Four ways to understand the Earth's age - Joshua M. Sneideman

Starost Zemlje u merama koje možete da razumete - Džošua M. Snajdman (Joshua M. Sneideman)

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Dejan Vicai

How old is the Earth?

Koliko je stara Zemlja?

Well, by counting the number of isotopes

Brojanjem izotopa

in a sample of rock

u uzorku stene

that's undergone radioactive decay,

koja je prošla kroz radioaktivno raspadanje,

geologists have estimated the Earth's birthday,

geolozi su procenili rođendan Zemlje,

when it first formed from a solar nebula,

kada je prvi put nastala iz solarne nebule,

to be 4.6 billion years ago.

a to je bilo pre 4,6 milijarde godina.

But just how long is that really?

Ali koliko je to zaista dugo?

Here's some analogies

Evo nekih analogija

that might help you understand.

koje vam možda pomognu da razumete ovo.

For example, let's imagine the entire history of Earth

Na primer, zamislimo celu istoriju Zemlje

until the present day

do današnjeg dana

as a single calendar year.

kao jednu kalendarsku godinu.

On January 1st, the Earth begins to form.

1. januara, Zemlja počinje da se formira.

By March 3rd, there's the first evidence

Do 3. marta postoje prvi dokazi za postojanje

of single-celled bacteria.

jednoćelijskih bakterija.

Life remains amazingly unicellular until November 11th

Život je zapanjujuće jednoćelijski do 11. novembra

when the first multicellular organisms,

kada se javljaju prvi višećelijski organizmi,

known as the Ediacaran fauna, come along.

takozvana ediakaranska fauna.

Shortly thereafter, on November 16th at 6:08 p.m.

Ubrzo nakon toga, 16. novembra u 18:08

is the Cambrian Explosion of life,

dešava se kambrijska eksplozija života,

a major milestone,

velika prekretnica,

when all of the modern phyla started to appear.

kada počinju da se javljaju svi moderni rodovi.

On December 10th at 1:26 p.m.,

10. decembra u 13:26

the dinosaurs first evolve

prvi put se javljaju dinosaurusi

but are wiped out by an asteroid

ali ih istrebljuje asteroid

just two weeks later.

samo dve nedelje nakon toga.

On December 31st, the mighty Roman empire

31. decembra, moćno Rimsko carstvo

rises and falls in just under four seconds.

nastaje i pada za manje od 4 sekunde.

And Columbus sets sail

Kolumbo kreće ka onome

for what he thinks is India

što je on mislio da je Indija

at three seconds to midnight.

u tri sekunde do ponoći.

If you try to write the history of the Earth

Ukoliko pokušate da zapišete istoriju Zemlje

using just one page per year,

koristeći samo jednu stranicu po godini,

your book would be 145 miles thick,

vaša knjiga bila bi debela 233km,

more than half the distance

što je više od pola rastojanja

to the international space station.

do međunarodne svemirske stanice.

The story of the 3.2 million year-old

Priča o fosilu iz doba australopitekusa

Australopithecine fossil known as Lucy

zvanom Lusi, koji je star 3,2 miliona godina,

would be found on the 144th mile,

našla bi se na 231. kilometru,

just over 500 feet from the end of the book.

samo 150m od samog kraja knjige.

The United States of America's Declaration of Independence

Deklaracija nezavisnosti SAD

would be signed in the last half-inch.

bila bi potpisana na poslednjem centimetru.

Or if we compared geologic time

Ili ako poredimo geološko vreme

to a woman stretching her arms

sa ženom koja rasteže ruke

to a span of six feet,

na raspon od 180cm,

the simple act of filing her nails

prost čin turpijanja noktiju

would wipe away all of recorded human history.

izbrisao bi svu zapisanu ljudsku istoriju.

Finally, let's imagine the history of the Earth as your life:

Konačno, hajde da zamislimo istoriju Zemlje kao vaš život:

from the moment you're born

od trenutka kada se rodite

to your first day of high school.

do vašeg prvog dana srednje škole.

Your first word,

Vaša prva reč,

first time sitting up,

prvi put kada stanete na noge,

and first time walking

prva šetnja,

would all take place while life on Earth

sve bi se desilo dok se život na Zemlji

was comprised of single-celled organisms.

sastojao od jednoćelijskih organizama.

In fact, the first multicellular organism

Zapravo, prvi višećelijski organizam

wouldn't evolve until you were 12 years old

ne bi se razvio do vaše 12. godine

and starting 7th grade,

i početka 7. razreda, otprilike oko vremena

right around the time

your science teacher is telling the class

kada vam nastavnik biologije na času kaže

how fossils are formed.

kako su nastali fosili.

The dinosaurs don't appear

Dinosaurusi se ne pojavljuju

until three months into 8th grade

do 3. meseca osmog razreda

and are soon wiped out right around spring break.

i ubrzo nestaju otprilike u vreme prolećnog raspusta.

Three days before 9th grade begins,

3 dana pre nego što počne 9. razred,

when you realize summer is over

kada shvatite da je leto gotovo

and you need new school supplies,

i da su vam potrebne nove zalihe za školu,

Lucy, the Australopithecine, is walking around Africa.

australopitekus Lusi hoda Afrikom.

As you finish breakfast

Dok završavate s doručkom

and head outside to catch your bus

i krećete napolje da uhvatite autobus

44 minutes before school,

44 minuta pre škole,

the Neanderthals are going extinct throughout Europe.

Neandertalci izumiru širom Evrope.

The most recent glacial period

Najskorije ledeno doba

ends as your bus drops you off

završava se u trenutku kada silazite s autobusa

16 minutes before class.

16 minuta pre časa.

Columbus sets sail 50 seconds before class

Kolumbo kreće 50 sekundi pre početka časa

as you're still trying to find the right classroom.

dok vi još pokušavate da nađete tačnu učionicu.

The Declaration of Independence is signed

Deklaracija nezavisnosti se potpisuje

28 seconds later

28 sekundi kasnije

as you look for an empty seat.

dok tražite prazno mesto.

And you were born 1.3 seconds before the bell rings.

A vi se rađate 1,3 sekunde pre nego što zazvoni zvono.

So, you see, the Earth is extremely,

Vidite, Zemlja je izuzetno,

unbelievably old

neverovatno stara

compared to us humans

u poređenju sa nama ljudima

with a fossil record

i ima fosilni zapis

hiding incredible stories to tell us about the past

koji krije neverovatne priče o našoj prošlosti

and possibly the future as well.

a moguće i o budućnosti.

But in the short time we've been here,

Ali za kratko vreme koliko smo ovde,

we've learned so much

toliko smo naučili

and will surely learn more

i sigurno ćemo naučiti još

over the next decades and centuries,

kroz sledeće decenije i vekove,

near moments in geological time.

bliske trenutke u geološkom vremenu.