Can you solve the time traveling car riddle? - Dan Finkel

翻译人员: Ryan Qiao 校对人员: Yip Yan Yeung

Your time traveling has caused a few issues with the space-time continuum,

你的时间旅行 给时空连续体造成了一些问题。

like your old high school bully, Riff, now ruling the future with an iron fist.

比如， 你以前高中里的恶霸，里弗，

现在正用铁腕统治着未来。

You and the professor have driven your hovering DeLorean back to the past

你和教授

驾着德罗宁悬浮跑车 回到了过去，

to undo your own meddling.

来撤销你之前的干预。

But shortly after you fix your mistakes,

可你们刚修复了错误，

another DeLorean appears and crashes into yours.

另一辆德罗宁出现， 撞上了你们那辆。

Out step older versions of you and the professor,

走出来的是 一个更年长版本的你和教授。

who apparently had the same idea from somewhere else in the timeline.

显然，来自时间线上另一处的他们 和你们有同样的计划。

The professors panic and explain that the universe could collapse

教授们惊慌失措地解释说， 宇宙可能会坍缩，

now that you’re both in the same time and place.

因为你们正同处于 同一个时间和地点。

The only hope is to merge the time streams by having each version of you

现在唯一的希望是

通过让每个版本的你们 同时穿越回到各自家中

simultaneously time travel home.

来合并时间流。

You both have plenty of fuel,

你们各自有充足的燃料，

but the crash broke your chrono-stabilizing gyroscopes

但你们各自的 时间稳定陀螺仪都因撞车损坏了。

and your cars can only time travel under very specific circumstances.

而你们的车都只有在

满足了以下特殊条件时 才能进行时间旅行。

Each of you will need to drive a mile south, then a mile east,

你们需要分别 驱车向南行驶一英里，

然后向东行驶一英里，

and then a mile north to get the gyroscopes into temporal alignment.

再然后向北一英里 以使陀螺仪进入时间对准状态。

That would be easy,

这本来不难，

except each calibration requires placing a portable time gate

但每次校准都需要 在你们的起点

at your starting point,

放置便携式时间门，

then driving into it at the precise end of your three mile drive without it moving.

然后在三英里的驱车行程 结束的那一刻

准确地驶入它而不让其移动。

Not only that, but your two time gates must be placed at least 100 miles apart

不仅如此，你们的两个时间门 必须相距至少 100 英里，

so their signals don’t interfere.

以避免信号干扰。

In other words, you need to find two different locations where you can drive

换句话说，你们需要找到两个 不同的地点，同时满足

a mile south, a mile east, and then a mile north

向南一英里，向东一英里， 然后向北一英里后

and end up exactly where you started.

能最终回到出发点。

The professors are about to show you where you can do this when they vanish,

教授们正要说到 你们在哪里出发能做到这些，

却突然消失了。

becoming victims of the collapsing timeline.

他们成了时间线坍缩中的受害者。

It’s up to you now:

现在轮到你们决定了：

where can you place the time gates?

你该在哪里放置时间门？

Pause here to figure it out yourself. Answer in 3

[请暂停一下，思考答案。] [答案揭晓倒计时：3]

Answer in 2

[2]

Answer in 1

[1]

If the earth were flat, there would be no way to solve this riddle.

如果地球是平的， 我们就没法解开这个谜题。

What you need is some way to use the sphericalness of the planet,

我们需要利用地球的球形特性，

some of its notable features,

它的一些显著特征，

and the fact that lines of latitude aren’t really lines— they’re circles.

以及一个事实： 纬线不是真正的直线，

而是圆。

The equator is the biggest of these circles, but it doesn’t do much for you,

赤道是其中最大的圆， 但这对我们帮助不大。

and you can’t even go south from the South Pole.

而至于南极点， 我们根本不能从那里再向南走。

But let's try the North Pole.

但让我们尝试一下北极点。

When you go a mile south, you'll be on a circle that runs east west.

当你向南行驶一英里后， 你将位于一个东西向的圆上。

After a mile east, you’re still on that same circle,

再向东行驶一英里后， 你仍然在同一个圆上，

so the final mile north brings you back to your starting point.

所以最后一英里向北行驶 会将你带回到出发点。

Perfect.

完美。

That’s one gate down, but where should you place the second?

第一个门成功了， 但第二个应该放在哪里呢？

Well, the nice thing about circles is that if you travel on them far enough,

圆的一个好处在于， 如果你在上面行驶足够远，

you come back to where you started.

你会回到出发点。

If there were a circle that had a circumference of one mile,

如果有一个周长为一英里的圆，

that would work marvelously.

那将完美解决我们的问题。

You could drive south a mile to reach it, make the one mile rotation east,

你可以驱车向南行驶一英里， 到达这个圆，

然后向东行驶一英里，刚好一圈，

then go north a mile to return to where you started.

最后向北行驶一英里， 回到出发点。

Such a circle does exist just north of the South Pole.

符合我们要求的圆 可以在南极点以北一些找到。

To find your starting point,

要找到你的起点，

you can use the standard formula for the circumference of a circle.

你可以用圆周长的标准公式计算。

If you wanted to be absolutely precise,

如果你想要非常精确，

you could use an equation that takes into account

那你可以用一个考虑到

the roughly spherical shape of the Earth.

地球的不规则球体形状的公式。

But an area this small is so close to being flat

但我们考虑的这么小一片区域 几乎是平的。

that the standard formula gives a solution within a fraction of an inch

所以标准公式给出的答案 和实际距离相差

of the actual distance.

不及一英寸之几分。

A circle with a one mile circumference has a radius of just under 0.16 miles,

一个周长为一英里的圆圈的半径 略小于 0.16 英里，

so any point on the circle one mile north of that

所以在距离这个圆上任意一点 以北一英里的地方

will be suitable for your time gate.

都可以放置你的时间门。

In fact, there are other answers too:

实际上，还有其他的答案：

start a little further south,

从更南端一些出发，

and you could travel east around the Earth twice, three times, or more!

你可以绕地球上向东行驶两圈， 三圈，甚至更多！

In theory, there are infinite possible starting points,

理论上来讲， 存在着无数个满足条件的起点。

but the circles get so tight that they aren't actually practical to drive.

但当这些圆变得太小， 在实际操作中会无法驾车通过。

Everything’s getting a little weird

当你们到达各自的起点时，

by the time you reach your starting points.

一切正变得越来越奇怪。

You drop the time gates, sync up with your doppelgänger,

你和另一个你同步， 分别放置好了时间门，

and slam down the pedal.

然后同时猛踩油门。

You both reach 88mph just as you complete your three mile circuits,

你们各自完成三英里行驶时， 都达到了 88 迈的速度，

merge the timelines, and save the universe.

合并时间线， 拯救了宇宙。