The beginning of the universe, for beginners - Tom Whyntie

淺談宇宙起源 - Tom Whyntie

Translator: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

譯者: Hao-Wei Chang 審譯者: Geoff Chen

The universe,

宇宙

rather beautiful, isn't it?

很漂亮，不是嗎？

It's quite literally got everything,

基本上它包含所有東西

from the very big

從大

to the very small.

到小都有

Sure, there are some less than savory elements in there,

當然，也包含一些討厭的東西

but on the whole, scholars agree that its existence

但整體而言，科學家仍同意

is probably a good thing.

宇宙的存在大概是件好事

Such a good thing that an entire field of scientific endeavor

有整個科學領域的人

都投注在宇宙的研究上

is devoted to its study.

This is known as cosmology.

這被稱作宇宙學

Cosmologists look at what's out there in space

宇宙學家像太空探索

and piece together the tale of how our universe evolved:

並拼湊宇宙演進的過程

what it's doing now,

它現在的狀態

what it's going to be doing,

它未來又會如何

and how it all began in the first place.

還有它最初如何形成

It was Edwin Hubble who first noticed that our universe is expanding,

愛德文．哈勃（Edwin Hubble）是第一個注意到

其他星系正在

by noting that galaxies seem to be flying further and further apart.

越離越遠

而我們宇宙正在擴張的人

This implied that everything should have started

這暗示宇宙中的所有東西

都源於一個

with the monumental explosion

of an infinitely hot,

從極端熱、極端微小的一點產生的

infinitely small point.

強烈爆炸

This idea was jokingly referred to at the time

這個概念在過去被戲稱為

as the "Big Bang,"

「大霹靂」

but as the evidence piled up,

但支持的證據逐漸累積

the notion and the name actually stuck.

其概念和名字

其概念和名字

逐漸為人所接受

We know that after the Big Bang,

我們知道在大霹靂過後

the universe cooled down

宇宙冷卻

to form the stars and galaxies that we see today.

並行成我們現今所見的星體和星系

Cosmologists have plenty of ideas about how this happened.

宇宙學家對於這個過程

有許多想法

But we can also probe the origins of the universe

但我們也可以在實驗室中重現

by recreating the hot, dense conditions that existed at the beginning of time

宇宙最初生成時

高溫、稠密的條件

in the laboratory.

This is done by particle physicists.

這就是粒子物理學家所做的事

Over the past century,

在過去的一世紀中

particle physicists have been studying

粒子物理學家研究了

matter and forces at higher and higher energies.

更高能量型態的物質和力

Firstly with cosmic rays,

首先是藉由宇宙射線

and then with particle accelerators,

接著借助粒子加速器

machines that smash together subatomic particles at great energies.

這是能將讓次原子的粒子

在高能狀態下碰撞的機器

The greater the energy of the accelerator,

愈是能提供越高能量的加速器

the further back in time they can effectively peek.

愈可讓科學家窺探 接近大霹靂的狀態

Today, things are largely made up of atoms,

現在大部份的物質都由原子組成

but hundreds of seconds after the Big Bang,

但在大霹靂結束後數百秒內

it was too hot for electrons to join atomic nuclei to make atoms.

高熱使電子無法接近原子核

以形成原子

Instead, the universe consisted of a swirling sea of subatomic matter.

這時宇宙是由次原子物質

所組成的渾沌海洋

A few seconds after the Big Bang,

大霹靂後的數秒之後

it was hotter still,

依然炙熱

hot enough to overpower the forces

熱到可以克服

that usually hold protons and neutrons together

將質子和中子

in atomic nuclei.

侷限在原子核內的力量

Further back, microseconds after the Big Bang,

再往前推，大霹靂的數微秒之後

and the protons and neutrons

中子和質子正在由

were only just beginning to form from quarks,

夸克組合而成

one of the fundamental building blocks

夸克是粒子物理學中

of the standard model of particle physics.

組成物質的基礎

Further back still,

再更往前推

能量高過

and the energy was too great even for the quarks to stick together.

讓夸克連結在一起的能量

Physicists hope that by going to even greater energies,

物理學家希望藉由提供更高能量

they can see back to a time when all the forces were one and the same,

我們能回到

這所有作用力都相等的時候

which would make understanding

以讓我們更容易地

瞭解宇宙的形成

the origins of the universe a lot easier.

To do that, they'll not only need to build bigger colliders,

所以他們需要建造更大的加速器

but also work hard to combine our knowledge

並將我們對所有事物

of the very, very big

包含很大

with the very, very small

和很小的東西

and share these fascinating insights with each other

並將這些有趣的知識

分享給更多人

and with, well, you.

包含你

And that's how it should be!

事情就是如此

Because, after all, when it comes to our universe,

因為畢竟

當我們說到宇宙時

我們都在同一條船上

we're all in this one together.