Welcome to Life Noggin.

歡迎來到 Life Noggin

Right now you're probably watching this video from somewhere on Earth… that big,

現在你可能在地球的某處觀看這個影片

round, beautiful planet you humans call home.

這個你們人類稱為「家」的巨大、圓形、漂亮的星球

But how do you know the Earth is round?

但你是怎麼知道地球是圓的？

Your senses would tell you that it's flat.

你的感覺會告訴你地球是平的

After all, if you stand in a large field, it actually looks pretty flat.

畢竟，當你站在一個寬闊的場地，地面確實是很平的

And if you walk through that field, it doesn't feel like you're going over a curve.

而且當你走過這塊地，你並不會覺得自己正在走過弧線的地面

Could it be that the Earth is actually flat?

地球會不會真的是平的呢？

Well, let's try an experiment.

讓我們來做一個實驗

Say you're standing in a field outside of Chicago.

假設我們說你站在芝加哥外的一個地方

If the Earth is flat, you should be able to see southwest and see some of the tallest

如果地球是平的，你應該能看向西南方以及

points in the United States, the Rocky Mountains.

美國國內某些最高點：洛磯山脈

But the thing is, you can't.

但你無法

That's because of the curvature of the Earth.

原因來自於地球的曲度

You'll notice a similar problem if you stand on a seashore and try to watch a boat sail

同樣的問題也會發生在，當你站在海岸邊並試著看著一艘船

away.

駛離

After a while, it will disappear from view.

過了一會，船就會消失在視線中

And not only that, but the bottom of the boat will vanish before the top as it

且不只是這樣，船的底部會比頂部更早消失在眼前

goes over what's called the horizon line — the place where the sky meets the Earth.

這種情形發生在船駛過所謂的地平線的時候，也就是天空與地球的交會處

For someone who is six feet tall, the horizon line is only three miles away.

對一個 6 呎高的人來說，地平線只有三英里遠

But the higher up you are, the farther you can see over the Earth's curve.

但越高的人將可看到地球曲面更遠的地方

This is why standing on a tall mountain might allow you to see over 100 miles while standing

這就是為甚麼當你站在高山上可以讓你看到超過 100 呎的地方，

in a field will only let you see a short distance.

而站在平地只能看到近距離的地方

It also means that taller people can see slightly farther than shorter people.

這也表示高的人可以比矮的人稍微看得更遠

Good thing my animator can make me any height!

幸好我的動畫師讓我可以擁有任何身高！

See, I'm like that one ant dude.

看，我可以變得像蟻人

The thing is, none of this is new information.

問題是，這些都不是新知

We've known about the planet's curvature for over 2000 years.

我們知道地球的曲度已經 2000 年了

The Ancient Greeks figured out that the Earth is round based on several pieces of evidence,

古希臘人根據一些證據斷定地球是圓的

including their observations of ships going over the horizon line. The scientist Aristotle,

包括船駛離地平線的觀察，科學家亞里斯多德

writing in 350 BCE, noted that during an eclipse, the Earth makes a round shadow on the moon.

在公元前 350 年寫到，日蝕發生期間，地球會在月球表面產生圓的陰影

He also realized that stars appear in different places depending on where you are standing.

他同樣了解到，根據你站的位置，星星會在不同地方出現

For example, he saw stars in Egypt that weren't visible farther north.

舉例來說，他在埃及無法觀察到更北方的星星

Roughly 100 years later, humans got their first measurements of the Earth's curve

大約在 100 年後，人類首次能夠測量地球的曲度

from another Greek mathematician, Eratosthenes.

這個實驗由另一位希臘數學家 Eratosthenes 所執行

He had heard of a city in southern Egypt where, at noon on the summer solstice, the sun was

他聽說埃及南方的一個城市，在夏至的正中午

directly overhead and the buildings cast no shadows.

太陽會出現在頭頂的正上方且建築物不會出現任何陰影

But at the same time in the northern city of Alexandria, the buildings DID cast shadows.

同一時刻在 Alexandria 的北方城市，建築物「確實」產生陰影

meaning the sun was at a different angle in the sky.

這表示太陽出現在天空中的不同角度

On the day of the solstice, Eratosthenes stuck a stick in the ground in Alexandria and measured

在至點的當天， Eratosthenes 在 Alexandria 的地上插了一個枯枝並且

the angle of its shadow.

量測枯枝的陰影角度

Using the distance between the two cities, he was able to calculate the curvature of

利用兩城市之間的距離，他能夠計算出

the Earth!

地球的曲度！

You could actually perform this same experiment if you have a friend living a few miles away.

如果你有位住在幾英里遠的朋友，你同樣也可做這個實驗

Or, if your friend is several hours west, you can get more proof that the Earth is round

或是當你的朋友住在西方晚這邊幾小時的地方，你可以獲得更多地球是圓的的證據

by calling them at sunset and asking how the sky looks.

在日落的時候打給他並問天空看起來怎麼樣

It will still be daylight there because of the Earth's curve.

因為地球曲度的關係，那邊仍然是白天

And there's one more piece of clear evidence for the planet's shape — pictures taken

還有一個更清楚的證據是地球的形狀 –

from space.

從外太空拍的地球照片

Maybe you're not on Earth after all and are actually watching this video from the

或許到頭來你不在地球上，實際上正在太空站上觀看這段影片

space station… in which case, please leave a comment, because that's so cool.

不管在什麼情況看這段影片，請在下方留言，因為太酷了

If that's true, you'll have a bird's-eye view of this giant blue and green globe.

如果是真的，你將能鳥瞰這藍色與綠色的巨大地球

What a beautiful place to live.

多麼漂亮的居住地方

So what other myths about Earth do you want me to explore?

所以，有什麼其他關於地球的迷思是你想讓我去探索的？

Let me know in the comment section below.

請在下方的留言處讓我知道

Do you love science?

你喜歡科學嗎？

Do you love video games?

你喜歡電玩嗎？

If so, you'll HAVE to check out Play Noggin,

如果是的話，你必須看看 Play Noggin

which is an excellent combination of the two.

他是兩者的最好結合

Julian recently explored the idea of mind control.

Julian 最近探索了思想控制的想法

Check it out!

快去一探究竟！

If the colander our protagonist puts on his head allows him to hack into the mind of his less intellectual friends,

如果主角頭戴的濾器能讓他駭入較不聰明的朋友腦中

then in theory, he could exercise control over their actions at a basic level, it doesn't sound too complicated.

那麼理論上，他可以對朋友進行的行為進行基本的控制，這聽起來不會很複雜

In order to control the activity in an area of the brain, you need to stimulate it with energy.

為了使腦袋的一部份控制行為，你必須透過能量來刺激它

My name is Blocko, this has been Life Noggin, don't forget to keep on thinking

我的名字是 Blocko，在 Life Noggin ，別忘了要不斷動腦喔！