Anil Ananthaswamy: What it takes to do extreme astrophysics

翻译人员: Hang Wang 校对人员: Jenny Yang

I would like to talk today

今天我要讲的是

about what I think is one of the greatest adventures

我认为的最伟大的一项冒险

human beings have embarked upon,

是人类有史以来

which is the quest to understand the universe

为了探求宇宙

and our place in it.

以及我们在宇宙中的位置的探索。

My own interest in this subject, and my passion for it,

我本身对这个项目的兴趣和激情，

began rather accidentally.

开始的相当得偶然。

I had bought a copy of this book,

我曾经买过一本书，

"The Universe and Dr. Einstein" --

“宇宙和爱因斯坦博士”

a used paperback from a secondhand bookstore in Seattle.

是从西雅图的二手书店买来的平装本。

A few years after that, in Bangalore,

买了这本书很多年之后，一次在班加罗尔，

I was finding it hard to fall asleep one night,

我整晚都睡不着，

and I picked up this book,

于是我随后翻开这本书，

thinking it would put me to sleep in 10 minutes.

认为它在10分钟之内就会让我睡着。

And as it happened,

于是我开始读了，

I read it from midnight to five in the morning in one shot.

结果我一口气从午夜一直读到凌晨5点钟。

And I was left with this intense feeling

我完全沉浸在一种强烈的感觉里

of awe and exhilaration

充满了敬畏和愉悦

at the universe

对于宇宙

and our own ability to understand as much as we do.

以及我们凭借现有的能力对宇宙进行的理解。

And that feeling hasn't left me yet.

这种感觉到现在都萦绕在我脑海里。

That feeling was the trigger for me

这种感觉是我的导火索

to actually change my career --

它真正的让我改变了我的职业方向

from being a software engineer to become a science writer --

让我从一个软件工程师变成了一名科普作者

so that I could partake in the joy of science,

这样我就能参与到充满乐趣的科学事业当中了，

and also the joy of communicating it to others.

我同样得到了与其他人交流科学的乐趣。

And that feeling also led me

这样的感受同样也引导我

to a pilgrimage of sorts,

开始了一场朝圣之旅，

to go literally to the ends of the earth

去真真正正的了解地球，

to see telescopes, detectors,

去探究望远镜，探测器，

instruments that people are building, or have built,

这些人类已经发明创造或者正在研究的设备

in order to probe the cosmos

去探索宇宙

in greater and greater detail.

更多的细节。

So it took me from places like Chile --

正是这种感受，指引我走过了许多地方，比如像，从智利

the Atacama Desert in Chile --

从智利的Atacama沙漠

to Siberia,

到西伯利亚

to underground mines

到过地下矿井

in the Japanese Alps, in Northern America,

无论是日本阿尔卑斯山脉，还是在北美的

all the way to Antarctica

一直到南极洲

and even to the South Pole.

甚至进入了南极圈。

And today I would like to share with you

今天我非常荣幸跟大家分享

some images, some stories of these trips.

一些关于这些行程的故事和图片。

I have been basically spending the last few years

在过去的几年里，我基本上

documenting the efforts

在整理这些成果

of some extremely intrepid men and women

这些英勇无畏的男男女女们

who are putting,

他们不断付出，

literally at times, their lives at stake

时时刻刻都面临着巨大的危险

working in some very remote and very hostile places

在极端偏远和艰苦的环境下作业

so that they may gather the faintest signals from the cosmos

只有这样他们才能收集到来自宇宙的最微小的信号

in order for us to understand this universe.

使得我们能够更清楚的了解宇宙。

And I first begin with a pie chart --

首先，我为大家展示的是一张饼状图。

and I promise this is the only pie chart

我保证这是仅有的一张饼状图

in the whole presentation --

在今天整个的演讲里。

but it sets up the state of our knowledge of the cosmos.

它会帮助我们了解：今天人类对于宇宙的知识的认识

All the theories in physics that we have today

这是现今人类所有的物理学理论

properly explain what is called normal matter --

都是解释我们所谓的正常物质

the stuff that we're all made of --

这些也正是组成我们的物质

and that's four percent of the universe.

它们仅仅占到整个宇宙的百分之四

Astronomers and cosmologists and physicists think

天文学家，宇宙学家和物理学家都认为

that there is something called dark matter in the universe,

在宇宙中存在着一种暗物质，

which makes up 23 percent of the universe,

它占据了宇宙的百分之三十二，

and something called dark energy,

另一种物质称之为暗能量，

which permeates the fabric of space-time,

它弥漫在整个时空的结构中，

that makes up another 73 percent.

暗能量则占据了宇宙剩下的百分之七十三

So if you look at this pie chart, 96 percent of the universe,

所以，当我们审视这张饼图的时候可以发现，宇宙的百分之九十六

at this point in our exploration of it,

对于我们现有的考察来看

is unknown or not well understood.

都是未知的，或者是知之甚少的。

And most of the experiments, telescopes that I went to see

几乎我探究得所有的实验，望远镜设备

are in some way addressing this question,

在某种程度上都是为了研究这个问题

these two twin mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.

那就是：暗物质和暗能量的双生之谜。

I will take you first to an underground mine

首先我要带大家看看一个地下矿井

in Northern Minnesota

它位于明尼苏达的北部

where people are looking

在那里人们正在寻找

for something called dark matter.

被称为暗物质的东西

And the idea here is that they are looking for a sign

之所以选择这里是因为他们发现了一个信号

of a dark matter particle hitting one of their detectors.

一颗暗物质触动了他们的一个探测器。

And the reason why they have to go underground

之所以要到地下需找的原因是

is that, if you did this experiment on the surface of the Earth,

如果在地球表面做同样的实验，

the same experiment would be swamped by signals

会被其他的信号干扰

that could be created by things like cosmic rays,

比如宇宙射线

ambient radio activity,

以及周围的无线电干扰，

even our own bodies. You might not believe it,

甚至是人类的身体。你可能不相信，

but even our own bodies are radioactive enough to disturb this experiment.

但是我们的身体具有的放射性也足够去影响这项实验了

So they go deep inside mines

所以这些科学工作者深入到矿井内部

to find a kind of environmental silence

去需找一种没有干扰的实验环境

that will allow them to hear

使得他们能够监测到

the ping of a dark matter particle hitting their detector.

暗物质撞击检测器的声音。

And I went to see one of these experiments,

我去参加了一次实验

and this is actually -- you can barely see it,

事实上，你几乎是看不见的

and the reason for that is it's entirely dark in there --

因为实验室在完全黑暗的环境下进行的。

this is a cavern that was left behind by the miners

这是一个被矿工们遗弃了的地下洞穴

who left this mine in 1960.

从1960年开始就废弃了

And physicists came and started using it

物理学家随后来到这里开始使用它

sometime in the 1980s.

从二十世纪八十年代开始。

And the miners in the early part of the last century

上个世纪早期的矿工们

worked, literally, in candlelight.

实际上是靠蜡烛在这里照明的

And today, you would see this inside the mine,

时至今日，大家可以看到矿井内部

half a mile underground.

在深及半尺的地下。

This is one of the largest underground labs in the world.

这是现今世界上最大的地下实验室之一。

And, among other things, they're looking for dark matter.

寻找暗物质正是他们其中一项任务。

There is another way to search for dark matter,

还有另外一种需找暗物质的，

which is indirectly.

间接的方法。

If dark matter exists in our universe,

如果暗物质确实存在在我们的宇宙中，

in our galaxy,

在我们的银河系中，

then these particles should be smashing together

那么这些粒子就会相互撞击

and producing other particles that we know about --

从而产生其他我们熟知的粒子。

one of them being neutrinos.

中微子就是其中之一。

And neutrinos you can detect

而且中微子是可以被发现的，

by the signature they leave

通过他们留下的痕迹

when they hit water molecules.

当他们撞击水分子的时候。

When a neutrino hits a water molecule

中微子撞击水分子是

it emits a kind of blue light,

会产生一种蓝光

a flash of blue light,

一种飞逝的蓝光，

and by looking for this blue light,

但是通过需要这种蓝光，

you can essentially understand something about the neutrino

人们就可以在本质上对中微子进行了解，

and then, indirectly, something about the dark matter

进而间接的去了解暗物质，

that might have created this neutrino.

正是暗物质创造出出来这些中微子。

But you need very, very large volumes of water

但是需要大量大量的水

in order to do this.

才能完成这项实验。

You need something like tens of megatons of water --

大概需要十兆吨的水

almost a gigaton of water --

也就是几乎是十亿吨的水

in order to have any chance of catching this neutrino.

才有机会得到这些中微子。

And where in the world would you find such water?

然而在现实世界中，哪里能够得到这么多的水呢？

Well the Russians have a tank in their own backyard.

在俄罗斯有一个巨大的水库。

This is Lake Baikal.

这就是贝加尔湖。

It is the largest lake in the world. It's 800 km long.

它是世界上最大的湖。全场800千米。

It's about 40 to 50 km wide

约40到50米宽

in most places,

在绝大多数地方，

and one to two kilometers deep.

有1至2千米深。

And what the Russians are doing

现在俄罗斯正在致力于

is they're building these detectors

建设探测器，

and immersing them about a kilometer beneath the surface of the lake

并且将他们沉浸到数千米的湖底。

so that they can watch for these flashes of blue light.

这样他们就能观察这些蓝色的闪光了。

And this is the scene that greeted me when I landed there.

这也正是我到达后迎接我的景象

This is Lake Baikal

这就是贝加尔湖

in the peak of the Siberian winter.

在西伯利亚最冷的寒冬山脉上。

The lake is entirely frozen.

湖已经完全结冰了

And the line of black dots

那些黑色的现状斑点

that you see in the background,

大家可以在照片背景中看到的，

that's the ice camp where the physicists are working.

正是物理学家工作的帐篷。

The reason why they have to work in winter

之所以我们必须在冬天工作，

is because they don't have the money to work in summer and spring,

是因为他们没有在夏天和春天工作足够的资金。

which, if they did that,

如果在春夏工作，

they would need ships and submersibles to do their work.

那么他们就需要船和潜水艇来辅助工作。

So they wait until winter --

所以他们只能能到冬天

the lake is completely frozen over --

湖完全结冰后

and they use this meter-thick ice

他们就可以利用这些几米厚的冰

as a platform on which to establish their ice camp and do their work.

这样他们就可以在冰上建帐篷来工作了

So this is the Russians working on the ice

这就是在冰上工作的俄罗斯人

in the peak of the Siberian winter.

在西伯利亚冬天的山脉上。

They have to drill holes in the ice,

他们必须在冰上钻洞，

dive down into the water -- cold, cold water --

跳进水中，极冷极冷的水中，

to get hold of the instrument, bring it up,

去找到水中的设备，并且将其取出，

do any repairs and maintenance that they need to do,

他们需要去完成所有的维护和修养工作，

put it back and get out before the ice melts.

而且要在冰融化之前将其刚回去，再取出来。

Because that phase of solid ice lasts for two months

然而这些坚冰只能持续两个月

and it's full of cracks.

之后就会全部开化。

And you have to imagine, there's an entire sea-like lake

大家可以想象一下，这里就变成一个像海一样的湖了

underneath, moving.

水面下波涛汹涌。

I still don't understand this one Russian man

至今我仍旧不能理解一个俄罗斯人

working in his bare chest,

他居然可以裸着上身工作，

but that tells you how hard he was working.

但是这正给大家展示了他工作得多么努力。

And these people, a handful of people,

然而，就是这么几个人，

have been working for 20 years,

已经工作了近20年。

looking for particles that may or may not exist.

需找这些可能存在也可能不存在的粒子。

And they have dedicated their lives to it.

然而他们却倾注了他们全部的生命。

And just to give you an idea,

只是请大家想一想，

they have spent 20 million over 20 years.

在超过20年的时间里，他们仅花费了2千万，

It's very harsh conditions.

这样的条件是非常艰苦的。

They work on a shoestring budget.

他们的预算是极其有限的。

The toilets there are literally holes in the ground

他们的厕所就是在冰上直接钻一个洞，

covered with a wooden shack.

再在洞上简单的搭建一个木头棚子。

And it's that basic,

然而就是这么简单的设施，

but they do this every year.

他们每年都要依靠这些工作，

From Siberia to the Atacama Desert in Chile,

从西伯利亚一直到智利的阿塔卡马沙漠，

to see something called The Very Large Telescope.

去观察一种巨型望远镜。

The Very Large Telescope

巨型望远镜这个名字

is one of these things that astronomers do --

是这些天文学家取得，

they name their telescopes rather unimaginatively.

他们给自己的望远镜命名，总是这么没有创造性，

I can tell you for a fact,

我可以告诉你

that the next one that they're planning is called The Extremely Large Telescope.

他们下面正在准备建设的望远镜就叫：超巨型望远镜。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And you wouldn't believe it,

而且大家一定不会相信，

but the one after that is going to be called The Overwhelmingly Large Telescope.

然后在那之后要建的望远镜就叫：极端巨大望远镜。

But nonetheless,

然而，

it's an extraordinary piece of engineering.

它确实是一项非常神奇的工程。

These are four 8.2 meter telescopes.

由4个8.2米得望远镜做成的。

And these telescopes, among other things,

除了其他的一些目的，这些望远镜

they're being used to study

是被用于研究

how the expansion of the universe is changing with time.

宇宙是如何随着时间扩张的。

And the more you understand that,

越多的理解这一点，

the better you would understand

就会越好的理解

what this dark energy that the universe is made of is all about.

暗物质是什么-宇宙是什么构成的--所有的关于这些的问题。

And one piece of engineering that I want to leave you with

我想给大家真是的就是这项工程中的一部分

as regards this telescope

就是这个望远镜

is the mirror.

的镜面。

Each mirror, there are four of them,

一共有四个镜面，

is made of a single piece of glass,

每一个镜面都是有一块单独的玻璃制成，

a monolithic piece of high-tech ceramic,

材料是巨大的高科技陶制品，

that has been ground down and polished to such accuracy

已经被抛光、打磨到非常精确的地步

that the only way to understand what that is

唯一可以理解这种精确的方式

is [to] imagine a city like Paris,

就是想象一个像巴黎一样的城市，

with all its buildings and the Eiffel Tower,

拥有巴黎所有的建筑包括埃菲尔铁塔，

if you grind down Paris to that kind of accuracy,

如果按照这种精度去研磨巴黎，

you would be left with bumps that are one millimeter high.

会得到一毫米厚的沉淀物，

And that's the kind of polishing that these mirrors have endured.

这样的打磨就是这些镜面所承受的精度。

An extraordinary set of telescopes.

令人叹为观止的一组望远镜。

Here's another view of the same.

这是另外的一个望远镜的图像。

The reason why you have to build these telescopes

至于一定要建造这些望远镜

in places like the Atacama Desert

在想Atacama沙漠这样的地方的原因

is because of the high altitude desert.

是因为这里是高纬度的沙漠地带。

The dry air is really good for telescopes,

干燥的空气对望远镜的观测是很有好处的，

and also, the cloud cover is below the summit of these mountains

同时，在高山地区的云层覆盖率也也比较低的。

so that the telescopes have

这样这些望远镜

about 300 days of clear skies.

就有大约300天的晴天来观测了。

Finally, I want to take you to Antarctica.

最后，我想让大家看看南极洲。

I want to spend most of my time on this part of the world.

我想把今天大家的时间都用在地球的这个地方。

This is cosmology's final frontier.

这里是宇宙的终极边境。

Some of the most amazing experiments,

世界上好多最奇妙的实验

some of the most extreme experiments,

最极端的实验

are being done in Antarctica.

都是在南极洲展开的。

I was there to view something called a long-duration balloon flight,

我在那里参观了一项名为长续航时间的气球飞行实验，

which basically takes telescopes and instruments

气球带着望远镜等设备

all the way to the upper atmosphere,

一路飞往上层大气空间，

the upper stratosphere, 40 km up.

一直到平流层40千米以上的位置。

And that's where they do their experiments,

就是在这里他们展开实验的，

and then the balloon, the payload, is brought down.

在这之后，气球的有效负荷会降低，然后下落。

So this is us landing on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

最终将会降落在南极洲的罗斯冰架。

That's an American C-17 cargo plane

那就是美国的C-17货机

that flew us from New Zealand

就是它载着我们从新西兰

to McMurdo in Antarctica.

飞往南极洲的麦克默多的。

And here we are about to board our bus.

就是在这里，我们换乘了我们的巴士。

And I don't know if you can read the lettering,

我不确定大家是否能看到车上的字母，

but it says, "Ivan the Terribus."

但是我可以告诉大家，上面写的是：“地狱区间巴士。”

And that's taking us to McMurdo.

就是它把我们带去了麦克默多。

And this is the scene that greets you in McMurdo.

这就是到达麦克默多时迎接你的情景。

And you barely might be able to make out

你几乎无法辨认出

this hut here.

这就是小屋。

This hut was built by Robert Falcon Scott and his men

这个小屋是由Rovert Falcom Scott和他的助手

when they first came to Antarctica

在他们第一次到达南极洲的时候

on their first expedition to go to the South Pole.

第一次准备向南极圈进发的时候建造的。

Because it's so cold,

因为这里实在是太寒冷了，

the entire contents of that hut is still as they left it,

小屋里的东西他们全部留了下来，

with the remnants of the last meal they cooked still there.

他们最后几餐的剩饭仍旧被冰冻在这里。

It's an extraordinary place.

这是一个极端的地方。

This is McMurdo itself. About a thousand people work here in summer,

这就是麦克默多.每年夏天大于有一千个人在这里工作。

and about 200 in winter

冬天大约有200人

when it's completely dark for six months.

届时这里将迎来6个月的连续黑暗。

I was here to see the launch

我在这里观看了

of this particular type of instrument.

这个特殊设备的发射。

This is a cosmic ray experiment

这是一个宇宙射线实验

that has been launched all the way to the upper-stratosphere

实验器材将被一路发射到平流层上层

to an altitude of 40 km.

海拔40千米的地方。

What I want you to imagine is this is two tons in weight.

我想让大家想象一下的是，这些设备有两吨重。

So you're using a balloon

然而需要用气球

to carry something that is two tons

去承载这些两顿重的设备

all the way to an altitude of 40 km.

并且一直送达至海拔40千米的地方。

And the engineers, the technicians, the physicists

所有的工程师，技术人员和物理学家

have all got to assemble on the Ross Ice Shelf,

全部集中到罗斯冰架。

because Antarctica -- I won't go into the reasons why --

而不是集中到南极洲，我就不解释具体原因了

but it's one of the most favorable places for doing these balloon launches,

但是它是这些气球起飞的最佳地点，

except for the weather.

除了天气外。

The weather, as you can imagine,

至于天气，大家可以想象一下，

this is summer, and you're standing on 200 ft of ice.

现在这里是夏天，人们仍旧站在200英尺厚的冰层上。

And there's a volcano behind,

而且后面还有火山，

which has glaciers at the very top.

在火上口还有冰川覆盖，

And what they have to do

他们必须要做的是

is they have to assemble the entire balloon --

一定要集合气球里的所有设备

the fabric, parachute and everything -- on the ice

包括所有的组织物，降落伞，一切一切。在冰上。

and then fill it up with helium.

然后用氢气填满气球。

And that process takes about two hours.

整个过程需要近2个小时。

And the weather can change as they're putting together this whole assembly.

然而，天气因素会影响他们整个组装的进度。

For instance, here they are laying down the balloon fabric behind,

比如，这里他们正躺在气球织物的后面，

which is eventually going to be filled up with helium.

事实上他们马上就要给气球填补氢气了。

Those two trucks you see at the very end

大家看到的两辆离他们很远的卡车

carry 12 tanks each of compressed helium.

每一台都装载了12箱压缩氢气。

Now, in case the weather changes before the launch,

现在，以防在起飞前天气有所变化，

they have to actually pack everything back up into their boxes

他们必须把所有的东西全部打包装起了。

and take it out back to McMurdo Station.

并且把它们都带到McMrudo站去。

And this particular balloon,

正是因为这个特殊的气球

because it has to launch two tons of weight,

可以承载两顿的重量，

is an extremely huge balloon.

这个气球是特别巨大的。

The fabric alone weighs two tons.

气球的组成物自己就有两顿重。

In order to minimize the weight,

为了尽可能的降低重量，

it's very thin, it's as thin as a sandwich wrapper.

它是非常薄的，几乎就跟三明治包装纸那么薄。

And if they have to pack it back,

然而如果他们要把它打包，

they have to put it into boxes

就必须将其放入盒子中，

and stamp on it so that it fits into the box again --

并且重新将盒子粘贴好。

except, when they did it first,

除了他们第一次做的时候，

it would have been done in Texas.

是在德克萨斯。

Here, they can't do it with the kind shoes they're wearing,

在那里，他们不能穿着他们巨大的鞋子来做它，

so they have to take their shoes off,

所以他们把鞋子全部脱掉了，

get barefoot into the boxes, in this cold,

赤脚进去了寒冷的箱子

and do that kind of work.

来完成这项工作。

That's the kind of dedication these people have.

这就是这些人具有的献身精神。

Here's the balloon being filled up with helium,

这是气球已经装满氢气了，

and you can see it's a gorgeous sight.

大家可以看到它真的很美

Here's a scene

这一景象

that shows you the balloon and the payload end-to-end.

向大家展示了气球和承载物的所有情况。

So the balloon is being filled up with helium on the left-hand side,

气球已经被从左侧填满了氢气

and the fabric actually runs all the way to the middle

气球的组织物一直连接到气球的中部

where there's a piece of electronics and explosives

在那有一片电子控制器和爆炸装置，

being connected to a parachute,

用来连接降落伞，

and then the parachute is then connected to the payload.

而降落伞则连接到有效承载物上。

And remember, all this wiring is being done

请大家记住，所有这些都是已经被完成了的

by people in extreme cold, in sub-zero temperatures.

而且是在零度以下的极寒气温中被完成的。

They're wearing about 15 kg of clothing and stuff,

他们都穿着重达15公斤的衣服和工具，

but they have to take their gloves off in order to do that.

但是他们还要脱掉手套去完成一部分工作。

And I would like to share with you a launch.

我非常荣幸可以和大家分享气球起飞的时刻。

(Video) Radio: Okay, release the balloon,

（视频）对讲机：好的，释放气球，

release the balloon, release the balloon.

释放气球，释放气球。

Anil Ananthaswamy: And I'll finally like to leave you with two images.

Anil Ananthaswamy：最后呢，我想跟大家分享两张图片。

This is an observatory in the Himalayas, in Ladakh in India.

这是我在印度的拉达克地区观看到的喜马拉雅山脉。

And the thing I want you to look at here

我希望大家能看到的

is the telescope on the right-hand side.

在右手边的正是望远镜。

And on the far left there

在最左边的地方，

is a 400 year-old Buddhist monastery.

是一座大约400年前的佛教寺庙。

This is a close-up of the Buddhist monastery.

这是寺庙的近景图片。

And I was struck by the juxtaposition

我被这景象震惊了

of these two enormous disciplines that humanity has.

并排的两个人类伟大的创造。

One is exploring the cosmos on the outside,

一个是用来探索外太空的宇宙，

and the other one is exploring our interior being.

一个是用来探究我们人类的内在。

And both require silence of some sort.

二者都需要一份宁静的力量。

And what struck me was

而真正使我震惊的是，

every place that I went to to see these telescopes,

我在每一个地方看到的这些望远镜，

the astronomers and cosmologists

天文学家，宇宙学者，

are in search of a certain kind of silence,

都在寻求这样的一份宁静。

whether it's silence from radio pollution

无论是排除电波的干扰

or light pollution or whatever.

还是光的污染或者一切其他的影响。

And it was very obvious

如此清晰的是，

that, if we destroy these silent places on Earth,

如果我们破坏了地球上这些宁静的地方，

we will be stuck on a planet without the ability to look outwards,

我们就会被困在一个永远丧失探究外面世界的力量的局面里。

because we will not be able to understand the signals that come from outer space.

因为那样我们就失去了理解外层宇宙空间信号的能力。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）。