And I think the way we talk about physics needs a little modification.

如各位所聽說的，我是個物理學家。

I am from just down the road here; I don't live here anymore.

我想，我們談論物理的方式 需要做些細微的修正。

But coming from round here means that I have a northern nana,

我以前就住在這附近， 不過現在不住這裡了。

my mum's mom.

來自這附近就意味著， 我有個來自北部地區外婆，

And Nana is very bright; she hasn't had much formal education,

我母親的母親。

but she's sharp.

外婆很聰明，沒受過多少正規教育，

And when I was a second-year undergraduate studying physics at Cambridge,

但很精明。

I remember spending an afternoon at Nana's house in Urmston

當我還是劍橋物理系 大二學生的時候，

studying quantum mechanics.

記得有一天，我整個下午 都在外婆位於厄姆斯頓的房子裡，

And I had these folders open in front of me

研讀量子力學。

with this, you know, hieroglyphics -- let's be honest.

我面前有一些打開了的資料夾，

And Nana came along, and she looked at this folder,

內容……你知道的， 說真的，根本就是象形文字。

and she said, "What's that?"

外婆走了過來，看著資料夾，

I said, "It's quantum mechanics, Nana."

然後她說：「那是什麼？」

And I tried to explain something about what was on the page.

我說：「那是量子力學，外婆。」

It was to do with the nucleus and Einstein A and B coefficients.

然後我試著解釋頁面上的內容，

And Nana looked very impressed.

內容關於原子核 和愛因斯坦 A、B 係數。

And then she said, "Oh.

外婆看起來非常佩服。

What can you do when you know that?"

接著，她說：「喔。

(Laughter)

你知道了那些之後能用來幹嘛？」

"Don't know, ma'am."

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

「我不知道耶，外婆。」

I think I said something about computers,

（笑聲）

because it was all I could think of at the time.

我想我說了一些關於電腦的東西，

But you can broaden that question out, because it's a very good question --

因為那是我當下唯一能想到的。

"What can you do when you know that?" when "that" is physics?

但你可以擴大那個問題， 因為它是個非常好的問題：

And I've come to realize that when we talk about physics in society

「你知道了那些之後能用來幹嘛？」 「那些」指的是物理。

and our sort of image of it,

然後我意識到，

we don't include the things that we can do when we know that.

當我們社會談到物理 和我們對它的印象時，

Our perception of what physics is needs a bit of a shift.

並不包含我們了解物理後能做的事。

Not only does it need a bit of a shift,

我們對於物理的認識需要一點轉變；

but sharing this different perspective matters for our society,

不只是需要一點轉變，

and I'm not just saying that because I'm a physicist and I'm biased

而且分享這個不同的觀點 對我們的社會很重要。

and I think we're the most important people in the world.

會這麼說，並非因為 我是物理學家或是偏心，

Honest.

也不因為自認我們學物理的 是世界上最重要的人。

So, the image of physics -- we've got an image problem, let's be honest --

真的。

it hasn't moved on much from this.

所以老實說，物理有些形象問題，

This is a very famous photograph that's from the Solvay Conference in 1927.

一直以來它的形象差不多就這樣。

This is when the great minds of physics were grappling

這張很有名的照片 來自 1927 年的索爾維會議。

with the nature of determinism

當時頂尖的物理學家

and what it means only to have a probability

在探討決定論的本質，

that a particle might be somewhere,

只知道某粒子位於某處的機率 （註：不知道它的確切位置）

and whether any of it was real.

到底是什麼意思，

And it was all very difficult.

也不知道這說法的真假，

And you'll notice they're all very stern-looking men in suits.

全都非常困難。

Marie Curie -- I keep maybe saying, "Marie Antoinette,"

你們會注意到全都是 外貌嚴肅、身著西裝的男子。

which would be a turn-up for the books --

瑪麗居禮──差點說成「瑪麗安東妮」 （註：上斷頭台的法國皇后）

Marie Curie, third from the left on the bottom there,

──將成為物理書籍的轉折點。

she was allowed in, but had to dress like everybody else.

瑪麗居禮，下排左起第三位，

(Laughter)

她被允許加入， 但必須穿得和其他人一樣。

So, this is what physics is like -- there's all these kinds of hieroglyphics,

（笑聲）

these are to do with waves and particles.

物理就像這個樣子， 總有各式各樣的象形文字。

That is an artist's impression of two black holes colliding,

圖上這些和波長、粒子有關。

which makes it look worth watching, to be honest.

那圖是藝術家對 兩個黑洞互撞的印象，

I'm glad I didn't have to write the risk assessment

這讓它很值得一看，說真的。

for whatever was going on there.

很高興我無須為那裡發生的事 寫風險評估報告。

The point is: this is the image of physics, right?

重點是，這就是物理形象：

It's weird and difficult,

既怪又難；

done by slightly strange people dressed in a slightly strange way.

從事的人有點古怪，衣著稍奇特；

It's inaccessible, it's somewhere else

它很遙遠，難以接近；

and fundamentally, why should I care?

最根本的是，我為什麽要在乎它？

And the problem with that is that I'm a physicist,

問題是，

and I study this.

我是個物理學家，

This -- this is my job, right?

我研究物理，

I study the interface between the atmosphere and the ocean.

這是我的工作。

The atmosphere is massive, the ocean is massive,

我研究大氣和海洋之間的界面。

and the thin layer that joins them together

大氣很巨大，海洋很巨大，

is really important,

把它們結合在一起的那薄薄一層

because that's where things go from one huge reservoir to the other.

非常重要，

You can see that the sea surface -- that was me who took this video --

因為東西經過它 從一個大儲存器到另一個。

the average height of those waves by the way, was 10 meters.

你們可以看到海面 ──我拍了這影片──

So this is definitely physics happening here --

順道一提，那些波浪的 平均高度是 10 公尺。

there's lots of things -- this is definitely physics.

這裡發生的肯定是物理，

And yet it's not included in our cultural perception of physics,

很多東西，肯定都是物理。

and that bothers me.

然而這些沒被包含在 我們對物理的文化認知中，

So what is included in our cultural perception of physics?

這讓我很困擾。

Because I'm a physicist, there has to be a graph, right?

我們對物理的文化認知包含了什麼？

That's allowed.

因為我是物理學家， 我一定得要有張圖，對嗎？

We've got time along the bottom here, from very fast things there,

那是被容許的。

to things that take a long time over here.

下面的橫軸是時間， 這邊是非常快速移動的事物，

Small things at the bottom, big things up there.

那邊是要花較長時間的。

So, our current cultural image of physics looks like this.

下面的是小東西，上面是大的。

There's quantum mechanics down in that corner,

我們目前文化印象中的物理像這樣。

it's very small, it's very weird,

量子力學在下方那個角落，

it happens very quickly,

它很小、很怪異，

and it's a long way down in the general ...

發生得很快，

on the scale of anything that matters for everyday life.

整體來說，它在非常下面，

And then there's cosmology, which is up there;

相較於日常生活重要事件的 時間尺度，它差得很遠。

very large, very far away,

而宇宙論則是在高高在上面那裡，

also very weird.

非常大、非常遙遠，

And if you go to some places

也非常怪異。

like black holes in the beginning of the universe,

若追溯到宇宙初始的黑洞之類地方，

we know that these are frontiers in physics, right?

那麼二者（量子力學和宇宙論） 會在後面連到一塊兒，

There's lots of work being done to discover new physics

而我們知道它們是物理學的邊陲，

in these places.

正進行著許多物理新領域的研究。

But the thing is, you will notice there's a very large gap in the middle.

重點是，你會注意到 中間有很大的鴻溝。

And in that gap, there are many things.

在那鴻溝中，有許多東西。

There are planets and toasts and volcanoes and clouds

有星球、吐司、火山、雲、

and clarinets and bubbles and dolphins

單簧管、泡泡、海豚，

and all sorts of things that make up our everyday life.

以及構成我們日常生活的各種東西，

And these are also run by physics, you'd be surprised --

這些也都靠物理來運作。

there is physics in the middle, it's just that nobody talks about it.

你會驚訝中間有物理，

And the thing about all of these is that they all run

只是沒有人談論它。

on a relatively small number of physical laws,

這些的通性是

things like Newton's laws of motion,

只依據相對少數的物理法則來運作，

thermodynamics,

比如牛頓運動定律、

some rotational dynamics.

熱力學、

The physics in the middle applies over a huge range,

轉動動力學。

from very, very small things to very, very big things.

中間區的物理應用的範圍很廣，

You have to try very hard to get outside of this.

從非常、非常小的事物 到非常、非常大的。

And there is also a frontier in research physics here,

你得要很努力才能超出這範圍。

it's just that nobody talks about it.

這裡也有物理研究中 尚未完全開拓的疆界，

This is the world of the complex.

只是沒有人在談論它。

When these laws work together, they bring about

這是個複雜的世界。

the beautiful, messy, complex world we live in.

這些法則一起運作，

Fundamentally, this is the bit that really matters to me

帶來我們所居住的這個美麗、 混亂、複雜的世界。

on an everyday basis.

基本上，這是對我而言 每天都很重要的一點，

And this is the bit that we don't talk about.

是我們不談論的那部份，

There's plenty of physics research going on here.

有許多的物理研究正在進行著。

But because it doesn't involve pointing at stars,

但由於它不牽涉到某顆星星，

people for some reason think it's not that.

人們基於某些原因忽視它。

Now, the cool thing about this is that there are so many things

很酷的一點是

in this middle bit,

中間這部份有非常多的東西，

all following the same physical laws,

都遵循著同樣的物理法則，

that we can see those laws at work

在我們周遭幾乎隨時 都看得到那些法則。

almost all the time around us.

我這裡有段影片。

I've got a little video here.

遊戲中一顆是生蛋，

So the game is, one of these eggs is raw and one of them has been boiled.

另一顆是煮熟的。

I want you to tell me which one is which.

請各位告訴我，哪個是哪個。

Which one's raw?

哪個是生的？

(Audience responds)

（觀眾回應）

The one on the left -- yes!

左邊的──對！

And even though you might not have tried that, you all knew.

即使沒做過這實驗，你們也都知道。

The reason for that is, you set them spinning,

理由是，轉動它們，

and when you stop the cooked egg, the one that's completely solid,

當你停下煮熟的蛋， 也就是內部完全凝固的蛋，

you stop the entire egg.

整個蛋會靜止。

When you stop the other one, you only stop the shell;

當你停住另一顆蛋， 你只停住了蛋殼；

the liquid inside is still rotating because nothing's made it stop.

裡面的液體還在轉動， 因為沒東西讓它停下來，

And then it pushes the shell round again, so the egg starts to rotate again.

它就會再推動蛋殼， 所以蛋又繼續轉。

This is brilliant, right?

這很聰明，對吧？

It's a demonstration of something in physics

這是在展示物理中

that we call the law of conservation of angular momentum,

我們稱之為「角動量守衡定律」。

which basically says that if you set something spinning

基本上這定律是，如果你讓某物旋轉，

about a fixed axis,

繞著一個固定軸旋轉，

that it will keep spinning unless you do something to stop it.

除非你主動去阻止它， 不然它會一直轉下去。

And that's really fundamental in how the universe works.

對於宇宙的運作 ， 這是非常基礎的法則。

And it's not just eggs that it applies to,

它不只應用在雞蛋上面，

although it's really useful if you're the sort of person --

不過也的確挺有用， 如果你是那種人的話──

and apparently, these people do exist --

很顯然，那種人的確存在──

who will boil eggs and then put them back in the fridge.

那種會把雞蛋煮熟了再放回冰箱的人。

Who does that? Don't admit to it -- it's OK. We won't judge you.

誰會這樣做啊？不必承認── 沒關係。我們不會評斷你。

But it's also got much broader applicabilities.

但它還有更廣的應用性。

This is the Hubble Space Telescope.

這是「哈伯太空望遠鏡」。

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field, which is a very tiny part of the sky.

「哈伯超深空」是太空中 非常微小的一部份。

Hubble has been floating in free space for 25 years,

哈伯已在自由空間中飄浮了 25 年，

not touching anything.

沒有碰觸任何東西。

And yet it can point to a tiny region of sky.

但它可以對準天空中的一個小區域。

For 11 and a half days, it did it in sections,

花 11.5 天的時間，

accurately enough to take amazing images like this.

分段做。

So the question is:

精準度足以拍出像這樣驚人的影像。

How does something that is not touching anything

問題是：如何在完全不碰到 任何東西的情況下，

know where it is?

知道它在哪裡？

The answer is that right in the middle of it, it has something

答案就在它中間有某樣東西，

that, to my great disappointment, isn't a raw egg,

很可惜那東西並不是生的雞蛋，

but basically does the same job.

但基本上功能是一樣的。

It's got gyroscopes which are spinning,

它有不斷旋轉的陀螺儀，

and because of the law of conservation of angular momentum,

因為角動量守衡定律的緣故，

they keep spinning with the same axis, indefinitely.

它們會不斷繞著同一個軸旋轉，

Hubble kind of rotates around them, and so it can orient itself.

永無止境。

So the same little physical law we can play with in the kitchen and use,

而哈伯繞著它們轉，所以能自己定位。

also explains what makes possible some of the most advanced technology

我們在廚房裡使用的小小物理法則，

of our time.

也能用來解釋

So this is the fun bit of physics, that you learn these patterns

在我們這個時代最先進的某些技術。

and then you can apply them again and again and again.

這是物理好玩的部份， 你能學到這些形式，

And it's really rewarding when you spot them in new places.

而且你可以把它們重複使用。

This is the fun of physics.

當你在新地方發現它們時 會很有成就感。

I have shown that egg video to an audience full of businesspeople once

這就是物理的樂趣。

and they were all dressed up very smartly and trying to impress their bosses.

我曾把那部雞蛋的影片 放給商業界的觀眾看，

And I was running out of time, so I showed the egg video and then said,

他們都穿得很正式、得體， 想要讓老闆印象深刻。

"Well, you can work it out, and ask me afterwards to check."

當時快沒時間了， 所以播完雞蛋影片後，我說：

Then I left the stage.

「你們能找出來， 之後再來跟我確認答案。」

And I had, literally,

然後我就離開講台了。

middle-aged grown men tugging on my sleeve afterwards,

事後真的就有

saying, "Is it this? Is it this?"

中年成人男子拉著我的袖子，問：

And when I said, "Yes." They went, "Yes!"

「這個嗎？是嗎？」

(Laughter)

當我說：「是啊！」 他們就說：「太好了！」

The joy that you get from spotting these patterns

（笑聲）

doesn't go away when you're an adult.

發現這些模式時得到的喜悅，

And that's really important,

即使成年人也能得到。

because physics is all about patterns,

這點非常重要，

and a small number of patterns give you access

因為物理的重點就是模式，

to almost all of the physics in our everyday world.

少量的模式就能讓你

The thing that's best about this is it involves playing with toys.

探究日常生活中幾乎所有的物理。

Things like the egg shouldn't be dismissed as the mundane little things

最棒的一點就是，它也和玩玩具有關。

that we just give the kids to play with on a Saturday afternoon

像雞蛋這樣的東西 不該被視為是平凡的小東西，

to keep them quiet.

只在星期六下午給孩子們玩，

This is the stuff that actually really matters,

來讓他們安靜下來。

because this is the laws of the universe and it applies to eggs

這其實是很有意義的東西，

and toast falling butter-side down and all sorts of other things,

因為這是宇宙的法則，

just as much as it applies to modern technology

能應用在雞蛋上、

and anything else that's going on in the world.

吐司總是塗奶油的那面落地和其他，

So I think we should play with these patterns.

就像是它廣泛應用在現代科技上，

Basically, there are a small number of concepts

以及在世上正發生的其他事情上。

that you can become familiar with using things in your kitchen,

我認為我們應該玩玩這些模式。

that are really useful for life in the outside world.

基本上，有少數的一些概念，

If you want to learn about thermodynamics, a duck is a good place to start,

是用廚房的東西就可以認識的概念，

for example, why their feet don't get cold.

並且對生活在外面的世界很有用。

Once you've got a bit of thermodynamics with the duck,

如果你想要學熱力學， 鴨子就是個很好的起點，

you can also explain fridges.

比如，為何牠們的腳不會變冷。

Magnets that you can play with in your kitchen

一旦你從鴨子理解了一點熱力學，

get you to wind turbines and modern energy generation.

你也能夠用來解釋冰箱。

Raisins in [fizzy] lemonade, which is always a good thing to play with.

磁鐵也是你在廚房中可以玩的東西，

If you're at a boring party, fish some raisins out of the bar snacks,

它能教你風力發電機 以及現代發電方法。

put them in some lemonade.

還有發泡檸檬水中的葡萄乾， 它向來是很好玩的。

It's got three consequences.

若你處在無聊的派對中， 拿點吧台上的葡萄乾點心，

First thing is, it's quite good to watch; try it.

把它們丟到檸檬水中。

Secondly, it sends the boring people away.

會有三項後果。

Thirdly, it brings the interesting people to you.

第一是很好看，去試試看。

You win on all fronts.

第二是它能趕走無聊的人。

And then there's spin and gas laws and viscosity.

第三是它能吸引有趣的人 來到你身邊。

There's these little patterns, and they're right around us everywhere.

是全贏的局面。

And it's fundamentally democratic, right?

還有旋轉、氣體方程式、黏性。

Everybody has access to the same physics; you don't need a big, posh lab.

這些小模式在我們身邊處處可見。