What does the universe sound like? A musical tour | Matt Russo

翻译人员: Donlon v 校对人员:

I'd like you all to close your eyes, please ...

请各位闭上眼镜，

and imagine yourself sitting in the middle of a large, open field

并想象着， 你正坐在一片广阔的田野上，

with the sun setting on your right.

身旁是下落的夕阳。

And as the sun sets,

日落之后，

请想象今夜 你不仅能看到星光闪现，

imagine that tonight you don't just see the stars appear,

but you're able to hear the stars appear

你还能听到它们闪现的声音。

with the brightest stars being the loudest notes

最亮的星星 将成为了最响亮的音符，

and the hotter, bluer stars producing the higher-pitched notes.

而星星愈炽热、愈蓝 它的音调愈高。

(Music)

（音乐）

And since each constellation is made up of different types of stars,

由于不同星系的组成各不相同，

they'll each produce their own unique melody,

每个星系都有它们独特的旋律，

such as Aries, the ram.

比如白羊座的旋律像公羊一样。

(Music)

（音乐）

猎户座的旋律像猎人一般。

Or Orion, the hunter.

(Music)

（音乐）

Or even Taurus, the bull.

而金牛座的旋律像公牛似的。

(Music)

（音乐）

We live in a musical universe,

我们生活在充满旋律的宇宙中，

and we can use that to experience it from a new perspective,

借此，我们可以 通过新的角度来感受宇宙

and to share that perspective with a wider range of people.

并与更多的人分享这种角度。

Let me show you what I mean.

让我来告诉你们。

(Music ends)

（音乐结束）

Now, when I tell people I'm an astrophysicist,

现在，当我告诉别人 我是一个天体物理学家时，

他们通常会对我印象深刻。

they're usually pretty impressed.

And then I say I'm also a musician -- they're like, "Yeah, we know."

而当我说我还是一位音乐家时， 他们会说“我们知道。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So everyone seems to know

好像每个人都知道

that there's this deep connection between music and astronomy.

音乐和天文学之间 有很密切的联系。

这不是一个新的概念；

And it's actually a very old idea;

it goes back over 2,000 years to Pythagoras.

最早提出这个概念的是 两千多年前的毕达哥拉斯。

You might remember Pythagoras from such theorems

你可能听过这个名字

比如毕达哥拉斯定理。

as the Pythagorean theorem --

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And he said:

毕达哥拉斯认为：

"There is geometry in the humming of the strings,

几何存在于琴弦的震动中，

there is music in the spacing of the spheres."

音乐存在于球面上的空间。

And so he literally thought

他还认为，

天幕上行星的运动

that the motions of the planets along the celestial sphere

created harmonious music.

创造了和谐的音乐。

And if you asked him, "Why don't we hear anything?"

如果你要问他 “为什么我们什么都听不到？”

he'd say you can't hear it

他会告诉你， 你之所以听不到

because you don't know what it's like to not hear it;

是因为你生来与它相伴，

you don't know what true silence is.

你不知道真正的寂静是怎样的。

就像你要等到了停电

It's like how you have to wait for your power to go out

才会知道你的冰箱是多么的吵。

to hear how annoying your refrigerator was.

Maybe you buy that,

也许你能接受这样的想法，

but not everybody else was buying it, including such names as Aristotle.

但并不是所有人都可以， 比如亚里士多德。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

亚里士多德的原话是

Exact words.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

我来分析一下他的原话，

So I'll paraphrase his exact words.

他说，这是一个不错的观点。

He said it's a nice idea,

but if something as large and vast as the heavens themselves

但是当浩瀚辽阔的天体

were moving and making sounds,

在运动和发出声音时，

it wouldn't just be audible,

这些声音将不会是 听得到这么简单，

it would be earth-shatteringly loud.

这些声音将会震碎地球。

We exist, therefore there is no music of the spheres.

我们还活着 这说明天体之间不存在音乐。

He also thought that the brain's only purpose was to cool down the blood,

他还认为 人脑的唯一作用就是理智和冷静，

so there's that ...

所以...

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But I'd like to show you that in some way they were actually both right.

不过我想说 从某种角度上来说两者都是对的。

And we're going to start by understanding what makes music musical.

我们先来看一下 是什么造就了音乐。

It may sound like a silly question,

这个问题可能听起来挺傻的，

but have you ever wondered why it is

但你可曾想过， 为什么某些音符一起演奏的时候

that certain notes, when played together, sound relatively pleasing or consonant,

听起来异常和谐动人？

such as these two --

比如这样——

(Music)

（音乐）

while others are a lot more tense or dissonant,

而另一些音符组合起来 就会不太和谐，

such as these two.

比如这样。

(Music)

（音乐）

Right?

对吧？

Why is that? Why are there notes at all?

为什么呢？ 这些音符为何存在呢？

Why can you be in or out of tune?

为什么你能感受到这些曲调呢？

Well, the answer to that question

其实，这个问题的答案

was actually solved by Pythagoras himself.

毕达哥拉斯已经告诉我们了。

Take a look at the string on the far left.

看看最左边的琴弦。

If you bow that string,

如果你拨动它，

it will produce a note as it oscillates very fast back and forth.

它会快速地来回震动 于是就产生了音符。

(Musical note)

（音乐）

But now if you cut the string in half, you'll get two strings,

如果你把这根弦剪成两段 就会有两根琴弦，

各自以原来两倍的速度震动。

each oscillating twice as fast.

And that will produce a related note.

这样就有了另一个音符。

Or three times as fast,

这个是三倍速，

or four times --

这是四倍速的——

(Musical notes)

（音乐）

And so the secret to musical harmony really is simple ratios:

其实和谐音乐的秘籍 就是简单的配比：

the simpler the ratio,

两个音符震动频率的比率越简单，

the more pleasing or consonant those two notes will sound together.

它们一起演奏时也就越和谐。

And the more complex the ratio, the more dissonant they will sound.

如果比率约复杂， 听起来也就越不和谐。

And it's this interplay between tension and release,

正是这种紧张和放松，

or consonance and dissonance,

或者说和谐与不和谐之间的组合，

that makes what we call music.

造就了音乐。

(Music)

（音乐）

(Music ends)

（音乐结束）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）

不过还有更重要的东西。

But there's more.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So the two features of music we like to think of as pitch and rhythms,

我们认为音乐有两个特征： 音调和节奏

they're actually two versions of the same thing,

他们其实是 同一个东西的两种说法，

and I can show you.

你们看。

(Slow rhythm)

（慢节奏）

That's a rhythm right?

这是一个节奏，对吧？

Watch what happens when we speed it up.

看看加速后会发生什么。

(Rhythm gets gradually faster)

（节奏逐渐加快）

(High pitch)

（高音调）

（低一点的音调）

(Lowering pitch)

(Slow Rhythm)

（慢节奏）

So once a rhythm starts happening more than about 20 times per second,

所以只要一个节奏的频率 达到了每秒二十次的时候

your brain flips.

你的大脑就分辨不出来了。

It stops hearing it as a rhythm and starts hearing it as a pitch.

你不再认为这是一个节奏 它变成了音调。

So what does this have to do with astronomy?

那这和天文学有什么关系呢？

Well, that's when we get to the TRAPPIST-1 system.

我们在发现TRAPPIST-1行星系时 了解到两者的联系。

This is an exoplanetary system discovered last February of 2017,

TRAPPIST-1行星系是一个 在2017年2月被发现的系外行星系。

and it got everyone excited

这让每个人都十分激动，

because it is seven Earth-sized planets all orbiting a very near red dwarf star.

因为这个星系是由 七颗地球一般大小的行星，

以及一颗红矮星组成的。

And we think that three of the planets

我们猜测 其中的三颗行星的温度适宜

have the right temperature for liquid water.

能让液态水存在。

It's also so close that in the next few years,

并且未来几年，

我们就可以检测它们大气的成分

we should be able to detect elements in their atmospheres

是否包括氧气和甲烷， 这些生命存在的必要条件。

such as oxygen and methane -- potential signs of life.

But one thing about the TRAPPIST system is that it is tiny.

但是TRAPPIST-1行星系很小。

So here we have the orbits of the inner rocky planets

这个是我们在太阳系中的

in our solar system:

类地行星的轨道，

Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars,

水星，金星，地球，还有火星。

and all seven Earth-sized planets of TRAPPIST-1

但TRAPPIST-1星系里 七颗地球大小的行星的轨道

are tucked well inside the orbit of Mercury.

能全部塞进水星的轨道里。

I have to expand this by 25 times

我要把这张图放大二十五倍

for you to see the orbits of the TRAPPIST-1 planets.

你们才能看到TRAPPIST-1的行星。

It's actually much more similar in size to our planet Jupiter and its moons,

这比我们的木星及其卫星小多了，

even though it's seven Earth-size planets orbiting a star.

虽然它的轨道上 有七颗地球大小的行星。

Another reason this got everyone excited was artist renderings like this.

另一个令人振奋的原因是

一些画家描绘出这样的画面。

You got some liquid water, some ice, maybe some land,

你能在这些行星上 看到液态水，冰山，还有陆地

maybe you can go for a dive in this amazing orange sunset.

你可以在夕阳的余晖中潜水。

It got everyone excited,

这让所有人都很激动，

and then a few months later, some other papers came out

但几个月之后， 有些人发表了论文表示

that said, actually, it probably looks more like this.

实际上的情况应该是这样——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So there were signs

有迹象表明

that some of the surfaces might actually be molten lava

那里的某些地面上只有熔岩，

and that there were very damaging X-rays coming from the central star --

它们还遭受着来自恒星的 破坏性极强的X射线

X-rays that will sterilize the surface of life and even strip off atmospheres.

这些X射线会涂炭生灵 甚至摧毁大气层。

Luckily, just a few months ago in 2018,

不过幸运的是 2018年的上半年，

some new papers came out with more refined measurements,

又有人发表了一些论文

通过更精细的衡量，

and they found actually it does look something like that.

他们发现那里 实际的情况应该是这样的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So we now know that several of them have huge supplies of water --

我们知道有几颗行星 有大量的水、

有环绕的海洋、

global oceans --

and several of them have thick atmospheres,

而其中几个行星 还有稠密的大气层，

我们极有可能在这里 找到生命的踪迹

so it's the right place to look for potential life.

But there's something even more exciting about this system,

但关于这个星系 还有更激动人心的事情

especially for me.

特别是于我而言。

And that's that TRAPPIST-1 is a resonant chain.

TRAPPIST-1星系 实际上是一个共振链。

And so that means for every two orbits of the outer planet,

也就是说，对于每两颗外行星

the next one in orbits three times,

下一颗行星运行的速度 是这一颗的三倍，

and the next one in four,

再下一颗是这颗的四倍，

and then six, nine, 15 and 24.

然后是6倍，9倍，15倍以及24倍。

So you see a lot of very simple ratios among the orbits of these planets.

所以这些行星的轨道之间 就有许多简单的比率。

Clearly, if you speed up their motion, you can get rhythms, right?

显然，如果它们的运动加速 就会出现节奏，对吧？

一个鼓点意味着 一颗行星从旁边经过。

One beat, say, for every time a planet goes around.

But now we know if you speed that motion up even more,

我们知道 如果这种运动加速，

you'll actually produce musical pitches,

你会听到高音，

and in this case alone,

在这种情况下，

those pitches will work together,

这些高音融合在一起 会和谐共鸣，

making harmonious, even human-like harmony.

像人演奏得一样和谐。

So let's hear TRAPPIST-1.

让我们一起听一下 TRAPPIST-1的声音吧。

The first thing you'll hear will be a note for every orbit of each planet,

你首先听到的是 每个行星轨道对应的音符

请记住，

and just keep in mind,

this music is coming from the system itself.

音乐是从星系里传来的。

I'm not creating the pitches or rhythms,

而不是我创造的。

I'm just bringing them into the human hearing range.

我只是把它们 转换到了人类听力范围内。

And after all seven planets have entered,

等到七颗行星都出现时，

you're going to see --

你将会看到——

well, you're going to hear a drum for every time two planets align.

每当两颗行星交汇时 你会听到鼓点。

That's when they kind of get close to each other

这时候它们的距离很近，

它们之间的引力作用也更大。

and give each other a gravitational tug.

(Tone)

（一个音符）

(Two tones)

（两个音符）

(Three tones)

（三个音符）

(Four tones)

（四个音符）

(Five tones)

（五个音符）

(Six tones)

（六个音符）

(Seven tones)

（七个音符）

(Drum beats)

（鼓点）

(Music ends)

（音乐结束）

And that's the sound of the star itself -- its light converted into sound.

以上就是这些行星的声音

它们的星光转换成了声音。

So you may wonder how this is even possible.

也许你会好奇 这些是如何产生的。

And it's good to think of the analogy of an orchestra.

你可以通过 类比管弦乐队来找到答案。

When everyone gets together to start playing in an orchestra,

当所有人聚在一起演奏时，

他们肯定不能只顾着自己，对吧？

they can't just dive into it, right?

他们要相互配合，

They have to all get in tune;

他们要确保他们的乐器

they have to make sure

their instruments resonate with their neighbors' instruments,

和周围人的乐器相互协调，

and something very similar happened to TRAPPIST-1 early in its existence.

而在TRAPPIST-1刚形成的时候 情况也差不多。

在这些行星诞生之初，

When the planets were first forming,

they were orbiting within a disc of gas,

它们在气体轨道中运行，

and while inside that disc,

其中，

they can actually slide around

它们是可以移动的，

and adjust their orbits to their neighbors

它们可以根据相邻的行星 调整轨道位置

until they're perfectly in tune.

直到它们的相对位置趋于完美。

And it's a good thing they did because this system is so compact --

这是件好事 因为这个星系有点拥挤——

a lot of mass in a tight space --

巨大的行星 被挤在一个狭窄的空间中

if every aspect of their orbits wasn't very finely tuned,

如果这些行星轨道 没有处于一个恰当的位置

they would very quickly disrupt each other's orbits,

它们很快便会 摧毁其它行星的轨道

destroying the whole system.

最终导致整个星系的灭亡。

So it's really music that is keeping this system alive --

所以正是音律的和谐 使得这个星系得以生存

and any of its potential inhabitants.

并让它成为了可栖居的地方。

But what does our solar system sound like?

那太阳系的音律是怎样的呢？

I hate to be the one to show you this, but it's not pretty.

我不太想给你们展示

因为这个音律并不那么动听。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So for one thing,

一方面，

太阳系的规模 远超TRAPPIST-1星系。

our solar system is on a much, much larger scale,

and so to hear all eight planets,

为了能听到 所有八颗行星的音律，

we have to start with Neptune near the bottom of our hearing range,

我们要从海王星，低音开始，

然后一直到水星，

and then Mercury's going to be all the way up

这几乎涵盖了我们的听力范围。

near the very top of our hearing range.

不过，由于太阳系浩瀚无边，

But also, since our planets are not very compact --

they're very spread out --

行星们各自分散开了

they didn't have to adjust their orbits to each other,

它们不必相互调整轨道，

so they're kind of just all playing their own random note at random times.

所以它们就像随机弹奏音符一般，

So, I'm sorry, but here it is.

像这样：

(Tone)

（音符）

这是海王星。

That's Neptune.

(Two tones)

（两个音符）

Uranus.

天王星。

(Three tones)

（三个音符）

Saturn.

土星。

(Four tones)

（四个音符）

木星。

Jupiter.

And then tucked in, that's Mars.

然后是火星。

(Five tones)

（五个音符）

(Six tones)

地球。

（六个音符）

Earth.

(Seven tones)

Venus.

金星。

（七个音符）

(Eight tones)

（八个音符）

And that's Mercury --

这是水星，

好吧，我会停下来的。

OK, OK, I'll stop.

（笑声）

(Laughter)

So this was actually Kepler's dream.

这实际上是开普勒的梦想。

Johannes Kepler is the person

约翰内斯·开普勒

that figured out the laws of planetary motion.

他发现了行星的运动规律。

He was completely fascinated by this idea

他深陷于这样一个想法：

that there's a connection between music, astronomy and geometry.

音乐、天文学和几何学之间相互关联

And so he actually spent an entire book

所以他用了整整一本书

just searching for any kind of musical harmony amongst the solar system's planets

来探索太阳系行星之间的音律和谐。

and it was really, really hard.

这是一项很艰难的工作。

It would have been much easier had he lived on TRAPPIST-1,

除非他住在TRAPPIST-1星系，

or for that matter ...

或者是

K2-138.

K2-138星系。

This is a new system discovered in January of 2018

该星系于2018年1月被发现，

with five planets,

由五颗行星构成，

and just like TRAPPIST,

和TRAPPIST星系一样，

early on in their existence, they were all finely tuned.

在它们存在之初， 它们之间就拥有和谐的音律了。

They were actually tuned

它们的音调变成了

into a tuning structure proposed by Pythagoras himself,

在两千多年前

毕达哥拉斯提出的一种音律结构，

over 2,000 years before.

But the system's actually named after Kepler,

但这个星系实际上 是用开普勒的名字命名的，

因为它们是通过 开普勒天文望远镜被发现的。

discovered by the Kepler space telescope.

And so, in the last few billion years,

不过，在过去的几十亿年里

they've actually lost their tuning,

它们的音调实际上已经消失了，

quite a bit more than TRAPPIST has,

只比TRAPPIST的音调 存在的时间稍长一些，

我们要做的是追溯过去，

and so what we're going to do is go back in time

and imagine what they would've sounded like

并且想象它们的音调，

just as they were forming.

想象它们初始时是怎样的。

(Music)

（音乐）

(Music ends)

（音乐结束）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

Now, you may be wondering: How far does this go?

现在，你可能在想 这个项目的进展如何

How much music actually is out there?

宇宙中到底有多少音乐？

And that's what I was wondering last fall

这也是我在思考的。

上个秋天

我在多伦多大学天文馆工作的时候，

when I was working at U of T's planetarium,

and I was contacted by an artist named Robyn Rennie and her daughter Erin.

画家罗宾·伦尼和她的女儿艾琳 联系了我。

Robyn loves the night sky,

罗宾热爱夜空，

but she hasn't been able to fully see it for 13 years

但是她有十三年 不能好好地欣赏夜空了

because of vision loss.

因为她的视力受损，

And so they wondered if there was anything I could do.

所以她们想向我寻求帮助。

So I collected all the sounds I could think of from the universe

所以我就收集了我能想到的 关于宇宙的所有声音

and packaged them into what became "Our Musical Universe."

并且把它们打包成专辑-- “我们的音乐宇宙”。

This is a sound-based planetarium show

这是一场基于声音的天文演出，

exploring the rhythm and harmony of the cosmos.

探索了宇宙的节奏与和谐。

And Robyn was so moved by this presentation

罗宾被这场演出深深打动，

that when she went home,

她回到家后，

she painted this gorgeous representation of her experience.

创作了这幅生动的画 来表达了她的观后感。

And then I defaced it by putting Jupiter on it for the poster.

不过我把木星加到这个海报上之后 它变丑了。

（笑声）

(Laughter)

So ...

所以..

in this show, I take people of all vision levels

在这场演出中 我邀请了拥有不同视力水平的人，

and bring them on an audio tour of the universe,

为他们带来了一段宇宙音乐之旅，

from the night sky all the way out to the edge of the observable universe.

从夜空一直延伸到可观测的宇宙边缘。

But even this is just the start of a musical odyssey

但这只是这段旅程的开始。

to experience the universe with new eyes and with new ears,

如果你想要从新的角度来体验宇宙，

and I hope you'll join me.

我希望你能加入我。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）