His theory of general relativity states that matter and energy, then the very fabric of space time and that revelation gave us such a useful description of how gravity works.

他的廣義相對論指出，物質和能量，那麼就是空間時間的結構，這個啟示給了我們這樣一個有用的描述，引力是如何運作的。

That has been the go to for astronomers for more than a century.

一個多世紀以來，這一直是天文學家的首選。

Still as good as it is, general relativity isn't perfect.

還是那句話，廣義相對論並不完美。

And there are situations where Einstein's equations break down, like at the center of a black hole or the singularity before the Big Bang.

而愛因斯坦的方程也有崩潰的情況，比如在黑洞中心或大爆炸前的奇點。

However, a new paper suggests the key to filling in those gaps may be discovered by searching for, and this is a highly technical term here.

然而，一篇新的論文表明，填補這些空白的關鍵可能是通過搜索發現的，這裡是一個技術含量很高的術語。

The quantum fuzziness of space time Gravity is somewhat of the odd one out when it comes to the four fundamental forces of nature, according to Einstein.

空間時間的量子模糊 愛因斯坦認為，在自然界的四種基本力中，引力有點奇葩。

It works by curving space time affecting how objects like planets and apples travel through it.

它的工作原理是彎曲空間時間，影響行星和蘋果等物體在其中的旅行方式。

The other three forces, the electromagnetic force and the strong and weak nuclear forces can be described using the standard model of particle physics.

其他三種力，電磁力和強核力和弱核力可以用粒子物理學的標準模型來描述。

These three forces are carried by subatomic particles called bosons.

這三種力是由稱為玻色子的亞原子粒子所承載的。

The strong force is carried by the gluon electromagnetism is carried by a Boesen.

強力是由膠子電磁學攜帶的，是由波生攜帶的。

You've probably heard of the photon, and the weak force is carried by the W and Z bosons.

你可能聽說過光子，弱力是由W和Z玻色子攜帶的。

We've seen these bosons experimentally, but we've never observed a particle that carries the force of gravity.

我們已經在實驗中看到了這些玻色子，但我們從未觀察到一種攜帶引力的粒子。

And that's irksome because a hypothetical Boesen called a graviton could solve some major issues in physics.

而這很不爽，因為一個叫引力子的假想波生可以解決物理學中的一些重大問題。

Firstly, it would fit neatly into the pattern the other three forces have set to have gravity off, doing its own thing and playing by its own rules.

首先，它將整齊地符合其他三種力量所設定的模式，讓引力關閉，做自己的事，按自己的規則行事。

It just doesn't sit right, at least not with a lot of theorists.

只是不對，至少很多理論家不這麼認為。

More importantly, it could finally bridge the divide between general relativity and quantum mechanics.

更重要的是，它可以最終彌合廣義相對論和量子力學之間的鴻溝。

Right now, General relativity is great and describing how gravity works at scales ranging from submillimeter to cosmological.

現在，廣義相對論是偉大的，描述了重力如何在從亞毫米級到宇宙級的尺度上工作。

But it doesn't work at quantum levels.

但在量子水準上是行不通的。

A full theory of quantum gravity could finally expand Einstein's ideas to fill in these gaps in our understanding.

一個完整的量子引力理論最終可以擴展愛因斯坦的想法，以填補我們理解中的這些空白。

But gravitons, if they exist, would be difficult to detect by their nature.

但引力子如果存在的話，按其性質是很難探測到的。

Despite another force literally being called the weak force, gravity is by far the weakest of the quartet.

儘管另一種力從字面上看被稱為弱力，但重力是目前四種力中最弱的一種。

The renowned physicist Freeman Dyson suggested that a hypothetical detector sensitive enough to observe a single graviton would be so massive that the detector itself would collapse into a black hole.

著名物理學家弗里曼-戴森提出，一個假設的探測器足夠敏感，可以觀測到單個引力子，它的體積會非常大，以至於探測器本身會坍塌成黑洞。

But what if we're going about this the wrong way?

但如果我們的方法不對呢？

What if?

萬一呢？

Instead of trying to find just one graviton, we search for a telltale sign that only a group of them can create.

我們不是試圖只找到一個引力子，而是尋找一個只有一組引力子才能產生的信號。

That's what three researchers proposed in a paper from October of 2020.

這是三位研究人員在2020年10月的一篇論文中提出的。

The physicists were inspired by Brownie in Motion, which describes how particles in a fluid bounce around randomly.

物理學家們受到 "運動中的布朗尼 "的啟發，它描述了流體中的粒子是如何隨機反彈的。

If gravity really is carried by bosons, then maybe they move around randomly to creating a sort of noise or fuzziness that existing gravitational wave detectors like LIGO can suss out.

如果引力真的是由玻色子攜帶的，那麼也許它們會隨機移動，以產生一種噪音或模糊性，現有的引力波探測器如LIGO可以發現。

Of course, the noise has to be pronounced enough for Lego to notice.

當然，噪音要足夠大，樂高才能注意到。

It's a bit beyond the scope of this episode, but just know that waves like light can come in different quantum states.

這有點超出了本期節目的範圍，但只要知道光這樣的波可以有不同的量子狀態就可以了。

In fact, LIGO uses light in a squeezed state to enhance sensitivity, the researchers calculated that gravitational waves in different quantum states would produce different amounts of noise.

事實上，LIGO使用擠壓狀態下的光來提高靈敏度，研究人員計算出不同量子狀態下的引力波會產生不同數量的噪聲。

Waves in a coherent state are like ripples in a pond there produced during black hole mergers, and LIGO is tuned to search for them.

連貫狀態下的波浪就像黑洞合併時產生的池塘那裡的漣漪，而LIGO就是為了尋找這些波浪而調諧的。

Unfortunately, in this state, gravitas would hardly make any noise.

可惜的是，在這種狀態下，重力幾乎不會發出任何聲音。

However, according to the researchers calculations, gravitational waves in the so called squeezed state should produce much more noise, and that noise should increase exponentially the more the gravitas are squeezed.

不過，根據研究人員的計算，所謂擠壓狀態下的引力波應該會產生更多的噪聲，而且這種噪聲應該是越擠壓引力波越成倍增加。

So let's just start looking for some squeezed gravitational waves, right?

所以我們就開始尋找一些擠壓的引力波吧？

Uh, not so fast.

呃，沒那麼快。

It's not clear if they even exist.

不知道他們是否存在。

The researchers suggest that they could be squeezed into existence during the late stages of black hole mergers or during an early period in the universe.

研究人員認為，它們可能是在黑洞合併的後期或宇宙的早期階段被擠壓成的。

If that's true, or if there's some other source of squeezed gravitational waves out there.

如果這是真的，或者有其他的擠壓引力波的來源。

And if we can make instruments sensitive enough to hear the noise of gravitons, then maybe we can finally find a way to bring quantum mechanics and general relativity together.

如果我們能讓儀器靈敏到足以聽到引力子的噪音，那麼也許我們最終能找到一種方法，將量子力學和廣義相對論結合起來。

If you want to know more about gravitational wave detectors like Lego, check out my video on these awesome machines here and make sure to subscribe a secret for more videos like this one.

如果你想了解更多關於樂高等引力波探測器的資訊，可以在這裡查看我關於這些厲害機器的視頻，並且一定要訂閱一個祕密，以獲得更多類似的視頻。