长久以来天文学家
Astronomers have long tried to
一直把我们的地球
understand our place as tiny specs
当成浩瀚宇宙中的一粒尘埃
in the vastness of the universe.
但宇宙中还有另一片广阔的天地有待探索
But there is another expanse of the universe to explore,
在那片奇异的国度里我们成了巨人
a bizarre realm in which we are giants,
那就是极小物质的神奇世界
the weird world of the very small.
这是一次探索物质本质的旅程
This is a journey into the heart of matter,
一段前往史上最神奇奥秘的旅程
a journey down the biggest rabbit hole in history...
很可能在数据的高能端
It's perfectly possible that in the high-energy end of our data,
我们或许会无意间制♥造♥出小型黑洞
right now we are occasionally making miniature black holes.
旅程通向你看不到的比原子还小的物质
A journey smaller than you can see, smaller than an atom,
在那里所有物质都和看起来大不相同
where nothing is what it seems...
物质越基本
The more fundamental things are,
内部看起来越奇妙
the nicer it is to look inside them.
步入一个超越现实的奇妙之地
Into a wonderland which seems far removed from reality...
引力流进了额外的维度
Gravity is leaking into the extra dimensions.
走入宇宙最微小的结构中
Down to the very smallest structure of the universe.
时空可能不像我们现在想象的那样平滑
We should expect space time to be not smooth as we presently imagine, 而是更像卡布奇诺的泡沫
but more like the foam of a cappuccino.
寻找最小物质的旅程
The journey to find the smallest thing
也许会把我们带入另一个宇宙
may take us into another universe altogether.
但是当你能够探索到这样的大小
But then of course, when you're down to this scale,
整个宇宙尽在你手掌之中
you may have the whole universe in your hand.
在这次旅程的终点
And at the bottom of the rabbit hole,
我们可能会发现我们的宇宙
we may find that our universe
只是众多宇宙中的一个
is just one of many.
地平线
宇宙何其小
在加那利群岛一座死火山山顶
On top of an extinct volcano in the Canary Islands
一台叫做"魔力"的奇特望远镜巍然耸立
a strange telescope called MAGIC stands guard.
它现在正处于十秒待机状态
It's on a ten-second stand-by
来回应宇宙中最剧烈的爆♥炸♥
to respond to the most violent explosions in the cosmos. 借助它的激光导向镜
With its laser-aligned panels,
它追踪着穿越了半个宇宙的
it is detecting the fallout from cosmic rays
宇宙射线的痕迹
that have travelled half way across the universe.
它帮助物理学家解答一个永恒的问题
And it's helping physicists answer an eternal question. 日薄西山谜题浮现
Well, at the end of the day, the question comes up,
我们为什么存在我说的不仅指人类
why do we exist, and not only we as mankind,
还有这个星球
but why does this planet exist,
太阳系以及宇宙
the solar system, the universe?
如果你想知道宇宙为什么存在
If you want to know why the universe exists,
你需要探索的不是极大之物
you need to look, not to the very big,
而是极小之物
but to the very small.
这意味着我们需要几个精确的参数
And it turns out there need to be a very small number of parameters
罗伯特·瓦格纳博士马♥克♥思♥·普朗克物理研究所来还原宇宙的本来面目
very finely adjusted for the universe to be as it is
能够让我们置身其中并且观察它
and for us to sit in this universe, to be able to observe it.
我认为这也在告诉我们
So I think this tells why it's important to
了解自然定律是何其重要
understand how the laws of nature work.
"魔力"的独特之处在于
And the strangest thing about MAGIC
它并不是一架传统意义上的望远镜
is that it's not really a telescope at all.
它是世界上最大的显微镜目镜
It's the eyepiece of the biggest microscope in the world.
在不断探索宇宙极小物质的过程中
It's just one of the incredible tools scientists have developed
这只是科学家制♥造♥的奇妙工具之一
at the ongoing search for the smallest thing in the universe.
看那
Look at that!
原子核和电子在原子中运动
The nucleus and the electrons are going around the atom.
探索宇宙最深奥
The exploration of the most distant,
最遥不可及的领域
unreachable territory in our universe
一直挑战着最伟大的科学家
is challenging the minds of our greatest scientists.
很好
Very nice.
这真是非常复杂
This is very complex, very complicated.
快拆完了吗
Am I getting there? Aargh!
随着物质被越分越小
As you look smaller and smaller,
没有人知道哪里是尽头
no-one knows if there will ever be an end.
跟着我你会发现
Well, with me you'll see
我有愈发坚定的信念去解开下一层
the more determination to find the next layer.
很快我就会需要一个更大的对撞机
I'm going to need a bigger collider soon.
我们把它分开甚至把原子核也分开
So we split, even split the nucleus.
寻找宇宙的极小之物
The hunt for the smallest thing in
也挑战着我们
the universe is challenging our understanding of
对时空本质的理解
the very nature of space and time.
好了就是这个最小的那一个
Yes. This is it. This is the smallest piece.
这是最小的了是不是
That is the smallest thing, isn't it?
漂亮的类比
Nice analogy!
对宇宙最小组成成分的探索
The search for the smallest building blocks of the universe 是最古老的科学问题之一
is one of the oldest in science.
将近一千年的岁月里
For almost 1,000 years,
这座中世纪大教堂俯瞰着
this medieval cathedral has looked over
德国亚琛的街道
the streets of Aachen in Germany,
一座由石头和玻璃造就的不朽丰碑
an enduring monument of stone and glass.
但如果你十分十分靠近地观察它
But if you look really, really closely,
一切都与表面看起来不同
all is not what it seems.
乔基姆·梅耶教授是一位
Professor Joachim Mayer is a man
用独特眼光看世界的人
with a unique view on the world.
只要看世界时出发点是构成世界的基石
He sees the bizarre changes that come about
他就会看到奇异的变化这个角度就是
when you view the world in terms of the building blocks of stuff
原子
atoms.
你我看到的红色
Where you or I might see red,
他看到了金子
he sees gold.
我们的大脑永远有两部分
There are always two parts of your brain.
无论你作为一个普通人
If you look, if you come in as a human being
乔基姆·梅耶教授德国尤里希恩斯特·鲁斯卡研究中心
还是一位科学家来到这里
but as a scientist as well,
你都会为中世纪人类的建筑成就感到震惊
you are stunned by what people have built in these medieval times. 然后你不禁会问
And then you ask yourself
他们究竟是用了什么材料
what kind of materials did they use?
比如说你看这些玻璃窗
If you look for example at these glass windows,
它们非常著名
it's very well known,
实际上有些颜色
that actually nanotechnology
用到了纳米技术
is used in some of the colours,
比如说这些金纳米颗粒
for example, gold nanoparticles actually,
能形成最持久的红色
produce the most durable red colour which can be produced.
在那古老的年代人们是如何发现
And it's still a miracle to us how in these ancient times,
这是产生红色最有效的方法
you know, the people found out that this is the most efficient way 对我们来说依旧是个迷
to produce a red colour.
红色只是一种错觉
The red is just an illusion
导致错觉的原因
caused by the massive difference in scale
是极小的金原子簇和巨人般的我们
between the tiny clumps of gold atoms and us
之间的尺度差异
the giants who see red.
这是科学家致力于
It's one of the reasons scientists are obsessed
探究物质最小尺度的原因之一
with reaching the smallest scales.
物质不仅仅是体积变小
Things don't just get smaller,
还会发生质的变化
they change.
长久以来科学家一直在思考
Scientists have thought for a long time
组成物质的最小成分是什么
what are the smallest building blocks of our matter, 我们周围的一切都是如此美妙
and you can see beautiful matter around us.
组成成分究竟有多小呢
But just how small are these building blocks?
如果我们从熟悉的尺度人的身高开始
If we start on the familiar scale of a human
然后放大十倍
and zoom in ten times closer,
就得到了脸部大小
we get to the size of a face.
再放大十倍
Magnify by ten once more,
我们就看到了眼睛的虹膜
and we are looking at the iris of an eye.
再放大一百倍人类的毛发便清晰可见
100 times closer and we can see a human hair,
放大了一万倍的毛发
magnified 10,000 times.
显微镜揭开了一个
Microscopes have unveiled a world
比光线波长还小的世界
smaller than the wavelength of light.
但是想要看到单个的原子
But the ability to see individual atoms has,
不久之前还是一个梦
until recently,been a dream.
随着显微镜体积越来越大功能越来越强
As microscopes have got bigger and more powerful,
我们得以瞥见从未见过的微小之物
they have allowed us to peer ever smaller.
古希腊人首先提出了原子的想法
It was the ancient Greeks who first dreamed up the idea of atoms. 一百年前科学家证明它们确实存在
100 years ago, scientists proved they exist.
但直到最近十年
But it's only in the last ten years
我们才得以真正看见它们
that we've actually been able to see them.
现在在这些门后
And now, behind these doors,
乔基姆·梅耶有一台机器
Joachim Mayer has a machine
能让我们一睹原子的真容
that gives us the best possible view.
它看起来就像一台巨大的咖啡机
It looks like a giant coffee maker!
PICO意为皮指一万亿分之一
这就是我们最新的PICO设备
So this is our new PICO instrument,
一年之前刚刚安装
which has been installed about a year ago.
它有一个独特的色差校正器
And with its special new corrector for the chromatic aberration, 是一台能够为我们探索新发现的
is really a very unique machine
举世无双的机器
which really offers us new possibilities.
就它所具备的这些新功能
I think with its new capabilities,
我们一致认为
we consider it,
它是世界上最好的电子显微镜
as the best electron microscope in the world.
作为世界上最好的电子显微镜
Being the best electron microscope in the world,
它对周围环境极其敏感
PICO is very sensitive to its surroundings.
甚至人的体温都会对它产生影响
Even a person's body heat would disturb it,
因此它必须远程操作
so PICO has to be operated remotely.
远离人类的干扰
And, safely isolated from humans,
它即将揭开极小物质的神秘面纱
PICO is able to unveil the secret world of the very small.
我们从低倍放大开始
We start our investigations at a very small magnification, 这跟光学显微镜
which is equivalent to the highest magnification,
所能达到的最高放大倍数差不多
which you can actually reach with a light microscope.
在这种放大倍数之下
At this magnification,
人类头发的直径差不多是这么宽
the diameter of a human hair would be about that size.
现在我们至少可以
And now we can in magnification
再放大一千倍
go at least a factor of 1,000 higher.
现在我们能看到金属结构了
And now we start to see the structure,
其实这些黑点是独♥立♥的金元素纳米微粒actually these black dots are individual gold nanoparticles. 你能看到单个的原子
And now you can see the individual atoms
出现在这个纳米微粒中
as they appear in this individual nanoparticle.
我们可以看到单独的原子排列其中
So we see individual atoms aligned in the structure.
我们难以想象
It's hard to imagine
这些点状颗粒实际上有多小
just how small these dots of matter really are.
但考虑到我们每个人
But consider that each of us contains
体内都包含大概七千亿亿亿个原子
about seven billion, billion, billion atoms.
这比整个宇宙的恒星数目还要多
That's more than the number of stars in the entire universe.
简单来说 PICO是
PICO is, quite simply,
世界上最强大的显微镜
the most powerful microscope in the world.
在将物体放大十亿倍后
After magnifying things a billion times,
我们可以切实地看到
we can actually see the individual atoms
组成世间万物的独♥立♥原子
that make up everything in the universe.
这是我们能看到的最小物质
This is the smallest thing we can see.
或许是我们有可能看到的最小物质
It may well be the smallest thing we'll ever be able to see.
这些原子看起来就像是你想的那样
These atoms look reassuringly like what you'd expect -
它们是固态的球体
solid round balls of stuff.
但这只是一种错觉
But this is merely an illusion.
如果你想知道原子的真实模样
If you want to find out what an atom really looks like,
你需要一种全新的观察方式
you need a whole new way of looking.
安迪·派克教授正在尝试寻找
Professor Andy Parker is trying to find things
比所有已知物质都小的物体
smaller than anyone has ever found.
用其他物质高速轰击原子才能看到它的内部
Well, the way to look inside an atom is to fire something at it very fast, 如果撞击足够猛烈
and if you hit it hard enough it
你会将它击碎
you can break it into little bits.
他使用的正是由他辅助设计
He's using the most expensive experiment
并且是史上最贵的研究仪器
in the history of physics, one he helped design.
27公里长深埋在地下100米
At 17 miles long, and buried 100 metres underground,
世界上最大的
it is the biggest,
欧核中心
并且最著名的粒子加速器
and most famous particle accelerator in the world -
加速科技
大型强子对撞机
the Large Hadron Collider.
管道从那边的公♥寓♥街区后穿过
The ring goes right over behind the apartment blocks there, 并向那个方向延伸八公里
and then it goes five miles in that direction,
大概到地平线的地方
roughly to the horizon,
转回来从那边山脉的底部通到这里
it comes round under the base of the mountains to here,
再转过去
and it sweeps back round,
经过那些建筑回到起点
past those buildings there and back to point one.
一旦进入原子内部你会发现
But once you start looking inside an atom,
它完全不是看起来那样
nothing is what it seems.
人们总是将原子想象成台球
People always imagine atoms as billiard balls,
他们看到的图片里原子都像是台球
they've seen pictures of atoms as billiard balls
安迪·派克教授剑桥大学
或者小个的电子环绕着大号♥的原子核
or with a little electron going round quite a big nucleus,
但这些图片是完全错误的
and this is a completely false picture.
如果你将一个原子放大至
If you blew up an atom to the size
大型强子对撞机的尺寸
of the Large Hadron Collider,
大概是向那个方向八公里
so it would be five miles in that direction...
覆盖那一片所有景物
All around there on that piece of landscape...
那样原子核的直径大约是十厘米
Then the nucleus would be about ten centimetres across, 和这个网球的尺寸差不多
about the size of this tennis ball.
原子的全部物质和全部质量
So all the mass, all the weight of the atom
都凝聚在这个微小的原子核中
is condensed into this tiny little nucleus,
除去少量飞来飞去的电子
and the whole space around it is empty,
原子核周围就是一片空白
apart from these few electrons buzzing around.
原子呈固态的错觉
The illusion of solidity
来自于原子核周围模糊的电子云
comes from the fuzzy cloud of charged electrons.
但实际上电子
But on their own,
质量几乎为零而且不占任何体积
they weigh virtually nothing and occupy no space.
你需要再放大十万倍
You need to go a 100,000 times smaller
才能看到原子核
to get to the nucleus -
一个由质子和中子组成的泡沫状小球
a fizzing ball of protons and neutrons.
强子对撞机所面临的挑战
The challenge here at the LHC,
是通过击碎质子以观察其内部构成
is to look inside the protons by smashing them to pieces. 我们无知只有蛮干
It's brute force and ignorance really.
我们将两个极小的物体
You are taking two things, which are very, very small,
我们不清楚它们的内部情况不知从何开始
you don't really know what's inside them to start with, 只是让它们尽可能强力对撞
and you hit them together as hard as you can
使它们撞成更小的碎片
and they smash into tiny fragments
但其实你并不知道
and since you really don't know
它的精细结构是什么
what the elaborate structure is inside,
就像是让两座钟撞在一起
it's kind of like colliding two clocks together
然后去收拾残骸
and then sweeping up the mess
藉此尝试弄清钟表的运行原理
that you get and trying to figure out how the clock works. 小心谨慎并不现实
And you can't do it in a subtle way.
没有哪把螺丝刀能把质子拆开
There's no screwdriver to take a proton to bits
由于对它的内部组成毫无头绪
and there's no plan of what's inside
因此你必须十分猛烈地去轰击它
so you have to hit them very hard,
然后碎片会飞出来
then the fragments come flying out
由此我们可以尽力研究出
and from that we can try and work out,
各个齿轮怎样契合
how all the cogs and gearwheels fit back together
最终组成质子
to make a proton.
质子对撞产生的碎片
The debris from the proton collisions
ATLAS本意为希腊神话里的擎天神这里指超环面仪器由庞大的机器ATLAS来检测
is detected by a vast machine called ATLAS.
有趣的事都发生在管道中心
Everything interesting happens at the centre,
那是粒子对撞的地方
that's where the particles collide.
这个工程模型
This engineering mock-up
展现了机器的一段
shows just one section of the real machine.
而最重要的部分极其灵敏的仪器
And the sensitive instrument at its very heart
是由安迪负责建造的
is the part made by Andy.
我在ATLAS模型的正中心
So I'm in the middle of the mock-up of ATLAS,
这里是所有反应进行的地方
and this is where all the action happens.
粒子流从两端进入穿过中心
The beams would come in from both ends through the centre here.
当然这里将密布着探测器
This would of course be filled with detectors,
而粒子管道穿过正中心
but the beam pipe would run right through the centre
而在真空中以亚光速飞行的粒子
and the particles, which are travelling in vacuum at almost the speed of light, 就在这里迎头相撞
collide head on, just here,
发生碰撞后所有碎片飞散开来
and do their stuff and then all the debris comes flying out
然后穿过探测器层
and it flies through the detector layers...
借助这些碎片我们来重现
And that's the debris that we use to reconstruct the collision
管道中心发生的碰撞
that happens right here in the middle.
你将一个质子轰成碎片时会发现
And what you find when you smash a proton to pieces,
它大部分也是空的
is that it too is largely empty space.
它由三个称为夸克的微小基本粒子组成
It is made of three tiny fundamental particles called quarks.
但要达到夸克的尺寸
But to reach the size of a quark
我们需要再放大一千倍
we have to zoom in 1,000 times smaller.
最早被用于探测原子的仪器
Some of the earliest machines used to probe the atom
被称为气泡室
were bubble chambers,
它们记录下了物质中心的精美图像
that produced exquisite pictures of the heart of matter.
在气泡室的液体中什么都没有的地方
What you see here is a sudden explosion of particles from nowhere 突然喷出了粒子
in the liquid of the bubble chamber
这是因为一个中微子击中了原子核
and that is because a neutrino has hit an atomic nucleus there
并将其击碎
and smashed it to pieces,
我们可以看到碎片纷飞
and we see the particles flying off.
而这是反物质
And that's anti-matter.
这是由纯能量创造出的物质和反物质
That's matter and anti-matter being created from pure energy.
美妙绝伦的图画
Very, very beautiful image.
这是一张描绘自然力量之图
So this is the map or a part of the map,
或是图的一部分
of what nature can do.
所以也是宇宙之图的一部分
So it's part of the map of the universe.
到现在科学家撞击了80年粒子
But now, after 80 years of smashing,
这张图绘制完成了
the map is complete.
2012年夏强子对撞实验室的科学家
In the summer of 2012 scientists at the LHC,
宣布发现了著名的希格斯粒子
announced the discovery of the famous Higgs particle.
这是所谓的"标准模型"中最后一块拼图
It's the final piece of what's called the Standard Model -
17种基本粒子包括夸克和电子
a set of 17 fundamental particles including quarks and electrons
构成了世间万物
that make up everything we know.
但对像安迪一样的物理学家来说
But for physicists like Andy
这并不是故事的终结
it's not the end of the story.
所有人都听说过希格斯粒子
Everyone's heard about the Higgs
但探索远不止如此
but the story goes much beyond that.
其实我的主要研究绝不会止于希格斯粒子
In fact my main interest is beyond the Higgs.
像所有伟大探索者一样安迪并不认同
Like any great explorer, Andy is not satisfied
这就是探索的终点
that this is the end of the journey.
还有相当多的事物有待发现
There may be plenty more to discover.
我们现在位于ATLAS的主控制室
OK so we're in the ATLAS main control room,
在座的实验团队
where the experiment crew,
班组人员正测量今天的数据
shift crew over here are sitting taking data today.
这是探测器得到的
This is live data coming from the detector -
对撞实验的实时数据
collisions that are happening now.
对撞每秒发生四千万次
Collisions are happening 40 million times every second. 检测器状态 ATLAS探测器控制
随着对撞能量逐渐增加
And as the energy of the collisions increases,
安迪将能看到越来越小的结构
Andy will be able to look on smaller and smaller scales, 甚至可以研究所谓的基本粒子内部
even delving inside the so-called fundamental particles. 我想基本粒子只是个传说
Fundamental particles is a myth, I think.
现在看起来
It looks at the moment as if
仿佛夸克和电子都是点状粒子
quarks and electrons are point-like particles.
我们看不见它们的大小
We can't see any size to them
但那只是因为我们不能
but that is just because we haven't been able to
测量和它们尺寸相近的长度
measure very short distances around them.
我想看看它们的内部
What I'd like to see is what's going on inside them.
因此我们尽力撞击夸克
So we're looking for the innards of the quarks
以探求其内部结构
by smashing them together as hard as we can.
在探寻宇宙最小微粒的漫漫长路中
In the search for the smallest piece of the universe,
何处是尽头也是问题所在
part of the problem may be knowing when to stop.
每打开一层都会揭示重大的秘密
Each new layer reveals great secrets.
但这研究会有尽头吗
But does this search have an end?
每一个小东西
Or within every small thing,
是否还嵌套着什么别的
is there another...
一层一层永无止境
and another?
或许最广为人知的基本粒子
Perhaps the best known of all the fundamental particles 要数电子了
is the electron.
它承载着我们丰富的现代生活
It underpins much of our modern lives,
计算机街灯电视都离不开它
from computers to street lights to televisions.
但对理论物理学家
But for theoretical physicist
杰伦·范·德·布林克教授来说
professor Jeroen van den Brink,
电子可能并没有我们想象中那么基本
the electron might not be as fundamental as we think. 物质越基本
The more fundamental things are,
内部看起来越奇妙
the nicer it is to look inside them.
在物理学中总会有些东西看似基本
Physics it's always that something appears to be fundamental, 杰伦·范·德·布林克教授固态与材料研究所
正因为我们相信这已经是最基本的构成
and just because we believe it's fundamental
我们反而会更进一步
we take the next step and
设法在"基本"之中再一探究竟
try to look what's inside it.
杰伦认为
Jeroen's idea was that,
他不用将电子击碎
rather than smashing electrons into pieces,
就能另辟奇径分离电子的性质
he could find a different way to split its properties...
令电子发挥作用的性质
the very properties that make it so useful.
电子有三种基本性质
So the electron has three fundamental properties,
带电荷自旋以及做轨道运动
charge, spin and orbital
从理论上说当然有可能
and theoretically it's definitely possible to
分离电子的这三部分
split those three parts of the electron.
通过数学计算
If you do the mathematics
这一点毫无问题
there is no problem in doing that.
从量子力学角度来看
If you do the quantum mechanics,
这也是完全可能的
it's completely allowed.
所以理论上你至少可以
So in principle you can split the electron,
在纸上完成分离
at least you can do it on paper.
要是你想要实践一把你需要这个...
If you want to want to do it in practice, you need this...
Watch your head here.
瑞士光源
The Swiss Light Source,
一百万瓦的电灯
a million watt light bulb.
这是台真空波荡器
This is an in vacuum undulator.
瑞士光源其实是瑞士X射线源
The Swiss Light Source is in fact the Swiss X-ray Source.
我们拥有数字束流位置监控系统
We have digital BPM systems.
在安德里亚斯·鲁德克博士的指导下
Inside the ring, under the care of Dr Andreas Ludeke,
环中电子束创造了终极X射线激光器
a beam of electrons creates the ultimate X-ray laser.
这是一个超导腔
This is a superconducting cavity.
它是世界上最强大的
It's one of the most powerful,
高聚焦窄线宽X射线束
highly focused, narrow X-ray beams in the world.
中间有着强大的磁场
We have a high intense magnetic field in the middle.
这是探究电子内部的最佳利器
The perfect tool for probing down to the size of an electron. 索斯藤·施密特与杰伦搭档
Jeroen's partner in electron splitting,
共同研究电子分♥裂♥
the man who devised and runs the experiment,
他设计并进行了这次实验
is Dr Thorsten Schmitt.
这里是所谓的光学小屋
So here we are in the so-called optical hutch,
索斯藤·施密特博士保罗·谢尔研究所
所有重要的光学元件都聚集于此
where all the crucial optical elements -
比如为X射线特别优化过
mirrors which are optimized for X-rays
以及用于整形光束的反光镜
and which are used for shaping the beam quality
are sitting.
-我能从这里看到 -对
- I can see it here. - Yeah.
我每次来这里
So when I come here
都会去设备那儿看一看
I go to the equipment, I look at it,
欣赏一番
I admire it
然后重新坐回电脑前
and then I go back and sit behind a computer
或者拿起纸笔
or take my pen and paper
开始做数学♥运♥算
and start to do the mathematics.
我不太清楚外面这些设备到底在做什么
I do not really understand what the stuff out here is exactly doing 但我相信
and I believe,
我确信索斯藤知道他们懂得如何做实验
I'm sure, Thorsten does and they do the experiments.
X射线进入
We have X-rays, which are coming in
击中样本
and hit a sample,
最后我们对样本反射的
and we will then in the end analyse the X-rays,
或者散射的X射线进行分♥析♥
which are re-emitted or scattered off from the sample.
电子被X射线束击中后
When the X-ray beam strikes,
分♥裂♥成新的准粒子
the electrons split into new quasi-particles.
这些粒子名为自旋子
These particles, called spinons,
轨道子以及空穴子
orbitons and holons,
它们分别携带着电子的不同性质
carry the properties of the electron,
并且可以沿着不同方向运动
and can travel off in different directions.
这张图片向我们解释了一切
This is actually the picture that tells the whole story.
最重要的是红色的这部分
The most important part is actually here, this red part,
能量传递与动量传递关系图
重点在于它呈波状
and what's important is that it's wavy.
这波状表明
And this waviness tells us that
实验中电子被分♥裂♥为
what happened in this experiment is that
自旋子和轨道子
the electron was split into spinons and orbitons.
所以说这张图片是电子被分离的
So this is the picture that is the experimental proof
实验证明
that the electron has been split.
你为这张图片感到骄傲吗
Are you proud of that picture?
相当骄傲
I'm very proud of the picture.
电子可以分♥裂♥成这三种不同的粒子
So the electron can be split into these three different particles, 不过当你真的拥有这些粒子时
but, really, what can you do with those particles
你能做些什么呢
when you have them?
对此我无法做出完美的解答
I don't have a good answer to that.
但这事很酷
It's just cool to make these,
能把这么基本的电子
make this electron that is so fundamental, that's so part...
人类发现的第一种基本粒子
that's the first fundamental particle that was discovered,
分♥裂♥成三个不同的部分
to see it split into its three different parts.
这就是我喜欢这个实验的原因
That's what I like about the experiment.
从某种意义上说电子被一分为三