的驅使
09:01
understanding of the structure of atoms,
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想了解原子的結構
09:03
which led to this rather esoteric theory, quantum mechanics,
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就不會提出當時深奧的理論--- 量子理論
09:06
then we wouldn't have transistors, we wouldn't have silicon chips,
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就不會有現在的電晶體, 也不會有矽晶片元件
09:09
we wouldn't have pretty much the basis
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也就不會有現代經濟的
09:12
of our modern economy.
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基本建構單元
09:14
There's one more, I think, wonderful twist to that tale.
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再來一個神奇的故事轉折
09:17
In "Wonders of the Solar System,"
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在"太陽系的奇蹟"專輯中
09:19
we kept emphasizing the laws of physics are universal.
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我們一直強調物理的基本定理是宇宙通行
09:22
It's one of the most incredible things about the physics
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這也是物理最不可思議之處
09:25
and the understanding of nature that you get on Earth,
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在地球上所學的自然知識
09:28
is you can transport it, not only to the planets,
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能延伸到不只是行星
09:31
but to the most distant stars and galaxies.
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可以到最遠的星球與銀河
09:33
And one of the astonishing predictions
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而最驚人的預測就是
09:35
of quantum mechanics,
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量子力學了
09:37
just by looking at the structure of atoms --
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光以原子結構來說
09:39
the same theory that describes transistors --
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就是那解釋電晶體的理論
09:41
is that there can be no stars in the universe
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能用來預測宇宙中的恆星
09:44
that have reached the end of their life
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當到達它們的生命末日
09:46
that are bigger than, quite specifically, 1.4 times the mass of the Sun.
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絕不會有大於1.4倍太陽的質量
09:49
That's a limit imposed on the mass of stars.
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也就是恆星質量的上限
09:52
You can work it out on a piece of paper in a laboratory,
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這是可用理論在實驗室中計算得出
09:55
get a telescope, swing it to the sky,
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再拿個天文望遠鏡對準天空
09:57
and you find that there are no dead stars
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一樣不會找到一個死恆星
10:00
bigger than 1.4 times the mass of the Sun.
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會大於太陽質量的1.4倍
10:02
That's quite an incredible prediction.
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這是個令人叫奇的預測
10:05
What happens when you have a star that's right on the edge of that mass?
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那麼假使有一個在臨界點的恆星 會如何?
10:08
Well, this is a picture of it.
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這張照片就是了
10:10
This is the picture of a galaxy, a common "our garden" galaxy
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這是銀河的照片, 叫做"花園"銀河系
10:13
with, what, 100 billion
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其中有著1千億個
10:15
stars like our Sun in it.
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相當於太陽的恆星
10:17
It's just one of billions of galaxies in the universe.
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這只是宇宙中十億分之一的銀河系
10:20
There are a billion stars in the galactic core,
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銀河的核心部分有著10億個恆星
10:22
which is why it's shining out so brightly.
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也就是銀河中心總是特別閃亮
10:25
This is about 50 million light years away,
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這是約5千萬光年之遙
10:27
so one of our neighboring galaxies.
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的鄰近銀河系
10:29
But that bright star there
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那個非常閃亮的恆星
10:31
is actually one of the stars in the galaxy.
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就是那銀河系中之一員
10:34
So that star is also
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所以也是距離了
10:36
50 million light years away.
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5千萬光年
10:38
It's part of that galaxy, and it's shining as brightly
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只是那銀河系的一個星, 卻有著如
10:41
as the center of the galaxy
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核心團一般的明亮
10:43
with a billion suns in it.
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是10億個太陽的總合
10:45
That's a Type Ia supernova explosion.
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那是個超新星的爆炸
10:48
Now that's an incredible phenomena,
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是個令人驚奇的景象
10:50
because it's a star that sits there.
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是因為就只是單一個恆星的能量
10:52
It's called a carbon-oxygen dwarf.
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它被稱為碳-氧白矮星
10:54
It sits there about, say, 1.3 times the mass of the Sun.
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它存在那裡擁有1.3倍的太陽質量
10:57
And it has a binary companion that goes around it,
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它還是個雙子星的系統
11:00
so a big star, a big ball of gas.
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有著一個巨大恆星與一團星雲
11:03
And what it does is it sucks gas
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它實際是在以重力吸引
11:05
off its companion star,
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其伴星的沙石
11:07
until it gets to this limit called the Chandrasekhar limit,
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直到它質量達到所謂的"Chandrasekhar"極限
11:10
and then it explodes.
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它便進行爆炸
11:12
And it explodes, and it shines as brightly
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爆炸是如此的明亮
11:14
as a billion suns for about two weeks,
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就像10億個太陽般的明亮 持續兩週
11:16
and releases, not only energy,
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釋放出不只能量
11:19
but a huge amount of chemical elements into the universe.
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也有大量的化學元素到宇宙中
11:22
In fact, that one is a carbon-oxygen dwarf.
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所以知道它是個有碳與氧的白矮星
11:25
Now, there was no carbon and oxygen
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但是當宇宙初生成時的大爆炸
11:27
in the universe at the Big Bang.
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是沒有碳與氧的元素
11:29
And there was no carbon and oxygen in the universe
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甚至在宇宙第一代的星球
11:31
throughout the first generation of stars.
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也沒有碳和氧
11:34
It was made in stars like that,
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直到原子 經由一次次的能量爆炸
11:36
locked away and then returned to the universe
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再結合物質回到宇宙中
11:38
in explosions like that
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才組合成碳氧等元素
11:40
in order to recondense into planets,
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才聚集形成新元素 新行星
11:42
stars, new solar systems
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新恆星, 以及新的太陽系
11:44
and, indeed, people like us.
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以及像我們這樣的生物
11:47
I think that's a remarkable demonstration of the power
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我想這就是展現
11:49
and beauty and universality of the laws of physics,
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物理的美與力, 以及物理的嚴謹通用性
11:52
because we understand that process,
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就因為在地球 我們懂得這些過程
11:54
because we understand
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我們懂得
11:56
the structure of atoms here on Earth.
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原子的結構
11:58
This is a beautiful quote that I found --
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這是個優美的引述
12:00
we're talking about serendipity there -- from Alexander Fleming:
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來自於Alexander Fleming
12:03
"When I woke up just after dawn
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"當我於1928年的9月28日
12:05
on September 28, 1928,
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的清晨醒來,
12:07
I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all medicine
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我當然沒想到那天，我對藥物會有革命性的突破
12:09
by discovering the world's first antibiotic."
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也就是發現了世上第一個抗生素"
12:12
Now, the explorers of the world of the atom
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探索原子結構的科學家
12:14
did not intend to invent the transistor.
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並未設想到電晶體
12:16
And they certainly didn't intend to
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更沒想像能同時
12:18
describe the mechanics of supernova explosions,
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解釋超新星的爆炸
12:21
which eventually told us where
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還引導出
12:23
the building blocks of life
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生命的建構是
12:25
were synthesized in the universe.
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如何合成於宇宙中
12:28
So, I think science can be --
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所以 我認為科學
12:30
serendipity is important.
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是註定的重要
12:32
It can be beautiful. It can reveal quite astonishing things.
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它是美的 是能發現驚奇事物
12:35
It can also, I think, finally
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它也能最終地
12:38
reveal the most profound
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揭露最深邃
12:40
ideas to us
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的理念，也就是
12:42
about our place in the universe
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人類在宇宙中的定位
12:44
and really the value of our home planet.
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以及地球的真實價值
12:46
This is a spectacular picture of our home planet.
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這張偉大的照片是關於地球
12:49
Now, it doesn't look like our home planet.
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它卻看不出相似點
12:51
It looks like Saturn because, of course, it is.
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它卻像是土星, 而它本就是
12:54
It was taken by the Cassini space probe.
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由卡西尼號所拍攝
12:56
But it's a famous picture, not because of
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它是個有名的照片, 並不是因為
12:58
the beauty and majesty of Saturn's rings,
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美麗的土星光環
13:01
but actually because of a tiny, faint blob
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而是因為這個細小模糊光點
13:04
just hanging underneath one of the rings.
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就在光環的下方
13:06
And if I blow it up there, you see it.
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讓我放大照片
13:08
It looks like a moon,
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它優看起來像是個衛星
13:10
but in fact, it's a picture of Earth.
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事實上, 它就是地球
13:12
It was a picture of Earth captured in that frame of Saturn.
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也就是一張從土星角度看到的地球
13:15
That's our planet from 750 million miles away.
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從遙遠的7億5千萬英哩的行星
13:19
I think the Earth has got a strange property
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我想地球有著奇怪的特性
13:21
that the farther away you get from it,
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越遠看它
13:23
the more beautiful it seems.
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越覺得它美
13:25
But that is not the most distant or most famous picture of our planet.
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這還不是最遙遠的行星位置
13:28
It was taken by this thing, which is called the Voyager spacecraft.
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是由航海家太空號所拍攝
13:31
And that's a picture of me in front of it for scale.
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我站在它的前面作比例參考
13:34
The Voyager is a tiny machine.
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航海家太空號是個小機器
13:36
It's currently 10 billion miles away from Earth,
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目前它是距離地球100億英哩之外
13:39
transmitting with that dish, with the power of 20 watts,
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經由那耗電20瓦的小衛星碟
13:42
and we're still in contact with it.
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我們仍然與它保持聯繫
13:44
But it visited Jupiter, Saturn,
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它曾到過木星, 土星
13:46
Uranus and Neptune.
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天王星、 海王星
13:48
And after it visited all four of those planets,
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在它經過這四個行星後
13:51
Carl Sagan, who's one of my great heroes,
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Carl Sagan--我的偶像
13:54
had the wonderful idea
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突發奇想
13:56
of turning Voyager around
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將航海家轉頭來
13:58
and taking a picture of every planet it had visited.
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找了一張集合所有拜訪過的行星
14:00
And it took this picture of Earth.
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也包含地球
14:02
Now it's very hard to see the Earth there, it's called the "Pale Blue Dot" picture,
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很難看清楚地球, 我們只能稱它是"淡藍小點"
14:05
but Earth is suspended in that red shaft of light.
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但地球真的掛在光束上
14:08
That's Earth from four billion miles away.
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那是距離40億英哩的地球
14:11
And I'd like to read you what
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我想對大家讀一段
14:13
Sagan wrote about it, just to finish,
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Sagan所寫的段落做結
14:15
because I cannot say words as beautiful as this
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因為我無法像他能用話語
14:18
to describe what he saw
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表達從這張照片
14:20
in that picture that he had taken.
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所感受的美
14:22
He said, "Consider again that dot.
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他是這麼說的: "再想想那小點
14:24
That's here. That's home. That's us.
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在那裡 那是家 那是我們
14:27
On it, everyone you love,
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在那之上 有我們所愛的人
14:29
everyone you know, everyone you've ever heard of,
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有我們所認識的人, 有我們所知道的人
14:32
every human being who ever was
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也有那些
14:34
lived out their lives.
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曾生活過的人
14:36
The aggregates of joy and suffering
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整合了 歡樂與苦難
14:38
thousands of confident religions,
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數以千計的宗教
14:40
ideologies and economic doctrines,
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意識形態 與 經濟理論
14:43
every hunter and forager, every hero and coward,
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有獵人與搶劫者, 有英雄與懦夫
14:46
every creator and destroyer of civilization,
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有文明創造者與毀滅者
14:49
every king and peasant, every young couple in love,
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有國王與莊稼, 有戀愛中的人
14:52
every mother and father, hopeful child,
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有母親父親與充滿希望的孩童
14:54
inventor and explorer,
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有發明家與探索者
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every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician,
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有道德導師與敗壞政客
14:59
every superstar, every supreme leader,
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有巨星與領袖
15:02
every saint and sinner in the history of our species,
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有聖人與罪人 就在整個人類歷史中
15:05
lived there, on a mote of dust,
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就活在那小小的砂粒
15:07
suspended in a sunbeam.
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懸掛在太陽光束中
15:09
It's been said that astronomy's a humbling
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曾聽過學習天文學是個謙卑
15:11
and character-building experience.
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與人格養成的經驗
15:13
There is perhaps no better demonstration
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這張我們渺小的世界影像
15:15
of the folly of human conceits
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最能展現、 說明
15:17
than this distant image of our tiny world.
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人類奇想的愚蠢
15:19
To me, it underscores our responsibility
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對我而言, 它強調了我們的責任
15:21
to deal more kindly with one another
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該去仁慈的互相對待
15:24
and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot,
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該去保存與珍惜這個淡藍小點
15:27
the only home we've ever known."
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我們唯一的家"
15:29
Beautiful words about
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優美的述說了
15:31
the power of science and exploration.
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科學研究的力量
15:33
The argument has always been made, and it will always be made,
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一直以來反對科學研究的立論
15:35
that we know enough about the universe.
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錯以為我們已經知道了所有的宇宙大道理
15:37
You could have made it in the 1920s; you wouldn't have had penicillin.
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若是這樣就停住, 1920後就不會有抗生素
15:40
You could have made it in the 1890s; you wouldn't have the transistor.
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若是這樣就停住, 1890後就不會有現在的電晶體
15:43
And it's made today in these difficult economic times.
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這樣的立論 又出現在現今經濟困難的時候
15:46
Surely, we know enough.
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是的, 我們知道夠多了
15:48
We don't need to discover anything else about our universe.
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不需要再去探索我們的太陽系
15:50
Let me leave the last words to someone
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再讓我最後引述一個
15:52
who's rapidly becoming a hero of mine,
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我心中的偶像:
15:54
Humphrey Davy, who did his science at the turn of the 19th century.
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Humphrey Davy, 在19世紀的轉換時做研究
15:57
He was clearly under assault all the time.
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也常被不支持的論點攻擊
16:00
"We know enough at the turn of the 19th century.
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說我們在進入19世紀時就知道足夠了
16:03
Just exploit it; just build things."
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"就是探索, 就是建構事物"
16:05
He said this, he said, "Nothing is more fatal
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他說: "對於人類心智的進展
16:07
to the progress of the human mind
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最危險的莫過於
16:09
than to presume that our views of science
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自認為我們對科學的觀點
16:11
are ultimate,
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已是最終版本，
16:13
that our triumphs are complete,
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或是我們的成就都已達成、
16:15
that there are no mysteries in nature,
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所有的自然問題都已解決，
16:17
and that there are no new worlds to conquer."
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或是不再有新奇事物等我們發掘。"
16:19
Thank you.
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謝謝大家
16:21
(Applause)
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(掌聲)
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