How the compass unlocked the world | Small Thing Big Idea, a TED series

Transcriber: TED Translators admin Reviewer: Camille Martínez

譯者: YANXIN LI 審譯者: Yuwei Duan

Growing up in Missouri,

在密蘇里州長大

they would kind of take us out into the woods,

他們會帶我們去樹林裡面

and they would give you a map, and they would give you a compass,

給你地圖和指南針

and you had to find your way home.

然後你必須找到回家的路

And without the compass,

如果沒有指南針

you can't even read the map.

你甚至連地圖都看不懂

That's what I'm here to tell you.

這就是我為什麼在這裡告訴你

The compass is the key.

指南針很重要

[Small thing.]

【小想法】

[Big idea.]

【大智慧】

A compass is most simply a piece of metal that has been magnetized,

簡單來說，指南針 就是一塊被磁化的金屬

so that it will turn towards the Earth's magnetic pole.

所以它會指向地球的磁極

The one that we all think of is the pocket compass.

我們通常會先想到袖珍型的指南針

It looks like a watch, right?

看上去像一塊手錶，對吧

You can hold it in your hand

你可以把它拿在手裡

and watch the little needle bounce around

然後看裡面的指針轉來轉去

until you find north.

直到你找到北邊

Magnetism is still a pretty mysterious force to physicists,

對物理學家而言，磁力仍然很神祕

but what we do know for sure is that a compass works

但我們確定指南針能用的原因是

because the Earth is this giant magnet.

地球就是一個巨大的磁鐵

And when you use a compass,

當使用指南針時

you are in touch with the very center of our planet,

你和地球的中心連結在了一起

where this kind of roiling ball of molten iron

地球就像是一個旋轉的鐵水球

is spinning around and creating a magnetic field.

透過旋轉創造出磁場

Just like a magnet you can play with on your tabletop,

就像一個桌面磁鐵小玩具

it has a north pole and a south pole,

它有南極和北極

and we use compasses to find our way north because of that fact.

於是我們可以找到向北方的路

The earliest known compass comes from about 200 BC in China.

最早已知的指南針出現在 中國大約公元前 200 年

They figured out that some of the metal coming out of the ground

他們挖掘出一些具有天然磁性的金屬

was naturally magnetic,

and so they fashioned this magnetized metal

然後他們將這種磁性金屬 製成一個像勺子一樣的物件

into this kind of ladle-looking thing,

put it on a brass plate

放在一個銅盤上面

and then it would point north.

然後勺柄就會指向北邊

It seems to have been primarily used to improve feng shui,

它似乎一直主要被用來看風水

so they could figure out what was the best way for energy to flow

可以找出讓能量在住所中 流動的最佳方式

through their living spaces.

水手可能是早期開始使用 隨身指南針的人

Sailors were probably the early adopters

of the more portable versions of it,

because no matter where the sun was,

因為無論太陽在哪裡 無論星象如何

no matter what the condition of the stars were,

they would always be able to find north.

他們總能找到北邊

Now, much later, the Europeans are the ones who innovate

很多年之後，歐洲人 發明了羅經玫瑰圖

and come up with the compass rose.

It essentially laid out

基本上它可以展示東南西北

what north, south, east and west looked like,

它還可以讓人們創造新的方向

and it also enabled you to kind of create new directions,

like northwest, southeast, what have you.

比如西北、東南等等

And for the first time, they knew where they were going.

這是第一次人們知道他們在往哪裡走

That's kind of a big deal.

這意義重大

But also, I think it was part of this general reinvigoration

同時，我認為這也是 歐洲科學復甦的一部分

of European science.

You might know it as the Renaissance.

通常稱為「文藝復興時期」

Lots of new tools were invented,

人們發明了很多新的工具

from the telescope to the microscope.

從望遠鏡到顯微鏡

Maps got better because of compasses, right?

地圖也因為指南針變得更有用

Because then you start to understand which direction is which,

因為你可以知道什麼方向是指哪裡

you get a lot more detail,

你可以知道很多細節

and that just kind of changes

它還改變了人類和這個世界的關係

the human relationship to the world.

The compass with a map is like a superpower.

有指南針和地圖就像是超能力

Everything that we think of as world history

沒有指南針

would not have taken place without the compass:

我們認為是世界歷史的一切都不會發生

the age of exploration, Magellan circumnavigating the globe,

比如，在探索時期，麥哲倫環遊世界

even the fact that we know it is a globe.

即使我們知道地球是圓的

The compass ends up getting embedded in all these other tools,

指南針最終被嵌入到其他的工具中

because it is such a functional object.

因為它太有用處了

So you might have it embedded in your multi-tool,

你可以把它安裝在多功能工具上

you might have it embedded in your phone.

你也可以把它安裝在你的手機上

The compass is everywhere,

到處都有指南針

because it's literally how we find our way across the face of the Earth.

因為這就是我們 在地球表面找到路的方法

So you can go off and explore,

你可以出去探索

and find out what is over that next hill or that next horizon,

找到下一個山峰 和下一個地平線的背後有什麼

but you can also reliably find your way home.

你還也可以放心地找到回家的路