Are you more likely to explode or freeze in space? - Tejal Gala

翻译人员: Liwen Huang 校对人员: suya f.

Due to an unfortunate teleportation malfunction,

由于不幸的传送故障，

this mad scientist has just found himself in the vacuum of space.

这位疯狂的科学家刚发现 自己身在太空的真空中。

With no oxygen, he might be tempted to hold his breath,

由于没有氧气，他可能会想屏住呼吸，

but this would only accelerate his demise.

但这只会加速他的死亡。

The air in his lungs is desperate to expand,

他肺里的空气急于膨胀，

so if he doesn't release it right away, his lungs will rupture.

因此，如果不立即释出，肺就会破裂。

Our poor professor quickly exhales,

我们可怜的教授很快地呼了口气，

and his skin’s tensile strength prevents the rest of his body from bursting,

皮肤的抗张强度可防止 其余的身体部位爆裂，

but things are still looking grim.

但情况看起来仍然严峻。

Without surrounding air pressure,

如果没有气压围绕，

his bodily fluids begin to vaporize in a process called ebullism.

他的体液就会开始蒸发， 这个过程叫做体液沸腾。

His skin swells, moist surfaces like his eyes start to boil,

他的皮肤肿胀，像眼睛 这样的潮湿表面开始沸腾，

and bubbles form within his vessels, obstructing blood flow.

血管内形成气泡，阻碍血液流动。

This is all exceptionally painful,

这一切都异常痛苦，

but while these nightmarish effects will take roughly 90 seconds

尽管这些噩梦般的反应

to reach their deadly conclusion,

大约要 90 秒才致命，

he’ll mercifully pass out from lack of oxygen

幸运的是，他会在到太空后

within about 15 seconds of arriving.

大约 15 秒内因缺氧而失去知觉。

And even though space is barely above the temperature of absolute zero,

尽管太空温度仅略高于绝对零度，

our scientist won’t die by freezing.

但是我们的科学家不会是被冻死的。

Because unlike on Earth, where body heat can transfer to molecules

因为与在地球上不同，在地球上，

in the environment,

人体的热量可以传递给环境中的分子，

in space it can only leave by slowly radiating away.

而在太空中，它只能慢慢地散发出去。

It'll take hours before our professor becomes a human popsicle,

我们的教授要几个小时才会变成人冰棍，

and by then, he’ll have perished a long time ago.

到那时，他早就死了。

Now, had our scientist planned his teleportation to space,

现在，如果我们的科学家 计划将他传送到太空，

he certainly would have dressed for the occasion.

肯定会穿上适合场合的衣服。

Let's imagine he arrived in a spacesuit instead.

想象一下他改为穿航天服抵达。

The suit’s pressurized air protects his body from ebullism,

航天服的加压空气 保护他的身体免受体液沸腾，

its oxygen tank keeps him breathing,

氧气罐让他保持呼吸，

and the insulation prevents him from freezing.

隔热材料防止他冻僵。

But although these features thwart an immediate tragedy,

虽然这些功能阻止了眼下的悲剧，

space is still an incredibly dangerous place.

但是太空仍然是一个极其危险的地方。

Outside the shield of Earth's atmosphere and magnetosphere,

在地球大气层和磁层的屏障外，

our scientist is bombarded by galactic cosmic rays—

我们的科学家受到银河宇宙射线的轰击，

a form of radiation believed to come from distant supernovas.

据信这种形式的辐射来自遥远的超新星。

If he's exceptionally unlucky,

如果特别倒霉，

he might be hit by solar energetic particles expelled from the Sun.

他可能会被太阳喷发的 太阳高能粒子击中。

Both these forms of ionizing radiation

这两种形式的电离辐射都能

effortlessly pass through the scientist’s suit,

轻易穿过科学家的航天服，

damaging his DNA and increasing his risk of cancer.

破坏他的 DNA 并增加 他患癌的风险。

But let's say our mad scientist isn't so mad at all.

但是，假设我们疯狂的科学家 根本就没那么疯狂。

He’s planned a month-long research expedition,

他计划进行一次 为期一个月的研究考察，

complete with a cutting-edge spacecraft to live in.

配有一艘尖端的航天器以供住宿。

This structure protects him from low air pressure and temperature,

航天器可以保护他 免受低气压、低温

as well as some of the radiation bouncing around space.

以及一些在太空四处反射的辐射的影响。

But even here, he's vulnerable to certain changes.

但即使在这里，他也容易 受某些变化的影响。

In addition to experiencing motion sickness and sleep disturbances,

除了晕动症和睡眠障碍，

microgravity changes the distribution of his blood and cerebrospinal fluid,

微重力还会改变他 血液和脑脊液的分布，

shifting roughly half a gallon of internal fluids to his upper body.

将大约半加仑的体液移到上半身。

As the weeks pass, his brain engorges and the sheath of his optic nerve swells.

数周过去，他大脑充血， 视神经鞘肿胀。

This not only compresses his pituitary gland, but flattens the back of his eyes,

这不仅会压迫垂体， 还会使眼后部变平，

impairing close distance vision.

损害近距离视力。

Having very little gravity to work against also causes muscles and bones

几乎没有重力可以对抗也会导致

all over his body to gradually lose mass.

他全身肌肉和骨骼的质量逐渐降低。

And when bones break down, they release minerals like calcium.

骨头分解时，会释放钙等矿物质。

So our professor might get kidney stones too.

因此我们的教授也可能会得肾结石。

Diet and exercise can help reduce the deterioration of his bones and muscles,

饮食和运动可以帮助 减轻骨骼和肌肉的退化，

but it’s harder to address the potential damage to his mental health

更难的是解决潜在的对心理健康的损害，

that comes from being confined to a tiny spacecraft,

这些损害源于被限制在很小的航天器上，

far away from his loved ones.

远离亲人。

Thankfully, this isn’t a one-way trip, and after a month in space,

幸好，这不是一次单程旅行， 在太空待了一个月后，

our adventurer happily teleports home.

我们的冒险家被愉快地传送回了家。

However, his journey has left him with some lasting effects.

但是，他的旅程给他留 下了一些持久的影响。

Back under Earth’s gravity, it’s initially hard to stand without fainting.

回到地球的重力下， 最初很难不晕倒站起来。

It takes a few days for his fluids to redistribute back to normal,

体液需要几天才能恢复正常分布，

and it'll be months before his muscles completely regain their strength.

肌肉需要数月才能完全恢复力量。

Meanwhile, full restoration of bone density will take at least a year.

同时，骨密度完全恢复至少需要一年。

His vision might take several years to recover,

视力可能需要几年来恢复，

and it may never return to normal.

而且可能永远无法恢复正常。

There’s still a lot waiting to be discovered about how space travel

关于太空旅行如何在短期和长期内

impacts human health in the short and long term.

影响人类健康，还有很多有待发现。

So for now, our scientist is content to use his teleporter for its original—

因此，我们的科学家暂且满足于 将他的传送器用于其最初的、

and much safer— intended purpose.

更安全的用途。