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

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: 穎君 紀

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

你的時間旅行導致 時空的連續性出了點問題。

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

比如你以前高中的惡霸瑞夫 現在用鐵腕在統治未來。

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

你和教授開著你的懸浮 迪羅倫汽車回到過去，

to undo your own meddling.

打算還原你所造成的干預。

But shortly after you fix your mistakes,

但就在你修正了你的錯誤後不久，

another DeLorean appears and crashes into yours.

另一台迪羅倫汽車出現， 並和你的車相撞。

Out step older versions of you and the professor,

從那台車走出來的 是年長的你與教授，

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

很顯然，他們來自某個時點， 因為同樣的想法而回到過去。

The professors panic and explain that the universe could collapse

教授們很驚恐，解釋說 宇宙可能會崩壞，

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

因為你們現在身處在 同樣的時間與地點。

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

唯一的希望就是把時間流合併，

做法是讓不同版本的你 同時做時間旅行返家。

simultaneously time travel home.

You both have plenty of fuel,

你們的燃料都很充足，

but the crash broke your chrono-stabilizing gyroscopes

但時間穩定陀螺儀在相撞時損壞了，

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

且你們的車只能在非常 特定的情況下做時間旅行。

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

你們各自都需要往南行駛一英里，

再往東行駛一英里， 再往北行駛一英里，

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

才能讓陀螺儀的時間同步。

That would be easy,

困難之處在於凡是做校準時

except each calibration requires placing a portable time gate

都需要將可攜式的時間之門 放置在你的起點上，

at your starting point,

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

接著，剛好在你行駛完 三英里路時穿過時間之門，

門的位置不能移動。

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

不僅如此，這兩扇時間之門 至少要相距一百英里，

so their signals don’t interfere.

訊號才不會相互干擾。

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

換言之，你們必須 找到兩個不同的地點，

讓你們可以向南行駛一英里， 向東一英里，再向北一英里，

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

and end up exactly where you started.

結束時剛好回到起點。

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

教授們正打算要向你們說明 在哪裡可以做到時，

他們卻消失了，成了 時間線崩壞的受害者。

becoming victims of the collapsing timeline.

It’s up to you now:

現在只能靠你們了， 時間之門能放在哪裡？

where can you place the time gates?

Pause here to figure it out yourself. Answer in 3

若想自行解題，在此暫停。 答案即將公佈：三。

Answer in 2

答案即將公佈：二。

Answer in 1

答案即將公佈：一。

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

如果地球是平的，這個謎題就無解。

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

你需要想辦法利用地球的球形特性、

some of its notable features,

它的一些顯著特徵，

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

以及緯線其實不是直線 而是圓圈這項事實。

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

赤道是最大的緯線圓圈。

但這點對你幫助不大，

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

且從南極點出發還無法再向南行駛。

But let's try the North Pole.

但，咱們來試試北極點。

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

當你向南行駛一英里，

你會處在一個東西向的圓圈上。

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

向東行駛一英里之後， 你還是在同一個圓圈上，

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

所以最後向北行駛一英里 就能讓你回到起點。

Perfect.

完美。

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

一扇門搞定了， 但第二扇門該放在哪裡？

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

圓圈有一個好處，那就是 如果你沿著它走且走得夠遠，

you come back to where you started.

就會回到起點。

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

如果有一個圓圈的圓周是一英里，

that would work marvelously.

那就完全行得通了。

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

你可以向南行駛一英里到達 這個圓圈，再向東旋轉一圈。

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

接著向北行駛一英里， 回到你的起點。

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

這種圓圈確實存在， 就在南極點的北邊一點點。

To find your starting point,

要找到起點，

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

你可以運用計算圓周的標準方程式。

If you wanted to be absolutely precise,

如果你想百分之百精確，

you could use an equation that takes into account

你可以在方程式中納入 地球球形表面的考量。

the roughly spherical shape of the Earth.

But an area this small is so close to being flat

但這麼小的區域，幾乎是平面的，

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

用標準方程式得到的解答

和實際距離誤差不會超過一英吋。

of the actual distance.

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

圓周一英里的圓圈，

半徑略低於零點一六英里，

so any point on the circle one mile north of that

所以在距離它一英里外的 圓圈上，任何一點

will be suitable for your time gate.

都適合放置時間之門。

In fact, there are other answers too:

事實上，還有其他答案：

start a little further south,

從更南一點的位置開始，

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

你可以向東繞地球兩圈、三圈，更多圈！

In theory, there are infinite possible starting points,

理論上可行的起點有無限多個，

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

但圓圈太小時，汽車就無法行駛。

Everything’s getting a little weird

當你抵達你的起點時， 一切開始變得有點怪異。

by the time you reach your starting points.

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

你放置好時間之門， 和你的分身進行同步，

and slam down the pedal.

猛力踩下油門。

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

你們兩人在完成三英里繞行時， 時速都達到每小時八十八英里，

merge the timelines, and save the universe.

將時間線合併，拯救了宇宙。