Is it possible to create a perfect vacuum? - Rolf Landua and Anais Rassat

譯者: Helen Chang 審譯者: S Sung

The universe is bustling with matter and energy.

熙熙攘攘的物質和能量充斥宇宙

Even in the vast apparent emptiness of intergalactic space,

即使在廣袤空虛的星系之間

there's one hydrogen atom per cubic meter.

每立方公尺裡還有一個氫原子

That's not the mention a barrage of particles

更別說一大堆粒子

and electromagnetic radiation

電磁輻射

passing every which way from stars, galaxies, and into black holes.

從各個方向穿過星星、星系直到黑洞

There's even radiation left over from the Big Bang.

甚至還有大爆炸遺留下來的輻射

So is there such thing as a total absence of everything?

那麼，「完全空無一物」存在嗎？

This isn't just a thought experiment.

這不僅僅是個思想實驗

Empty spaces, or vacuums, are incredibly useful.

空無一物的空間或真空非常有用

Inside our homes, most vacuum cleaners work

大多數家用吸塵器的做法

by using a fan to create a low-pressure relatively empty area

是使用風扇創造一個 相對空虛的低壓區

that sucks matter in to fill the void.

把東西吸進來以彌補這空白

But that's far from empty.

但是這遠非空無一物

還有很多來回彈跳的東西

There's still plenty of matter bouncing around.

Manufacturers rely on more thorough, sealed vacuums

製造商依靠更徹底密封的真空

for all sorts of purposes.

來承擔各種用途

That includes vacuum-packed food that stays fresh longer,

包括真空包裝食物以拉長保鮮期

and the vacuums inside early light bulbs that protected filaments from degrading.

和早期真空的燈泡內部 保護燈絲不分解

These vacuums are generally created with some version

這類版本的真空

通常和真空吸塵器的製造方法類似

of what a vacuum cleaner does

using high-powered pumps that create enough suction

使用高功率的泵產生足夠的吸力

to remove as many stray atoms as possible.

盡可能除去雜散的原子

But the best of these industrial processes

但即時這些最好的工業製程

tends to leave hundreds of millions of atoms

往往仍會留下數億計的原子

per cubic centimeter of space.

殘留在立方公分的空間裡

That isn't empty enough for scientists who work on experiments,

這對從事實驗的科學家來說不夠淨空

like the Large Hadron Collider,

譬如像大型強子對撞機 （LHC）的科學家

where particle beams need to circulate at close to the speed of light

需要接近光速的粒子束循環速度

for up to ten hours without hitting any stray atoms.

而且在十個小時的長時間裡 不會撞到任何散亂的原子

So how do they create a vacuum?

那麼他們如何創造真空呢？

The LHC's pipes are made of materials, like stainless steel,

LHC 的製造管材是不銹鋼之類的材料

that don't release any of their own molecules

自己不會釋出任何分子

and are lined with a special coating to absorb stray gases.

還有特殊的塗層來吸收雜散的氣體

Raising the temperature to 200 degrees Celsius

把溫度提高到攝氏 200 度

burns off any moisture,

燒掉任何濕氣

and hundreds of vacuum pumps take two weeks to trap enough gas and debris

又運轉數百個真空泵兩個星期

為極端精密的實驗 把氣體和碎片排除在對撞機的管道之外

out of the pipes for the collider's incredibly sensitive experiments.

Even with all this,

即使這樣做了

the Large Hadron Collider isn't a perfect vacuum.

大型強子對撞機並不是完美的真空

In the emptiest places, there are still

即時最空的地方

about 100,000 particles per cubic centimeter.

每立方公分裡還大約有十萬個顆粒

But let's say an experiment like that could somehow get every last atom out.

但是讓我們假設這樣的實驗 可以去除所有的的原子

There's still an unfathomably huge amount of radiation all around us

我們周圍還有驚人的巨大輻射量

that can pass right through the walls.

能穿透牆壁

Every second, about 50 muons from cosmic rays,

每秒鐘大約有五十個緲子 和一千萬個微中子的宇宙射線

10 million neutrinos coming directly from the Big Bang,

直接從大爆炸射向我們

30 million photons from the cosmic microwave background,

還有來自宇宙的三千萬光子微波

and 300 trillion neutrinos from the Sun pass through your body.

和太陽的 300 兆中微子 穿過我們身體

It is possible to shield vacuum chambers with substances,

用物質來屏蔽真空室辦得到

including water,

包括水

that absorb and reflect this radiation,

能吸收和反射這種輻射

except for neutrinos.

除了微中子以外

Let's say you've somehow removed all of the atoms

假設你已除去所有的原子

and blocked all of the radiation.

並阻絕所有的輻射

Is the space now totally empty?

那空間完全淨空了嗎？

Actually, no.

其實沒有

All space is filled with what physicists call quantum fields.

所有的空間都充滿著 物理學家所稱的量子場

What we think of as subatomic particles,

我們認為亞原子粒子

electrons and photons and their relatives,

電子和光子及其親屬

are actually vibrations in a quantum fabric

實際上是量子結構的振動

that extends throughout the universe.

延伸到整個宇宙

And because of a physical law called the Heisenberg Principle,

還因為有一個被稱為 「不確定性原理」的物理規律

these fields never stop oscillating,

這些場永遠不會停止振盪

even without any particles to set off the ripples.

即使沒有任何顆粒掀起漣漪也一樣

They always have some minimum fluctuation called a vacuum fluctuation.

總是會有一些稱為 「量子漲落」最小的波動存在

This means they have energy, a huge amount of it.

意思是它們有巨大的能量

Because Einstein's equations tell us that mass and energy are equivalent,

因為愛因斯坦方程式教我們質能相當

the quantum fluctuations in every cubic meter of space

每一個立方公分空間裡的量子漲落

have an energy that corresponds to a mass of about four protons.

它的能量大約等同於四個質子的質量

In other words, the seemingly empty space inside your vacuum

換句話說，看似空洞的真空裡

would actually weigh a small amount.

實際上會有微少的重量

Quantum fluctuations have existed since the earliest moments of the universe.

量子漲落在最早的宇宙已經存在

In the moments after the Big Bang,

在大爆炸後

as the universe expanded,

隨著宇宙擴大

they were amplified and stretched out to cosmic scales.

它們被放大和伸展到宇宙級的尺度

Cosmologists believe that these original quantum fluctuations

宇宙學家認為這些原始的量子漲落

were the seeds of everything we see today:

是今日我們所見一切的種子

galaxies and the entire large scale structure of the universe,

星系、整個宇宙的大規模結構

as well as planets and solar systems.

行星和太陽系

They're also the center of one of the greatest scientific mysteries of our time

它們也是我們這個時代 最偉大的科學奧秘之一

because according to the current theories,

因為根據目前的理論

the quantum fluctuations in the vacuum of space

量子漲落在真空中

ought to have 120 orders of magnitude more energy than we observe.

應該比我們觀察到的能量 高出 120 個數量級

Solving the mystery of that missing energy

解開能量失踪這謎題

may entirely rewrite our understanding of physics and the universe.

可能會完全改觀 我們對物理學和宇宙的認知