What happens if you don’t put your phone in airplane mode? - Lindsay DeMarchi

翻译人员: Jacky He 校对人员: suya f.

Right now, invisible signals are flying through the air all around you.

此时，无形的信号 充斥着你周围的空间。

Beyond the spectrum of light your eyes can see,

超过你肉眼可见的光谱范围，

massive radio waves as wide as houses

与房屋一样宽的无线电波

carry information between computers, GPS systems, cell phones, and more.

使信息在电脑、GPS、 手机等设备间传输。

In fact, the signal your phone broadcasts is so strong,

事实上，你手机输出的 信号如此强大，

if your eyes could see radio waves,

假设你肉眼可见无线电波，

your phone would be visible from Jupiter.

那么你的手机从木星上都能辨识出。

At least your special eyes would be able to see this if the sky

前提是天空缺乏干扰，来自

wasn’t flooded with interference from routers, satellites, and, of course,

如路由器、卫星，以及

people flying who haven't put their phones on airplane mode.

航班中未开飞行模式的手机。

You see, this setting isn't to protect your flight,

你看，这个设置不是 为了保护您的航班，

it's to protect everyone else in your flight path.

这是为了保护在你 飞行路线上的其他人。

Cell phones connect to networks by emitting information

手机通过载有信息的电磁波

in the form of electromagnetic waves;

连接至网络，

specifically, radio waves,

具体来讲是无线电波，

which occupy this band of the electromagnetic spectrum.

在电磁频谱的这一区间。

These radio waves come in a range of wavelengths,

这些无线电波波长不同；

and let’s imagine your special eyes see the various wavelengths

假设你特殊的眼睛 看到不同颜色的

as different colors.

各个波长。

When you make a call, your phone generates a radio wave signal

当你打电话时， 你的手机发出无线电信号，

which it throws to the nearest cell tower.

传达至最近的手机信号塔。

If you're far from service,

如果你信号较弱，

your phone will expend more battery power to send a higher amplitude signal

你的手机会消耗更多的电量 发送更高能量的信号

in an effort to make a connection.

尝试建立通信。

Once connected, this signal is relayed between cell towers

一旦连接，该信号 便会在信号塔间传递，

all the way to your call’s recipient.

最后送达你的联系人。

Since your call isn’t the only signal out here,

由于你的电话并不是 外面唯一的通信，

cell towers managing the calls assign each phones involved their own wavelength.

调节通话的信号塔给每个 接入的手机分配独特的频率。

This specific color ensures you’re not picking up other people’s calls.

这个特定的颜色确保你不会 听到其他人的电话。

It’s even slightly different from the wavelength

这还与你手机

your phone is receiving information on,

移动网络的波长略微不同，

so as not to interfere with that incoming signal.

以免干涉到接入的通讯。

But there are only so many colors to choose from.

但只有这么多颜色可供选择。

And since the advent of Wi-Fi,

自从 Wi-Fi 出现以来，

the demand for ownership of these wavelengths has increased dramatically.

这些波长更频繁地被占用。

With all these signals in the air and a limited number of colors to assign,

由于空中所有的这些信号 分配的颜色数量有限，

avoiding interference is increasingly difficult.

消除干扰变得越来越困难。

Especially when cell towers receive too many signals at once,

特别是当信号塔一时间 收到太多信号，

such as during regional emergencies, when everyone's trying to use their phones.

例如在区域性的险情中 每个人都试图用自己的手机。

But other sources of interference are more preventable,

不过其他干扰较为容易预防，

like phones searching for signals from thousands of meters in the sky.

像在几千米高空中搜索信号的手机。

Phones on planes are very far from cell towers,

飞机上的手机距离信号塔非常远，

so they work overtime to send the loudest signals they can

于是它们超荷发送能量最大的信号

in search of service.

以连接至通讯网络。

But since planes travel so quickly,

但由于飞机飞行速度如此之快

the phones might find themselves much closer to a cell tower than expected—

手机可能比计划中 更早地接近信号塔——

blasting it with a massive signal that drowns out those on the ground.

于是向其发送超频信号， 盖过地面上的其他通讯。

So when you fly without using airplane mode,

所以你在飞机里不开飞行模式，

you’re essentially acting as a military radio jammer—

如同军用级无线电干扰器一般——

sending out giant radio waves that interfere with nearby signals.

发出能量巨大的无线电， 干扰到附近的信号。

Even on the ground, almost all our electronics emit rogue radio waves,

即使在地面上，几乎我们所有的 电子设备发出额外的无线电波，

slowing down our internet and making our calls choppy.

降低我们互联网的速度 使得通话时断时续。

This leads consumers to pay for more bandwidth,

这意味着消费者选择更多带宽，

pushing service providers to take over more of the radio spectrum,

推动服务提供商 进一步利用无线电频谱，

and eventually, send more satellites into the sky—

而后将更多卫星发射入太空——

creating a vicious cycle that could eventually blot out the stars.

造成的恶性循环也许会遮住星星。

Though, even without these satellites,

不过，即使没有这些卫星，

this system is threatening our relationship with the cosmos.

这个情况威胁着 我们与宇宙的联系。

Radio telescopes used for astronomy

用于天文学的射电望远镜

rely on a specific band of wavelengths to see deep into space.

通过特定的波长 观察到太空深处。

However, while this range is supposedly protected,

虽然这个区间明面上受到保护，

the cutoffs aren’t enforced.

没有强制的执行措施。

For example, the Very Large Array can see signals throughout our solar system

比如，甚大天线阵可以收到 来自整个太阳系的信号，

from 1 to 50 GHz.

从 1 到 50 GHz。

But if it tries looking for signals below 5 GHz,

但如果它尝试寻找 低于 5 GHz 的信号，

its search could be drowned out by a sea of phones on 5G networks.

可能会被连至 5G 网络的 无数手机所淹没。

Today, nowhere on Earth is truly radio quiet.

如今，没有任何地方在地球上 完全缺乏无线电。

Satellites relaying signals around the globe

横跨世界传送信号的卫星

have blanketed the planet in radio waves.

将地球彻底地覆盖在无线电中。

But there are a few places with less crowded skies,

但仍由几片未受污染的天空，

where radio telescopes can look deep into space.

使射电望远镜看到宇宙深处。

Here, we can see the black hole at the center of the Milky Way,

在那里，我们看得到 银河系中心的黑洞，

and uncover the secrets of galaxies up to 96 billion light years away.

并解开多达 960 亿光年 以外的星系谜团。

Well, so long as we’re not blinded by phones

只要我们不受头等舱的

sending signals from first class.

手机信号所阻碍。