Welcome one and all! It’s time to grab your seat for the biggest battle in the soon-to-be-formed universe. That’s right— the Big Bang is about to go down! In one corner is the force that brings all matter together. It acts on any particle with mass, and its range is infinite— give it up for gravity! In the other corner, our contender can push matter away with spectacular strength. When the going gets tough, this fighter just gets tougher. That’s right, it’s pressure!
歡迎大家! 各位來賓請就座,一同迎接 即將形成的宇宙中最重大的戰役— 沒錯,宇宙大爆炸即將發生! 第一位選手是將所有物質 聚集在一起的力量。 它對任何有質量的粒子都會產生 作用,且它的範圍無窮盡—— 大家給「引力」掌聲鼓勵鼓勵! 接下來這位是我們的挑戰者, 能夠用超凡的力量將物質推開。 這位鬥士是越挫越勇的型。 沒錯,它就是「壓力」!
Over the next several hundred thousand years, these two contenders will be wrestling for the fate of the universe. That’s right folks, the ripple effects of this historic match will shape the structure of the universe as we know it today. But what are these powers fighting over? We’ll find out when the Big Bang hits right... now!
在接下來的數十萬年, 這兩位參賽者將要為宇宙的命運搏鬥。 你沒有聽錯,這場歷史性對決所產生的餘波 將形塑出我們現今所知的宇宙結構。 這兩股力量要爭的是什麼? 大爆炸發生時就知道了,就是…… 現~~在~~!
Let’s zoom in for the play-by-play.
咱們來近看每個細節吧。
This epic event has brought three components into our infant universe. Dark matter, which only interacts with gravity. Baryonic matter, which makes up all matter you’ve ever seen, is affected by both gravity and pressure. And radiation composed of innumerable particles of light, also known as photons.
這重量級事件把三種物質 引進嬰兒期的宇宙。 暗物質:它只會和引力互相作用。 重子物質:它組成你所見的所有物質, 它受引力及壓力影響。 還有輻射:由無數個光粒子組成, 光粒子就是光子。
In the moments just after the Big Bang, all three components are in equilibrium, meaning no one location is denser than another. But as the universe starts expanding, differences in density start to emerge. Gravity immediately gets to work pulling matter together. Dark matter begins to collect at the center of these increasingly dense regions, forming the foundations of future galaxies.
在大爆炸剛發生後, 這三種物質的分佈都在均衡狀態, 意即,沒有某處的密度 比另一處更高。 但隨著宇宙開始擴張, 密度逐漸不均。 引力立刻上工,把物質聚集起來。 暗物質開始聚集在密度 逐漸升高的區域, 形成未來銀河的基石。
Meanwhile, pressure begins gathering its strength. In this hot, high-energy environment, protons and electrons can’t come together to form atoms, so these loose particles zip around, freely interacting with ambient photons. The result is almost a fluid of baryonic matter and radiation. But the closer these baryonic particles get, the hotter the fluid becomes, pushing photons to ping around with incredible force. This is the power of pressure, specifically radiation pressure, battling to push things apart.
同時,壓力開始匯集它的力量, 在高溫高能量的環境中, 光子和電子無法結合形成原子, 所以這些不受牽制的粒子到處亂竄, 和周圍的光子自由地交互作用, 產出接近液狀的重子物質和輻射。 但重子粒子越靠近,液體就變得越熱, 以驚人的力量推動光子四處彈射。 這就是壓力的力量, 明確來說是輻射壓, 拼命地推,將東西拆散。
With each of gravity’s vicious tugs squeezing photons and matter together, pressure exerts a forceful shove back. And as the two giants struggle, they heave this fluid back and forth— creating massive waves called baryonic acoustic oscillations. Moving at almost two thirds the speed of light these BAOs ripple across space, impacting the universe on the biggest scale imaginable. These rolling waves determine the distribution of matter throughout space, meaning that today— almost 14 billion years after this fight began— we're more likely to find galaxies at their peaks and empty space in their troughs. And that’s not all. We can still see these ripples in the background radiation of the universe, a permanent reminder of this epic brawl.
引力每每惡意拉扯, 將光子和物質擠在一起, 壓力都不厭其煩地使力推回去。 兩個巨人鬥爭的動作讓液體來回搖動, 造出巨大的波浪:重子聲學振盪, 它以近光速三分之二的速度移動, 傳遍整個太空, 以能想像出的最大規模衝擊宇宙。 這些滾滾大波決定物質在宇宙各處的分佈, 也就是說現在, 大戰開打後約 140 億年, 在波峰處較可能找到銀河, 波谷則比較可能空無一物。 還不只這些。 我們還能在宇宙的背景輻射中看到這些漣漪, 提醒我們這場重磅級的鬥爭曾經存在。
But after being locked in a stalemate for roughly 370,000 years, the tide of our battle finally begins to turn. After all this time, the heat from the Big Bang has dissipated significantly, cooling the universe down to a temperature at which loose electrons start to pair up with protons. Known as the “era of recombination,” this stops electrons from recklessly pinging around. This allows light to stream freely for the first time, illuminating the universe. These photons now only exert a tiny force on the neutral atoms they interact with, gradually reducing the power of pressure.
但,經過約 37 萬年的僵持, 這場大戰的局勢終於要開始翻轉了。 經過這麼久,大爆炸的高溫 已經消散一大半, 宇宙逐漸冷卻,溫度下降到 不受束縛的電子開始跟光子結合。 這個時代稱為「復合時代」, 此時電子不再魯莽地四處亂跑。 讓光頭一次能自由地流動, 照亮宇宙。 這些光子現在只對 和它們交互作用的中性原子 產生微小的力量, 漸漸減少壓力。
And with that, it’s time to crown our champion! The undefeated force, the most pervasive power in the universe: it’s gravity! And yet, this rivalry isn’t over. A similar battle continues between these two sworn enemies today, within every single star. As gravity pulls a star’s gas inward, pressure increases and pushes the matter back outward. This push and pull keeps the Sun, and all other stars, stable for billions of years. In fact, this clash of the titans is the same reason Earth’s atmosphere doesn’t collapse to the ground. So while their greatest fight might have ended, these two warriors are still to be locked in combat— even as a new challenger approaches.
根據這些解說,是時候加冕冠軍了。 戰無不克之力,無處不在之力: 是~~引力! 但是競爭尚未結束。 現今,這兩位宿敵仍 重複著和以前一樣的對戰, 在每一個恆星裡。 當引力將恆星的氣體向內拉時, 壓力會增加,將物質向外推回去。 這股推拉力讓太陽及所有恆星 保持長達數十億年的穩定。 其實,這幾位巨人的衝突 正是地球的大氣 沒有垮向地面的理由。 所以,雖然它們最大的 一仗可能已經結束了, 這兩位戰士還是只能繼續交戰, 即使有新的挑戰者前來。