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As you probably know by now, we've been working with Google and YouTube to answer
正如你现在所知 我们在谷歌和YouTube上解答
ten of the most popular science questions asked on the internet.
网上十大最受欢迎的科学问题
And I gotta hand it to you, because there are few questions that are as confounding
接下来我要解答的这个问题 它令人们十分困惑
and complex and fascinating and inspiring, as this one the collective consciousness has spewed forth:
非常复杂 又使人着迷 让人鼓舞 并且受到众人关注 那就是
What is energy? I'm Hank Green, and this is the World's Most Asked Questions.
能量是什么 我是汉克·格林 这里是World’s Most Asked Questions频道（世界上提问最多的问题）
Energy is everything. It's everywhere.
能量可以是任何事物 它无处不在
It's one of the true constants of the universe, because as long as there's been a universe, there's been energy.
它是宇宙中永恒不变的常量 只要宇宙存在 能量就会存在
And while it comes in lots of different forms that can seem different to us,
虽然在我们看来能量具有许多不同的形式
they all amount to the same thing: Energy is the ability to do work.
但它们最终 都归结为同一个结论：能量是做功的能力
And work is just the act of displacing something by applying force. So, say you stomp on a stomp rocket.
做功是一种行为 通过施加力来改点某一事物 所以 假设你在气压式跺脚火箭（一种火箭形状的玩具）上重重踩几脚
The force of your foot hitting the pedal is turned into the force of air leaving the cannon --
脚踩踏板的力就会转化为发射装置的空气力
sending your rocket sailing.
让你的火箭飞起来
Or maybe you're enjoying a nice patty melt -- the energy from that food is broken down
又或者你正在享用芝士牛堡三明治 食物分解出的能量
for all of the quadrillions of cells that you have to do all of the things that they have to do --
提供给数千万亿的细胞 让它们能够各司其职
make copies of your DNA, assemble and repair proteins, transport materials from one place to another,
例如复制你的DNA 聚合并修复蛋白质 从一个地方输送物质 到另一个
make muscle cells contract -- you know, all the stuff of being alive.
促使肌细胞收缩 你知道的 让身体每一部分保持活力
That rocket sailing, your cells toiling away, your phone or computer being on right now to watch me --
火箭飞行 细胞辛勤工作 你的手机或者电脑现在正常运作
that's all work being done.
让你能够看到我 这些都是做功的结果
And the ability to do these things is inherent in everything around you.
你身边所有事物的做功能力都是与生俱来的
Even things that look inert, completely lacking in energy. Like this log.
即使有些看上去是毫无生气 缺乏能量的 就像这根木棍
This log, for example, is chock full of chemical energy because it's made up of combinations
它充满了化学能量 因为它是由各类物质组合而成
of carbon and hydrogen and oxygen formed into lignin, which is the stuff that makes up wood.
碳 氢 氧组合成为木质素 这是木头的组成成分
All of the bonds between all of those atoms, in every molecule of lignin, contain energy.
木质素分子里所有原子之间的联系 都含有能量
How do I know? Because if I were to apply enough extra energy, like as heat, to break those bonds --
我是怎么知道的呢 因为如果我施加足够多的力 像加热 去破坏这些原有的联系
it would release that chemical energy as fire.
它就会以燃烧的形式释放出化学能量
That chemical energy is also the kind of energy you get from that patty melt --
这种化学能量也正如你从芝士牛堡三明治中获得的能量 你的身体
your body is fueled by the chemical bond energy in sugars, fats, and proteins.
由糖 脂肪和蛋白质之间的化学键能量所支撑
But this log also contains nuclear energy!
但这根木棍还存在核能量！
Each atom in this wood has a nucleus, made of protons and neutrons,
这根木头里的每个原子都有一个原子核 质子和中子组成原子核
and the energy that binds them together is one of the most powerful sources of energy in the universe.
而那些将它们 联系在一起的能量 正是宇宙中最为强大的能量来源之一
If you could split one of the atoms of carbon or hydrogen in this log,
如果你能分离这个木棍中一个碳或者氢原子
and rip those protons and neutrons apart, it'd release some of that energy.
分离质子和中子 那就会释放出这种能量
There's so much nuclear energy in each atom that, if I could unleash all of it that's in this log?
每个原子都含有大量的核能量 如果我能释放出所有 木棍中的核能量
There'd be a giant smoldering crater where I'm standing and everyone in the town of Missoula, Montana would be dead.
那么我所站的位置将会出现一个巨大的闷烧弹坑 每个在 蒙大拿州米苏拉镇的人都会死
So, everything that's made of atoms has nuclear energy locked up in it,
所以 每个由原子构成的事物内部都蕴含着核能量
but also, it turns out, that mass and energy are the same thing!
而且 这也表明 这众多的能量都是相同的
You might have heard of this little equation that a German patent clerk came up with about a hundred years ago: E = mc^2.
你应该听说过这个等式 一名德国专利局办事员 在一百年前提出 E=mc^2
And there are SO MANY OTHER KINDS of energy that I'd love to get into if we had the time ...
如果有时间 我也想介绍其他更多类型的能量
but even though they may seem different, they can all be used to do work,
即使它们看起来似乎不同 但都可以用来做功
whether it's driving a turbine, or moving a engine piston, or allowing the screen on your tablet to glow.
驱动涡轮机 转动一个发动机活塞 亦或是让你的平板电脑屏幕发光
Or, if it's that most mysterious of energies, dark energy,
再或者 如果它是最神秘的能量 暗能量
causing the universe to expand more than it seems like it should.
促使宇宙膨胀 并超出它本身应该膨胀的范围
But here's the thing to remember. Once the work is done, the energy isn't done. Because energy never goes away.
但要记住一点 即使做功完成了 能量也不会消失 因为能量不会逃走
It can never be destroyed, and in the same way, it can never be created.
能量不能破坏 同样的 也不能创造
It can only be transferred from one source to another --
它只能从一个地方转移到另一个
like, how the energy in the plants and animals that were in the patty melt were transferred into you --
就比如 芝士牛堡三明治所含的 动植物能量是如何转移到你身上的
or it can be transferred from one form into another --
它也可以 由一种形式转化为另一种
like the chemical energy in the wood being transferred to light and heat as fire.
就像木头中的化学能量 以燃烧的形式转化为光和热
You could think of the universe as a constant flow of energy, and we are just little pit stops along the way.
你可以认为宇宙是一个持续不断的能量流 而我们只是这股能量流上 小小的停留点
Everything your body is doing right now -- whether it's your lungs absorbing oxygen,
现在你的身体各项机能正在做的—— 你的肺吸收氧气
your heart pumping blood, your brain cells firing as you watch me and learn things --
你的心脏 输送血液 当看节目并学习时你大脑细胞的运作
all those things are using recycled energy that's been around since the origin of the universe.
所有这些都依靠着从宇宙诞生之初就存在的循环能量
And simply by being alive, you're releasing that energy back into the environment around you,
只要你还活着 你就在向你周围的环境不断释放这种能量
to be used by other things in other ways.
它们会以其他方式作用在其他事物上
So Internet, to answer your question: Energy is everything.
各位网民 现在来回答你的问题 能量可以是任何事物
And for those of you who answered our questions on our SciShow survey,
在科学秀调查里回答过问题的各位网友
where you feel like you get your energy may be keeping you up at night.
这里也许就是 你在晚上也能保持清醒的能量来源之地
Survey takers who have a hard time falling asleep nearly every night get their energy from knowledge first, second from purpose.
调查者几乎每晚都难以入睡 首先他们要从知识中 获得能量 其次是他们的意志
Least likely? From exercise.
不可能？ 通过练习就可以获得
Of all the fascinating questions in the world, what question do you want to see answered most?
世界上各种奇妙的问题 你最想知道哪个呢
Let us know on Facebook or Twitter or down in the comments down below
你可以在Facebook和Twitter上提出 也可以在视频下方评论
and we will aim to answer those questions in a new video at the end of the month.
我们会在每个月末 通过一个新短片来解答这些问题
