Honor Harger: A history of the universe in sound

Prevodilac: Robert Džudžar Lektor: Ivana Korom

Space,

Svemir,

we all know what it looks like.

svima nam je poznato kako izgleda.

We've been surrounded by images of space

Okruženi smo slikama svemira

our whole lives,

čitavog života,

from the speculative images

od spekulativnih slika

of science fiction

naučne fantastike

to the inspirational visions of artists

preko inspirativnih umetničkih vizija

to the increasingly beautiful pictures

do sve većeg broja prelepih slika

made possible by complex technologies.

koje su omogućene kompleksnom tehnologijom.

But whilst we have

Ali dok imamo

an overwhelmingly vivid

neodoljivo živopisno

visual understanding of space,

vizuelno razumevanje svemira,

we have no sense of what space sounds like.

nemamo osećaj kako svemir zvuči.

And indeed, most people associate space with silence.

I zaista, većina ljudi povezuje svemir sa tišinom.

But the story of how

Priča o tome kako

we came to understand the universe

smo došli do razumevanja svemira

is just as much a story of listening

je podjednako priča o slušanju

as it is by looking.

kao i o gledanju.

And yet despite this,

I uprkos tome,

hardly any of us have ever heard space.

teško da je iko od nas ikada čuo svemir.

How many of you here

Koliko od vas prisutnih

could describe the sound

može opisati zvuk

of a single planet or star?

jedne planete ili zvezde?

Well in case you've ever wondered,

U slučaju da ste se nekada zapitali,

this is what the Sun sounds like.

ovako zvuči Sunce.

(Static)

(Šum)

(Crackling)

(Pucketanje)

(Static)

(Šum)

(Crackling)

(Pucketanje)

This is the planet Jupiter.

Ovo je zvuk planete Jupiter.

(Soft crackling)

(Blago pucketanje)

And this is the space probe Cassini

A ovo je svemirska sonda Kasini (Cassini)

pirouetting through the ice rings of Saturn.

koja prolazi kroz Saturnove ledene prstenove.

(Crackling)

(Pucketanje)

This is a a highly condensed clump

Ovo je visoko kondenzovana grudva

of neutral matter,

neutralne materije,

spinning in the distant universe.

koja rotira u udaljenom univerzumu.

(Tapping)

(Tapkanje)

So my artistic practice

Tako da se moj umetnički rad

is all about listening

svodi na slušanje

to the weird and wonderful noises

čudnovatih i predivnih zvukova

emitted by the magnificent celestial objects

koje emituju veličanstveni nebeski objekti

that make up our universe.

koji ispunjavaju naš univerzum.

And you may wonder,

I možete se zapitati,

how do we know what these sounds are?

kako mi znamo šta su ti zvuci?

How can we tell the difference

Kako možemo uočiti razliku

between the sound of the Sun

između zvuka Sunca

and the sound of a pulsar?

i zvuka pulsara?

Well the answer

Odgovor daje

is the science of radio astronomy.

nauka radio astronomije.

Radio astronomers

Radio astronomi

study radio waves from space

proučavaju radio talase iz svemira,

using sensitive antennas and receivers,

koristeći osetljive antene i prijemnike,

which give them precise information

koji im daju precizne informacije

about what an astronomical object is

o tome šta je astronomski objekat

and where it is in our night sky.

i gde se nalazi na našem noćnom nebu.

And just like the signals

I upravo kao signale

that we send and receive here on Earth,

koje šaljemo i primamo ovde na Zemlji,

we can convert these transmissions into sound

možemo pretvoriti te primljene signale u zvuk

using simple analog techniques.

koristeći proste analogne tehnike.

And therefore, it's through listening

Dakle, preko slušanja

that we've come to uncover

smo došli do otkrića

some of the universe's most important secrets --

o nekim najvažnijim tajnama univerzuma --

its scale, what it's made of

njegovoj veličini, od čega je sačinjen

and even how old it is.

čak i koliko je star.

So today, I'm going to tell you a short story

Tako da ću vam danas ispričati kratku priču

of the history of the universe through listening.

o istoriji univerzuma, kroz zvuk.

It's punctuated

Isprekidanu

by three quick anecdotes,

sa tri kratke anegdote,

which show how accidental encounters

koje pokazuju kako su nam slučajni susreti

with strange noises

sa čudnim zvucima

gave us some of the most important information

dali neke najvažnije informacije

we have about space.

koje imamo o svemiru.

Now this story doesn't start

Ova priča ne počinje

with vast telescopes

sa ogromnim teleskopima

or futuristic spacecraft,

ili futurističkim letelicama,

but a rather more humble technology --

nego sa jednim skromnijim posrednikom

and in fact, the very medium

zapravo, sa onim istim posrednikom

which gave us the telecommunications revolution

koji nas je doveo do telekomunikacione revolucije

that we're all part of today:

koju svi koristimo danas:

the telephone.

telefonom.

It's 1876, it's in Boston,

Godina je 1876., Boston, a

and this is Alexander Graham Bell

ovo je Aleksandar Grejem Bel

who was working with Thomas Watson

koji je radio sa Tomasom Votsonom

on the invention of the telephone.

na pronalasku telefona.

A key part of their technical set up

Ključan deo njihove tehničke postavke

was a half-mile long length of wire,

je bila žica dužine oko 800 metara,

which was thrown across the rooftops

koja je bila prebačena preko krovova

of several houses in Boston.

nekoliko kuća u Bostonu.

The line carried the telephone signals

Žica je prenosila telefonske signale

that would later make Bell a household name.

koji će kasnije načiniti prezime Bel poznatim u svakom domaćinstvu.

But like any long length of charged wire,

Ali kao i svaka druga duga naelektrisana žica,

it also inadvertently became

ona nehotice postaje

an antenna.

antena.

Thomas Watson

Tomas Votson

spent hours listening

je proveo sate slušajući

to the strange crackles and hisses

čudna pucketanja i šištanja,

and chirps and whistles

cvrkutanja i zviždanja

that his accidental antenna detected.

koje je antena slučajno detektovala.

Now you have to remember,

Ali upamtite,

this is 10 years before

ovo je 10 godina pre

Heinrich Hertz proved the existence of radio waves --

nego što je Hajnrih Herc dokazao postojanje radio talasa --

15 years before Nikola Tesla's four-tuned circuit --

petnaest godina pre četvorodelnog kola Nikole Tesle -

nearly 20 years before Marconi's first broadcast.

skoro dvadeset godina pre Markonijevog prvog emitovanja.

So Thomas Watson wasn't listening to us.

Tako da Tomas Votson nije slušao nas.

We didn't have the technology

Nismo imali tehnologiju

to transmit.

za prenos.

So what were these strange noises?

Šta su onda bili ti čudni zvukovi?

Watson was in fact listening

Votson je zapravo slušao

to very low-frequency radio emissions

radio emisiju veoma niskih frekvencija

caused by nature.

koju je prouzrokovala priroda.

Some of the crackles and pops were lightning,

Nešto od pucketanja je bila munja,

but the eerie whistles

ali jezivo zviždanje

and curiously melodious chirps

i melodični cvrkut

had a rather more exotic origin.

je imao egzotično poreklo.

Using the very first telephone,

Koristeći prvi telefon,

Watson was in fact

Votson je zapravo

dialed into the heavens.

zvao nebesa.

As he correctly guessed,

Kao što je tačno pogodio,

some of these sounds were caused

neki od tih zvukova su bili prouzrokovani

by activity on the surface of the Sun.

aktivnošću površine Sunca.

It was a solar wind

On je zapravo slušao

interacting with our ionosphere

Sunčev vetar

that he was listening to --

u interakciji sa našom jonosferom -

a phenomena which we can see

fenomen koji možemo videti

at the extreme northern and southern latitudes of our planet

na ekstremno severnim i južnim geografskim širinama naše planete

as the aurora.

kao Auroru.

So whilst inventing the technology

Dok je otkrivao tehnologiju

that would usher in the telecommunications revolution,

koja će pokrenuti telekomunikacionu revoluciju,

Watson had discovered

Votson je otkrio

that the star at the center of our solar system

da je zvezda iz centra našeg Sunčevog sistema

emitted powerful radio waves.

emitovala jake radio talase.

He had accidentally been the first person

On je slučajno bio prva osoba

to tune in to them.

koja je naišla na njih.

Fast-forward 50 years,

Preletimo pedeset godina,

and Bell and Watson's technology

Belova i Votsonova tehnologija

has completely transformed

je potpuno preobrazila

global communications.

globalne komunikacije.

But going from slinging some wire

Ali krenuti od prebacivanja žica

across rooftops in Boston

preko krovova u Bostonu

to laying thousands and thousands of miles of cable

do postavljanja hiljada i hiljada kilometara kablova

on the Atlantic Ocean seabed

na dno Atlantskog okeana

is no easy matter.

nije jednostavna stvar.

And so before long,

Tako da je ubrzo

Bell were looking to new technologies

Bel potražio nove tehnike

to optimize their revolution.

koje bi optimizovale njihovu revoluciju.

Radio could carry sound without wires.

Radio je mogao prenositi zvuk bez žica.

But the medium is lossy --

Ali medijum ima nedostataka -

it's subject to a lot of noise and interference.

stvara dosta šuma i interferenciju.

So Bell employed an engineer

Tako da je Bel zaposlio inženjera

to study those noises,

da proučava te šumove,

to try and find out where they came from,

da pokuša da pronađe odakle dolaze,

with a view towards building

sa idejom pravljenja

the perfect hardware codec, which would get rid of them

savršenog hardvera koji bi se oslobađao šumova,

so they could think about using radio

tako da bi mogli razmišljati da koriste radio

for the purposes of telephony.

u svrhu telefoniranja.

Most of the noises

Većina zvukova

that the engineer, Karl Jansky, investigated

koje je istražio inženjer Karl Janski,

were fairly prosaic in origin.

bila je relativno poznatog porekla.

They turned out to be lightning

Zaključilo se da su to munje

or sources of electrical power.

ili izvori električnog napajanja.

But there was one persistent noise

Ali postojao je jedan uporan zvuk

that Jansky couldn't identify,

koji Janski nije mogao identifikovati,

and it seemed to appear

i izgledalo je da se pojavljuje

in his radio headset

u njegovim radio slušalicama

four minutes earlier each day.

i to četiri minute ranije svakim danom.

Now any astronomer will tell you,

Sada će vam svaki astronom reći,

this is the telltale sign

da je to nagoveštajni znak

of something that doesn't originate from Earth.

nečega što ima poreklo van Zemlje.

Jansky had made a historic discovery,

Janski je došao do istorijskog otkrića,

that celestial objects could emit radio waves

da nebeski objetki mogu emitovati radio talase

as well as light waves.

isto kao i svetlosne talase.

Fifty years on

Pedeset godina od

from Watson's accidental encounter with the Sun,

Votsonovog slučajnog susreta sa Suncem,

Jansky's careful listening

pažljivo slušajći, Janski je

ushered in a new age of space exploration:

najavio novo doba svemirskog istraživanja:

the radio astronomy age.

doba radio astronomije.

Over the next few years,

Tokom narednih nekoliko godina,

astronomers connected up their antennas to loudspeakers

astronomi su povezali svoje antene na zvučnike

and learned about our radio sky,

i učili o našem radio nebu,

about Jupiter and the Sun,

o Jupiteru i Suncu,

by listening.

slušajući.

Let's jump ahead again.

Hajde da još jednom odemo malo napred.

It's 1964,

Godina je 1964.

and we're back at Bell Labs.

i ponovo smo u Belovim laboratorijama.

And once again,

I još jednom,

two scientists have got a problem with noise.

dva naučnika imaju problem sa šumom.

Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson

Arno Penzijas i Robert Vilson

were using the horn antenna

su koristili rog antene

at Bell's Holmdel laboratory

u laboratoriji Bela Holmdela

to study the Milky Way

da bi proučavali Mlečni Put

with extraordinary precision.

sa izvanrednom preciznošću.

They were really listening

Oni su zaista slušali

to the galaxy in high fidelity.

galaksiju u visokoj preciznosti.

There was a glitch in their soundtrack.

Postojao je problem u njihovoj traci.

A mysterious persistent noise

Uporni, misteriozni šum

was disrupting their research.

je ometao njihovo istraživanje.

It was in the microwave range,

Nalazio se u mikrotalasnom području,

and it appeared to be coming

i izgledalo je kao da dolazi

from all directions simultaneously.

simultano iz svih pravaca.

Now this didn't make any sense,

Što nije imalo nikakvog smisla.

and like any reasonable engineer or scientist,

I kao i svaki razumni inženjer i naučnik,

they assumed that the problem must be the technology itself,

pretpostavili su da je problem u samoj tehnologiji,

it must be the dish.

da mora da je do antene.

There were pigeons roosting in the dish.

Na anteni su se golubovi gnezdili.

And so perhaps once they cleaned up the pigeon droppings,

Možda kada bi očistili golubiji izmet

get the disk kind of operational again,

i ponovo osposobili antenu za rad,

normal operations would resume.

nastavile bi se normalne radnje.

But the noise didn't disappear.

Ali šum nije nestao.

The mysterious noise

Ispostavilo se da je misteriozni šum

that Penzias and Wilson were listening to

koji su Penzijas i Vilson slušali

turned out to be the oldest and most significant sound

bio najstariji i najznačajniji zvuk

that anyone had ever heard.

koji je ikada neko čuo.

It was cosmic radiation

Bilo je to kosmičko zračenje

left over from the very birth of the universe.

koje je preostalo od samog rođenja univerzuma.

This was the first experimental evidence

Ovo je bio prvi eksperimentalni dokaz

that the Big Bang existed

da je Veliki prasak postojao

and the universe was born at a precise moment

i da je univerzum bio rođen u određenom momentu

some 14.7 billion years ago.

pre oko 14.7 milijardi godina.

So our story ends

Tako da se naša priča završava

at the beginning --

na početku --

the beginning of all things, the Big Bang.

početku svih stvari, Velikom prasku.

This is the noise that Penzias and Wilson heard --

Ovo je zvuk koji su Penzijas i Vilson čuli --

the oldest sound that you're ever going to hear,

najstariji zvuk koji ćete ikada ćuti,

the cosmic microwave background radiation

kosmičko mikrotalasno pozadinsko zračenje

left over from the Big Bang.

preostalo od Velikog praska.

(Fuzz)

(Šuštanje)

Thanks.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)