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

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: congmei Han

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

我想請大家閉上眼睛……

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

想像你自己坐在一片 廣大開放的原野中間，

with the sun setting on your right.

在你的右邊是西下的太陽。

And as the sun sets,

當太陽西下時，想像今天晚上

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

你不只會看到星星出現，

but you're able to hear the stars appear

你還會聽見星星出現，

with the brightest stars being the loudest notes

最明亮的星星是最大聲的音符，

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

越熱、越藍的星星 產生越高音的音符。

(Music)

（音樂）

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

既然每個星座都是 由不同類型的星星組成，

they'll each produce their own unique melody,

那麼每個星座都會產生出 它自己的獨特弦律，

such as Aries, the ram.

比如白羊座，公羊。

(Music)

（音樂）

或獵戶座，獵人。

Or Orion, the hunter.

(Music)

（音樂）

Or even Taurus, the bull.

或甚至金牛座，公牛。

(Music)

（音樂）

We live in a musical universe,

我們住在一個音樂的宇宙中，

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

我們能利用這一點， 從一個新的角度來體驗宇宙，

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

並和更多人分享那個角度。

Let me show you what I mean.

讓我說明我的意思。

(Music ends)

（音樂結束）

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

當我說我是天體物理學家時， 別人通常會很敬佩。

they're usually pretty impressed.

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

接著，我說我也是音樂家—— 他們會說：「是啊，我們知道。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So everyone seems to know

所以，大家似乎都知道

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

音樂和天文學之間 有很深刻的連結。

And it's actually a very old idea;

這個想法其實很古老；

it goes back over 2,000 years to Pythagoras.

始於兩千年前的畢達哥拉斯。

You might remember Pythagoras from such theorems

你們可能會因為畢達哥拉斯定理

as the Pythagorean theorem --

而記得畢達哥拉斯——

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And he said:

他說：

"There is geometry in the humming of the strings,

「在弦的哼唱之中，有著幾何學，

there is music in the spacing of the spheres."

在天體的間隔之中，有著音樂。」

And so he literally thought

所以他真的認為

that the motions of the planets along the celestial sphere

行星沿著天体的運行

created harmonious music.

會創造出和諧的音樂。

若你問他：「為什麼 我們什麼都聽不見？」

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

he'd say you can't hear it

他會說你聽不見是因為你不知道

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

「沒有聽見它」是怎樣的，

you don't know what true silence is.

你不知道真正的寂靜是什麼。

就像是，得等到你家停電了，

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

才會聽出你的電冰箱有多吵。

to hear how annoying your refrigerator was.

Maybe you buy that,

也許你買帳， 但其他人並非都會買帳，

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

包括一個叫做亞里斯多德的人。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Exact words.

一字不差。（笑聲）

(Laughter)

So I'll paraphrase his exact words.

我會一字不差引述他的話，他說：

He said it's a nice idea,

這是個好想法，但，

but if something as large and vast as the heavens themselves

像天堂這麼廣大浩翰的東西

were moving and making sounds,

若在移動並發出聲音，

it wouldn't just be audible,

它不僅會是聽得見的，

it would be earth-shatteringly loud.

還會大聲到能撼動地球。

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

我們存在，因此，天體沒有音樂。

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

他也認為大腦的唯一目的 就是要讓血液冷卻，

so there's that ...

那也是他的想法……（笑聲）

(Laughter)

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

但我想要跟各位說明 在某個角度他們兩人都對。

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

我們一開始要先來了解 是什麼讓音樂是音樂。

It may sound like a silly question,

這聽起來是個蠢問題，

but have you ever wondered why it is

但你可曾納悶過， 為什麼一起演奏某些音符時，

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

聽起來相對讓人愉悅或和諧，

such as these two --

比如這兩段——

(Music)

（音樂）

while others are a lot more tense or dissonant,

而其他音符演奏起來 就很緊繃或刺耳，

such as these two.

像這兩段。

（音樂）

(Music)

Right?

對吧？

Why is that? Why are there notes at all?

為什麼會這樣？為什麼會有音符？

Why can you be in or out of tune?

為什麼會有走調和不走調之分？

Well, the answer to that question

那個問題的答案

was actually solved by Pythagoras himself.

其實畢達哥拉斯就已經解開了。

Take a look at the string on the far left.

看看最左邊的弦。

If you bow that string,

如果你用弓拉那條弦，

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

它在快速來回震盪中 會產生一個音符。

(Musical note)

（音樂音符）

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

但如果你把弦剪成一半， 你會有兩條弦，

each oscillating twice as fast.

每條弦的震盪速度會是兩倍。

And that will produce a related note.

那會產生出一個相關的音符。

Or three times as fast,

或三倍速，

or four times --

或四倍速——

(Musical notes)

（音樂音符）

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

所以，音樂和諧的秘密 其實只是簡單的比率：

the simpler the ratio,

比率越簡單，

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

那兩個音符一起演奏起來 就會更讓人愉悅、和諧。

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

比率越複雜，音符 聽起來就越不和諧。

And it's this interplay between tension and release,

正是這種緊繃和放鬆之間，

or consonance and dissonance,

或是和諧與不和諧之間的互相影響，

that makes what we call music.

形成了我們所稱的音樂。

(Music)

（音樂）

(Music ends)

（音樂結束）

(Applause)

（掌聲）謝謝。

Thank you.

（掌聲）

(Applause)

But there's more.

但還不只如此。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

所以，音樂的兩項特徵， 即我們所謂的音高和節奏，

they're actually two versions of the same thing,

它們其實是同樣東西的 兩個不同版本，

and I can show you.

容我示範。

(Slow rhythm)

（慢節奏）

That's a rhythm right?

那是一種節奏，對吧？

Watch what happens when we speed it up.

看看當我們把它加快時會如何。

(Rhythm gets gradually faster)

（節奏漸漸變快）

(High pitch)

（高音）

（降低音高）

(Lowering pitch)

(Slow Rhythm)

（慢節奏）

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

一旦節奏開始快到 每秒鐘 20 次以上，

your brain flips.

你的大腦就會翻轉，

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

停止將它聽成是節奏， 開始將它聽成是音高。

So what does this have to do with astronomy?

那和天文學有什麼關係？

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

那就要談到 TRAPPIST-1 行星系統了。

This is an exoplanetary system discovered last February of 2017,

這是去年二月發現的 系外行星系統，

即 2017 年。

and it got everyone excited

它讓大家都好興奮，

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

因為它有七個地球大小的行星，

都繞著一個很近的紅色矮星運行。

And we think that three of the planets

我們認為，其中三個行星 溫度適合液態水存在。

have the right temperature for liquid water.

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

不用多久，在接下來的幾年，

we should be able to detect elements in their atmospheres

我們應該就能夠偵測 其大氣中的元素，

比如氧氣以及甲烷—— 可能的生命跡象。

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

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

但 TRAPPIST 系統 有一個特點，就是它很小。

So here we have the orbits of the inner rocky planets

這裡的是內岩石行星的軌道， 在我們的太陽系中：

in our solar system:

Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars,

水星、金星、地球，和火星，

and all seven Earth-sized planets of TRAPPIST-1

而 TRAPPIST-1 中 那七個地球大小的行星

are tucked well inside the orbit of Mercury.

都被好好地塞在水星的軌道中。

I have to expand this by 25 times

我把它放大了 25 倍，

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

讓各位可以看見 TRAPPIST-1 行星的軌道。

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

在大小上，其實是和我們的

木星及木星的衛星比較相似，

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

只是它是七個地球大小的行星 繞著一個恆星在運行。

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

另一個讓大家興奮的理由，

是像這樣的藝術呈現。

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

有一些液態水、一些冰， 也許還有一些土地，

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

也許你可以在這絕美的 橘色夕陽下去潛水。

It got everyone excited,

這讓大家很興奮，接著，

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

幾個月後，又出現了其他的論文，

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

內容說，其實，它可能 看起來會比較像這樣。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So there were signs

有一些徵象顯示，

that some of the surfaces might actually be molten lava

有部分表面可能是熔化的熔岩，

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

還從中間的恆星發出 極具殺傷力的 X 光，

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

X 光會殺盡表面上的所有生命，

甚至會破壞大氣層。

Luckily, just a few months ago in 2018,

幸運的是，2018 年， 就在幾個月前，

some new papers came out with more refined measurements,

根據更精煉的測量值 所寫的論文發表出來了，

and they found actually it does look something like that.

發現確實看起來是那樣。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

我們現在知道 其中幾顆星球有大量的水——

global oceans --

全球海洋——

and several of them have thick atmospheres,

當中數顆星球有很厚的大氣層，

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

所以，若要找尋生命， 到這裡找是對的。

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

但關於這個系統， 還有件更讓人興奮的事，

especially for me.

特別讓我興奮。

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

這件事就是， TRAPPIST-1 是個共振鏈。

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

那就表示，外行星每繞 2 圈，

the next one in orbits three times,

下一個行星就會繞 3 圈，

and the next one in four,

再下一個是 4 圈，

and then six, nine, 15 and 24.

接著是 6、9、15，

及 24 圈。

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

可以看到這些行星的繞行當中 有許多非常簡單的比率。

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

很顯然，加速它們的移動， 就能得到節奏，對吧？

比如，每一個行星 繞一圈，就是一拍。

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

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

但現在，我們知道， 如果把移動速度再提高，

you'll actually produce musical pitches,

就會產生出音樂音高，

and in this case alone,

在這個案例中，

those pitches will work together,

那些音高能夠同心協力，

making harmonious, even human-like harmony.

產生出悅耳， 甚至像人類演奏的和諧。

So let's hear TRAPPIST-1.

咱們來聽聽 TRAPPIST-1 吧。

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

你們會先聽到的是 每個星球軌道的音符，

and just keep in mind,

只要記住，

this music is coming from the system itself.

這音樂是來自系統本身。

I'm not creating the pitches or rhythms,

我並沒有創造音高或是節奏，

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

我只是把它們帶到 人類的聽覺範圍中。

And after all seven planets have entered,

在所有七個行星都進入之後，

you're going to see --

你們就會看見——

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

嗯，你們就會在每兩個行星 對齊時聽見一聲鼓聲。

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

那就是它們靠近彼此的時候，

and give each other a gravitational tug.

會因為引力而彼此拉扯。

(Tone)

（音調）

(Two tones)

（兩種音調）

(Three tones)

（三種音調）

(Four tones)

（四種音調）

(Five tones)

（五種音調）

(Six tones)

（六種音調）

(Seven tones)

（七種音調）

(Drum beats)

（鼓節拍）

(Music ends)

（音樂結束）

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

那是行星自身的聲音—— 它的光線被轉換成聲音。

So you may wonder how this is even possible.

你可能會納悶，這怎麼有可能？

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

有個很好的比喻，就是交響樂團。

When everyone gets together to start playing in an orchestra,

當大家聚集在 一個交響樂團中演奏，

他們無法一蹴而就吧？

they can't just dive into it, right?

他們全都必須調節；必須要確保

They have to all get in tune;

they have to make sure

他們的樂器和旁邊的樂器會共振，

their instruments resonate with their neighbors' instruments,

TRAPPIST-1 存在的初期 就有遇到很類似這樣的狀況。

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

當時此星系剛剛形成，

When the planets were first forming,

they were orbiting within a disc of gas,

它們是在一個氣體的 圓平面內繞行，

and while inside that disc,

在那個圓平面內，

they can actually slide around

它們其實可以滑來滑去，

and adjust their orbits to their neighbors

調整它們跟旁邊行星之間的軌道，

until they're perfectly in tune.

直到它們調節到完美。

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

它們的融合是件好事， 因為這個系統非常緊密——

a lot of mass in a tight space --

在非常擠的空間中 有很大的質量——

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

如果它們的軌道的 每個面向沒有調節好，

they would very quickly disrupt each other's orbits,

它們就可能會馬上 打斷彼此的軌道，

destroying the whole system.

摧毀整個系統。

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

是音樂，讓這個系統 能一直活下去——

and any of its potential inhabitants.

以及系統中可能存在的居民。

But what does our solar system sound like?

但我們的太陽系聽起來 是什麼樣子的？

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

我真希望不是由我來 為各位展示，它不怎麼美好。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So for one thing,

所以，一則，

我們的太陽系的規模更大許多，

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

and so to hear all eight planets,

所以若要聽見所有八個行星，

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

我們就得要從海王星開始， 它在我們的聽覺範圍底部，

接著一直到最上的水星，

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

很靠近我們聽覺範圍的頂部。

near the very top of our hearing range.

但，此外，因為我們太陽系的 行星沒有很緊密——

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

they're very spread out --

它們非常分散——

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

它們不需要去調整彼此間的軌道，

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

所以它們有點像是在隨機的時刻 演奏自己隨機的音符。

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

讓我說聲抱歉，我們就來聽吧。

(Tone)

（音調）那是海王星。

That's Neptune.

(Two tones)

（兩種音調）天王星。

Uranus.

(Three tones)

（三種音調）

Saturn.

土星。

(Four tones)

（四種音調）

木星。

Jupiter.

And then tucked in, that's Mars.

接著拉進來的是火星。 （五種音調）

(Five tones)

(Six tones)

（六種音調）地球。

Earth.

(Seven tones)

（七種音調）金星。

Venus.

(Eight tones)

（八種音調）那是水星——

And that's Mercury --

好，好，我停下來就是了。

OK, OK, I'll stop.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So this was actually Kepler's dream.

這其實是克卜勒的夢想。

Johannes Kepler is the person

約翰尼斯克卜勒就是 想出行星運動定律的人。

that figured out the laws of planetary motion.

He was completely fascinated by this idea

對於在音樂、天文學，和幾何之間

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

有連結存在的這個想法， 讓他非常著迷。

And so he actually spent an entire book

所以他寫了一整本書，

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

就是在尋找太陽系行星之間的

任何一種音樂和諧，

and it was really, really hard.

這真的非常困難。

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

如果他住在 TRAPPIST-1， 就會簡單得多，

or for that matter ...

或就這點來說，

K2-138.

住在 K2-138 上也不錯。

This is a new system discovered in January of 2018

它是個新系統，

在 2018 年一月被發現，

with five planets,

有五個行星，

and just like TRAPPIST,

和 TRAPPIST 很像，

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

它們存在的初期， 都調節得非常一致。

They were actually tuned

其實，它們調節成為

into a tuning structure proposed by Pythagoras himself,

一種由畢達哥拉斯自己

在至少兩千年前 所提出的調節結構。

over 2,000 years before.

But the system's actually named after Kepler,

但這個系統卻是以克卜勒命名，

因為它是用克卜勒 太空望遠鏡發現的。

discovered by the Kepler space telescope.

And so, in the last few billion years,

所以，在最後幾十億年，

they've actually lost their tuning,

它們失去了調節，

quite a bit more than TRAPPIST has,

比 TRAPPIST 的狀況 嚴重一點，所以……

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

我們要做的，就是回到過去，

and imagine what they would've sounded like

想像它們在剛形成的時候

just as they were forming.

聽起來會是什麼樣子的。

(Music)

（音樂）

(Music ends)

（音樂結束）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Thank you.

謝謝。

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

你們可能在納悶，極限在哪裡？

How much music actually is out there?

外太空到底有多少音樂？

And that's what I was wondering last fall

去年秋天我就是在納悶這件事，

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

當時我在多倫多大學的 天文館工作，

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

有位藝術家蘿賓 和她女兒艾琳與我聯絡，

Robyn loves the night sky,

蘿賓熱愛夜空，

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

但她 13 年來她都無法 完全看見夜空，

because of vision loss.

因為她的視力在衰退。

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

她們想知道我能不能幫上忙。

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

於是我收集了所有 我能想到的宇宙的聲音，

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

把它們包裝成為

「我們的音樂宇宙」。

This is a sound-based planetarium show

這是個以聲音為基礎的 天文館節目，

exploring the rhythm and harmony of the cosmos.

探索宇宙的節奏和和諧。

And Robyn was so moved by this presentation

這場展示讓蘿賓非常感動，

that when she went home,

當她回家之後，

she painted this gorgeous representation of her experience.

她把她的經歷畫成 這張迷人的圖像。

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

我為了做海報而把木星 放上去，破壞了這傑作。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So ...

所以……

in this show, I take people of all vision levels

在這場展示中， 我帶著各種不同視力的人，

and bring them on an audio tour of the universe,

踏上一段宇宙的聲音之旅，

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

從夜空一路旅行到 可見宇宙的邊緣。

But even this is just the start of a musical odyssey

但這也只是一段漫長的 音樂探索的開端，

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

用新的眼睛和耳朵來感受宇宙，

and I hope you'll join me.

我希望你們能加入我。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）