演讲MP3+双语文稿:恒星的壮丽死亡如何锻造我们的身体
听力课堂TED音频栏目主要包括TED演讲的音频MP3及中英双语文稿，供各位英语爱好者学习使用。本文主要内容为演讲MP3+双语文稿:恒星的壮丽死亡如何锻造我们的身体，希望你会喜欢！
【演讲人及介绍】Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz
天体物理学家恩里科·拉米雷斯·鲁伊斯（Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz）着眼于天空，而不是看着计算机模型，研究了自宇宙诞生以来最强大的爆炸。
【演讲主题】我们的身体是在恒星的壮丽死亡中锻造出来的
【演讲文稿-中英文】
翻译者 Wanting Zhong 校对 Jingdan Niu
00:01
We are all atomically connected.Fundamentally, universally. But what does that mean?
我们全都由原子连接在一起。这是放之四海皆准的基本规律。但这是什么意思呢？
00:10
I'm an astrophysicist, and as such, it ismy responsibility to trace the cosmic history of every single one of youratoms. In fact, I would say that one of the greatest achievements of modernastronomy is the understanding of how our atoms were actually put together.While hydrogen and helium were made during the first two minutes of the bigbang, the origin of heavy elements, such as the iron in your blood, the oxygenwe're breathing, the silicone in your computers, lies in the life cycle ofstars.
作为一个天体物理学家，我的职责是，追溯构成你的每一个原子的宇宙历史。事实上，我应该这么说：现代天文学最伟大的成就之一是理解我们的原子是怎样组装的。虽说氢和氦是在大爆炸的最初两分钟诞生的，重元素的起源，比如说血液中的铁，呼吸出的氧，电脑里的硅，都栖身于恒星的整个生命周期之中。
00:53
Nuclear reactions take lighter elements andtransform them into heavier ones, and that causes stars to shine and ultimatelyexplode, therefore enriching the universe with these heavy elements. So withoutstellar death there would be no oxygen or other elements heavier than hydrogenand helium, and therefore, there would be no life. There are more atoms in ourbodies than stars in the universe. And these atoms are extremely durable. Theorigins of our atoms can be traceable to stars that manufactured them in theirinteriors and exploded them all across the Milky Way, billions of years ago.And I should know this, because I am indeed a certified stellar mortician.
核反应将较轻的元素转换成更重的元素，这使得星辰闪耀，最终爆发，从而让宇宙充满了重元素。如果没有恒星的死亡，也就不会有氧，或者其他比氢和氦更重的元素，生命也就无从诞生。我们身体中原子的数量比宇宙中星星的数量还多。而这些原子极其耐久。我们的原子的起源可以追溯到数十亿年前，它们在恒星的内部被制造出来，随后在爆炸中喷射到银河的各个角落。而我理应对此了如指掌，因为我是名副其实受认证的星星葬仪师。
01:52
(Laughter)
（笑声）
01:54
And today, I want to take you on a journeythat starts in a supernova explosion and ends with the air that we're breathingright now. So what is our body made of? Ninety-six percent consists of onlyfour elements: hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. Now the main character ofthis cosmic tale is oxygen. Not only is the vast majority of our bodies made ofoxygen, but oxygen is the one element fighting to protect life on earth. Thevast majority of oxygen in the universe was indeed produced over the entire historyof the universe in these supernova explosions. These supernova explosionssignal the demise of very massive stars. And for a brilliant month, onesupernova explosion can be brighter than an entire galaxy containing billionsof stars. That is truly remarkable.
今天，我想带领大家踏上一段旅程，由超新星爆炸开始，在我们此刻呼吸的空气中结束。我们的身体是由什么构成的？其中 96% 的组织仅由四种元素构成：氢、碳、氧、氮。这个宇宙故事的主角是氧。氧不仅是我们身体的主要成分，也是在地球上努力保护生命的那个元素。宇宙中绝大部分的氧确实是在整个宇宙的历史中，在这些超新星爆炸时制造出来的。这些超新星爆炸宣告着非常巨大的恒星的逝去。在这光辉炫目的一整个月中，一次超新星爆炸可能比包含了数十亿星星的整个星系还要明亮。这真的令人叹为观止。
03:05
That is because massive stars burn brighterand have a spectacular death, compared to other stars. Nuclear fusion is reallythe lifeblood of all stars, including the sun, and as a result is the rootsource of all the energy on earth. You can think of stars as these fusionfactories which are powered by smashing atoms together in their hot and denseinteriors. Now, stars like our sun, which are relatively small, burn hydrogeninto helium, but heavier stars of about eight times the mass of the suncontinue this burning cycle even after they exhausted their helium in theircores.
那是因为比起其他星星，巨大的恒星燃烧得更加耀眼，死亡得也更加辉煌。核聚变可以说是所有恒星的命脉，包括太阳，因此也是地球上所有能源的根源。你可以把恒星想象成核聚变工厂，在它们灼热而致密的内部，互相冲撞的原子为工厂提供着动力。比较小的恒星，比如我们的太阳，燃烧氢形成氦，但质量是太阳大约八倍的更重的恒星 即使在耗尽了内核的氦之后，依然继续这个燃烧的循环。
03:53
So at this point, the massive star is leftwith a carbon core, which, as you know, is the building block of life. Thiscarbon core continues to collapse and as a result, the temperature increases,which allows further nuclear reactions to take place, and carbon then burnsinto oxygen, into neon, silicon, sulphur and ultimately iron. And iron is theend. Why? Because iron is the most bound nuclei in the universe, which meansthat we cannot extract energy by burning iron. So when the entire core of themassive star is made of iron, it's run out of fuel. And that's an incrediblybad day for a star.
那么这时，巨大的恒星只剩下一个碳核心，我们都知道，碳也是生命的基石。这个碳核心继续坍缩，造成温度升高，进而导致更多核反应发生，碳进一步燃烧成为氧，成为氖、硅、硫，最终形成铁。铁是整个过程的终点。为什么？因为铁是宇宙中 结合得最稳定的原子核，也就是说我们无法 通过燃烧铁获取能量。当大恒星的整个内核充满了铁，它就耗尽了燃料。对于一颗恒星来说，那可是相当糟糕的一天。
04:44
(Laughter)
（笑声）
04:48
Without fuel, it cannot generate heat, andtherefore gravity has won the battle. The iron core has no other choice but tocollapse, reaching incredibly high densities. Think of 300 million tons reducedto a space the size of a sugar cube. At these extreme high densities, the coreactually resists collapse, and as a result, all of this infalling materialbounces off the core. And this dramatic bounce, which happens in a fraction ofa second or so, is responsible for ejecting the rest of the star in alldirections, ultimately forming a supernova explosion. So, sadly, from theperspective of an astrophysicist, the conditions in the centers of theseexploding stars cannot be recreated in a laboratory.
没有燃料，它就无法产生热量，因此引力便在这场战斗中胜出。铁核心除了坍缩，达到异常高的密度之外别无选择。想象一下三亿吨的质量压缩成一块方糖的大小。在这极高的密度下，核心其实会反抗坍缩，结果就是，所有这些坠落的物质会从核心反弹。而这戏剧性的反弹，发生在不到一秒的弹指间，它导致恒星的其余部分朝所有方向喷射出去，最终形成了超新星爆炸。从一个天体物理学家的角度来说，遗憾的是，这些爆炸的星星的内部条件无法在实验室内重现出来。
05:49
(Laughter)
（笑声）
05:50
Now, thankfully for humanity, we're notable to do that.
不过对于人类来说，这是值得庆幸的事。
05:54
(Laughter)
（笑声）
05:55
But what does that mean? That means that asastrophysicists, we have to rely on sophisticated computer simulations in orderto understand these complex phenomena. These simulations can be used to reallyunderstand how gas behaves under such extreme conditions. And can be used toanswer fundamental questions like, "What ultimately disrupted the massivestar?" "How is it that this implosion can be reversed into anexplosion?" There's a huge amount of debate in the field, but we all agreethat neutrinos, which are these elusive elementary particles, play a crucialrole.
但这意味着什么？这意味着作为天体物理学家，我们不得不依赖复杂的计算机模拟，以理解这些复杂的现象。我们可以通过这些模拟理解在这种极端条件下气体的表现如何。我们也可以通过模拟，回答一些基本的问题，比如说，“归根结底，大恒星是怎么被瓦解的？”“这样的向心爆炸是怎样被逆转变成向外爆炸的？”这个领域中有大量争论，但我们达成的共识是，中微子，也就是某种难以捉摸的基本粒子，在其中扮演了至关重要的角色。
06:46
So neutrinos are produced in huge numbersonce the core collapses. And in fact, they are responsible for transferring theenergy in this core. Like thermal radiation in a heater, neutrinos pump energyinto the core, increasing the possibility of disrupting the star. In fact, forabout a fraction of a second, neutrinos pump so much energy that the pressureincreases high enough that a shock wave is produced and the shock wave goes anddisrupts the entire star. And it is in that shock wave where elements are produced.So thank you, neutrinos.
中微子是在恒星内核坍缩时大量产生的。事实上，它们担负着在内核中传递能量的职责。就像暖气机中的热辐射一样，中微子将能量朝内核中泵送，增加了恒星被破坏的可能。事实上，在几分之一秒的时间内，中微子输送的能量如此庞大，使得压力升高到足以产生冲击波，而冲击波进一步将整颗恒星破坏。正是在这个冲击波之中，各种元素诞生了。中微子，谢谢你们。
07:29
(Laughter)
（笑声）
07:33
Supernovas shine bright, and for a briefperiod of time, they radiate more energy than the sun will in its entirelifetime. In a galaxy like our own MilkyWay, we estimate that about once every 50 years, a massive star dies. Thisimplies that somewhere in the universe, there's a supernova explosion everysecond or so. And thankfully for astronomers, some of them are actually foundrelatively close to earth.
超新星非常耀眼，在一段短暂的时间里，它们辐射出的能量比太阳在生命周期内释放的还多。在一个像我们的银河系一样的星系里，我们估计大约每 50 年就有一颗大恒星死亡。这意味着大约每一秒钟，宇宙中的某处就有一次超新星爆发。对于天文学家来说，谢天谢地的是，其中一些的发生位置离地球相对比较近。
08:24
Various civilizations recorded thesesupernova explosions long before the telescope was invented. The most famous ofall of them is probably the supernova explosion that gave rise to the CrabNebula. Yeah? Korean and Chinese astronomers recorded this supernova in 1054,as did, almost certainly, Native Americans. This supernova happened about 5,600light-years away from earth. And it was so incredibly bright that astronomerscould see it during the day. And it was visible to the naked eye for about twoyears in the night sky.
早在天文望远镜被发明之前，许多文明已经对这些超新星爆炸有所记载。其中最著名的当属诞生了蟹状星云的那场超新星爆炸。对吧？韩国和中国的天文学家在 1054 年记录了这颗超新星，基本可以肯定美国原住民也对此进行了记录。这次超新星爆炸发生在距离地球约 5600 光年的地方。它如此明亮，天文学家们在白昼也能看到它。在大约两年的时间里，它在夜空中裸眼可见。
09:13
Fast forward 1,000 years or so later, andwhat do we see? We see these filaments that were blasted by the explosion,moving at 300 miles per second. These filaments are essential for us tounderstand how massive stars die.
向前快进约 1000 年，我们看到了什么？我们看到这些因爆炸迸发的光丝，以每秒 300 英里的速度移动。这些光丝对于我们理解大恒星如何死亡 至关重要。
09:37
So studying supernova remnants, like theCrab Nebula, allowed astronomers to firmly conclude that the vast majority ofoxygen on earth was produced by supernova explosions over the history of theuniverse. And we can estimate that in order to assemble all the atoms of oxygenin our body, it took on the order of a 100 million supernova. So every bit ofyou, or at least the majority of it, came from one of these supernovaexplosions.
因此，研究像蟹状星云那样的 超新星的残留物，能让天文学家得出坚定的结论： 地球上绝大部分氧元素 都是在宇宙的历史长河中 由超新星爆炸产生的。我们可以估算，为了组装我们身体里 所有的氧原子，需要上亿的超新星。因此大家的全身上下，至少是其中的绝大部分，都来自这些超新星爆炸中的一个。
10:35
So now you may be wondering, how is it thatthese atoms that were generated in such extreme conditions ultimately tookresidence in our body? So I want you to follow the thought experiment. Imaginethat we're in the Milky Way, and a supernova happens. It blasted tons and tonsof oxygen atoms almost into empty space. A few of them were able to beassembled in a cloud. Now, 4.5 billion years ago, something unsettled thatcloud and caused it to collapse, forming the sun in its center and the solarsystem. So the sun, the planets and life on earth depend on this beautifulcycle of stellar birth, stellar death and stellar rebirth. And this continuesthe recycling of atoms in the universe. And as a result, astronomy andchemistry are intimately connected.
那么现在各位可能会纳闷，这些在如此极端条件下产生的原子，最终是怎样在我们的身体里定居的？我想让各位进行一个思想实验。想象一下我们在银河里，一场超新星爆炸开始了。它将无数氧原子轰进了空空如也的太空。其中少数被聚集成为星云。45 亿年前，某种东西扰乱了那片星云，使其土崩瓦解，在它的中心形成了太阳和太阳系。因此太阳、行星，和地球上的生命都仰赖这个美丽的循环：恒星诞生、恒星死亡、恒星重生。这个过程循环往复，将宇宙中的原子回收再利用。因此，天文学和化学是紧密联系的。
11:41
We are life forms that have evolved toinhale the waste products of plants. But now you know that we also inhale thewaste products of supernova explosions.
我们这种生命形态，演化到要依靠植物的废弃产物来呼吸。不过现在大家也了解了，我们同时也呼吸着超新星爆炸的废弃产物。
11:53
(Laughter)
（笑声）
11:56
So take a moment, inhale. An oxygen atomhas just gone into your body. It is certain that that oxygen [atom] remembersthat it was in the interior of a star and it was probably manufactured by asupernova explosion. This atom may have traveled the entire solar system untilit splashed on earth, long before reaching you. When we breathe, we usehundreds of liters of oxygen every day. So I'm incredibly lucky to be standingin front of this beautiful audience, but I'm actually stealing your oxygenatoms.
所以花点时间，深吸一口气吧。一个氧原子刚刚进入了你的身体。可以肯定的是，那个氧原子记得它曾身处某颗恒星的内部，也记得它很可能是在一场超新星爆炸中被制造出来的。这个原子或许历经了跨过整个太阳系的跋涉，才溅落在地球上，又过了很久很久才和你相遇。我们呼吸时，每天都消耗掉数百升氧。所以我今天非常幸运能站在这群美妙的观众面前，但我其实是在偷你们的氧原子。
12:39
(Laughter)
（笑声）
12:42
And because I'm speaking to you, I'm givingyou some of them back, that once resided in me. So breathing, yeah,participates in this beautiful exchange of atoms. And you can then ask,"Well, how many atoms in our body once belonged to Frida Kahlo?"
而因为我在和你们交谈，我会归还给你们一些曾经住在我体内的氧原子。所以没错，通过呼吸，参与到这场美丽的原子交换之中。接下来你就可以发问，“那么，我们体内有多少原子曾经属于弗里达·卡罗【注：墨西哥女画家】？”
13:11
(Laughter)
（笑声）
13:13
About 100,000 of them. 100,000 moreprobably belonged to Marie Curie, 100,000 more to Sally Ride, or whoever youwant to think of. So breathing is not only filling our lungs with cosmichistory, but with human history.
大约有 10 万个。还有 10 万个或许曾属于居里夫人，另外 10 万个曾属于萨莉·莱德，【注：第一位进入太空的美国女性】或者任何一位你想起的人。所以呼吸为我们的肺部充满的不仅是宇宙的历史，也是人类的历史。
13:37
I would like to end my talk by sharing amyth that is very close to my heart. A myth from the Chichimeca culture, whichis a very powerful Mesoamerican culture. And the Chichimecas believe that ouressence was assembled in the heavens. And on its journey towards us, itactually fragmented into tons of different pieces. So my abuelo used to say,"One of the reasons you feel incomplete is because you are missing yourpieces."
我想分享一个藏在我内心的传说，以此结束这次演讲。一个来自奇奇梅克文化的传说，【注：墨西哥北部的游牧民族】这是一种非常强大的中美洲文化。奇奇梅克人相信我们的本质是在天上组装的。而在朝我们前进的路途上，它破裂成了无数不同的碎片。我的祖父曾经说过，“你感到自己不完整的原因之一是因为你确实确实了一些东西。”
14:08
(Laughter)
（笑声）
14:09
"But don't be fooled by that. You'vebeen given an incredible opportunity of growth. Why? Because it's not likethose pieces were scattered on earth and you have to go and pick them up. No,those pieces fell into other people. And only by sharing them you will becomemore complete. Yes, during your life, there's going to be individuals that havethese huge pieces that make you feel whole. But in your quest of beingcomplete, you have to treasure and share every single one of thosepieces."
“但不要为此所欺骗。你获得了难以置信的成长机会。为什么？因为那些碎片并不是散落在地球各处，你要去把它们捡起来。不，那些碎片落在了别人身上。只有通过分享碎片，你才会变得更加完整。没错，在一生之中，你会遇见拥有巨大碎片的人，他们会让你感到完整。但在你追寻完整的旅途中，你必须珍视并分享每一片碎片。”
14:45
Sounds a lot like the story of oxygen tome.
我觉得这听起来很像氧原子的故事。
14:48
(Laughter)
（笑声）
14:49
Which started in the heavens in a supernovaexplosion, and continues today, within the confines of our humanity. Our atomsin our body have embarked on an epic odyssey, with time spans from billions ofyears to mere centuries, all leading to you, all of you, witnesses of theuniverse.
氧原子的故事在天空中伴随着超新星爆炸开始，并持续至今，在人类的界限之内继续书写。我们身体里的原子踏上了一场史诗般的长途冒险，历时横跨数十亿年到仅仅几个世纪，全都指引向你的身边，你们所有人身边，你们是宇宙的见证人。
15:16
Thank you.
谢谢大家。
15:17
(Applause)
（掌声）
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