Once there was a star. Like everything else, she was born; grew to be around 30 times the mass of our sun and lived for a very long time. Exactly how long, people cannot really tell. Just like everything in life, she reached the end of her regular star days when her heart, the core of her life, exhausted its fuel. But that was no end.
從前,有顆星星。 和其他的事物一樣,她誕生了; 長到體積約為太陽的三十倍, 並且存活了很長一段時間。 究竟有多長, 沒有人能確切地講。 就像生活中的每一樣東西, 她走到了生命的盡頭, 她的心臟,生命的核心, 耗盡了燃料。 但,這不是終點。
She transformed into a supernova, and in the process releasing a tremendous amount of energy, outshining the rest of the galaxy and emitting, in one second, the same amount of energy our sun will release in 10 days. And she evolved into another role in our galaxy.
她變成了「超新星」,並在此過程中, 釋放出巨大的能量, 她的光芒掩蓋了銀河其他的一切, 她在一秒鐘內所射出的能量, 相當於我們的太陽在十天內釋放的能量。 她進化為銀河系的另一角色。
Supernova explosions are very extreme. But the ones that emit gamma rays are even more extreme. In the process of becoming a supernova, the interior of the star collapses under its own weight and it starts rotating ever faster, like an ice skater when pulling their arms in close to their body. In that way, it starts rotating very fast and it increases, powerfully, its magnetic field. The matter around the star is dragged around, and some energy from that rotation is transferred to that matter and the magnetic field is increased even further. In that way, our star had extra energy to outshine the rest of the galaxy in brightness and gamma ray emission.
超新星的爆炸非常的激烈極端 那些射出伽瑪射線更是極端。 在成為超新星的過程中, 恆星的內部因自身的重量而坍塌, 並且越轉越快, 就像溜冰者把手臂拉近身體那樣。 這樣,飛快的轉速有力的增加了 磁場的力道。 這顆星牽引著圍繞著她的物質, 把一些旋轉動能轉移至該物質, 更進一步擴大了磁場。 如此一來,這顆星有了額外的能量, 使她比銀河的其他星星 更亮並射出更多的伽瑪射線。
My star, the one in my story, became what is known as a magnetar. And just for your information, the magnetic field of a magnetar is 1,000 trillion times the magnetic field of Earth. The most energetic events ever measured by astronomers carry the name gamma-ray bursts because we observe them as bursts most or explosions, most strongly measured as gamma-ray light. Our star, like the one in our story that became a magnetar, is detected as a gamma-ray burst during the most energetic portion of the explosion. Yet, even though gamma-ray bursts are the strongest events ever measured by astronomers, we cannot see them with our naked eye. We depend, we rely on other methods in order to study this gamma-ray light. We cannot see them with our naked eye. We can only see an itty bitty, tiny portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that we call visible light. And beyond that, we rely on other methods.
我故事裡的這顆星 成為所謂的「磁星」。 提供資料讓你參考, 磁星的磁場是地球磁場的一千兆倍。 天文學家測量到最具有活力的事件 被稱為「伽馬射線暴」, 因我們觀察到它們的迸裂或爆炸時 被測量到的伽瑪射線最強。 我們故事中成為磁星的那顆星, 被偵測到猛力爆炸時的伽瑪射線暴。 然而,即使天文學家偵測到 最強力道的伽馬射線暴 我們卻無法用肉眼看得見。 我們倚賴其他的方法 來研究伽瑪射線。 我們無法以肉眼看見伽瑪射線。 人眼只能看到小片斷 些微的電磁波譜,稱為「可見光」。 得依靠其他的方法 來觀察可見光以外的光。
Yet as astronomers, we study a wider range of light and we depend on other methods to do that. On the screen, it may look like this. You're seeing a plot. That is a light curve. It's a plot of intensity of light over time. It is a gamma-ray light curve. Sighted astronomers depend on this kind of plot in order to interpret how this light intensity changes over time. On the left, you will be seeing the light intensity without a burst, and on the right, you will be seeing the light intensity with the burst.
身為天文學家,我們研究 比可見光範圍更廣的光, 我們倚賴其他的方法才辦得到。 在螢幕上,看起來像這樣。 你看到的圖 是個光的曲線圖, 光隨著時間推移所對應的強度圖, 伽瑪射線的曲線圖。 明眼的天文學家倚賴這類的圖 來判讀隨時間變化的光強度。 在左邊,你看到是未迸裂的光強度, 在右邊,你看到是迸裂的光強度。
Early during my career, I could also see this kind of plot. But then, I lost my sight. I completely lost my sight because of extended illness, and with it, I lost the opportunity to see this plot and the opportunity to do my physics. It was a very strong transition for me in many ways. And professionally, it left me without a way to do my science. I longed to access and scrutinize this energetic light and figure out the astrophysical cause. I wanted to experience the spacious wonder, the excitement, the joy produced by the detection of such a titanic celestial event.
在早期的職業生涯中,我也可以目視這樣的圖。 但後來,我失去了視力。 由於長期的疾病,我完全失明, 自此,無法再看這樣的圖, 也無法再研究物理學。 對我而言,許多方面是個巨變。 專業上,我無法再從事科學研究。 我渴望靠近、檢視這能量的光, 並弄清楚其背後天體物理學的原因。 我想體驗太空的奇蹟、激動, 以及因偵測到超大天體事件 而產生的喜悅。
I thought long and hard about it, when I suddenly realized that all a light curve is, is a table of numbers converted into a visual plot. So along with my collaborators, we worked really hard and we translated the numbers into sound. I achieved access to the data, and today I'm able to do physics at the level of the best astronomer, using sound. And what people have been able to do, mainly visually, for hundreds of years, now I do it using sound.
我深思、長考, 突然意識到所有的光曲線 都是由表列的數字轉換成可視的圖形。 所以,我與合作的夥伴 一同努力把數字轉換成聲音。 我再度能接觸到數據, 如今能達到最佳天文學家的物理水平, 憑藉的是聲音。 幾百年來,人們主要靠視覺做的事, 現在我用聲音也做得到。
(Applause) Listening to this gamma-ray burst that you're seeing on the -- (Applause continues)
聽到你們用眼睛看的伽瑪射線暴 - (掌聲)
Thank you.
謝謝。
Listening to this burst that you're seeing on the screen brought something to the ear beyond the obvious burst. Now I'm going to play the burst for you. It's not music, it's sound.
我聽著你們在螢幕上看的射線暴, 帶給我耳朵,遠超出明顯的射線暴。 現在我播放射線暴給你們聽。 不是音樂,是聲音。
(Digital beeping sounds)
(數位叮咚聲)
This is scientific data converted into sound, and it's mapped in pitch. The process is called sonification.
是把科學數據轉換聲音, 投射為音調。 這個過程被稱為「音波處理」。 (數位叮咚聲)
So listening to this brought something to the ear besides the obvious burst. When I examine the very strong low-frequency regions, or bass line -- I'm zooming into the bass line now. We noted resonances characteristic of electrically charged gasses like the solar wind. And I want you to hear what I heard. You will hear it as a very fast decrease in volume. And because you're sighted, I'm giving you a red line indicating what intensity of light is being converted into sound.
聽這聲音,帶給耳朵的,超出明顯的射線暴。 當我細察有強烈訊號的低頻區, 或低音區, 我正聚焦於低音區, 我們注意到帶電氣體的共振特徵 像是太陽風。 我要你們聽我所聽到的。 你們會聽到音量快速的降低。 因為你們明眼人不習慣,我在這畫了條紅線 指示何種光的亮度被轉換成聲音。
(Digital hum and whistling sound)
(數位嗡嗡聲和呼嘯聲)
The (Whistles) is frogs at home, don't pay attention to that.
哨聲是青蛙聲,別管它。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
(Digital hum and whistling sound)
(數位嗡嗡聲和呼嘯聲)
I think you heard it, right?
你們聽到了,對吧?
So what we found is that the bursts last long enough in order to support wave resonances, which are things caused by exchanges of energy between particles that may have been excited, that depend on the volume. You may remember that I said that the matter around the star is dragged around? It transmits power with frequency and field distribution determined by the dimensions. You may remember that we were talking about a super-massive star that became a very strong magnetic field magnetar. If this is the case, then outflows from the exploding star may be associated with this gamma-ray burst.
我們發現的是 一長串足以支撐共振波的脈衝, 由粒子間交換能量所產生, 依體積大小所激發的。 還記得我先前所說的,恆星牽引著圍繞的物質? 它以由維數決定的音頻和音域來傳輸能量。 你們可能還記得,我們剛剛談論的超質量恆星, 成為磁場非常強大的磁星。 倘若是這種情況, 恆星爆炸可能與向外射出的伽瑪射線暴相關。
What does that mean? That star formation may be a very important part of these supernova explosions. Listening to this very gamma-ray burst brought us to the notion that the use of sound as an adjunctive visual display may also support sighted astronomers in the search for more information in the data. Simultaneously, I worked on analyzing measurements from other telescopes, and my experiments demonstrated that when you use sound as an adjunctive visual display, astronomers can find more information in this now more accessible data set. This ability to transform data into sound gives astronomy a tremendous power of transformation. And the fact that a field that is so visual may be improved in order to include anyone with interest in understanding what lies in the heavens is a spirit-lifter.
這意味著什麼? 恆星的形成可能是超新星爆炸重要的一部分。 聆聽伽瑪射線暴帶給我們這觀念: 用聲音輔助視覺 也可以幫助明眼的天文學家 從數據中找出更多的資訊。 同時,我分析其他望遠鏡的量測數據, 證明了 用聲音輔助視覺, 可讓天文學家更容易取得數據、找到更多的資訊。 使用轉換數據為聲音的方法, 提供天文學巨大的轉型動力。 事實上,改善這個顯而易見的領域 可振奮任何有興趣探索、瞭解太空的人。
When I lost my sight, I noticed that I didn't have access to the same amount and quality of information a sighted astronomer had. It was not until we innovated with the sonification process that I regained the hope to be a productive member of the field that I had worked so hard to be part of.
失明之後,我意會到無法獲得 與明眼的天文學家同樣多質量的資訊。 直到我們創新使用音波處理, 我恢復再度貢獻於此領域的希望, 我曾是其中辛苦耕耘的一份子。
Yet, information access is not the only area in astronomy where this is important. The situation is systemic and scientific fields are not keeping up. The body is something changeable -- anyone may develop a disability at any point. Let's think about, for example, scientists that are already at the top of their careers. What happens to them if they develop a disability? Will they feel excommunicated as I did? Information access empowers us to flourish. It gives us equal opportunities to display our talents and choose what we want to do with our lives, based on interest and not based on potential barriers. When we give people the opportunity to succeed without limits, that will lead to personal fulfillment and prospering life. And I think that the use of sound in astronomy is helping us to achieve that and to contribute to science.
然而,天文學並非資訊取得 至關重要的唯一領域。 這種情況是系統性的, 科學領域尚未跟上。 人的身體多變, 任何人都可能於某個時間、於某方面殘疾。 例如,想想看, 在職業生涯最高點的科學家 倘若發生了殘疾會怎樣? 他們會和我一樣覺得被排除在外嗎? 得以接觸資訊使我們能蓬勃發展, 給我們一展長才的均等機會, 讓我們得以選擇想要的生活, 依循興趣,而不受限於潛在的障礙。 當人們被賦予不受限制的成功機會, 將使個人實現價值,繁榮地生活。 我認為在天文學領域使用聲音 正在幫助我們實現這一目標並促進科學。
While other countries told me that the study of perception techniques in order to study astronomy data is not relevant to astronomy because there are no blind astronomers in the field, South Africa said, "We want people with disabilities to contribute to the field." Right now, I'm working at the South African Astronomical Observatory, at the Office of Astronomy for Development. There, we are working on sonification techniques and analysis methods to impact the students of the Athlone School for the Blind. These students will be learning radio astronomy, and they will be learning the sonification methods in order to study astronomical events like huge ejections of energy from the sun, known as coronal mass ejections. What we learn with these students -- these students have multiple disabilities and coping strategies that will be accommodated -- what we learn with these students will directly impact the way things are being done at the professional level. I humbly call this development. And this is happening right now.
其他國家告訴我, 感知技術的研究已被用在非天文學的領域中, 因他們沒有眼盲的天文學家。 南非表示,「我們希望殘疾人貢獻於天文學領域。」 現在,我在南非天文台的天文學促進發展辦公室工作。 在那裡,我們正研究以音波處理技術和分析方法 來影響阿斯隆盲人學校的學生。 這些學生將學習無線電天文學和音波處理法, 以研究噴出巨大能量的天文事件, 像是太陽的「日冕質量拋射」。 我們與這些學生一起學習, 這些有多重殘疾的學生,學習應對策略和適應。 我們與這些學生一起 將會直接影響做事的專業水平。 我謙恭地把這稱為進展, 而這進展此刻正在進行中。
I think that science is for everyone. It belongs to the people, and it has to be available to everyone, because we are all natural explorers. I think that if we limit people with disabilities from participating in science, we'll sever our links with history and with society. I dream of a level scientific playing field, where people encourage respect and respect each other, where people exchange strategies and discover together. If people with disabilities are allowed into the scientific field, an explosion, a huge titanic burst of knowledge will take place, I am sure.
我認為,科學屬於每個人。 它屬於人們, 必須是人人可及, 因為我們每個人天生都是探險家。 我認為 如果我們限制殘疾人參與科學, 將會斷絕歷史與社會的鏈接。 我夢想一個公平的科學競爭環境, 那裡的人們互相鼓勵,互相尊重, 交流策略,共同探索。 如果殘疾人能被允許進入科學領域, 一個巨大無比的知識爆炸將會發生, 我確定。
(Digital beeping sounds)
(數位叮咚聲)
That is the titanic burst.
這是巨大無比的爆炸。
Thank you.
謝謝。
Thank you.
謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)