Scientists are a step away from creating a black hole, a scientific experiment that could lead to the apocalypse.

科學家距離製造黑洞僅一步之遙，這項科學實驗可能會導致世界末日。

Articles with similar headlines began surfacing in the press in the early 2000s.

2000 年代初，類似標題的文章開始出現在報刊上。

The Large Hadron Collider, or simply LHC, started up in 2008.

大型強子對撞機，簡稱 LHC，於 2008 年啟動。

It caused a real storm of discussion.

這引起了一場真正的討論風暴。

While some scientists planned grandiose experiments, others warned mankind of serious danger.

一些科學家計劃進行宏偉的實驗，而另一些科學家則警告人類將面臨嚴重的危險。

How does the LHC work, and is it really capable of destroying our planet?

大型強子對撞機是如何工作的，它真的能夠摧毀我們的地球嗎？

The Large Hadron Collider is installed underground near the French-Swiss border.

大型強子對撞機安裝在法國和瑞士邊境附近的地下。

It's a ring-shaped tunnel with a circumference of 27 kilometers, or 16.7 miles.

它是一個環形隧道，周長 27 公里，即 16.7 英里。

Two vacuum pipes are installed inside the tunnel, which intersect in some places.

隧道內安裝了兩條真空管道，在某些地方相互交叉。

1,232 main magnets are connected to the pipes.

1 232 塊主磁鐵與管道相連。

Their task is to accelerate protons to a speed close to the speed of light, and then hold this stream so that the particle beams don't crash into the wall.

他們的任務是將質子加速到接近光速的速度，然後保持這種粒子流，使粒子束不會撞到牆上。

In order for the magnets to work, they're powered by superconductive cables with a total length of about 250,000 kilometers, or about 155,000 miles.

為了讓磁鐵工作，它們由總長度約為 25 萬公里（約合 15.5 萬英里）的超導電纜供電。

If scientists got tired of the LHC, and they decided to dismantle it, these wires could be wrapped around the Earth about six times at the equator.

如果科學家們厭倦了大型強子對撞機，決定將其拆除，那麼這些電線可以在赤道上繞地球大約六圈。

And even after that, there'd be enough wire left to run a power grid somewhere in Antarctica.

即使在那之後，剩下的電線也足夠在南極洲的某個地方運行一個電網。

Although, why a power grid in Antarctica?

不過，為什麼要在南極洲建立電網呢？

While they aren't planning to disassemble the LHC yet, however, it could be considered the largest refrigerator ever created.

雖然他們還不打算拆卸大型強子對撞機，但它可以被視為有史以來最大的冰箱。

For proper operation, the collider magnets need to be cooled to minus 271.3 Celsius, that's minus 456.3 Fahrenheit.

為了正常運行，對撞機磁鐵需要冷卻到零下 271.3 攝氏度，即零下 456.3 華氏度。

That is, to create a temperature lower than in space.

也就是說，創造一個比太空更低的溫度。

To get this cold, 120 tons of liquid helium is poured into the LHC.

為了達到這種低溫，120 噸液氦被倒入大型強子對撞機。

Now, look at the refrigerator in your home.

現在，看看你家的冰箱。

In it, there are special substances, refrigerants, that create cold.

其中有一種特殊物質，即製冷劑，可以產生冷量。

Liquid helium is one of them.

液氦就是其中之一。

In one household refrigerator, there are approximately 30 to 50 grams, or 1.05 to 1.76 ounces of refrigerants.

一臺家用冰箱中約有 30 至 50 克或 1.05 至 1.76 盎司製冷劑。

So we can say that the LHC surpasses this indicator by approximately 4 million refrigerators.

是以我們可以說，大型強子對撞機比這一指標高出約 400 萬臺冰箱。

Only instead of cooling products, it helps solve the most complex problems of modern physics.

只不過，它不是冷卻產品，而是幫助解決現代物理學中最複雜的問題。

For example, what does matter consist of?

例如，物質包括什麼？

From school we know that matter consists of molecules, molecules of atoms, and atoms of protons, electrons, and neutrons.

從學校裡我們知道，物質由分子、原子分子以及質子、電子和中子原子組成。

But modern science has gone even further.

但現代科學走得更遠。

It turns out that even the smallest particles of the atomic nucleus, for example, protons, consist of even smaller particles, quarks.

原來，即使是原子核中最小的粒子，例如質子，也是由更小的粒子夸克組成的。

Want to know how small they are?

想知道它們有多小嗎？

Then imagine that an atom has grown to the size of the Earth.

然後想象一個原子已經長到了地球那麼大。

Then a proton would have a radius of about 100 meters, or 328 feet.

那麼質子的半徑約為 100 米，或 328 英尺。

That's almost the length of a football field.

這幾乎相當於一個足球場的長度。

In this case, the quark would have a radius of about 5 centimeters, or 2 inches.

在這種情況下，夸克的半徑約為 5 釐米或 2 英寸。

That is, it could fit in your pocket.

也就是說，它可以裝進你的口袋。

But how can we examine such small particles?

但是，我們怎樣才能對如此微小的粒子進行研究呢？

This is why the LHC was created.

這就是創建大型強子對撞機的原因。

You take two beams of protons, accelerate them in opposite directions, and collide them with each other.

將兩束質子向相反方向加速，然後相互碰撞。

What would happen if you put a brick on the ground and threw another one on top of it?

如果你在地上放一塊磚，然後在上面再扔一塊磚，會發生什麼？

Most likely, small fragments would fly off in different directions.

最有可能的是，小碎片會向不同方向飛去。

Similarly, when protons collide, tiny particles can break away from them.

同樣，當質子碰撞時，微小的粒子也會脫離質子。

In ordinary language, a collider is needed in order to see what happens when the protons and heavy lead nuclei collide.

通俗地說，要想知道質子和重鉛原子核碰撞時會發生什麼，就需要一臺對撞機。

As the creators of the project admitted, pushing two protons together is about as difficult as getting a needle into a needle, provided that the distance between them is 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles.

正如該項目的創造者所承認的那樣，把兩個質子推到一起就像把一根針插到一根針裡一樣困難，只要它們之間的距離是 10 千米或 6.2 英里。

And at the same time, they need to collide exactly in the middle.

同時，它們還需要在中間準確地碰撞。

Not so easy.

沒那麼容易

In addition, these small particles are invisible, so physicists can only study them by examining the tracks they leave in their wake.

此外，這些小粒子是看不見的，是以物理學家只能通過研究它們留下的痕跡來研究它們。

Another task of the LHC is to find something new.

大型強子對撞機的另一項任務是發現新事物。

It was with its help that the Higgs boson was discovered.

希格斯玻色子正是在它的幫助下被發現的。

This invisible particle can be called the foundation of the universe.

這種看不見的粒子可以被稱為宇宙的基礎。

After all, it's this particle that gives the other ones, and therefore all matter, mass.

畢竟，正是這種粒子賦予了其他粒子以品質，是以也賦予了所有物質以品質。

It turns out that if it disappeared, all particles would become absolutely weightless and fly around the universe at the speed of light.

原來，如果它消失了，所有粒子都會變得絕對失重，並以光速在宇宙中飛行。

In addition, with the help of the LHC, it's possible to study other elementary particles.

此外，在大型強子對撞機的幫助下，還可以研究其他基本粒子。

Each of them helps in the emergence and interaction between atoms.

它們中的每一種都有助於原子之間的產生和相互作用。

And each of these particles is so small that they can be detected only when proton fluxes collide.

而這些粒子都非常小，只有在質子通量碰撞時才能被探測到。

Scientists register the particles that are then formed with the help of special detectors.

科學家們藉助特殊的探測器對隨後形成的粒子進行記錄。

Another interesting area of research is antimatter.

另一個有趣的研究領域是反物質。

In our world, atomic nuclei have a positive electric charge.

在我們的世界裡，原子核帶有正電荷。

Negatively charged electrons revolve around them.

帶負電的電子圍繞它們旋轉。

But for each particle of an atom, you can create a double, an antiparticle.

但是，對於原子的每一個粒子，你都可以創造出一個替身，一個反粒子。

It has the same mass and properties, but the opposite charge.

它具有相同的品質和屬性，但電荷相反。

For example, an electron is negatively charged, and its antiparticle, positron, has the same mass but is positively charged.

例如，電子帶負電，其反粒子正電子品質相同，但帶正電。

The same goes for protons.

質子也是如此。

Protons are located in the nucleus of an atom and have a positive electric charge.

質子位於原子核內，帶有正電荷。

But their antiparticles, antiprotons, carry a negative charge and at the same time have the same mass.

但它們的反粒子--反質子--帶有負電荷，同時具有相同的品質。

We can say that antiparticles are a mirror image of ordinary particles.

我們可以說，反粒子是普通粒子的鏡像。

If you approach a mirror, you'll see your reflection in it.

如果你走近鏡子，就會看到自己的倒影。

If you wave to it with your left hand, your mirrored double will answer you with a wave of its right.

如果你用左手向它揮手，你的鏡像替身也會用右手揮手迴應你。

Antimatter is similarly arranged.

反物質也有類似的排列方式。

With the help of the LHC, it's possible to not only create antiparticles, they can also be combined with each other to create whole atoms of antimatter.

在大型強子對撞機的幫助下，不僅可以製造出反粒子，還可以將它們相互結合，製造出整個反物質原子。

Under ordinary conditions, when one proton and one electron are joined, a hydrogen atom appears.

在通常情況下，當一個質子和一個電子結合在一起時，就會產生氫原子。

Now, we can take two antiparticles opposite to the proton and electron, the antiproton and positron.

現在，我們可以取兩個與質子和電子相對的反粒子，即反質子和正電子。

Connecting them, we get an antihydrogen atom.

將它們連接起來，我們就得到了一個反氫原子。

It will have the same properties as hydrogen itself.

它將具有與氫本身相同的特性。

But only when antihydrogen collides with an ordinary atom would an explosion occur.

但只有當反氫與普通原子碰撞時，才會發生爆炸。

A strong explosion, as a result of which an incredible amount of energy would be released.

強烈的爆炸會釋放出驚人的能量。

One kilogram or 2.2 pounds of antihydrogen can produce slightly less energy than was released during the Tsar Bomba explosion.

一公斤或 2.2 磅反氫產生的能量略低於沙皇炸彈爆炸時釋放的能量。

And that was the most powerful of all hydrogen bombs ever created by mankind.

這是人類製造的所有氫彈中威力最大的一枚。

Most physicists believe the LHC is pretty cool.

大多數物理學家都認為大型強子對撞機很酷。

There's only one small problem.

只有一個小問題。

Scientists believe that one of its future experiments could destroy our planet.

科學家認為，它未來的一次實驗可能會摧毀我們的星球。

Or at least it could create serious problems.

或者至少會造成嚴重的問題。

In 2008, opponents of the collider, Walter Wagner and Louis Sancho, even went to court.

2008 年，對撞機的反對者沃爾特-瓦格納和路易斯-桑喬甚至對簿公堂。

They demanded a prohibition on starting up the LHC.

他們要求禁止啟動大型強子對撞機。

The applicants feared that if protons collided so strongly, they could form a microscopic black hole.

申請人擔心，如果質子發生如此強烈的碰撞，可能會形成一個微型黑洞。

The gravity of this object would be so great that it would immediately begin attracting the surrounding molecules.

這個物體的引力非常大，會立即開始吸引周圍的分子。

Or it might completely drag the entire Earth into it.

或者，它可能會把整個地球完全拖入其中。

But don't worry.

不過不用擔心。

None of the past experiments have confirmed the possibility of creating black holes.

過去的實驗都沒有證實產生黑洞的可能性。

Even if such objects appeared inside the tunnel, their size would be so small that they would evaporate instantly.

即使隧道內出現了這樣的物體，它們的體積也會非常小，以至於會瞬間蒸發掉。

So the lawsuit to ban the LHC was rejected by the court.

是以，禁止大型強子對撞機的訴訟被法院駁回。

The LHC started up, and so far it's been working successfully.

大型強子對撞機啟動了，到目前為止，它一直在成功地工作。

There's another potential threat.

還有一個潛在威脅。

Scientists believe that in some places of the universe there are wormholes.

科學家相信，宇宙中的某些地方存在蟲洞。

These are hypothetical objects in which space-time is curved.

這些都是時空彎曲的假想物體。

We can say that these are tunnels connecting two remote areas of space-time.

我們可以說，這些是連接兩個遙遠時空區域的隧道。

And if you enter one of these tunnels, you could either travel in time or instantly move somewhere very far away.

如果你進入其中一條隧道，你就可以穿越時空，或者瞬間移動到非常遙遠的地方。

Even to another universe.

甚至是另一個宇宙

Some scientists fear that high energies may create such a wormhole inside the LHC itself.

一些科學家擔心，高能量可能會在大型強子對撞機內部產生這樣的蟲洞。

However, this is just a theory.

然而，這只是一種理論。

The creators of the LHC claim that such particle collisions occur on our planet even without human intervention.

大型強子對撞機的創造者聲稱，即使沒有人類的干預，這種粒子碰撞也會在我們的星球上發生。

It's believed that for billions of years, various cosmic particles with an energy millions of times greater than the energy of protons in an accelerator have been bombarding the

人們相信，數十億年來，能量比加速器中質子的能量大幾百萬倍的各種宇宙粒子一直在轟擊著

Earth.

地球

And this hasn't led to the appearance of black holes on the planet, or other terrible consequences.

而這並沒有導致地球上出現黑洞或其他可怕的後果。

It's unlikely that such an experiment inside the LHC would transport us to another dimension.

在大型強子對撞機內進行這樣的實驗不太可能把我們傳送到另一個維度。

But moreover, I'm carefully monitoring everything that happens with it.

此外，我還在仔細觀察它所發生的一切。

So if anything ever goes wrong, you'll be the first to know about it.

是以，如果出現任何問題，您都會第一時間知道。

Don't forget to subscribe to the channel to follow along with me on future experiments.

別忘了訂閱該頻道，以便在今後的實驗中與我同行。

And be sure to like this video and share it with your friends if you haven't done so already.

如果您還沒有喜歡這段視頻，請務必點贊並與朋友分享。