Hey there! Welcome to Life Noggin.
大家好!欢迎来到脑洞大开的生命奇想。
In the 1990s, a very strange idea of how the Universe works was proposed by Gerard 't Hooft and Leonard Susskind.
上世纪90年代,杰勒德·霍特和伦纳德·苏斯科德提出了一个关于宇宙如何运转的,非常奇怪的想法。
And that is that our Universe may be like a very complex hologram. Yep, I'm serious.
我们的宇宙可能是一个非常复杂的全息图。是的,我是认真的。
And if this is true, we have to seriously change the way we think about the Universe.
如果这是真的,我们就必须改变对宇宙的看法。
And brace yourselves, because very recent research provides some evidence that this might be the case.
并且做好心理准备吧,因为最近的研究提供了一些证据来证明这一点。
But before we get into that, let's talk about what a holographic Universe actually means.
在我们深入讨论之前,我们先来谈谈全息宇宙到底是什么。
A big problem that physicists are trying to solve is how to unify quantum mechanics, which deals with the very small, and gravity, which deals with the very large.
物理学家正试图解决的一个大问题是如何统一量子力学和重力,前者研究很小的东西,后者研究非常大的东西。
And some think that the holographic principle may be what helps solve that problem.
有些人认为全息原理可以帮助解决这个问题。
Basically, this principle states that all of the information about a volume of space can be thought of as encoded on a two-dimensional boundary to that region.
基本上,这一原理认为,所有关于立体物体的信息都可以认为是该区域的二维编码。
So, for a black hole, the description of all the stuff that falls inside it is contained in its boundary -- the event horizon.
因此,所有落入黑洞的东西都可以用黑洞的边界来描述,即视界。
And if we extend this idea out further, you basically exist on a two-dimensional boundary and the three-dimensional Universe you're used to is how that information gets expressed, like a 3D hologram.
如果我们进一步扩展这个概念,你基本上存在于一个二维的边界上,而你所习惯的三维宇宙就是这个信息的表达方式,就像三维全息图。
If this doesn't completely blow your mind, I don't know what will. So, is there any evidence of this actually being true?
如果这你都不觉得烧脑,我不知道还有什么能让你觉得困难了。那么,有证据证明这是真的吗?
Well, new research published in early 2017 provides some data that supports the theory.
在2017年初发表的新研究提供了一些支持这一理论的数据。
See, in their research, they used something called the Cosmic Microwave Background, which is the emitted radiation dating back to 400,000 years after the Big Bang.
他们在研究中使用了宇宙微波背景,也就是宇宙大爆炸40万年后的辐射。
And it's also basically the Universe's baby picture, isn't it so cute?
它也基本上是宇宙的婴儿照片,是不是很可爱?
Anyway, interestingly, the Cosmic Microwave Background is not completely uniform, it has these small deviations. And these deviations can tell scientists a lot about the early Universe.
不管怎样,有趣的是,宇宙微波背景不是完全均匀的,它有这些小的偏差。科学家通过这些偏差可以获得早期宇宙的很多信息。
In their work, the researchers used the holographic theory of the Universe to predict what those deviations would look like. And amazingly, their predictions were very accurate.
研究人员还使用了宇宙的全息理论来预测这些偏差会是什么样子。令人惊讶的是,他们的预测非常准确。
Now, this is not enough to definitively say that the holographic principle is true, but it is certainly an important step forward.
现在,这还不足以肯定地说全息原理是正确的,但它确实是向前迈出的重要一步。
But if one thing's for sure, we definitely need more research. Two-dimensional or three-dimensional, I still love all of you just the same.
但如果有一件事是肯定的,我们肯定需要更多的研究。不管三维还是二维,我仍然爱着你们所有人。
But what do you guys think? Are you buying this whole idea? Let me know in the comments section below.
你们怎么想?你们相信这个观点吗?请在下面的评论栏中告诉我。
Have you heard of our other channel, Play Noggin. If you love science and video games, Play Noggin is the merging of the two.
你听说过我们的另一个频Play Noggin吗?如果你热爱科学和电子游戏,那么Play Noggin就是两者的结合。
We explore the science concepts that are found in your favorite video games. So go check out our latest episode and tell Julian, the host, that Blocko send to you.
我们探索在你最喜欢的电子游戏中发现的科学概念。所以,去看看我们最新的一集,告诉主持人朱利安,是宝高让你来的。
As always, my name is Blocko. This has been Life Noggin. Don't forget to keep on thinking!
我是宝高,这里是脑洞大开的生命奇想。思考不要停!