released, in a great cosmic pinball game we call our universe.

發佈，在一個偉大的宇宙彈球遊戲中，我們稱之為我們的宇宙。

How does energy stitch the cosmos together, and how do we fit within it? We now climb

能量是如何將宇宙縫合起來的，我們又是如何融入其中的呢？我們現在爬

the power scales of the universe, from atoms, nearly frozen to stillness, to Earth’s largest

宇宙的力量尺度，從幾乎凝固到靜止的原子，到地球上最大的原子，都有可能是宇宙的力量尺度。

explosions.

爆炸。

From stars, colliding, exploding, to distant realms so strange and violent they challenge

從恆星，碰撞，爆炸，到遙遠的領域，如此奇怪和暴力的挑戰。

our imaginations.

我們的想象力。

Where will we find the most powerful objects in the universe?

我們將在哪裡找到宇宙中最強大的物體？

Today, energy is very much on our minds as we search for ways to power our civilization

今天，能源是我們非常關注的問題，因為我們正在尋找為我們的文明提供動力的方法。

and serve the needs of our citizens.

併為我國公民的需求服務。

But what is energy? Where does it come from? And where do we stand within the great power

但什麼是能量？它從哪裡來？我們在這股巨大的力量中又處於什麼位置？

streams that shape time and space?

塑造時間和空間的流？

Energy comes from a Greek word for activity or working. In physics, it’s simply the

能量來自希臘語，表示活動或工作。在物理學中，它是簡單的

property or the state of anything in our universe that allows it to do work.

屬性或我們宇宙中任何東西的狀態，讓它可以做工作。

Whether it’s thermal, kinetic, electro-magnetic, chemical, or gravitational.

不管是熱能、動能、電磁、化學、還是引力。

The 19th century German scientist Hermann von Helmholtz found that all forms of energy

19世紀德國科學家赫爾曼-馮-赫爾姆霍茲發現，所有形式的能量

are equivalent, that one form can be transformed into any other.

是等價的，一種形式可以轉化為任何其他形式。

The laws of physics say that in a closed system - such as our universe - energy is conserved.

物理定律說，在一個封閉的系統中--比如我們的宇宙--能量是守恆的。

It may be converted, concentrated, or dissipated, but it’s never lost.

它可能會被轉化、濃縮或消散，但它永遠不會消失。

James Prescott Joule built an apparatus that demonstrated this principle. It had a weight

詹姆斯-普雷斯科特-焦耳製造了一個證明這一原理的儀器。它有一個重量

that descended into water and caused a paddle to rotate. He showed that the gravitational

下降到水中並使槳葉旋轉的。他表明，引力

energy lost by the weight is equivalent to heat gained by the water from friction with

重物損失的能量相當於水與水摩擦產生的熱量

the paddle.

槳。

That led to one of several basic energy yardsticks, called a joule. It’s the amount needed to

這就導致了幾種基本能量尺度之一，稱為焦耳。這是一個需要量，以

lift an apple weighing 100 grams one meter against the pull of Earth’s gravity.

在地球引力的作用下，將一個100克重的蘋果舉起一米。

In case you were wondering, it takes about one hundred joules to send a tweet, so tweeted

如果你想知道，發一條微博大約需要一百焦耳，所以發了微博。

a tech from Twitter.

一位來自Twitter的技術。

The metabolism of an average sized person, going about their day, generates about 100

一個普通體型的人，每天的新陳代謝會產生大約100個月的時間。

joules a second, or 100 watts, the equivalent of a 100-watt light bulb.

焦耳一秒，或100瓦，相當於一個100瓦的燈泡。

In vigorous exercise, the power output of the body goes up by a factor of ten, one order

在劇烈的運動中，身體的動力輸出會上升十倍，一個階梯

of magnitude, to around a thousand joules per second, or a thousand watts.

的數量級，達到每秒一千焦耳左右，或一千瓦特。

In a series of leaps, by additional factors of ten, we can explore the full energy spectrum

在一系列的飛躍中，通過額外的十倍因子，我們可以探索完整的能量譜。

of the universe.

宇宙的。

So far, the coldest place observed in nature is the Boomerang Nebula. Here, a dying star

到目前為止，自然界中觀測到的最冷的地方是迴旋星雲。在這裡，一顆垂死的恆星

ejected its outer layers into space at 600,000 kilometers per hour.

以每小時60萬公里的速度將其外層噴射到太空。

As the expanding clouds of gas became more diffuse, they cooled so dramatically that

當膨脹的氣體雲變得更加擴散時，它們急劇冷卻，以至於

their molecules fell to just one degree above Absolute Zero, one degree above the total

他們的分子降到了絕對零度以上，比總濃度高了一度

absence of heat.

沒有熱量。

That’s around a billion trillionths of a joule, give or take.

大約是十億分之一焦耳，給不給力。

That makes the signal sent by the Galileo spacecraft, as it flew around Jupiter, seem

這使得伽利略號航天器在繞木星飛行時發出的信號似乎是：

positively hot. By the time it reached Earth, its radio signal was down to 10 billion billionths

炙熱無比當它到達地球時，它的無線電信號已經下降到100億分之一了

of a watt.

的瓦特。

Now jump all the way to 150 billionths of a watt.

現在全部跳到1500億分之一瓦。

That’s the amount of power entering the human eye from a pair of 50-watt car headlamps

這就是一對50瓦的汽車大燈進入人眼的功率。

a kilometer away.

一公里外。

Moving up a full seven powers of ten, moonlight striking a human face adds up to three hundred

移動了整整七次的十次方，月光打在人的臉上，加起來有三百次了

thousandths of a watt. That’s roughly equivalent to a cricket’s chirp.

千分之一的瓦特。這大約相當於一隻蟋蟀的鳴叫聲。

From there, it’s a mere five powers of ten to the low wattage world of everyday human

從那裡，到日常人類的低瓦數世界，不過是十的五次方。

technologies.

技術。

Put ten 100-watt bulbs together. At 1000 joules per second, 1000 watts, that roughly equals

把十個100瓦的燈泡放在一起。以每秒1000焦耳，1000瓦計算，大約等於：

the energy of sunlight striking a square meter of Earth’s surface at noon on a clear day.

晴天中午太陽光照射一平方米地球表面的能量。

Gather 200 bulbs, 20,000 watts is the energy output of an automobile.

收集200個燈泡，20000瓦是汽車的能量輸出。

A diesel locomotive: 5 million watts.

一臺柴油機車：500萬瓦。

An advanced jet fighter: 75 million watts.

一架先進的噴氣式戰鬥機：7500萬瓦。

An aircraft carrier, almost two hundred million watts.

一艘航母，近兩億瓦。

The most powerful human technologies today function in the range of a billion to 10 billion

當今人類最強大的科技功能在10億到100億之間。

watts, including large hydro-electric or nuclear power plants.

瓦，包括大型水電站或核電站。

At the upper end of human technologies, was the awesome first stage of a Saturn V rocket.

在人類技術的上端，是土星五號火箭第一級的厲害。

In five separate engines, it consumed 15 tons of fuel per second to generate 190 billion

在五個獨立的發動機中，它每秒消耗15噸燃料，產生1900億個

watts of power.

功率的瓦數。

How much power can humanity marshal? And how much do we need?

人類能調動多少力量？我們又需要多少？

Long before the launch of the space age, visionaries began to imagine what it would take to advance

早在太空時代來臨之前，遠見卓識的人就開始想象如何才能推動太空時代的發展。

into the community of galactic civilizations.

融入銀河文明的共同體。

In the 1960s, the Soviet scientist, Nicolai Kardashev, speculated that a Level 1 civilization

20世紀60年代，蘇聯科學家尼古拉-卡達舍夫推測，1級文明中的

would acquire the technology needed to harness all the power available on a planet like Earth.

將獲得所需的技術，以利用像地球這樣的星球上的所有可用力量。

According to one calculation, we are .16% of the way there. This is based on British

根據一項計算，我們還差0.16%的路程。這是以英國的

Petroleum’s estimate of total world oil consumption, some 11 billion tons in 2007.

石油公司對世界石油消費總量的估計，2007年約110億噸。

Humans today generate about two and a half trillion watts of electrical power. How does

人類今天產生的電能大約有兩萬五千億瓦。如何

that stack up to the power generated by planet Earth?

堪比地球產生的能量？

Deep inside our planet, the radioactive decay of elements such as uranium and thorium generates

在我們星球的深處，鈾和釷等元素的放射性衰變產生了：

44 trillion watts of power.

44萬億瓦的功率。

As this heat rises to the surface, it drives the movement of Earth’s crustal plates and

當這些熱量上升到地表時，它推動了地球地殼板塊的運動，並使之成為地球上的一個重要組成部分。

powers volcanoes.

權力火山。

Remarkably, that’s just a fraction of the energy released by a large hurricane in the

值得注意的是，這只是一個大型颶風所釋放的能量的一小部分。

form of rain. At the storm’s peak, it can rise to 600 trillion watts.

雨的形式。在風暴的高峰期，它可以上升到600萬億瓦。

A hurricane draws upon solar heat collected in tropical oceans in the summer.

颶風在夏季利用熱帶海洋中收集的太陽熱量。

You have to jump another power of ten to reach the estimated total heat flowing through Earth’s

你必須再跳一個十倍的功率，以達到估計的總熱量流經地球的。

atmosphere and oceans from the equator to the poles…

從赤道到兩極的大氣和海洋... ...

And another two to get the power received by the Earth from the sun at 174 quadrillion

而另外兩個則是為了讓地球從太陽接收到的能量達到174萬億次。

watts.

瓦特。

Believe it or not, there’s one human technology that has exceeded this level.

不管你信不信，有一項人類科技已經超過了這個水準。

The AN602 hydrogen bomb was detonated by the Soviet Union on October 30, 1961.

1961年10月30日，蘇聯引爆了AN602氫彈。

It unleashed some 1400 times the combined power of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombs.

它釋放的威力是長崎和廣島原子彈威力總和的1400倍。

With a blast yield of up to 57,000,000 tons of TNT, it generated 5.3 trillion trillion

爆炸產量高達57，000，000噸TNT，產生5．

watts, if only for a tiny fraction of a second.

瓦，哪怕只是一秒鐘的一小部分。

That’s 5.3 Yotta-watts, a term that will come in handy as we now begin to ascend the

這是5.3 Yotta-watts，一個術語，將在我們現在開始上升的時候派上用場。

power scales of the universe.

宇宙的力量尺度。

To Nikolai Kardashev, a Level 2 civilization would achieve a constant energy output 80

在尼古拉-卡達舍夫看來，2級文明將實現恆定的能量輸出80

times higher than the Russian superbomb.

比俄羅斯超級炸彈高一倍。

That’s equivalent to the total luminosity of our sun, a medium-sized star that emits

這相當於我們太陽的總光度，一顆中等大小的恆星，它發出的是

375 yotta-watts.

375約塔瓦特。

However, in the grand scheme of things, our sun is but a cold spark in a hot universe.

然而，從大的方面來說，我們的太陽只是炎熱宇宙中的一個冷火花。

Look up into Southern skies and you’ll see the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy

抬頭看看南方的天空，你會看到大麥哲倫雲，一個衛星星系。

of our Milky Way. Deep within is the brightest star yet discovered.

我們的銀河系深藏在裡面的是迄今發現的最亮的恆星。

R136a1 is 10 million times brighter than the sun.

R136a1的亮度是太陽的1000萬倍。

Now if that star happened to go supernova, at its peak, it would blast out photons with

如果那顆恆星碰巧成為超新星，在它的巔峰時期，它就會以光子的速度噴射出來。

a luminosity of around 500 billion yottawatts.

亮度約為5000億yottawatts。

To advance to a level three civilization, you have to marshal the power of an entire

要晉級到三級文明，你必須集合整個國家的力量

galaxy.

銀河系。

The Milky Way, with about two hundred billion stars, has an estimated total luminosity of

銀河系擁有約兩千億顆恆星，總光度估計為1.5億。

3 trillion yotta-watts, a three followed by 36 zeros.

3萬億約塔瓦特，一個3後面是36個0。

The author Isaac Asimov imagined a galaxy-scale civilization in his Foundation series.

作家艾薩克-阿西莫夫在他的《基金會》系列中想象了一個星系級的文明。

Galaxia, he called it, is a super-organism that surpasses time and space to draw upon

他稱，Galaxia是一個超越時間和空間的超級組織，可以藉助於

all the matter and energy in a galaxy.

銀河系中所有的物質和能量。

But who’s to say that’s the upper limit for civilizations?

但誰又能說這是文明的上限呢？

To boldly go beyond Level 3, a civilization would need to marshal the power of a quasar.

要想大膽地超越3級，一個文明就需要調集類星體的力量。

A quasar is about a thousand times brighter than our galaxy.

類星體比我們的銀河系要亮一千倍左右。

Here is where cosmic power production enters a whole new realm, based on the physics of

在這裡，宇宙力量的產生進入了一個全新的領域，基於物理學上的。

extreme gravity.

極端重力。

It was Isaac Newton who first defined gravity, as the force that pulls the apple down and

是牛頓首先給萬有引力下了定義，它是把蘋果拉下來的力量，也是把蘋果拉下來的力量。

holds the earth in orbit around the sun.

使地球圍繞太陽的軌道運行。

Albert Einstein re-defined it in his famous General Theory of Relativity.

愛因斯坦在他著名的廣義相對論中重新定義了它。

Gravity isn’t simply the attraction of objects like stars and planets, he said, but a distortion

他說，引力並不是簡單的恆星和行星等物體的吸引力，而是一種變形

of space and time, what he called space-time.

的空間和時間，他稱之為時空。

If space-time is like a fabric, he said, gravity is the warping of this fabric by a massive

他說，如果說時空就像一塊布料，那麼引力就是這塊布料被一個巨大的變形

object like a star.

像星星一樣的物體。

A planet orbits a star when it’s caught in this warped space like a ball spinning

當一顆行星繞著一顆恆星運行時，它就像一個球一樣被捲入這個扭曲的空間中，就像一個旋轉的球一樣

around a roulette wheel.

圍繞著輪盤賭。

Some scientists began to wonder: if matter became dense enough, could it warp space to

一些科學家開始思考：如果物質變得足夠緻密，它是否可以扭曲空間到

such an extreme that nothing could escape its gravity, not even light?

極端到任何東西都無法逃脫它的引力，甚至連光都無法逃脫？

With so much power being emitted from such a small area, scientists suspected that quasars

在如此小的範圍內釋放出如此大的能量，科學家們懷疑類星體

were actually being powered by black holes.

實際上是由黑洞提供動力。

How a totally dark object can do this has been narrowed by decades of observations and

一個完全黑暗的天體是如何做到這一點的，經過幾十年的觀察和，已經縮小了範圍。

theory.

理論。

If a black hole spins, it can turn into a violent, cosmic tornado.

如果黑洞旋轉，就會變成猛烈的宇宙龍捲風。

Gas and stars begin to flow in along a rapidly rotating disk. The spinning motion of this

氣體和恆星開始沿著一個快速旋轉的圓盤流入。這個旋轉的運動

so-called “accretion disk” generates magnetic fields that twist up and around.

所謂的 "吸積盤 "產生的磁場，扭曲起來，繞。

These fields can channel some of the inflowing matter out into a pair of high-energy beams,

這些場可以將一些流入的物質引導出來，形成一對高能束。

or jets.

或噴射器。

Gas and dust nearby catch the brunt of this energy, growing hot and bright enough to be

附近的氣體和塵埃首當其衝地捕捉到了這些能量，變得越來越熱，越來越亮，以至於被

seen billions of light years away.

在數十億光年外看到。

Amazingly, the power of a black hole can rise to even greater extremes at the moment of

令人驚奇的是，黑洞的威力可以上升到更大的極致，在黑洞的

its birth.

它的誕生。

As a giant star ages, heavy elements like iron gradually build up in its core.

隨著一顆巨恆星的衰老，鐵等重元素會逐漸在其核心堆積。

As its gravity grows more intense, the star begins to shrink, until it reaches a critical

隨著引力越來越大，恆星開始縮小，直到達到一個臨界點，才開始縮小。

threshold.

閾值。

Its core literally collapses in on itself.

它的核心實際上是在自己身上崩潰。

That causes the star to explode in a supernova. And now, in death, the star can unleash gravity’s

這將導致恆星在超新星中爆炸 That causes the star to explode in a supernova.現在，在死亡時，恆星可以釋放出引力的作用。

true fury.

真正的憤怒。

In the violence of the star’s death, gravity can cause its massive core to collapse to

在恆星死亡的暴力過程中，引力會使其巨大的核心坍塌到

a point, forming a black hole.

一個點，形成一個黑洞。

In some rare cases, the new-born monster powers a jet that accelerates to within a tiny fraction

在一些罕見的情況下，新出生的怪物動力噴氣，加速到極小的部分內

of the speed of light.

的光速。

For a few minutes, these so-called “gamma ray bursts” are known to be the brightest

幾分鐘，這些所謂的 "伽馬射線暴 "被稱為是最亮的。

events since the big bang…

大爆炸以來的事件...

Three orders of magnitude above a quasar, at a billion billion yotta-watts, a ten with

比類星體高三個數量級，在億億塔瓦特，一個十與。

42 zeros.

42個零。

Remarkably, they are still not the most powerful events known.

值得注意的是，它們仍然不是已知最強大的事件。

Albert Einstein‘s equations contained an astonishing prediction: that when massive

阿爾伯特-愛因斯坦的方程中包含了一個驚人的預言：當巨大的。

bodies accelerate or whip around each other, they can stir up the normally smooth fabric

身體加速或相互纏繞，它們會攪亂通常光滑的結構，使其變得更加複雜。

of space-time.

的時空。

They produce a series of waves that move outward like ripples on a pond.

它們會產生一系列的波浪，像池塘上的漣漪一樣向外移動。

Scientists are now hoping to detect these gravitational waves, and verify Einstein’s

科學家們現在希望能探測到這些引力波，並驗證愛因斯坦的。

prediction… using precision lasers and some of the most perfect large-scale vacuums ever

預測... 使用精確的脈衝光和一些有史以來最完美的大型吸塵器。

created.

創建。

At the Laser Interferometry Gravitational Wave Observatory, known as LIGO, they are

在被稱為LIGO的脈衝光干涉測量引力波天文臺，他們是

hoping to record…

希望記錄...

The collision of ultra-dense remnants of dead stars known as neutron stars and of black

被稱為中子星的超密集的死星殘餘物和黑子星的碰撞。

holes.

洞。

According to computer simulations, as two black holes spiral into a fateful embrace,

根據計算機模擬，隨著兩個黑洞螺旋式地進入命運的懷抱。

the energy carried by each gravity wave rises five orders of magnitude above a gamma ray

每一個引力波所攜帶的能量都比伽馬射線高出五個數量級。

burst, to a hundred billion trillion times the power of our sun.

爆發，達到我們太陽的千億萬億倍的力量。

Does the collision of black holes define the known power limits of our universe?

黑洞的碰撞是否定義了我們宇宙的已知功率極限？

Perhaps not.

也許不是。

As turbulent as the environment of a black hole might be, its true power may well lie

儘管黑洞的環境可能很動盪，但它真正的力量很可能就在於

deep in its core.

深入其核心。

A black hole’s mass is enshrouded within a dark sphere called the event horizon.

黑洞的品質被籠罩在一個稱為事件地平線的黑暗球體中。

Since the 1920s, scientists have described the mathematics of the event horizon as the

自20世紀20年代以來，科學家們將事件地平線的數學描述為。

equivalent of a waterfall. It’s the point of no return, beyond which water falls freely

相當於瀑布。這是一個不歸點，過了這個點，水就會自由地流下來。

into the gorge.

入峽谷。

At the event horizon of a black hole, space itself falls freely in at the speed of light.

在黑洞的事件地平線上，空間本身以光速自由落入。

If the black hole is spinning, then the flow spirals down and around an inner horizon that

如果黑洞在旋轉，那麼氣流就會螺旋式下降，並圍繞著一個內層地平線，這個內層地平線就是黑洞。

envelops the singularity. That’s the central region where space-time becomes infinitely

包裹著奇點。那是時空變得無限大的中心區域。

warped.

扭曲的。

Any matter that rides this river of space whips around the inner horizon so fast that

任何物質都會乘著這條空間之河在地平線上飛快地旋轉，以至於...

centrifugal force tends to fling it back out.

離心力往往會把它甩回來。

As that happens, it collides with matter that’s streaming in, whipping up a ferocious cosmic

當這種情況發生時，它與流進來的物質相撞，掀起了一場凶猛的宇宙風雲。

storm.

風暴。

The energy of the colliding streams feeds upon itself, rising to what may well be a

碰撞流的能量自給自足，上升到很可能是一個......。

limit imposed by nature. It dissipates only as it falls into the singularity and disappears.

自然界所施加的限制。它只有在落入奇點而消失時才會消散。

Fortunately, for us, gravity walls off such energy extremes behind the event horizon,

幸運的是，對我們來說，引力將這種極端的能量阻隔在事件地平線之後。

where they cannot affect the rest of the universe.

在那裡他們不能影響宇宙的其他部分。

And so here we sit. Our world is nestled within a vast stream of cosmic energy, somewhere

所以我們坐在這裡。我們的世界依偎在巨大的宇宙能量流中，在某個地方...

between the spin of an electron and the maelstrom of a black hole.

電子的自旋和黑洞的漩渦之間。

There’s no telling whether a future Earth civilization will be able harness enough energy

不知道未來的地球文明是否能夠利用足夠的能源。

to advance into the cosmos.

以進階到宇宙中。

For now, as we tap into the tiny morsels of power at our disposal, we venture a closer

現在，當我們利用我們所掌握的微小的力量時，我們大膽地走近了

look at a universe blazing with activity.

看看一個宇宙的活動熾熱。

We are its product and its star struck admirer.

我們是它的產品，也是它的明星崇拜者。

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