In the year 1919, a virtually unknown German mathematician, named Theodor Kaluza suggested a very bold and, in some ways, a very bizarre idea. He proposed that our universe might actually have more than the three dimensions that we are all aware of. That is in addition to left, right, back, forth and up, down, Kaluza proposed that there might be additional dimensions of space that for some reason we don't yet see. Now, when someone makes a bold and bizarre idea, sometimes that's all it is -- bold and bizarre, but it has nothing to do with the world around us. This particular idea, however -- although we don't yet know whether it's right or wrong, and at the end I'll discuss experiments which, in the next few years, may tell us whether it's right or wrong -- this idea has had a major impact on physics in the last century and continues to inform a lot of cutting-edge research.
在1919年, 一位鮮為人知的德國數學家Theodor Kaluza 提出一非常大膽, 或可稱作非常怪異的想法 他提議說我們的宇宙 可能不僅僅是只有三度空間 在所熟知的 左右, 前後, 上下以外, 還可以有其他維度 Kaluza建議的額外維度空間 只是因為某些原因, 造成我們並不察覺 嘿! 當有人提出大膽與怪異的想法 常常就只是大膽與怪異而已 又常與真實世界沒有關聯 但是, 就這個特殊的想法 雖然我們尚未知道其真偽 待會兒, 我會描述未來幾年內的一個實驗 就或許能為我們解答其對或錯 此想法對上世紀的物理學有著重大的衝擊 也持續引領著許多的前瞻研究
So, I'd like to tell you something about the story of these extra dimensions. So where do we go? To begin we need a little bit of back story. Go to 1907. This is a year when Einstein is basking in the glow of having discovered the special theory of relativity and decides to take on a new project, to try to understand fully the grand, pervasive force of gravity. And in that moment, there are many people around who thought that that project had already been resolved. Newton had given the world a theory of gravity in the late 1600s that works well, describes the motion of planets, the motion of the moon and so forth, the motion of apocryphal of apples falling from trees, hitting people on the head. All of that could be described using Newton's work.
因此, 我想要告訴各位有關額外維度的故事 那麼怎麼開始呢? 我們需要了解些背景故事, 回到1907年吧 那個年代正是Einstein榮耀地發現了 "特殊(狹義)相對論" 而決定開始新的挑戰 -- 試著對崇高又普遍的重力作充分了解 但當時, 有許多人以為重力的問題 早就已經被解決了 Newton於1600末, 就已經提出地心引力的理論 大到行星的運動 月亮的運行等等 小到連理論的開場: 樹上蘋果落下 擊中人們的頭頂 都能被Newton的理論妥善解釋
But Einstein realized that Newton had left something out of the story, because even Newton had written that although he understood how to calculate the effect of gravity, he'd been unable to figure out how it really works. How is it that the Sun, 93 million miles away, [that] somehow it affects the motion of the Earth? How does the Sun reach out across empty inert space and exert influence? And that is a task to which Einstein set himself -- to figure out how gravity works. And let me show you what it is that he found. So Einstein found that the medium that transmits gravity is space itself. The idea goes like this: imagine space is a substrate of all there is.
但Einstein明白Newton的理論似乎缺少什麼 因為, 就連Newton自己也曾這麼寫著 雖然明白如何計算地心引力 但還是未能了解全貌: 太陽遠在9千3百萬英哩之外 卻能影響地球的運動? 到底太陽是如何經過真空狀態的空間還能產生影響? 這就是Einstein給自己的難題 解開重力作用的原理 容我告訴你們他的發現 Einstein發現了: 傳遞重力場的介質就是空間本身 概念如下: 想像空間就是所有物質的一基本載具
Einstein said space is nice and flat, if there's no matter present. But if there is matter in the environment, such as the Sun, it causes the fabric of space to warp, to curve. And that communicates the force of gravity. Even the Earth warps space around it. Now look at the Moon. The Moon is kept in orbit, according to these ideas, because it rolls along a valley in the curved environment that the Sun and the Moon and the Earth can all create by virtue of their presence. We go to a full-frame view of this. The Earth itself is kept in orbit because it rolls along a valley in the environment that's curved because of the Sun's presence. That is this new idea about how gravity actually works.
當無其他物質存在時, Einstein認為空間是平坦的, 但當有物質, 如太陽, 處於空間時 會造成空間直線網格的翹曲與扭曲 太陽也就是利用空間本身傳遞了重力 即使是地球也使其週遭的空間扭曲 來看月球吧! 月球就是依據這樣解釋, 而能於固定軌道上運行 因為它繞著一扭曲的凹陷轉圈 太陽, 月球, 地球都因各有質量存在, 而能造成空間扭曲 從一全景的角度來明瞭 地球自己是保持在一固定軌道 因為它繞著一扭曲的凹陷轉圈 這主要是因為太陽存在所引起的 對重力的作用, 這是一全新的解釋
Now, this idea was tested in 1919 through astronomical observations. It really works. It describes the data. And this gained Einstein prominence around the world. And that is what got Kaluza thinking. He, like Einstein, was in search of what we call a unified theory. That's one theory that might be able to describe all of nature's forces from one set of ideas, one set of principles, one master equation, if you will. So Kaluza said to himself, Einstein has been able to describe gravity in terms of warps and curves in space -- in fact, space and time, to be more precise. Maybe I can play the same game with the other known force, which was, at that time, known as the electromagnetic force -- we know of others today, but at that time that was the only other one people were thinking about. You know, the force responsible for electricity and magnetic attraction and so forth.
這理論也於1919年的天文觀測得到最佳驗證 理論成功解釋了觀測的數據 也為Einstein爭取到享譽全球的地位 這理論的成功也讓Kaluza再深思 他和Einstein都在找一所謂的"統一理論" 那是個單一理論 用來描述所有的作用力, 只用一組的概念 只用一組的原理, 只用一組的主要方程式 因此, Kaluza告訴自己: "Einstein已能用空間的扭曲 來描述重力" -- 更精確的說 是時間與空間都被扭曲 "或許我也能對其他的作用力玩同樣的模式" 也就是當時知道的電磁力 現今的我們知道有更多種作用力, 但當時 除重力以外, 只知一種作用力 那就是 解釋電流磁場 吸引互斥的電磁力
So Kaluza says, maybe I can play the same game and describe electromagnetic force in terms of warps and curves. That raised a question: warps and curves in what? Einstein had already used up space and time, warps and curves, to describe gravity. There didn't seem to be anything else to warp or curve. So Kaluza said, well, maybe there are more dimensions of space. He said, if I want to describe one more force, maybe I need one more dimension. So he imagined that the world had four dimensions of space, not three, and imagined that electromagnetism was warps and curves in that fourth dimension. Now here's the thing: when he wrote down the equations describing warps and curves in a universe with four space dimensions, not three, he found the old equations that Einstein had already derived in three dimensions -- those were for gravity -- but he found one more equation because of the one more dimension. And when he looked at that equation, it was none other than the equation that scientists had long known to describe the electromagnetic force. Amazing -- it just popped out. He was so excited by this realization that he ran around his house screaming, "Victory!" -- that he had found the unified theory.
因此Kaluza 才會說: "或許我也能 描述電磁力是一種的扭曲" 緊接著的問題是: 什麼東西被扭曲了? Einstein已經用去了3維空間與時間 的扭曲來解釋重力 似乎沒有其他的維度可被扭曲 所以Kaluza說: "哦, 或許空間有更多的維度" 他說: "如果我需要一統地再描述一個作用力 我就只需再一個維度" 所以他想像宇宙需要4維度的空間, 不是只有3維 同時想像電磁作用力是被扭曲 在那第4度空間, 接著 當他具體以數學式子來描述扭曲 的4度空間, 留意不是慣有的3度空間 他發現能推導出不只是 Einstein為了說明重力 已導出的3度空間數學式 但同時因多出的一維度也多導出另一數學式 再仔細的推敲此一數學式 它不是別的 就是科學家一直以來用來描述電磁力的數學式 令人驚奇 --- 它就這樣一統地出現 他是如此的興奮, 就因純數學理論的推導 他狂喜地在屋內奔跳, 喊著"勝利!" 因他已找到一統作用力的理論
Now clearly, Kaluza was a man who took theory very seriously. He, in fact -- there is a story that when he wanted to learn how to swim, he read a book, a treatise on swimming -- (Laughter) -- then dove into the ocean. This is a man who would risk his life on theory. Now, but for those of us who are a little bit more practically minded, two questions immediately arise from his observation. Number one: if there are more dimensions in space, where are they? We don't seem to see them. And number two: does this theory really work in detail, when you try to apply it to the world around us? Now, the first question was answered in 1926 by a fellow named Oskar Klein. He suggested that dimensions might come in two varieties -- there might be big, easy-to-see dimensions, but there might also be tiny, curled-up dimensions, curled up so small, even though they're all around us, that we don't see them.
明顯地, Kaluza是堅信理論推導的人 事實上, 他 也有著這樣的小故事: 當他想學游泳時 他選擇讀書, 一本游泳的專著 (觀眾笑聲) -- 然後躍入海中 他是一個願意堅信理論而冒生命危險的人 但是對我們這些較有務實想法的人 兩個疑問隨即挑戰他的觀察 第一: 若有額外的空間維度, 那是在哪? 我們並沒能看到其他維度 第二: 如此的理論, 真的能仔細適用 到眾所週知的世界嗎? 第一個疑點於1926年被解釋 是由一名叫 Oskar Klein 所為 他提出空間的維度可以兩種型式存在 一種是大尺度, 能輕易用肉眼察覺的維度 但也可以存在一種微小翹起的維度 翹起的如此渺小, 即使是充滿在我們的四週 我們還是難以看見
Let me show you that one visually. So, imagine you're looking at something like a cable supporting a traffic light. It's in Manhattan. You're in Central Park -- it's kind of irrelevant -- but the cable looks one-dimensional from a distant viewpoint, but you and I all know that it does have some thickness. It's very hard to see it, though, from far away. But if we zoom in and take the perspective of, say, a little ant walking around -- little ants are so small that they can access all of the dimensions -- the long dimension, but also this clockwise, counter-clockwise direction. And I hope you appreciate this. It took so long to get these ants to do this.
讓我以影像動畫說明 想像你們看著某件事 像是拉著交通號誌的鋼索 是在曼哈頓的中央公園拍的, 但這不是相關的 這鋼索從一遠方看是一維度的 但你我都明白, 這鋼索有著些厚度 但從一遠遠的距離, 它是非常難被想像的 但當我們拉近觀察, 從不同的觀點, 舉例說 是小小螞蟻的角度看 螞蟻是如此的微小, 它們能通行所有的維度 這綿長的直線維度 以及順時逆時的旋轉維度 希望你們會讚嘆這拍攝 這需要很長的等待才拍到螞蟻如此行動
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
But this illustrates the fact that dimensions can be of two sorts: big and small. And the idea that maybe the big dimensions around us are the ones that we can easily see, but there might be additional dimensions curled up, sort of like the circular part of that cable, so small that they have so far remained invisible. Let me show you what that would look like. So, if we take a look, say, at space itself -- I can only show, of course, two dimensions on a screen. Some of you guys will fix that one day, but anything that's not flat on a screen is a new dimension, goes smaller, smaller, smaller, and way down in the microscopic depths of space itself, this is the idea, you could have additional curled up dimensions --
主要是以視覺說明維度可以有兩種 大維度與小維度, 大維度就是我們周遭 都能輕易見到的 但同時也有額外翹起的小維度 就像是鋼索的旋轉部分 是如此的小, 以致不可見 讓我以圖形幫助大家理解 當我們看著空間本身 現在只能用兩度空間的形式展現於螢幕上 或許有天你們能改善這種展示 超越螢幕的平坦想像, 就是一個新的維度 一直放大, 放大, 放大, 一直到微觀的空間本身深度 形容如下 你可以有額外翹起的維度
here is a little shape of a circle -- so small that we don't see them. But if you were a little ultra microscopic ant walking around, you could walk in the big dimensions that we all know about -- that's like the grid part -- but you could also access the tiny curled-up dimension that's so small that we can't see it with the naked eye or even with any of our most refined equipment. But deeply tucked into the fabric of space itself, the idea is there could be more dimensions, as we see there. Now that's an explanation about how the universe could have more dimensions than the ones that we see. But what about the second question that I asked: does the theory actually work when you try to apply it to the real world?
就如微小的圓圈 --- 如此的小所以不可見 但想像你是超細小的螞蟻走在維度中 你可以走在習以為常的大維度 就是格網之上 你也可以進入微小翹起的維度 那是如此的細小, 以致肉眼無法辨識 即使是我們就精密的設備, 也無法辨識 仍然隱藏在空間本身的編織中 要說明的概念就是空間能有額外的維度 這也就大致解釋了 宇宙可以有比我們所見的更多的維度 那至於我提的第二個疑點呢? 當我們將它應用到現實世界 這樣的理論真的可行嗎?
Well, it turns out that Einstein and Kaluza and many others worked on trying to refine this framework and apply it to the physics of the universe as was understood at the time, and, in detail, it didn't work. In detail, for instance, they couldn't get the mass of the electron to work out correctly in this theory. So many people worked on it, but by the '40s, certainly by the '50s, this strange but very compelling idea of how to unify the laws of physics had gone away. Until something wonderful happened in our age. In our era, a new approach to unify the laws of physics is being pursued by physicists such as myself, many others around the world, it's called superstring theory, as you were indicating. And the wonderful thing is that superstring theory has nothing to do at first sight with this idea of extra dimensions, but when we study superstring theory, we find that it resurrects the idea in a sparkling, new form.
結果是, Einstein, Kaluza與其他學者 試著微調理論架構的細項 再應用到當時所理解的宇宙物理 但實際觀察比對, 卻不能全面符合 詳細舉例來說 他們無法單由此理論的推導 正確計算出電子的質量 非常多人的努力, 直到1940年代, 甚至1950年代 這個奇異但吸引的想法 --- 一統物理的定律 --- 已經逐漸被放棄 直到我們的年代出現了奇想 一種新的一統物理定律的理論 持續由像我一樣的許多物理學家 分散各地努力提出解釋 就是你們被提示的, 叫做"超弦理論" 超弦理論奇妙的地方是 第一眼看到時, 是與額外的維度無關 但當我們深入讀其理論 就會發現該想法又復活了, 而且是以一個亮麗的新形式出現
So, let me just tell you how that goes. Superstring theory -- what is it? Well, it's a theory that tries to answer the question: what are the basic, fundamental, indivisible, uncuttable constituents making up everything in the world around us? The idea is like this. So, imagine we look at a familiar object, just a candle in a holder, and imagine that we want to figure out what it is made of. So we go on a journey deep inside the object and examine the constituents. So deep inside -- we all know, you go sufficiently far down, you have atoms. We also all know that atoms are not the end of the story. They have little electrons that swarm around a central nucleus with neutrons and protons. Even the neutrons and protons have smaller particles inside of them known as quarks. That is where conventional ideas stop.
容許我直接做個介紹 什麼是"超弦理論"? 嗯, 這裡論試著回答這個問題: 什麼是物質最基本, 不能再分裂, 與再分割的成分 在我們的周遭世界呢? 這理論大致像這樣 所以簡單舉例些我們熟悉的事物, 如燭台上的蠟燭 想像我們想要明白它的組成 我們可以展開一深入物體的旅程, 並分析其成分 深入後 -- 我們都明白可以看到原子的成分 當然也知道原子並非最終的成分 會是電子繞著原子核的組成 而原子核又是由中子與質子構成 就連中子與質子還有更小的成分, 被稱為夸克 這是過去認為的終點
Here is the new idea of string theory. Deep inside any of these particles, there is something else. This something else is this dancing filament of energy. It looks like a vibrating string -- that's where the idea, string theory comes from. And just like the vibrating strings that you just saw in a cello can vibrate in different patterns, these can also vibrate in different patterns. They don't produce different musical notes. Rather, they produce the different particles making up the world around us. So if these ideas are correct, this is what the ultra-microscopic landscape of the universe looks like. It's built up of a huge number of these little tiny filaments of vibrating energy, vibrating in different frequencies. The different frequencies produce the different particles. The different particles are responsible for all the richness in the world around us.
弦理論提出了新想法 在所有基本粒子內部, 還有其他共同成分 就是一些跳動的能量細絲 就像是震動的弦 這就是弦理論的開始 就像是大提琴上的弦 能以多種模式震盪 粒子中的弦也有多種模式的震盪 它們並不產生不同的音階 而是產生多種不同的宇宙基本粒子 如果這個想法是對的 這就是超微觀宇宙的狀況 有著龐大數量的 震盪能量細絲, 以不同的頻率震盪著 不同的頻率就對應到不同的基本粒子成分 而不同的基本粒子就負責 組成目前所見的宇宙
And there you see unification, because matter particles, electrons and quarks, radiation particles, photons, gravitons, are all built up from one entity. So matter and the forces of nature all are put together under the rubric of vibrating strings. And that's what we mean by a unified theory. Now here is the catch. When you study the mathematics of string theory, you find that it doesn't work in a universe that just has three dimensions of space. It doesn't work in a universe with four dimensions of space, nor five, nor six. Finally, you can study the equations, and show that it works only in a universe that has 10 dimensions of space and one dimension of time. It leads us right back to this idea of Kaluza and Klein -- that our world, when appropriately described, has more dimensions than the ones that we see.
而這就是一統的概念 因為粒子, 電子, 夸克 輻射粒子, 光子, 引力子, 可以都由單一的弦理論構成 換言之, 自然界的物質與作用力都由 震盪的弦依規則而組成 這就是我們認為的"一統理論" 這裡有個困擾 當研讀弦理論的數學 你會發現這是不通 當設定是 在一個3度空間的宇宙中 即使是4度, 5度, 6度的空間都不能成功 最後, 當數學式合理時, 就會發現 --- 只有在空間是10維度時 再加上1維度的時間 才行 這就帶回到當初Kaluza 與Klein 的概念: 在適當的描述我們的世界時 是需要有較所見還多的維度
Now you might think about that and say, well, OK, you know, if you have extra dimensions, and they're really tightly curled up, yeah, perhaps we won't see them, if they're small enough. But if there's a little tiny civilization of green people walking around down there, and you make them small enough, and we won't see them either. That is true. One of the other predictions of string theory -- no, that's not one of the other predictions of string theory.
就開始這麼想像 有額外的維度, 是捲曲的維度 而它們是如此的微小, 所以肉眼難辨 再想像那兒有著小綠人的文明世界 他們也是如此的小, 所以我們也就無法見到, 是真的 這小綠人是弦理論的預測 不, 開玩笑的, 這不是弦理論的預測
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
But it raises the question: are we just trying to hide away these extra dimensions, or do they tell us something about the world? In the remaining time, I'd like to tell you two features of them. First is, many of us believe that these extra dimensions hold the answer to what perhaps is the deepest question in theoretical physics, theoretical science. And that question is this: when we look around the world, as scientists have done for the last hundred years, there appear to be about 20 numbers that really describe our universe. These are numbers like the mass of the particles, like electrons and quarks, the strength of gravity, the strength of the electromagnetic force -- a list of about 20 numbers that have been measured with incredible precision, but nobody has an explanation for why the numbers have the particular values that they do.
但這樣也產生一個疑問 是我們刻意隱藏這些額外的維度嗎? 或是它們能告訴我們有關這個世界嗎? 接下來的時間, 我會告訴大家弦理論的兩大特點 第一, 許多的我們相信, 這些額外維度 能揭露出對理論物理與理論科學 最深層的解釋 而那被解釋的疑問就是: 當我們環顧這個世界的常數 這些也是幾百年來科學家的所成就的 用約20個數字就能描述我們的宇宙 例如各基本粒子的質量 像電子與夸克的, 如重力強度 如電磁力的強度 而且這些約20個的數字 早已被精確的測量過 但卻沒人解釋 為什麼它們是呈現那些數值大小?
Now, does string theory offer an answer? Not yet. But we believe the answer for why those numbers have the values they do may rely on the form of the extra dimensions. And the wonderful thing is, if those numbers had any other values than the known ones, the universe, as we know it, wouldn't exist. This is a deep question. Why are those numbers so finely tuned to allow stars to shine and planets to form, when we recognize that if you fiddle with those numbers -- if I had 20 dials up here and I let you come up and fiddle with those numbers, almost any fiddling makes the universe disappear. So can we explain those 20 numbers? And string theory suggests that those 20 numbers have to do with the extra dimensions. Let me show you how. So when we talk about the extra dimensions in string theory, it's not one extra dimension, as in the older ideas of Kaluza and Klein. This is what string theory says about the extra dimensions. They have a very rich, intertwined geometry.
那弦理論能提供個答案嗎? 還不行 但我們相信各數值的特定表現 會根據這些額外的維度模式 奇妙的事是: 如果這些數字 有其他的不同數值表現 那我們的宇宙便不會存在 這便有著深層的疑問 為何這些數字是如此的被決定 使得星星發光與行星成型 我們也明瞭當操弄這些數值時 --- 就像是有20個的強弱旋扭 你可以隨意調動這些數值 幾乎是任何的變動都會使宇宙不存在 那我們能解釋這些20個常數嗎? 弦理論建議這20個數字 與額外的維度有關 容我向你說明 在弦理論中引用這些額外的空間維度時 並不是如Kaluza與Klein 所形容的維度想法 弦理論稱這些額外維度 是有著錯綜複雜的幾何
This is an example of something known as a Calabi-Yau shape -- name isn't all that important. But, as you can see, the extra dimensions fold in on themselves and intertwine in a very interesting shape, interesting structure. And the idea is that if this is what the extra dimensions look like, then the microscopic landscape of our universe all around us would look like this on the tiniest of scales. When you swing your hand, you'd be moving around these extra dimensions over and over again, but they're so small that we wouldn't know it. So what is the physical implication, though, relevant to those 20 numbers?
這就是Calabi-Yau 形狀的舉例 名字並非那麼重要 但可看到的是 這額外的維度會於它們維度之中摺疊 糾纏成有趣的形狀與有趣的結構 關於額外維度的這樣概念是 告訴我們這個宇宙 在微小的尺度下, 會是如此呈現 當你揮動手時 就是重複地於這些額外的維度運動 但它們是如此的小, 以致於我們不會察覺 那到底是什麼物理的意涵相關於這些20個數字呢?
Consider this. If you look at the instrument, a French horn, notice that the vibrations of the airstreams are affected by the shape of the instrument. Now in string theory, all the numbers are reflections of the way strings can vibrate. So just as those airstreams are affected by the twists and turns in the instrument, strings themselves will be affected by the vibrational patterns in the geometry within which they are moving. So let me bring some strings into the story. And if you watch these little fellows vibrating around -- they'll be there in a second -- right there, notice that they way they vibrate is affected by the geometry of the extra dimensions.
想像你看著一個樂器, 法國號為例 會注意到氣流的震動 是被樂器的形狀所影響 在弦理論中 所有的數字呈現的狀態就是弦所能震動的不同模式 就像是樂器中的氣流 隨著樂器的轉折扭曲的表現 弦會於幾何行進間 受自身震動模式的影響 讓我將弦引導入這說明中 當你看到它們這些小傢伙震動著 --- 它們馬上會出現在畫面中 --- 那裡! 注意到它們的震動模式會受 幾何上額外的維度所影響
So, if we knew exactly what the extra dimensions look like -- we don't yet, but if we did -- we should be able to calculate the allowed notes, the allowed vibrational patterns. And if we could calculate the allowed vibrational patterns, we should be able to calculate those 20 numbers. And if the answer that we get from our calculations agrees with the values of those numbers that have been determined through detailed and precise experimentation, this in many ways would be the first fundamental explanation for why the structure of the universe is the way it is. Now, the second issue that I want to finish up with is: how might we test for these extra dimensions more directly? Is this just an interesting mathematical structure that might be able to explain some previously unexplained features of the world, or can we actually test for these extra dimensions? And we think -- and this is, I think, very exciting -- that in the next five years or so we may be able to test for the existence of these extra dimensions.
所以如果我們知道額外空間的確實長相 目前尚未明瞭, 但如果我們知道了 我們便能計算出這些允許的音節 也就是允許的震動模式 如果我們能計算出這些允許的震動模式 我們也就能計算出這些20個數值 而這些計算結果 又能與早先數據 相吻合的話 這些數據都是由實驗精準測量的 那麼這些理論計算就是第一次能解釋 為何宇宙是如此的架構與目前的狀態 現在, 第二個我想帶出的議題是: 要如何能直接驗證這些額外的維度呢? 還是它們只是存在有趣的數學理論架構中 --- 來解釋 過去世上並未能被解釋的問題嗎? 或是我們真的能設法測試這些額外的維度嗎? 我們認為或是我認為 這將是非常令人興奮的 約在五年後, 我們便能測試 這些額外維度的存在與否
Here's how it goes. In CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, a machine is being built called the Large Hadron Collider. It's a machine that will send particles around a tunnel, opposite directions, near the speed of light. Every so often those particles will be aimed at each other, so there's a head-on collision. The hope is that if the collision has enough energy, it may eject some of the debris from the collision from our dimensions, forcing it to enter into the other dimensions. How would we know it? Well, we'll measure the amount of energy after the collision, compare it to the amount of energy before, and if there's less energy after the collision than before, this will be evidence that the energy has drifted away. And if it drifts away in the right pattern that we can calculate, this will be evidence that the extra dimensions are there.
這是這樣的, 在瑞士 日內瓦的CERN實驗室 一個名叫"大型重子對撞機"正被建造中 是個於真空管道中 傳送兩束相反方向 以近光速運行的粒子束 某些時候 兩束粒子能被聚焦在同一點上 也就能發生正面對撞 希望會發生的是: 當對撞有足夠的高能量 就可能由對撞中彈射出一些殘屑 會從我們所處的維度 強迫它進入其他的維度 我們又是如何知道這件事? 因為我們會測量對撞後的總能量 與對撞前之總能量相比較 如果對撞後的總能量小於對撞前 那這就是能量已飄移的證據 如果這飄移剛好是我們能計算的模式 這也就是額外維度存在的證據
Let me show you that idea visually. So, imagine we have a certain kind of particle called a graviton -- that's the kind of debris we expect to be ejected out, if the extra dimensions are real. But here's how the experiment will go. You take these particles. You slam them together. You slam them together, and if we are right, some of the energy of that collision will go into debris that flies off into these extra dimensions. So this is the kind of experiment that we'll be looking at in the next five, seven to 10 years or so. And if this experiment bears fruit, if we see that kind of particle ejected by noticing that there's less energy in our dimensions than when we began, this will show that the extra dimensions are real.
再讓我以視覺呈現的方式說明 所以假設我們有一種基本粒子叫"引力子" 這粒子也是我們希望當額外的維度是真的 那從對撞實驗能發現噴射出的新物質 整個實驗就是這麼進行 用粒子束對撞 再對撞, 如果我們是對的 那碰撞後的部分高能量 會產生新基本粒子, 而飛入額外的維度中 所以這樣的實驗 會是我們未來5, 7, 到10年的努力重點 若實驗有了結果 我們能見到那種粒子被噴射出 也注意在我們的維度中總能量 有比對撞之前短少 這就能證明額外維度是存在的
And to me this is a really remarkable story, and a remarkable opportunity. Going back to Newton with absolute space -- didn't provide anything but an arena, a stage in which the events of the universe take place. Einstein comes along and says, well, space and time can warp and curve -- that's what gravity is. And now string theory comes along and says, yes, gravity, quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, all together in one package, but only if the universe has more dimensions than the ones that we see. And this is an experiment that may test for them in our lifetime. Amazing possibility. Thank you very much.
對我而言, 這將會是非常了不起的故事 將會是非常了不起的機會. 回到Newton理論的絕對空間 只是提供一個場地與舞台 容許宇宙的所有事件就發生其上 Einstein出現並提出 空間與時間是參與改變的, 被重力所翹曲與捲曲 現在弦理論更進一步提出 重力, 量子力學, 電磁學 --- 都能被一套理論所解釋 但條件是這個宇宙需要有比目前所見更多的維度 將有個能於此生完成的對撞實驗來驗證它們 充滿了驚嘆的可能性 非常謝謝大家
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