字幕菌：cnszw
校对菌：myname69
双语调整：那白岚
后期压制：那白岚
出品：纪录片之家
创世之初 冥冥之中 In the beginningabcthere was darkness,
随着一声爆炸 and then, bang--
诞生了无尽膨胀的 giving birth to an endlessabcexpanding existence
时间 空间和物质 of time, space, and matter.
每一天 新的发现都在揭秘这个诡异 Every day, new discoveriesabcare unlocking the mysterious,
震撼 神秘莫测的 the mind-blowing,abcthe deadly secrets
地方 - 我们所谓的《宇宙》 of a place we call "The Universe."
电杆大小的棍棒从外太空飞驰而下 Telephone-pole-sized rodsabcstreak down from outer space
消灭地球上的目标 and obliterate targets on Earth.
它将是终极掩体克星 It would beabcthe ultimate bunker buster.
强大的激光瞬间炸毁任何方向的敌人 Powerful lasers instantly blastabcenemies in any direction.
你会在看到敌人启动武器的同时遭毒手 You'll get zappedabcat the same time
that you see the zapperabcinitiate the zapping.
导弹速度接近光速 Missiles travelingabcnear the speed of light
产生爆炸无需炸药 deliver massive blastsabcwithout the aid of explosives.
它开始成为潜在的武器 It starts to become possibleabcto hit things
具有核弹的能量 with the energy of an atomic bomb
实际上不必用上任何辐射 without actually having to useabcany sort of radiation.
宇航员殊死搏斗在 And space pilotsabcbattle to the death
完全另类的空战中 in a very different kindabcof dogfight.
这些不是科幻 These aren't just sci-fi fantasies.
它们是宇宙间未来的太空战争 They are the futureabcof space wars in the universe.
宇宙第四季EP08太空战争
今后100年 It's 100 years in the future,
最后的边疆已经变成了终极战场 and the final frontier has turnedabcinto the ultimate battleground.
月球上的歹徒殖民地 A rogue colony on the Moon
已经袭击了邻近的殖民地 has already attackedabcneighboring colonies.
地球派出的飞船已进入阵地 A spacecraft from Earthabchas moved into position
此时谈判已经破裂 after negotiationsabchave broken down.
随着我们走入太阳系乃至外太空 As we travel out into the solar systemabcand maybe even the stars,
将会有人与人之间的意见不合 there are going to be peopleabcwho disagree with other people,
潜在的战争与人类史上的任何时候一样大 and the potential for warfareabcis just as great there
as it has been any timeabcthrough human history.
在歹徒殖民地夺走更多无辜生命之前 Before the rogue colonyabctakes any more innocent lives,
飞船释放了无比强大的武器 the spacecraft releasesabca weapon of unimaginable power,
反物质炸弹 an anti-matter bomb.
反物质与普通物质并无两样 Anti-matter is the sameabcas normal matter,
除了相反的原子电荷 except with the oppositeabcatomic charges.
并非负电荷的电子和正电荷的质子 Instead of negative electronsabcand positive protons,
反物质具有正电荷的电子和负电荷的质子 anti-matter has positive electronsabcand negative protons.
一旦物质与反物质接触 When matterabcand anti-matter touch,
它们就会瞬间同时湮灭 they instantly annihilateabceach other,
产生巨大的能量 releasing a huge amountabcof energy.
一旦你有反物质与物质碰撞 When you have anti-matterabccolliding with matter,
所有的质量就会转换成能量 - all of the massabcgets converted into energy--
百分百的效率 100% efficiency.
那真是回报大大的 That's a lot of bang for the buck.
核武器甚至都只有约1%的效率 Even nuclear weaponsabcare only about 1% efficient.
化学武器在效率方面可谓微乎其微 Chemical weaponsabcare a tiny fraction of a percent
in terms of their efficiency.
普通物质的弹头在行将与内部的反物质接触时 A warhead of normal matterabcwould simply explode
只会发生爆炸 when it came in contactabcwith the anti-matter inside.
飞向歹徒殖民地的反物质炸弹 The anti-matter bomb streakingabctoward the rogue colony
是一团由电磁场所包围的反物质 is a mass of anti-matterabcsurrounded by an electromagnetic field.
在撞击之前 电磁场是关闭的 Just before impact,abcthe field is turned off.
你甚至都无需引信 You don't even need a fuse.
你只需要将反物质到达所需的目标并打击它 You just need that anti-matter toabcreach the desired destination and hit it,
然后它就会转换其所有的能量 and it will then convertabcall of its energy
及它所打击的目标的能量转换成爆炸的能量 and the energy of the object that it hitabcinto this explosive energy,
产生巨大的爆炸 producingabca tremendous explosion.
围绕着地球的其它航天器 Other spacecraftabcin orbit around Earth
则用强大的激光武器来攻击 target smaller remote outpostsabcloyal to the rogue colony
忠于歹徒殖民地偏远的的小哨所 with powerful laser weapons.
激光武器的优势 An advantage of a laser weapon
在于激光束的穿行达到了光速 is that the laser beam travelsabcat the speed of light.
因此你可以将这些激光束在极端的时间里 So you could have these light beamsabcgoing across very large distances
穿越遥远的距离 在敌人尚未意识到之前就消灭他们 in a very small amount of time,abczapping the enemy
before the enemy realizesabcwhat's going on.
光在宇宙间穿行的速度是每秒18.6万英里 Light races across the universeabcat 186,000 miles per second,
因此未来在近地轨道上发射的激光武器 so the futuristic laser weaponsabcfired from orbit near Earth
只需要一秒钟就能对约24万英里远的月球上的 take just over a second to blast holesabcin their targets on the Moon,
目标炸出一个窟窿来 about 240,000 miles away.
不过只是因为我们在未来的100年里 But just becauseabcwe're 100 years in the future
并不意味着简单的投射武器会从战场上消失 doesn't mean simple projectilesabchave disappeared from the battlefield.
它们通过猛烈轰击敌人施加危害 They inflict damageabcby slamming into the enemy,
利用所谓的动能 using what's knownabcas kinetic energy,
运动之能 来摧毁目标 the energy of motion,abcto destroy a target.
如果我们将某种物质加速到 If we acceleratedabcsome kind of mass
光速的相当比例 up to sizable fractionsabcof the speed of light,
你甚至都无需弹头了 you wouldn't even needabca warhead.
此时该物体本身运动的动能 Just the kinetic energyabcof the motion of that object itself
就具有难以置信的破坏力 would haveabcan incredible destructive power.
就像小行星撞击行星一样 Like an asteroidabcimpacting a planet,
物体的重量（质量）越大 the more an object weighs--abcits mass--
它跑得（速度）越快 and the faster it's going--abcits velocity--
那么它所具有的动能就越大 the more kinetic energy it has.
不过速度在动能方程式中 优势盖过了质量 But velocity has an advantageabcover mass
in the kinetic energy equation,
因为质量要乘以速度的平方 since mass is multipliedabcby the square of the velocity.
因此速度快上两倍的物体 So something travelingabctwice as fast
四倍于相同质量物体的动能 has four times the kinetic energyabcof something of equal mass.
因此你有很高速度的物体 So you get somethingabcup to very high velocities,
那它就具有大量的动能 it has a lot of kinetic energy.
动能的差异是很容易看出的 The different amountsabcof kinetic energy
如果用同样的弹丸来打击目标 are easy to see when hitting a targetabcwith the same type of projectile
而用上两种不同的速度的话 traveling at two different speeds.
这位火器专家将发射两个一米一样的铅弹 This firearms expert is going to fireabctwo identical lead balls,
首先用上这支滑膛手枪 the firstabcfrom this smooth-bore pistol,
然后是用这支滑膛火枪 the secondabcfrom this smooth-bore musket.
由于其枪膛更长 火药填量更多 Now, with its longer barrelabcand larger powder charge,
它发射的弹丸将要快更多 it's going to fire that ballabcmuch faster.
来看看 Let's see.
首先 手枪把弹丸送向靶子 First, the pistolabcsends the ball downrange...
相对较慢的速度 at a relatively slow speed.
现在火枪发射同样大小的弹丸 Now the musket firesabcthe same sized lead ball
速度较快 at a higher speed.
在靶子的背后 你可以看到手枪射出的 On the back of the target,abcyou can see the damage
弹丸所造成的危害 caused by the lead ballabcfired from the pistol.
不过现在来看看火枪射出的弹丸造成的结果 But now look at what happenedabcwith the lead ball from the musket.
动能高多了 危害也大多了 Much higher kinetic energy,abcmuch greater damage.
在真空状态的太空中 And out in the vacuum of space,
没有大气让物体减速 there's no atmosphereabcto slow things down.
因而地球轨道上的另一艘飞船 So another ship in Earth orbit
将一个由高密度金属制成的电杆大小的炮弹射向 launches a telephone-pole-sizedabcprojectile made of dense metal
歹徒殖民地的地下司令部 at the rogue colonists'abcunderground headquarters.
它被称为上帝之棒 It's known as a rod from God.
经过短暂的火箭推进 After a brief rocket boost,
重力加速度让非爆炸棒 the acceleration of gravityabcgets the non-explosive rod
在撞击时的速度超过了时速1万英里 moving at more than 10,000 milesabcan hour by the time of impact.
随着我们能够让越来越重的物体 As we're able to getabcheavier and heavier objects
运动的速度越来越快 moving at fasterabcand faster velocities,
就有可能打击东西 it starts to become possibleabcto hit things
具有原子弹的能量 with the energyabcof an atomic bomb
而不必实际用上任何的辐射 without actually having to useabcany sort of radiation.
沉重的金属棒穿透月球岩层 The heavy metal rod penetratesabclayers of Moon rock
去摧毁地下指挥中心 to destroyabcthe underground command center.
无需爆炸 单凭动能就足以摧毁该地区了 Without explosives, kinetic energy aIoneabchas devastated the area,
宛如小行星 产生巨大的弹坑 like an asteroid,abccreating a huge crater.
然而不管太空武器会变得如何先进 But no matter how advancedabcspace weapons become,
战争与技术上的一个基本原则 one of the basic principlesabcof warfare and technology
可能会依然适用 will probably still apply.
我认为人性与人类史上一个不可避免的事实 l think it's an inevitable factabcof human nature and human history
一种武器的发明与使用 that the invention of one weaponabcand its use
会引发对策 或试图致胜的方法 triggers a countermeasureabcor a way to try to defeat it
或打造更好的武器 or build a better one.
因此你会看到在太空武器中 So you're going to seeabcthat in space weaponry,
并不介意你在未来走得多远 no matter how farabcin the future you go.
对付定向能武器的一个绝妙对策 A fantastic countermeasureabcagainst a directed-energy weapon
比如激光那样的 将会是隐形装置 like, say, a laser,abcwould be a cloaking device
诸如我们在科幻电影《星际迷航》里屡见不鲜的 like we see in manyabcscience fiction shows like "Star Trek."
如果我们能让飞船隐形 If we can render a ship invisible,
那么电磁能就只能擦肩而过了 then electromagnetic energyabcjust passes right through it.
不过让整个飞船隐形的技术 But the technology to makeabcentire spaceships invisible
或让激光有足够强大到远距离 or the power needed to createabclasers strong enough
击中大目标所需的能量 to blast big targetsabcfrom vast distances
将远远超出了我们目前的能力 are well beyondabcour current capabilities.
目前 尚没有任何进攻性武器驻扎在太空 And right now, there aren't anyabcoffensive weapons stationed in space.
但是在未来十年左右的时间里 abc战争仍然可能进入太空 But war could still come to spaceabcwithin the next decade or so.
未来的太空战争可能看起来有所不同 The future of space warfareabcmay look a little different.
一开始 我想会是卫星与反卫星系统 At first, I thinkabcit's going to be satellites
and anti-satellite systems,
导弹与卫星 都是不载人的系统 missiles and satellites,abcnot manned systems at all.
为什么卫星及摧毁它们的武器 And why would satellitesabcand weapons that could destroy them
会是太空战争一开始的重点呢？ likely be the focusabcof the first space war?
因为卫星已经是地面战争必不可少的了 Because satellites are alreadyabcessential to fighting wars on Earth.
美国尤其极度依赖太空了 America, in particular,abcis extremely dependent on space.
我们的军队如今离开了卫星已无法运作了 Our military cannot operateabcthe way it does today without satellites.
我们将它们用于通讯 导航 We use themabcfor communications, navigation,
搜集各种情报 intelligence gathering of all kinds.
不管是图像情报还是信号情报 Whether it's photo intelligence,abcwhether it's signal intelligence,
大量都是靠卫星来完成的 a lot of it is done by satellites.
甚至地面机动都需要非常精准的定位 Even ground maneuvers requireabcvery accurate positioning,
GPS信号 GPS signals.
2007年以来 中美两国 Since 2007,abcChina and the United States
都证明了他们有能力用导弹来摧毁 have proven they're capableabcof destroying satellites
低地球轨道卫星 in low-Earth orbit with missiles.
他们各自清除了自己的一颗卫星 They've each taken outabcone of their own satellites.
这绝非易事 因为卫星在空中飞驰 It's no easy feat since the satellitesabcare streaking across the sky
在地球上空数百英里高处 时速达到了约1.7万英里 a few hundred miles above Earthabcat about 17,000 miles an hour.
没有快速计算机 人们是没有任何可能的 Without fast computers,abcpeople wouldn't stand a chance.
用导弹击中太空中的卫星 难度不亚于 Hitting a satellite in spaceabcwith a missile is as difficult
用你的网球去击中别人发出的网球 as hitting someone else'sabctennis serve with yours.
把握正确的时间 把握正确的速度 Getting the timing,abcgetting the speed right,
几乎是难以办到的 it's virtually impossible.
不过对于具有先进技术的现代导弹而言 But for a modern missileabcwith advanced technology,
就并不那么困难了 it's not that difficult.
这些导弹的传感器 These missiles have sensors
让它们确定自己的位置 that allow them to determineabctheir own location
目标的位置及其变化 and the target locationabcand changes
瞬间调整并击中它们 and make split-secondabcadjustments and hit them.
设想一下 要是你有一个聪明的网球 Imagine if youabchad a smart tennis ball
用上类似的传感技术 using the same kindabcof sensor technology,
每秒钟调整位置数百次 adjusting its locationabchundreds of times a second
来确保其击中目标 to make sure it hit the target.
导弹拦截卫星 And once a missileabcintercepts a satellite,
大爆炸是不需要的 a big explosion isn't needed.
事实上 许多反卫星导弹 In fact,abcmany anti-satellite missiles
都设计成简单撞击其目标 are designedabcto simply ram their target
根本无需任何爆炸 without any explosives at all.
用于太空的材料被设计成非常轻质 Space-based materialsabcare designed to be fairly light.
物体送上轨道花费不菲 It's very expensiveabcto lift things into orbit.
需要上百磅燃料 It takes aboutabca hundred pounds of fuel
才能将一磅东西送入轨道 to lift one pound into orbit.
因此你会尽可能将东西做轻 So you want to make thingsabcas light as possible,
这样也使得它们通常比较容易毁坏 which makes them also usuallyabccomparatively easy to knock out.
回到地球上 一场全面太空战争的影响 And back on Earth,abcthe effects of an all-out space war
在未来十年里将十分严峻 in the next decade would be severe.
如果各国开始相互间摧毁空中的卫星 If countries begin blastingabceach other's satellites out of the sky,
问题很快就会蔓延开来 远不止使其难以 the problems would quickly spreadabcbeyond making it difficult
针对发动战争的军事卫星 for the military to wage war.
如今的全球科技绝对依赖太空 Today's global societyabcis definitely dependent on space.
要是我们失去卫星 不光是军事卫星 If we were to start losing satellites,abcnot just military satellites,
还有通讯和民用卫星 but commercialabcand civil satellites,
那么日常生活将会如何呢？ what would happen to daily life?
突然间 ATM机罢工了 Suddenly,abcATM machines don't work.
许多手机罢工了 Many cell phones don't work.
自助加油不工作了 Pay at the pump no longer works.
全世界的金融业务 Financial transactionsabcall over the world
使用的GPS计时信号突然间都中断了 that use the GPS timing signalabcall of a sudden are disrupted.
整个世界放慢了脚步 So the whole world slows down.
如果太空战争升级到完全失控 And if a space war escalatedabctotally out of control,
导弹可能会携带核弹头进入太空 missiles might carryabcnuclear warheads into space
以确保重要目标在大爆炸中消灭 to make sure important targetsabcwere knocked out with a big blast.
然而你不会相信太空核爆炸的样子有何不同 But you won't believe how differentabca nuclear blast in space looks,
以及它仍然会对地球造成破坏程度 and how destructiveabcit can still be back on Earth.
今天的武器库里有一件武器 There's one weaponabcin today's arsenals
可能还会在未来的大规模太空战争中 that might still be usedabcto annihilate targets
用来消灭目标： in massive space battlesabcof the future:
原子弹 atomic bombs.
不过曾经见过地球上的原子弹爆炸的人 But anyone used to seeingabcatomic explosions on Earth
会很难认出这些太空中的爆炸 would have a hard timeabcrecognizing these blasts in space.
太空核爆炸一个毛骨悚然的情况 One of the creepy things about explodingabca nuclear weapon in space
就是它看上去并不是你想象的那样 is it doesn't look likeabcanything you'd expect.
在地球上 我们会看到这种标志性的蘑菇云 Here on the planet Earth,abcwe see this iconic mushroom cloud.
然而在太空中 由于没有大气 所以也就没有云 But in space, with no atmosphere,abcthere's no cloud.
相反 你会有一个扩散的辐射气泡 Instead you haveabcan expanding bubble of radiation,
一个闪光 像星星一样 很小 变成了超新星 a single flash of light like a star,abcvery small, going supernova.
在最初的几纳秒里 In the first few nanoseconds,
高能伽玛射线随着一道闪光向四处爆发 high-energy gamma raysabcexplode in all directions
along with a flash of light,
紧接着是扩散的辐射云 followed byabcan expanding cloud of radiation.
在地球上撕碎建筑物的冲击波不见了 The shockwave that ripsabcbuildings apart on Earth is gone,
因为太空中没有空气 since there'sabcno atmosphere in space.
但是辐射扩散的范围比地球上更快更广 But the sphere of radiation expandsabcfaster and farther than on Earth.
你就能想到的几乎就像是子弹 You can just thinkabcof almost like bullets,
但是它们是辐射粒子的飞出 but they're radiation particlesabcgoing out,
它们会源源不断的流出 - 伽玛射线 中子 and they will travel a long ways--abcgamma rays, neutrons.
它们会穿透卫星 They will penetrate satellites.
有些刚好经过爆炸 Some go blasting right through.
其它会打击电子元件 造成很大的危害 Others hit electronicsabcand cause a lot of damage.
对于平均规模的核弹 With an average-size nuclear bomb,
半径50英里范围内的任何卫星都将被摧毁 any satellites within a 50-mile radiusabcwill be destroyed.
然而太空核爆炸不仅仅破坏设备 But an atomic blast in spaceabcwouldn't just destroy equipment.
宇航员飞经太空核爆炸产生的碎片 Astronauts flyingabcthrough the debris
from an explodedabcnuclear weapon in space
将会遭遇极端的辐射量 would be subjectabcto extreme levels of radiation.
尤其是 放射性核的放射性衰变 In particular,abcthere are gamma rays
会产生出伽玛射线 coming from radioactive decayabcof radioactive nuclei,
会与皮肤发生作用 引发癌症 and they can interact with skinabcand cause cancer.
还有高能电子和其他粒子 Also there are energetic electronsabcand other particles
会来自这些放射性核 comingabcfrom these radioactive nuclei,
所有这些东西会危害生命组织 and all of these thingsabcare damaging to living tissue.
没有风或其它空气影响 Without any windabcor other atmospheric effects,
辐射的扩散范围 that expanding sphere of radiation
会数月保持在危险水平上 would stay at dangerous levelsabcfor months.
如今的导弹可能会携带核弹头进入太空 Today's missiles can carryabcnuclear warheads into space,
因为原子弹会与地球上部的大气层产生互动 and due to the wayabcatomic bombs interact
with Earth's upper atmosphere,
一个国家可以用太空爆炸来解决另一个国家的目标 one country might decide to targetabcanother with a blast in space,
因为它实际上会造成很大的破坏 because it actually causesabca lot of damage
一路到地球上 all the way down on Earth.
当核武器在地球大气层最高处爆炸时 When a nuclear weapon goes offabcabove most of the Earth's atmosphere,
会释放出伽玛射线 it releasesabca bunch of gamma rays,
极高能的电磁辐射 very high-energyabcelectromagnetic radiation,
电离大气层里的大气 that ionizeabcthe gas in the atmosphere,
也就是 它们会踢走原子和分子里的电子 that is, they kick the electrons offabcof the atoms and molecules.
那些电子主要是踢向地面 Those electrons are kickedabclargely in a downward direction,
速度会接近光速 and they're movingabcat a substantial fraction
of the speed of light.
现在 它产生了一个极大的电流 Now, that createsabcan incredible electric current,
能够对地球上的弟子设备产生很大的电压差 and that can set upabcbig voltage differences
和很大的电涌 and big surges of currentabcin electrical equipment here on Earth.
所以如果美国是目标的话 So if America were the target,
就会有突然的电流峰 即所谓的电磁脉冲 there'd be a sudden spike of currentabcknown as an electromagnetic pulse,
EMP or EMP,
落下就像是个巨大的无形闪电球 coming down like a massiveabcinvisible ball of lightning.
它会瞬间破坏电子设备 It destroys electronics
和任何带有电流的东西 and anything else carryingabcan electric current in an instant.
地球上的核爆炸也会产生EMP Atomic blasts on Earthabcalso create EMPs,
但是范围极其有限 but with more limited ranges.
而大气层上方的爆炸 By explodingabcabove the atmosphere,
一个核爆炸就能够摧毁一个国家 a single atomic blastabccould devastate the country.
据估计 如果你在堪萨斯州上空100公里处 It's been estimatedabcthat if you lit off
引爆一个百万吨级的核弹 a one-megaton nuclear weaponabc100 kilometers over Kansas,
你就会令美国大部分 如果不是全部的电子设备 you would render most,abcif not all the electronics
失效 in the United States inoperative.
太空核爆炸对地球的破坏不只是理论上的 The damage on Earth from atomicabcexplosions in space isn't just theory.
始于上世纪50年代后期 冷战高峰时期 Starting in the late 1950s,abcduring the height of the Cold War,
美国及前苏联 both the United Statesabcand the former Soviet Union
成为了唯一利用太空作为核试验场的国家 became the only nations to use spaceabcas a nuclear testing ground.
1962年在太平洋上空进行的最后一次试验 One of the last tests in 1962abcabove the Pacific Ocean
产生的EMP毁坏的电子设备 created an EMPabcthat knocked out electronics
从新西兰一直到夏威夷 all the wayabcfrom New Zealand to Hawaii.
你可以影响很大的区域 用这些电流 So you can affect a large areaabcwith these currents,
这些瞬间电流 these sharp currents,
不只是在核弹下方直接影响的区域 not just the immediate areaabcright below the bomb.
因为在太空中和地球上的广泛破坏 Because of the widespread damageabcin space and on Earth,
两个国家在十来次试验后都停止了这些爆炸 both countries stopped these blastsabcafter less than two dozen tests.
为了预防不确定的大核爆打击无害的卫星和航天器 To avoid hitting friendly satellitesabcor spacecraft
with big, imprecise nuclear blasts,
常规武器可以被用于太空中 conventional firearmsabccould be used in space.
但如果你在空间站外负责防卫的话 But if you were in charge of securityabcoutside of a space station,
普通手枪在微重力环境中 没有大气中的氧气 would a normal handgun even fireabcwithout atmospheric oxygen
能开火吗？ in a microgravity environment?
火药里头自己带有氧化剂 Gunpowderabchas its own oxidizer built into it,
所以能够开火 so it would fire.
如果你设法让撞针打击子弹的屁股 If you managed to get the firing pinabcto hit the end of the bullet,
它就会开火 it would go off.
现在它会不会弹出滑槽 下一颗子弹入膛？ Now would it eject the slideabcand the next bullet go into the round
会那样动作吗？ 这是个好问题 and would that work?abcThat's a good question.
我真的不能肯定 在它卡壳停止工作之前 I'm not real positive that it would fireabcmore than a few times
能开火几次 before it seized upabcand quit working.
问题很大部分在于枪里的金属活动部件 A big part of the problem is thatabcthe metal moving parts inside guns
需要润滑油才能工作顺畅 need lubricants to work smoothly,
但是极端严酷的太空 but the harsh extremes of space
可能会导致润滑油失效 would probably causeabcthe lubricants to fail.
举个例子 比如手枪置于阳光下 If a handgun got in the sunlight,abcfor example,
就会变得很热很热 it would get really, really hot,
部件可能会粘在一起 and the parts would seizeabctogether probably.
如果不是在阳光下 就会变得很冷很冷 If it were not in the sunlight,abcit would get really, really cold,
部件也可能会粘在一起 and the parts would seizeabctogether probably,
润滑油在真空的太空中很难发挥作用 and lubricants just haveabca hard time of working
最大的问题是它们会结珠 in the vacuum of space.
它们会变成小珠子 The biggest problemabcis they bead up.
They turn into little balls,
因为没有重力 没有空气 because there's no gravityabcor any other atmosphere
使其能够依附 that it can adhere to.
宇航员在微重力下饮液体时已证实了同样的情况 Astronauts have demonstratedabcthe same thing
when they drink liquidsabcin microgravity.
不是连贯地流出 Instead of flowing evenly,
液体而是分开形成一连串的小球 the liquids separateabcinto a series of spheres.
但是有一个系统会工作良好 But there is one systemabcthat would work well
用来防范太空中的歹徒： for keeping away the bad guysabcin space:
用轨道炮来发射炮弹 launching bullets with a rail gun.
轨道炮用一个强磁场系列 Rail guns use a seriesabcof strong magnetic fields,
而不是用火药来推进炮弹 rather than gunpowder,abcto propel bullets.
目前的轨道炮炮弹已经能够发射到 Current rail gun projectilesabccan already race downrange
M16步枪射出的子弹的三倍快 about three times fasterabcthan a bullet from an M-16 rifle.
轨道炮的概念就是你将小弹丸... The idea of a rail gunabcis you take a small pellet that's...
有可能是金属的 有可能是塑料的 不管什么 It may be metal,abcit may be plastic, may be whatever,
但是你必须将它包在铝箔里 but you have to have itabcwrapped in aluminum foil,
因为你要在两根长轨之间完成一个电路 because you complete an electric circuitabcbetween two long rails
创造磁场来加速在轨道端部的小弹丸 and the magnetic field createdabcaccelerates that little pellet
它能够将其加速得很快 out the end of the rails,abcand it can accelerate it very fast.
最高 有人认为 可以接近光速 Up to, some people believe,abcclose to the speed of light.
类似的系统应用于 Similar systems are at work
某些高铁和过山车上 in certain bullet trainsabcand roller coasters.
你有一系列的磁铁 磁铁驱动物体 You have a series of magnets,abcand the magnets propel an object,
不管是过山车还是你想用它来 either a roller coaster carabcor this giant slug of a bullet
打击太空中的东西巨大的子弹棒 you want to useabcto hit something in space,
从一头到另一头 不断将其加速 from one to the other,abcaccelerating as it goes,
一旦它经过了一定数量的加速器 and by the time it's reachedabca certain number of accelerators,
一定数量的磁铁对 a certain numberabcof pairs of magnets,
它就会达到你所需要的速度 it's really goingabcas fast as you need it to go.
安装在大型航天器上 Mounted on a large spacecraft,
轨道炮有可能成为未来的舰载大炮 the rail gun could becomeabcthe naval cannon of the future.
长长排列的强大磁铁能够推动大炮弹 Long rows of powerful magnetsabccould propel big projectiles
到时速数百万英里 to millions of miles an hour.
但是那种大炮是否足以 But would that kind of gunabcbe enough
在外星文明毁灭地球之前将其消灭呢？ to take out an alien civilizationabcbefore it could destroy Earth?
从今百年后 A hundred years from now,
参战的飞船可能会用超高速轨道炮来开火 spaceships at war may blast awayabcwith ultra-high-speed rail guns
无需炸药去摧毁目标 that destroy targetsabcwithout explosives.
只要以时速数千乃至百万英里的速度来攻击敌人 Just by slammingabcinto the enemy
at many thousandsabcor even millions of miles an hour,
就会释放出巨量的动能 they'll release incredible amountsabcof kinetic energy,
运动的能量 the energy of motion.
2008年 美国海军测试了 In 2008, the U.S. Navy tested
现存最强大的轨道炮 the most powerful rail gunabcthat now exists.
利用一系列磁铁和强大的电流 Using a series of magnetsabcand strong electrical currents,
它发射了一个7磅重的炮弹 时速超过了5000英里 it launched a 7-pound projectileabcat over 5,000 miles an hour.
大炮估计全程运作的射程将达到200英里 The gun's estimated rangeabcwhen fully operational will be 200 miles.
炮弹的速度是音速的七倍 A slug moving at seven timesabcthe speed of sound
会造成很大的破坏 does a lot of damage.
它是你很高兴我们所掌握的那些东西之一 It's one of those thingsabcwhere you're glad it's on our side.
那种武器确实能够对 It's the kind of weaponabcthat could really do some damage
野蛮外星文明的都市造成某种破坏 to the capital cityabcof a violent alien civilization.
你可以想象巨型母舰 You can envisionabcthe big mother ship
携带沿着船边运行的轨道炮 having a rail gunabcthat runs along the periphery
从一头到另一头 from one end to the other,
它可以发射很大的炮弹 and it could shootabca very large projectile,
大如汽车或推土机 like the size of a carabcor a bulldozer,
然后你可以加速轨道炮 that you could then accelerateabcon that rail gun
到或许是10%、20%的光速 maybe 10%,abc20% the speed of light,
巨大的动能有可能会摧毁整个城市 and that much kinetic energyabccould likely destroy the whole city.
我是说 它具有很大的能量 I mean, that's a lot of energy.
但是如此先进的轨道炮显然有很长的路要走 But such an advanced rail gunabcis obviously a long way off.
那么有没有何种动能武器 So are thereabcany kinetic-energy weapons
能够在不久的将来进入太空呢？ that could come to spaceabcin the near future?
记得电杆状的棒 Rememberabcthe telephone-pole-sized rod
击打地下掩体 pummelingabcthe underground bunker
发生在今后百年里的月球战争中么？ in our Moon battleabcset a hundred years from now?
啊 那武器 就是所谓的上帝之棒 Well, that weapon,abcknown as a rod from God,
很简单 它会出现的 is simple enoughabcthat it could show up
如果未来数十年里 战争出现在太空里的话 if a war comes to spaceabcin the next few decades.
小型火箭来启动流线型棒 A small rocket boost would getabcthe aerodynamic rod started.
它基本上就是一根大金属棒 It's basicallyabcjust a big metal rod,
或许就是钨之类的东西 and it would probably beabcsomething like tungsten
或某些很坚固的重金属 or some really strongabcand heavy metal
你把它放入轨道 将其掷向 that you could put in orbitabcand drop it onto the...
你想的目标 从太空 wherever you want,abcwhatever the target is, from space,
就让重力来加速那东西 and just let gravityabcaccelerate the thing.
重力加速物体 Gravity's abilityabcto speed up an object
提高其破坏力的能力 and increaseabcits destructive power
可以在几百年前的一件武器中看到 can be seen in a weaponabcfrom centuries past.
投石机 一种石弩 The trebuchet,abcwhich is a type of catapult,
用来从高处落下造成破坏 used to rain down destructionabcfrom on high.
作用在这块石头上的重力加速度 Gravity acts upon an objectabclike this rock
达到了每秒每秒10米 at a rateabcof 10 meters per second squared,
约是每秒每秒30英尺 roughly 30 feet per second squared.
因此我们将其掷下 So if we take it and drop it...
落下不足一秒钟 it's fallenabcfor less than a second,
还没有接近每秒30英尺 has not come closeabcto reaching 30 feet per second,
但是取同样的石头 用投石机来发射 but take that same rock,abclaunch it with a trebuchet,
更高 更远 higher, further,
就有机会加速到每秒30英尺 it will have a chance to accelerateabcto 30 feet per second,
第二秒到60英尺 60 feet in the second second,
第三秒到90英尺 90 feet in the third second.
一旦被其击中 就会留下很大的弹坑 When it hits,abcit'll leave a much bigger crater.
这块石头在空中飞行约5秒钟 This rock traveled throughabcthe air for about five seconds,
这意味着当其击中时 which meansabcthat by the time it hit,
其速度接近或相当于每秒150英尺 it was traveling close toabcor around 150 feet per second,
那增加了动能 将会留下更大的弹坑 and with that added kinetic energy,abcit left a much bigger crater.
在未来百年的战争中 In the battleabc100 years from now,
月球上发射的棒的优势 a rod launched at the Moonabchas an advantage
将超过地球上的投石机射出的石头 over the rockabcfrom the trebuchet on Earth.
因为月球上没有空气 Since the Moon doesn't haveabcany atmosphere,
棒将不断加速 直到它击中 the rod keeps acceleratingabcuntil it impacts
分裂势力殖民地的地下指挥所 the underground command postabcof the separatist colony.
它钻入月岩 摧毁指挥所 It burrows into the Moon rockabcand destroys the command post.
但要是月球上的分裂势力还以颜色 But what if the separatistsabcon the Moon return the favor
从太空平台上向地球发射棒又当如何呢？ and launch a rodabcfrom a space platform at Earth?
地球大气层会减缓棒的速度 Earth's atmosphereabcwill slow the rod.
但这是否足以防止对地球地下指挥部的 But will it be enoughabcto prevent a knockout blow
毁灭性打击呢？ to an underground headquartersabcon Earth?
当其撞上大气层上部时 When it hits the upper atmosphere,
其速度约是25马赫 就是音速的25倍 it's doing about Mach 25,abc25 times the speed of sound.
它落入大气层时会减缓速度 It slows down as it comesabcdown through the atmosphere,
但要是它击中地球 就会钻入地下 but if it were to hit the Earth,abcit would bore way down in there,
因为其会以时速5000-7000英里撞击 because it's going to hitabcat like 5,000, 7,000 miles per hour.
在很短的时间里落在一个很小的地方的能量 So the amount of energy that's dumpedabcin a very small space
in a very short amount of time
相当于一个小型核弹 is equivalentabcto a small nuclear weapon.
那种东西具有很强的穿透力 Something like this would haveabca lot of penetrating power.
它将是掩体的终极克星 It would beabcthe ultimate bunker buster.
虽然上帝之棒的速度和轨道炮弹令人称奇 But as impressive as the speeds
of rods from Godabcand rail gun projectiles are...
但一点都比不上激光的速度 nothing can competeabcwith a laser's speed,
每秒18.6万英里的光速 the 186,000-miles-per-secondabcspeed of light.
激光一直就是科幻小说里 Lasers have always beenabcthe favorite weapon
太空战争中最中意的武器 of science fiction space battles.
拥有一支单兵激光的想法就是迷人和诱人 The idea of having a personal laserabcis just fascinating and attractive.
我在12岁时就喜欢上了 I would have loved oneabcat the age of 12 myself,
同样孩子们有时 the same wayabcthat kids sometimes
也想成为牛仔和枪手 want to be cowboysabcand gunslingers.
有趣的的想法就是拥有一支 There's something very funabcabout the idea of having a weapon
快速 无痛 瞬间的武器 that is quick, painless,abcinstantaneous,
让你来对付山谷里最顽固的混蛋 and makes you the toughest s.o.b.abcin the valley.
但激光究竟是啥东西？ But what exactly is a laser?
激光可以被认为是高科技的手电筒 Lasers can be thought ofabcas sort of a high-tech flashlight,
但所有的光波是同步的 but all the waves are in phase,
你会看到所有的波峰排列整齐 so you've gotabcall the wave crests lining up,
所以这就使得辐射对于给定的能量来说异常强烈 so that makes the radiationabcreally intense
for a given amount of power.
瞧 手电筒或太阳发出的普通光 See, normal lightabcfrom a flashlight or from the Sun
都是不同步的 是杂乱无章的 is all out of phase.abcIt's incoherent.
有些波峰是这个样子 Some wave crests are like this,
其它波的波谷是那个样子 the wave troughs of other wavesabcare like that.
它们往往大部分相互抵消了 They tend to largely cancel out,
你所看到的就是没有抵消的剩余部分 and what you see is the leftover partsabcthat didn't cancel out.
大部分可见的激光束呈现出特定的颜色 Most visible-light laser beamsabcappear as a certain color,
因为唯有具有特定颜色波段的光 since only the lightabcat that specific color frequency
才能排列整齐 走出腔膛 is lined up and comingabcout of the chamber.
不同类型的激光能够以不同的方式破坏目标 And different types of lasersabccan damage targets in different ways.
斯坦福大学的高能激光实验室里的这种绿色激光 This green-light laser
at Stanford University'sabchigh-power laser lab
脉冲的开闭是强大的爆发 pulses on and offabcin powerful bursts.
它实际上并不产生大量的热量 It's actually not deliveringabca lot of heat.
然而 它是一个很强的电场 What it is, though,abcis a very strong electric field.
这个可以提供一个足够强的电场 And this one can provideabca strong enough electric field.
通过创造一个强电场 你就可以撕开原子 By creating a high electric field,abcyou can rip apart atoms,
你可以将电子剥离原子 如果你愿意的话 you can rip electrons off of atomsabcif you wish,
你可以分解物质 and you can break down materials.
强电场甚至还可以撕碎大气分子 The strong electrical fieldabceven rips apart air molecules.
它们在各个脉冲之间同时回来 They come back togetherabcbetween each pulse.
那时你就会看到这种闪光 And that's when you get this flash,
因为在能量释放时 'cause when the energyabccomes out,
你就会看到光 会收到那边的报告 you see the light,abcand you get the report that way,
宛如雷电 much like thunder and lightning.
这些强电场尤其擅长 And these strong fieldsabcare especially good
破坏电子设备 at knocking outabcelectronic equipment.
事实上 激光束非常强大 In fact, the laser beamabcis so powerful,
实际上会破坏我们拍摄这些画面的摄像机 it actually damaged our cameraabcas we recorded these images
一旦尘埃粒子偏转部分脉冲到镜头里的话 when dust particles deflectedabcpart of the pulse into the lens.
它留下了一个永恒的绿色印记 It left a permanent green imprint
在摄像机的聚光CCD屏幕上了 on the camera'sabclight-gathering CCD imager.
实验室的另一台激光演示了 Another laserabcat the lab demonstrates
连续脉冲波的威力 the power of continuous wavesabcinstead of pulses.
这是个红外光束 It's an infrared beam,
因此肉眼是看不见的 so it's not visibleabcto the human eye,
但是其影响是显而易见的 but its effects certainly are.
它非常类似于军方目前在开发的 It's very similar to the oneabcthat military is developing,
只是军方的要强大5万倍 only the military'sabcis about 50,000 times stronger.
这里我们有一个透镜 我们只要穿过透镜 Right here we have a lens,abcand so as we go through the lens,
光束就会聚焦到这个平面上 the beam is focusingabcdown in this plane here.
如果我在那个面上放上一个靶子 If I put a target in that plane,
你可以看到我们最终让它燃烧 因为有热量 you can see that we end upabcburning it because of the heat.
然后我可以 And I can then take out
从这张卡片上取下一片精美光滑的切片 a nice, smoothly edged pieceabcof cardboard from this cardstock.
未来太空战里的激光武器 The laser weaponsabcof future space wars
的功能大同小异 would likely work in the same way,
但是科幻电影迷们可能会惊讶地发现 but sci-fi movie fans may beabcvery surprised to find out
真正的激光武器在太空中的作用 how real laser weaponsabcwill actually work in space.
在科幻片中 我们经常看到激光闪电 In science fiction,abcwe often see a laser bolt,
能量光束 然而在现实中 对于激光 a bolt of energy,abcwhereas in reality, with a laser,
你是看不到光束闪烁的 you'd see a beam connect,abcthen disconnect.
我是说 光是我们所知道最快的东西 l mean, light isabcthe fastest thing we know of.
如果你看到有人用激光束对准你 If you were to see someoneabcabout to shoot you with a laser beam,
你就必须快速做出反应 you would have to reactabcvery quickly
如果你看到他们的手指要去扳动按钮的话 when you see their fingerabcbeginning to twitch toward the button.
否则 你会在看到敌人启动武器的同时遭毒手 Otherwise, you'll get zappedabcat the same time
that you see the zapperabcinitiate the zapping.
然而在决斗在真空的太空中 But in a duelabcin the vacuum of space,
即使是利用可见光的激光武器的光束都是看不见的 even the beams of laser weaponsabcusing visible light won't be seen.
我们在这里可以看到这个光束的原因 So the reasonabcthat we can see this beam here
在于它被空气中的尘埃给散射了 is that it's scattering offabcof the dust particles in the air.
太空中 不存在尘埃粒子 In space,abcthere are no dust particles.
它是真空的 所以你无法看到光束 It's a vacuum,abcso you wouldn't see the beam,
除了抵达了目标并从目标反射回来 except for at its targetabcand reflections off of its target.
因为声音无法在真空中穿行 And since sound can't travelabcthrough a vacuum,
因此没有那些很酷的科幻音效 none of those coolabcsci-fi laser sound effects
将属于真实的太空激光战 will be partabcof a real laser battle in space.
不过即使太空激光武器 But even thoughabclaser weapons in space
模样和声音并不像它们在电影里那样 won't look and soundabclike they do in the movies,
但它们在战场上还是迅猛致命的 they'll still be fast and deadlyabcon the battlefield.
那么真正的太空空战又是何种样子呢？ So what willabca real space dogfight look like?
眼见为实 You'll have to see it to believe it.
没有那种武器能超过高能激光 No weapon has fascinatedabcgenerations of science fiction fans
让代代科幻迷们如痴如醉 more than high-energy lasers.
有可能不久 在未来的数十年里 And it's possible that as soonabcas the next few decades,
激光将强大到足以在一眨眼间 击毁近地卫星 lasers will be powerful enoughabcto knock out satellites
in near-Earth orbitabcin the blink of an eye.
没有武器能快过速度为每秒18.6万英里的激光束 No weapon is fasterabcthan a laser's beam of light
travelingabcat 186,000 miles per second.
如果我们能打造出一种武器 If we could build a weapon
具有洞穿装甲钢板的能力 that had the capabilitiesabcto punch through armor plating,
那么你真的找到好东东了 then you really areabconto something,
因为如果它就是你用来驱动物体的电能的话 because if it is just electrical powerabcthat you need to drive the thing,
你就有了我们所谓的无限弹仓了 you have what we callabcan infinite magazine.
你提及战舰上的大炮 If you're talkingabcabout the big gun on a battleship,
就必须要有炮弹和火药 you have to have bulletsabcand gunpowder.
你会耗尽它们的 You can run out of those.
如果你只是用电能来打造一个激光系统 If you simply use electrical powerabcto create a laser system,
我们就无庸担心谁给我们送来更多的炮弹 we don't have to worry aboutabcsomebody bringing us more bullets
以及在哪里储存那些炮弹 and where to store those bullets.
用于地球上的激光武器 Laser weapons for use on Earth
有可能随时出现在战场上 may begin showing upabcon battlefields any day.
在2008到2009年间 美国空军 In 2008 and 2009,abcthe United States Air Force
对一种武器进行了有限的测试 abc就是所谓的机载激光系统 conducted limited tests with a weaponabcknown as the Airborne Laser System.
从改装的波音747头部射出的高能激光 It's a high-energy laser firedabcfrom the nose of a modified Boeing 747
能识别并跟踪目标 that identifies and tracks targets
这样它就能用精准的能量束去击毁它们 so it can blast themabcwith a precise beam of energy.
它可以发出巨大的激光能 It can putabcan awful lot of laser energy out.
飞机在高空飞行 The airplane flies at high altitude,
它可以瞄准并消灭导弹 and it can shoot upabcand take out missiles,
所以它是个反导弹系统 so it's a counter-missile system.
为期不远了 So the day is coming.
随着技术让我们将激光器封装在 As technology allows usabcto package lasers
越来越小的系统里 in smaller and smaller systems,
我们就可以将它们放上卫星 理论上可以消灭 we can put them on satellitesabcand theoretically take out missiles
从大气层外闯入的导弹 coming up out of the atmosphere.
由于其达到光速的惊人能力 And with their speed-of-lightabcstriking ability,
激光将会是宇航战士的杰出武器 lasers would be a great weaponabcfor spaceship fighters.
不过未来的飞船之间的空战 But futuristic dogfightsabcbetween spacecraft
将会与现在的空战 will have little in commonabcwith today's aerial battles
甚至你在科幻片里所看到的情景大相径庭 or what you've seenabcin science fiction movies.
在未来200年后 一艘补给船及其护航战斗机 200 years in the future,abca supply ship and her escort fighters
前往火星殖民地 on their way to colonies on Mars
遭遇了寻找外快的太空海盗的拦截 are intercepted by space piratesabclooking for a quick payday.
现在 在大气层里 飞机需要有升力 Today, in an atmosphere,abcplanes need to generate lift,
这就是它们有机翼的原因所在 which is why they have wings.
因为它们有了机翼 Because they have wings
因为你还想让飞行员保持清醒 and because you also wantabcto keep your pilots conscious,
所以你就有了长距离的侧飞拐弯 you have long banking turns.
太空中 你无需这么做 In space,abcyou don't need to do that.
你可能会看到飞船在飞翔 You might have a spacecraftabcflying along
简单转身 向身后的家伙开火 and simply turn aroundabcand shoot the guy behind him.
那些就是在你无需空气的情况下所能做到的事情 Those are the kinds of thingsabcyou can do
when you don't requireabcan atmosphere.
由于海盗袭击补给船队 As the pirates attackabcthe supply convoy,
双方模样古怪的战机发生了短兵相接 the odd-looking fightersabcon both sides face off.
或许最佳的就是立方体外装满推进器 Probably the best would beabca cube covered with thrusters,
或小火箭 以及传感器 or little rockets, and sensors.
没有空气需要担心的 Doesn't have an atmosphereabcto worry about,
因而阻力不是问题 so drag is not an issue.
不过你想能看到360度 三维 But you want to be able to seeabc360 degrees, 3-dimensionally,
能够向四面八方都能开火 and be able to fireabcin all of those directions.
那就是立方体了 It would be a cube.
由于这些怪模怪样的飞船战斗在真空的太空中 With these strange-looking craftabcfighting in the vacuum of space,
打斗的动作看上去也与地球上的空战大不一样 the movements of the fightabcwill also look much different
than an aerial battle over Earth.
我们会看到更多的急拉动作 We're going to haveabcmuch more jerky motion,
我们可以突然向左边开火 where we're allowed to suddenlyabcjust shoot off to the left,
突然向右边开火 同时保持前行 suddenly shoot off to the rightabcwhile keeping our forward motion.
我们能够发动火箭任意制动 We can throw rockets onabcto randomly brake
无需担心掉在星球上 without having to worryabcabout crashing down to a planet,
就像我们在大气层里所担心的那样 like you have to worry aboutabcwithin an atmosphere.
但没有了任何空气让飞船减速 But without any atmosphereabcto slow spacecraft down,
那达到了这般高速的太空空战会不会 could space dogfightsabcreach such high speeds
让人类飞行员开始崩溃呢？ that the human pilotsabcwould begin to fall apart?
这就是伊利诺伊州齐格勒的尼古拉斯 That's what Nicholas B.abcfrom Zeigler, Illinois,
向《宇宙》节目提出的问题 wanted to ask "The Universe."
他发来短信 - So he texted...
到了何种速度 人类的原子就会被拆散呢？
尼古拉斯 你的问题其实是共同关心的 Nicholas, your questionabcactually is about a common,
但又是可以理解的误解 but very understandableabcmisconception.
其实在任何速度下都是稳定的 It turns out that atomsabcare stable at any speed,
因为在它们自己的参照系里 它们是静止的 because in their own frameabcof reference, they're at rest.
不过 人类会死于遭遇到持续的加速 However, humans die if they'reabcsubject to sustained accelerations
一旦超过了10个G greater than about 10 g.
因此 我会说那就是在星际旅行时的 So I would sayabcthat's the practical limit
加速度的实际极限 for accelerationsabcduring interstellar travel,
10G 10 g.
不过茫茫太空中又何来重力呢 But how could there be g-forcesabcin the emptiness of space
那里根本就几乎没有什么引力 where there's barelyabcany gravity at all?
那全是因为爱因斯坦的等效原理 It's all because of Albert Einstein'sabcequivalence principle,
其广义相对论的关键部分 a key part ofabchis Theory of General Relativity.
它规定重力和加速度是等价的 It states that gravityabcand acceleration are equivalent,
比如电梯加速上升 like an elevator accelerating up,
会让乘客感觉到好像有额外的重力 making a passenger feel likeabcthere's additional gravity
在把他们推向地面 pushing them into the floor.
因此如果你在太空中移动太快 So if you moved aroundabctoo quickly in space,
你就会扭动很快 and you jerked real quick,
你的大脑就会在你的脑袋里移动飞快 your brain would move aroundabcinside your skull so quickly
就会把你自己给干掉 that you could kill yourself.
因此你可能希望你的飞船里的导航系统 And so you might wantabcthe guidance system of your spacecraft
能让你避开那种机动 to keep you from makingabcthose types of maneuvers.
或者未来的战略家可能会决定让飞行员完全脱离战斗 Or future strategists may decideabcto keep pilots out of the fight entirely.
所以是否貌似太空中的无人驾驶的战争呢？ So then what would a pilotless battleabcin space look like?
由于太空空战的复杂性和危险性 Because of the complexitiesabcand dangers
of dogfighting in space,
飞行员有可能被完全排除在未来的太空战之外 pilots may be left outabcof future space battles altogether.
想象一下我们的海盗船 在未来200年后 Imagine our pirate ship,abc200 years in the future,
试图截获补给船 trying to take over the supply ship,
此时所有的人都留在了两艘宇航母舰上 while all of the people remainedabcon the two main spacecraft.
假设你有一艘巨大的载人或有人驾驶的飞船 Assuming you had a large mannedabcor piloted spacecraft
而卷入战斗的是另一艘同样大小的飞船 that was engagedabcin combat operations
with another vehicleabcthe same size,
你是不会为其发射战斗机的 you wouldn't launch fighters at it.
你会扔下一些小小的太空雷 You would throwabcsome tiny space mine,
机动飞船 手提箱般大小 maneuverable vehicle,abcthe size of a suitcase
会是隐形的 that would be stealthy,
会漂浮在敌方的飞船身上 would float upabcto the enemy spacecraft,
贴附上去自我爆炸 attach itself, and blow up.
那就是你会做得方式 That would be the way you do it.
不过即使有人驾驶的太空战斗机 But even thoughabcpiloted space fighters
有可能不是未来的主要武器 may not be a dominant weaponabcin the future,
激光在太空战中仍可能发挥作用 lasers are still likely to play a roleabcif war comes to space,
尽管它们还有一些挑战需要克服 although they will haveabcsome challenges to overcome.
今后30年 地球上的地面站 30 years from now,abca ground station on Earth
正试图用激光去摧毁敌方的卫星 is trying to destroyabcan enemy satellite with a laser.
然而在其抵达其目标之前 But before it reaches its target,
光束将不得不应付地球的大气层 the beam will have to dealabcwith Earth's atmosphere.
你要是曾经将吸管放入过一杯水里 If you've ever stuck a strawabcinto a glass of water
从侧面去观察 and looked at it from the side,
你可能已经注意到吸管在穿过水面时弯曲了 you might have noticedabcthat the straw appears to bend
那是因为光从一种材料穿到另一种材料时被弯曲了 as it goes through the surface.
This is because light gets bent
as it goes through one materialabcand into another.
激光穿越我们的大气层 Well, lasers passingabcthrough our atmosphere
将不得不面对同样的问题 - 折射 have to deal withabcthe same sort of problem--refraction.
因此如果我们试图将激光从地球表面 So when we're tryingabcto point lasers
指向太空 from the surfaces of the Earth,abcout into space,
我们就必须考虑到 we have to take into consideration
大气层会多大程度弯曲光线 how much the atmosphereabcbends light.
已在太空中的激光武器会更为有效地 A laser weapon already in spaceabcwill be much more effective
消灭卫星或航天器 at taking out satellitesabcor spacecraft.
太空高处 没有空气 Up in space,abcthere would be no atmosphere,
因而没有激光的衰减 and so there'd be no attenuationabcof the laser light,
而在穿越大气时会发生的 as there is when it's goingabcthrough the atmosphere.
但除非科学家拿出一个强劲 But until scientistsabccome up with a strong,
轻质的能源供太空里使用 lightweight energy sourceabcfor use in space,
否则激光将不会强大到能炸掉任何东西 lasers won't be powerful enoughabcto blast anything.
同样的能量限制 And the same kindabcof energy limitations
将有可能将激光武器排斥在太空战士的双手之外 will likely keep laser weaponsabcout of the hands of space soldiers.
除非我们创造一个核聚变装置在手机大小的电池里 Until we create a fusion reactorabcin a cell phone-sized battery,
我们是不会携带那种东西随时去搞破坏的 we're not going to be carryingabcthose things around anytime soon
that do real damage,
就像科克船长的手持光炮 狂轰滥炸 like Captain Kirk's hand-held phaser,abcthat he shoots and destroys
把人整个撕碎 and completely disintegratesabcsomebody.
那需要大量的能量 That takes a lot of power.
我想知道里头究竟是什么能源 I'd like to know what power sourceabcthose things have in them.
要是激光结果并不是未来主要的太空武器 So if lasers don't turn out to be
the dominant space weaponabcof the future,
那么百年以后月球表面的的战斗 then what might a battleabcon the surface of the Moon
又会是何种模样呢？ look like 100 years from now?
因为殖民地之间经常会发生争执 As colonies often do,abcthey get into a dispute
发生一些战争 and have some kind of war.
你会觉得很唐突的 You would thinkabcit would be fairly short.
环境一开始就充满敌意 The environment is so hostileabcto begin with,
你庆幸还活着 you're lucky to be alive.
逼近敌对殖民地的攻击力量 The attacking forceabcapproaching the rival colony
或许相当小 源于严酷的环境 will probably be fairly small,abcdue to the harsh conditions
以及将人及装备送入太空的巨大成本 and the huge cost of bringing peopleabcand equipment into space.
出于同样的节约成本的原因 And for the sameabccost-saving reason,
殖民地也是用轻质材料打造的 the colony will also be madeabcfrom lightweight, thin materials.
运送不锈钢或其它重型装甲 花费太昂贵了 It costs way too muchabcto send stainless steel
or whatever would beabcheavy armored plating.
那不是首批殖民地会做得事 That's not whatabcthe first colonies are going to be.
它们会非常脆弱 They're going to be very fragile.
因此即使是简单的攻击也会非常有效 So even a simple attackabccould be very effective.
我想你只会看到有人拉着炸弹 I think you would just findabcsomebody trucking a bomb
去错误的地方 over to the wrong place
悄悄潜入 将其引爆 and sneaking it inabcand setting it off,
或对人发射一颗小导弹 or launching a small missileabcat somebody.
那确实很难阻止的 It would be incredibly hard to stop.
会极其容易把人们杀死 It would be incredibly easyabcto get everybody killed.
但要是攻击力量 But if the strike force
没能立马将殖民地消灭 isn't able to take outabcthe colony right away,
他们就有可能面临来自月球表面的反击 they might face a counterattackabcout on the surface of the Moon.
现在 在真空的太空里 Here, in the vacuum of space,
即使是最小的伤口都可以让人送命 even the smallest woundabccan be a death sentence.
如果宇航服被打出一个洞 就会漏气 If a hole were punchedabcin a spacesuit, it would leak,
另外 洞穿宇航服的东西 and by the way, what punchedabcthe hole in the spacesuit
没准会一路洞穿里面的人 不是吗？ probably kept on punchingabcthrough to the person inside it, right?
那么你如何去救助那个人呢？ So how do you help that person?
你如何对他们急救呢？ How do you performabcfirst aid on them?
不过遥远未来的太空战争 But the space warsabcof the distant future
有可能超越人与机器的整个技术 may move beyond the technologyabcof man and machine altogether.
毕竟 宇宙自然现象的破坏力 After all, the destructive power ofabcnatural phenomena in the universe
远超过人类所制造的任何武器 goes far beyond any weaponabcpeople have ever made.
展望未来数百年 Looking hundreds of yearsabcinto the future,
好战的外星文明正利用火星作为中转区 a belligerent alien civilizationabcis using Mars as a staging area
准备入侵地球 for their coming invasion of Earth.
人们可以设想重新定位一颗小行星 One might imagineabcredirecting an asteroid
或飞经太阳系的石块 or a rock flyingabcthrough the solar system,
让其去撞击火星 so that it hits Mars.
我们可以设想发射火箭到小行星 We could imagine firingabca rocket to an asteroid,
稍稍偏转其轨道 deflecting it ever so slightlyabcin its trajectory,
这样经过数次转轨 它就会最终撞上火星 so that after a number of orbits,abcit would finally hit Mars.
然而是不是人们免不了会把 But is it inevitableabcthat man will turn
最终的边界变成战场的呢？ the final frontierabcinto a battleground?
抑或我们在破坏性技术上的进步是否会 Or could our advancesabcin destructive technology
匹配上理智和自我保护的进步呢？ be matched by advancesabcin wisdom and self-preservation?
人类总是觉得不久的将来 Human beings always thinkabcthat one day soon,
我们会超越冲突的需求 we're going to move beyondabcthe need for conflict.
我们在这里没做到 We haven't done it here,
我不认为我们在太空中会超越它 and I don't think we're going toabcmove beyond it in space.
世界上多数国家已经签署了 Most countries of the worldabchave already signed
众所周知的1967外太空条约 what's commonly knownabcas the 1967 Outer Space Treaty,
保留太空 月球 其他行星 preserving space, the Moon,abcand other planets
用于和平目的 for peaceful purposes.
字幕菌：cnszw
校对菌：myname69
双语调整：那白岚
后期压制：那白岚
出品：纪录片之家
但随着未来的太空旅行越来越常态 But as space travel in the futureabcbecomes more routine
一旦有价值的未开发资源 and if valuableabcuntapped resources
在地球外发现 一个条约管用吗？ are discovered beyond Earth,abcwill a treaty be enough?
只有时间才能证明这种奇特的太空武器库 Only time will tell if this arsenalabcof exotic space weapons
究竟是我们未来的预演 is a preview of our future
还是我们的庸人自扰