The basics of the Higgs boson - Dave Barney and Steve Goldfarb

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Jessica Ruby

翻译人员: Jiayu LIN 校对人员: Jenny Yang

So two guys walk into a bar.

话说两个人走进一家酒吧...

Really?

No, seriously.

你确定？

闲言少叙

Two guys walk into a bar,

两个人走进一家酒吧

an ice cream bar:

准确的说是冰激凌吧

Dave, a physicist working on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN,

Dave，是一位在欧洲核子研究中心（CERN）

the European laboratory for particle physics,

大型强子对撞机（LHC）工作的物理学家

and Steve, a blues singer.

而Steve是位蓝调歌手

"Dave, how's it going?"

“Dave 最近如何?"

"Steve, good to see you!"

"Steve, 好久不见"

"Two scoops of chocolate almond for me."

“给我来两勺杏仁巧克力”

"Vanilla shake."

“我要份香草奶昔”

"Hey, I just saw something about the LHC on TV.

“说来我前两天刚在电视上 看到你们LHC

You guys found bozo in your detector?"

听说你们用探测器发现了傻大个(bozo)？”

"Well, not exactly.

"嗯...那不叫傻大个

We found a boson,

我们发现的叫玻色子(boson)

probably the Higgs boson."

甚至可能是希格斯玻色子 (Higgs boson)”

"What's that?"

“那又是啥”

"It's a particle."

“是种粒子”

"Don't you find particles all the time?"

“你们不是一直在发现粒子么？”

"Yes, but this one means

“话是这么说，但这次的发现

that the Higgs field might really exist."

表示希格斯场(Higgs Field)可能真实存在”

"Field? What field?"

“场？什么场”

"The Higgs field.

“希格斯场，一个以彼得 希格斯(Peter Higgs)

It's named after Peter Higgs,

及其他对此理论做出贡献的

although many others contributed to the idea.

科学家命名的场。

It isn't a field, like where you grow corn,

虽说叫‘场’，你可没法用来晒谷子

but a hypothetical, invisible kind of force field

而是一个假设存在的无形的力场

that pervades the whole universe."

存在于宇宙中的各个角落”

"Hmmmm, okay.

“好吧

If it pervades the whole universe,

可如果它遍布整个宇宙

how come I've never seen it?

为什么我从没看见过？

That's a bit strange."

这有点奇怪”

"Well, actually, it's not that strange.

“其实也没那么奇怪

Think of the air around us.

想想咱们身边的空气

We can't see it or smell it.

我们既看不见 又闻不到

Well, perhaps in some places we can.

当然 个别地方除外

But we can detect its presence with sophisticated equipment,

不过 通过尖端仪器 比如我们的身体

like our own bodies.

我们可以检测到它的存在

So the fact that we can't see something

我们看不到 不过是

just makes it a bit harder to determine

为我们证明事物实际存在

whether its really there or not."

提出了小小的挑战"

"Alright, go on."

“原来如此 然后呢？”

"So, we believe this Higgs field is all around us,

“所以我们认为这种‘希格斯场’ 就在我们身边

everywhere in the universe.

遍布整个宇宙

And what it does is rather special -

它的特殊之处在于

it gives mass to elementary particles."

为基本粒子(elementary particle) 提供质量(mass)"

"What's an elementary particle?"

“基本粒子？这又是什么”

"An elementary particle is what we call

“所谓基本粒子

particles that have no structure,

就是其内部不可继续分割

they can't be divided,

构成宇宙最基础的

they're the basic building blocks of the universe."

组成结构"

"I thought those were atoms."

“我还以为你说的是原子”

"Well, atoms are actually made of smaller components,

“其实 原子是由更小的粒子构成的

protons, neutrons, and electrons.

分别是质子(proton)、中子(neutron) 和电子(electron)

While electrons are fundamental particles,

电子也是基本粒子

neutrons and protons are not.

中子和质子就不是了

They are made up of other fundamental particles called quarks."

它们是由另一种基本粒子 夸克(quark)构成的"

"Sounds like Russian dolls.

“感觉像是俄罗斯套娃一样

Does it ever end?"

什么时候是个头儿啊？”

"Actually, we don't really know.

“说实话 我们也不知道

But our current understanding

我们现在所了解的

is called the Standard Model.

概括成标准模型(standard model)

In it, there are two types of fundamental particles:

标准模型中有两种基本粒子

the fermions, that make up matter,

构成物质的费米子(Fermion)

and the bosons, that carry forces.

和传递作用力的玻色子

We often order these particles

这些例子可以按照一定性质排序

according to their properties, such as mass.

比如它们的质量

We can measure the masses of the particles,

我们可以得到它们的质量

but we never really knew where this mass came from

可我们却从不知道它们的质量从何而来

or why they have the masses they do."

或者说 它们为什么会有质量“

"So how does this Higgs field thing explain mass?"

”那希格斯场为什么可以解释质量呢？“

"Well, when a particle passes through the Higgs field,

“一个粒子穿过希格斯场时

it interacts and gets mass.

会与场相互作用 从而获得质量

The more it interacts, the more mass it has."

相互作用越频繁 获得的质量就越大”

"OK, I kind of get that, but is it really that important?

“我有点懂了 但这发现有这么重要么

I mean, what if there were no Higgs field?"

如果没有希格斯场会怎么样呢”

"If there were no Higgs field,

”如果希格斯场不存在

the world wouldn't exist at all.

那整个宇宙都不复存在

There would be no stars, no planets, no air, no anything,

没有星星 没有其它星球 没有大气 什么都没有

not even that spoon or the ice cream you're eating."

连你现在拿的勺子和吃的冰激淋都没有"

"Oh, that would be bad.

"哎呀 那可不好

Okay, but where does this Higgs boson fit into things?"

好吧 不过这希格斯玻色子 又是干什么的呢“

"Alright, now, you see the cherry in my shake?"

”这么说 看到我奶昔里的樱桃了么？“

"Can I have it?"

”是要给我么？“

"No, not yet. We have to use it as an analogy first."

”别激动 先拿他打个比方“

"Oh, right, the cherry's the Higgs boson."

“那它就相当于希格斯玻色子"

"No, not quite.

”也不尽然

The cherry is a particle moving through the Higgs field, the shake.

我们把奶昔看成希格斯场 樱桃是在希格斯场中穿行的粒子

The shake gives the cherry its mass."

奶昔给了樱桃质量"

"I get it. Okay, so the molecules of the shake are the Higgs bosons!"

“我懂了 所以奶昔里的分子 就好比希格斯玻色子”

"Well, you're getting closer.

“差不多了”

It takes an excitation of the Higgs field

“希格斯场中要产生希格斯玻色子

to produce the Higgs boson.

需要激发作用(excitation)

So, for example, if I were to add energy

举个例子 比如我把樱桃 扔进奶昔里

by, say, dropping this cherry in the shake,"

把这想象成向场中 施加能量”

"Ah, then the drops that spill on the bar

“啊 那落在吧台上的几滴奶昔

are the Higgs bosons."

就是希格斯玻色子咯”

"Almost! The splash itself is the Higgs boson."

“就差一点儿 应该说溅出来的水花 本身才是希格斯玻色子”

"Are you serious?"

“不会吧”

"Well, that's what quantum mechanics teaches us.

“量子力学的理论就是这么指导我们的

In fact, all particles are excitations of fields."

实际上 所有例子都是从场中激发得到的”

"Okay, right. Well, I kind of see why you like particle physics,

“啊 好吧 我有点明白你为什么喜欢粒子物理了

it's quite cool,

听上去的确挺炫

strange, but cool."

有点玄有很炫"

"Yeah, you could call it a bit strange,

“说玄也没错

it's not like everyday life.

的确和日常生活离得有些远

The Higgs boson is an excitation of the Higgs field.

希格斯玻色子是希格斯场的 一种激发态

By finding the Higgs boson,

所以 通过发现希格斯玻色子

we know that the Higgs field exists."

我们便证明了希格斯场的存在"

"Right. So now you found it,

“好 现在你们探测到玻色子

we know this Higgs field exists.

证明了希格斯场的存在

You must be done.

大功告成了吧

Is there anything left of particle physics?"

粒子物理还剩下什么未解之谜？”

"Actually, we've just begun.

“其实 我们这才刚刚上路

It's a bit like, you know, when Columbus thought

这和当初哥伦布

he had found a new route to India.

以为自己发现了去印度的新航线差不多

He'd, indeed, found something new,

他是有新发现

but not quite what he was expecting.

不过并不是他想要的

So, first, we need to make sure that the boson we found

所以第一步 我们需要证明

is actually the Higgs boson.

我们发现的 就是希格斯玻色子

It seems to fit, but we need to measure

表面看没什么问题

its properties to be sure."

不过我们需要进一步 观测其性质以最终确定"

"How'd you do that?"

“怎么观测”

"Take a lot more data.

“这需要更多数据

This new boson lives for only a very short time

“新发现的粒子只能稳定存在极短时间

before it breaks down or decays

便会迅速分解 衰变成为

into lighter, more stable particles.

更稳定 质量更小的粒子

By measuring these particles,

通过观测这些更小的粒子

you learn about the properties of the boson."

我们就可以了解玻色子的性质”

"And what exactly are you looking for?"

“那你们需要观测什么”

"Well, the Standard Model predicts how often

“标准模型预测了

and in what ways the Higgs boson would decay

希格斯玻色子衰变为更轻 更小粒子的

to the various, lighter particles.

频率与方式

So we want to see if the particle we have found

所以我们要观测

is the one predicted by the Standard Model

我们发现的粒子的这些性质

or if it fits into other possible theoretical models."

是否符合标准模型 或其他理论模型"

"And if it fits a different model?"

“要是都不符合呢”

"That would be even more exciting!

“那就更有意思了

In fact, that's how science advances.

科学只有这样才能进步

We replace old models with new ones

如果有新模型能对 观测结果做出更好的解释

if they better explain our observations."

那我们就会用其替代现有模型"

"Right, so it seems like finding this Higgs boson

“嗯 所以发现希格斯玻色子

gives a direction for exploration,

奠定了下一步探索的基础

a bit like that Columbus guy heading west."

就好像哥伦布向西进发”

"Exactly! And this is really just the beginning."

“正是如此 发现粒子不过迈出了第一步”