TED：宇宙听起来就像一趟纯粹的音乐之旅

I’d like you all to close your eyes, please ...

我想请大家闭上眼睛……

and imagine yourself sitting in the middle of a large, open field

想像你自己坐在一片 广大开放的原野中间，

with the sun setting on your right.

在你的右边是西下的太阳。

And as the sun sets,

当太阳西下时，想像今天晚上

imagine that tonight you don’t just see the stars appear,

你不只会看到星星出现，

but you’re able to hear the stars appear

你还会听见星星出现，

with the brightest stars being the loudest notes

最明亮的星星是最大声的音符，

and the hotter, bluer stars producing the higher-pitched notes.

越热、越蓝的星星 产生越高音的音符。

(Music)

（音乐）

And since each constellation is made up of different types of stars,

既然每个星座都是 由不同类型的星星组成，

they’ll each produce their own unique melody,

那么每个星座都会产生出 它自己的独特弦律，

such as Aries, the ram.

比如白羊座，公羊。

(Music)

（音乐）

Or Orion, the hunter.

或猎户座，猎人。

(Music)

（音乐）

Or even Taurus, the bull.

或甚至金牛座，公牛。

(Music)

（音乐）

We live in a musical universe,

我们住在一个音乐的宇宙中，

and we can use that to experience it from a new perspective,

我们能利用这一点， 从一个新的角度来体验宇宙，

and to share that perspective with a wider range of people.

并和更多人分享那个角度。

Let me show you what I mean.

让我说明我的意思。

(Music ends)

（音乐结束）

Now, when I tell people I’m an astrophysicist,

当我说我是天体物理学家时，

they’re usually pretty impressed.

别人通常会很敬佩。

And then I say I’m also a musician -- they’re like, "Yeah, we know."

接着，我说我也是音乐家—— 他们会说：「是啊，我们知道。」

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So everyone seems to know

所以，大家似乎都知道

that there’s this deep connection between music and astronomy.

音乐和天文学之间 有很深刻的连结。

And it’s actually a very old idea;

这个想法其实很古老；

it goes back over 2,000 years to Pythagoras.

始于两千年前的毕达哥拉斯。

You might remember Pythagoras from such theorems

你们可能会因为毕达哥拉斯定理

as the Pythagorean theorem --

而记得毕达哥拉斯——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And he said:

他说：

There is geometry in the humming of the strings,

「在弦的哼唱之中，有着几何学，

there is music in the spacing of the spheres."

在天体的间隔之中，有着音乐。」

And so he literally thought

所以他真的认为

that the motions of the planets along the celestial sphere

行星沿着天体的运行

created harmonious music.

会创造出和谐的音乐。

And if you asked him, "Why don’t we hear anything?"

若你问他：「为什么 我们什么都听不见？」

he’d say you can’t hear it

他会说你听不见是因为你不知道

because you don’t know what it’s like to not hear it;

「没有听见它」是怎样的，

you don’t know what true silence is.

你不知道真正的寂静是什么。

It’s like how you have to wait for your power to go out

就像是，得等到你家停电了，

to hear how annoying your refrigerator was.

才会听出你的电冰箱有多吵。

Maybe you buy that,

也许你买帐， 但其他人并非都会买帐，

but not everybody else was buying it, including such names as Aristotle.

包括一个叫做亚里斯多德的人。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Exact words.

一字不差。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So I’ll paraphrase his exact words.

我会一字不差引述他的话，他说：

He said it’s a nice idea,

这是个好想法，但，

but if something as large and vast as the heavens themselves

像天堂这么广大浩翰的东西

were moving and making sounds,

若在移动并发出声音，

it wouldn’t just be audible,

它不仅会是听得见的，

it would be earth-shatteringly loud.

还会大声到能撼动地球。

We exist, therefore there is no music of the spheres.

我们存在，因此，天体没有音乐。

He also thought that the brain’s only purpose was to cool down the blood,

他也认为大脑的唯一目的 就是要让血液冷却，

so there’s that ...

那也是他的想法……

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But I’d like to show you that in some way they were actually both right.

但我想要跟各位说明 在某个角度他们两人都对。

And we’re going to start by understanding what makes music musical.

我们一开始要先来了解 是什么让音乐是音乐。

It may sound like a silly question,

这听起来是个蠢问题，

but have you ever wondered why it is

但你可曾纳闷过， 为什么一起演奏某些音符时，

that certain notes, when played together, sound relatively pleasing or consonant,

听起来相对让人愉悦或和谐，

such as these two --

比如这两段——

(Music)

（音乐）

while others are a lot more tense or dissonant,

而其他音符演奏起来 就很紧绷或刺耳，

such as these two.

像这两段。

(Music)

（音乐）

Right?

对吧？

Why is that? Why are there notes at all?

为什么会这样？为什么会有音符？

Why can you be in or out of tune?

为什么会有走调和不走调之分？

Well, the answer to that question

那个问题的答案

was actually solved by Pythagoras himself.

其实毕达哥拉斯就已经解开了。

Take a look at the string on the far left.

看看最左边的弦。

If you bow that string,

如果你用弓拉那条弦，

it will produce a note as it oscillates very fast back and forth.

它在快速来回震荡中 会产生一个音符。

(Musical note)

（音乐音符）

But now if you cut the string in half, you’ll get two strings,

但如果你把弦剪成一半， 你会有两条弦，

each oscillating twice as fast.

每条弦的震荡速度会是两倍。

And that will produce a related note.

那会产生出一个相关的音符。

Or three times as fast,

或三倍速，

or four times --

或四倍速——

(Musical notes)

（音乐音符）

And so the secret to musical harmony really is simple ratios:

所以，音乐和谐的秘密 其实只是简单的比率：

the simpler the ratio,

比率越简单，

the more pleasing or consonant those two notes will sound together.

那两个音符一起演奏起来 就会更让人愉悦、和谐。

And the more complex the ratio, the more dissonant they will sound.

比率越复杂，音符 听起来就越不和谐。

And it’s this interplay between tension and release,

正是这种紧绷和放松之间，

or consonance and dissonance,

或是和谐与不和谐之间的互相影响，

that makes what we call music.

形成了我们所称的音乐。

(Music)

（音乐）

(Music ends)

（音乐结束）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）

But there’s more.

但还不只如此。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So the two features of music we like to think of as pitch and rhythms,

所以，音乐的两项特征， 即我们所谓的音高和节奏，

they’re actually two versions of the same thing,

它们其实是同样东西的 两个不同版本，

and I can show you.

容我示范。

(Slow rhythm)

（慢节奏）

That’s a rhythm right?

那是一种节奏，对吧？

Watch what happens when we speed it up.

看看当我们把它加快时会如何。

(Rhythm gets gradually faster)

（节奏渐渐变快）

(High pitch)

（高音）

(Lowering pitch)

（降低音高）

(Slow Rhythm)

（慢节奏）

So once a rhythm starts happening more than about 20 times per second,

一旦节奏开始快到 每秒钟 20 次以上，

your brain flips.

你的大脑就会翻转，

It stops hearing it as a rhythm and starts hearing it as a pitch.

停止将它听成是节奏， 开始将它听成是音高。

So what does this have to do with astronomy?

那和天文学有什么关系？

Well, that’s when we get to the TRAPPIST-1 system.

那就要谈到 TRAPPIST-1 行星系统了。

This is an exoplanetary system discovered last February of 2017,

这是去年二月发现的 系外行星系统，即 2017 年。

and it got everyone excited

它让大家都好兴奋，

because it is seven Earth-sized planets all orbiting a very near red dwarf star.

因为它有七个地球大小的行星，都绕着一个很近的红色矮星运行。

And we think that three of the planets

我们认为，其中三个行星

have the right temperature for liquid water.

温度适合液态水存在。

It’s also so close that in the next few years,

不用多久，在接下来的几年，

we should be able to detect elements in their atmospheres

我们应该就能够侦测 其大气中的元素，

such as oxygen and methane -- potential signs of life.

比如氧气以及甲烷—— 可能的生命迹象。

But one thing about the TRAPPIST system is that it is tiny.

但 TRAPPIST 系统 有一个特点，就是它很小。

So here we have the orbits of the inner rocky planets

这里的是内岩石行星的轨道，

in our solar system:

在我们的太阳系中：

Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars,

水星、金星、地球，和火星，

and all seven Earth-sized planets of TRAPPIST-1

而 TRAPPIST-1 中 那七个地球大小的行星

are tucked well inside the orbit of Mercury.

都被好好地塞在水星的轨道中。

I have to expand this by 25 times

我把它放大了 25 倍，

for you to see the orbits of the TRAPPIST-1 planets.

让各位可以看见 TRAPPIST-1 行星的轨道。

It’s actually much more similar in size to our planet Jupiter and its moons,

在大小上，其实是和我们的木星及木星的卫星比较相似，

even though it’s seven Earth-size planets orbiting a star.

只是它是七个地球大小的行星 绕着一个恒星在运行。

Another reason this got everyone excited was artist renderings like this.

另一个让大家兴奋的理由，是像这样的艺术呈现。

You got some liquid water, some ice, maybe some land,

有一些液态水、一些冰， 也许还有一些土地，

maybe you can go for a dive in this amazing orange sunset.

也许你可以在这绝美的 橘色夕阳下去潜水。

It got everyone excited,

这让大家很兴奋，接着，

and then a few months later, some other papers came out

几个月后，又出现了其他的论文，

that said, actually, it probably looks more like this.

内容说，其实，它可能 看起来会比较像这样。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So there were signs

有一些征象显示，

that some of the surfaces might actually be molten lava

有部分表面可能是熔化的熔岩，

and that there were very damaging X-rays coming from the central star --

还从中间的恒星发出 极具杀伤力的 X 光，

X-rays that will sterilize the surface of life and even strip off atmospheres.

X 光会杀尽表面上的所有生命，甚至会破坏大气层。

Luckily, just a few months ago in 2018,

幸运的是，2018 年， 就在几个月前，

some new papers came out with more refined measurements,

根据更精炼的测量值 所写的论文发表出来了，

and they found actually it does look something like that.

发现确实看起来是那样。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So we now know that several of them have huge supplies of water --

我们现在知道 其中几颗星球有大量的水——

global oceans --

全球海洋——

and several of them have thick atmospheres,

当中数颗星球有很厚的大气层，

so it’s the right place to look for potential life.

所以，若要找寻生命， 到这里找是对的。

But there’s something even more exciting about this system,

但关于这个系统， 还有件更让人兴奋的事，

especially for me.

特别让我兴奋。

And that’s that TRAPPIST-1 is a resonant chain.

这件事就是， TRAPPIST-1 是个共振链。

And so that means for every two orbits of the outer planet,

那就表示，外行星每绕 2 圈，

the next one in orbits three times,

下一个行星就会绕 3 圈，

and the next one in four,

再下一个是 4 圈，

and then six, nine, 15 and 24.

接着是 6、9、15，及 24 圈。

So you see a lot of very simple ratios among the orbits of these planets.

可以看到这些行星的绕行当中 有许多非常简单的比率。

Clearly, if you speed up their motion, you can get rhythms, right?

很显然，加速它们的移动， 就能得到节奏，对吧？

One beat, say, for every time a planet goes around.

比如，每一个行星 绕一圈，就是一拍。

But now we know if you speed that motion up even more,

但现在，我们知道， 如果把移动速度再提高，

you’ll actually produce musical pitches,

就会产生出音乐音高，

and in this case alone,

在这个案例中，

those pitches will work together,

那些音高能够同心协力，

making harmonious, even human-like harmony.

产生出悦耳， 甚至像人类演奏的和谐。

So let’s hear TRAPPIST-1.

咱们来听听 TRAPPIST-1 吧。

The first thing you’ll hear will be a note for every orbit of each planet,

你们会先听到的是 每个星球轨道的音符，

and just keep in mind,

只要记住，

this music is coming from the system itself.

这音乐是来自系统本身。

I’m not creating the pitches or rhythms,

我并没有创造音高或是节奏，

I’m just bringing them into the human hearing range.

我只是把它们带到 人类的听觉范围中。

And after all seven planets have entered,

在所有七个行星都进入之后，

you’re going to see --

你们就会看见——

well, you’re going to hear a drum for every time two planets align.

嗯，你们就会在每两个行星 对齐时听见一声鼓声。

That’s when they kind of get close to each other

那就是它们靠近彼此的时候，

and give each other a gravitational tug.

会因为引力而彼此拉扯。

(Tone)

（音调）

(Two tones)

（两种音调）

(Three tones)

（三种音调）

(Four tones)

（四种音调）

(Five tones)

（五种音调）

(Six tones)

（六种音调）

(Seven tones)

（七种音调）

(Drum beats)

（鼓节拍）

(Music ends)

（音乐结束）

And that’s the sound of the star itself -- its light converted into sound.

那是行星自身的声音—— 它的光线被转换成声音。

So you may wonder how this is even possible.

你可能会纳闷，这怎么有可能？

And it’s good to think of the analogy of an orchestra.

有个很好的比喻，就是交响乐团。

When everyone gets together to start playing in an orchestra,

当大家聚集在 一个交响乐团中演奏，

they can’t just dive into it, right?

他们无法一蹴而就吧？

They have to all get in tune;

他们全都必须调节；

they have to make sure

必须要确保

their instruments resonate with their neighbors’ instruments,

他们的乐器和旁边的乐器会共振，

and something very similar happened to TRAPPIST-1 early in its existence.

TRAPPIST-1 存在的初期 就有遇到很类似这样的状况。

When the planets were first forming,

当时此星系刚刚形成，

they were orbiting within a disc of gas,

它们是在一个气体的 圆平面内绕行，

and while inside that disc,

在那个圆平面内，

they can actually slide around

它们其实可以滑来滑去，

and adjust their orbits to their neighbors

调整它们跟旁边行星之间的轨道，

until they’re perfectly in tune.

直到它们调节到完美。

And it’s a good thing they did because this system is so compact --

它们的融合是件好事， 因为这个系统非常紧密——

a lot of mass in a tight space --

在非常挤的空间中 有很大的质量——

if every aspect of their orbits wasn’t very finely tuned,

如果它们的轨道的 每个面向没有调节好，

they would very quickly disrupt each other’s orbits,

它们就可能会马上 打断彼此的轨道，

destroying the whole system.

摧毁整个系统。

So it’s really music that is keeping this system alive --

是音乐，让这个系统 能一直活下去——

and any of its potential inhabitants.

以及系统中可能存在的居民。

But what does our solar system sound like?

但我们的太阳系听起来 是什么样子的？

I hate to be the one to show you this, but it’s not pretty.

我真希望不是由我来 为各位展示，它不怎么美好。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So for one thing,

所以，一则，

our solar system is on a much, much larger scale,

我们的太阳系的规模更大许多，

and so to hear all eight planets,

所以若要听见所有八个行星，

we have to start with Neptune near the bottom of our hearing range,

我们就得要从海王星开始， 它在我们的听觉范围底部，

and then Mercury’s going to be all the way up

接着一直到最上的水星，

near the very top of our hearing range.

很靠近我们听觉范围的顶部。

But also, since our planets are not very compact --

但，此外，因为我们太阳系的 行星没有很紧密——

they’re very spread out --

它们非常分散——

they didn’t have to adjust their orbits to each other,

它们不需要去调整彼此间的轨道，

so they’re kind of just all playing their own random note at random times.

所以它们有点像是在随机的时刻 演奏自己随机的音符。

So, I’m sorry, but here it is.

让我说声抱歉，我们就来听吧。

(Tone)

（音调）

That’s Neptune.

那是海王星。

(Two tones)

（两种音调）

Uranus.

天王星。

(Three tones)

（三种音调）

Saturn.

土星。

(Four tones)

（四种音调）

Jupiter.

木星。

And then tucked in, that’s Mars.

接着拉进来的是火星。

(Five tones)

（五种音调）

(Six tones)

（六种音调）

Earth.

地球。

(Seven tones)

（七种音调）

Venus.

金星。

(Eight tones)

（八种音调）

And that’s Mercury --

那是水星——

OK, OK, I’ll stop.

好，好，我停下来就是了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So this was actually Kepler’s dream.

这其实是克卜勒的梦想。

Johannes Kepler is the person

约翰尼斯克卜勒就是 想出行星运动定律的人。

that figured out the laws of planetary motion.

对于在音乐、天文学，和几何之间

He was completely fascinated by this idea

有连结存在的这个想法， 让他非常着迷。

that there’s a connection between music, astronomy and geometry.

所以他写了一整本书，

And so he actually spent an entire book

就是在寻找太阳系行星之间的

just searching for any kind of musical harmony amongst the solar system’s planets

任何一种音乐和谐，

and it was really, really hard.

这真的非常困难。

It would have been much easier had he lived on TRAPPIST-1,

如果他住在 TRAPPIST-1， 就会简单得多，

or for that matter ...

或就这点来说，

K2-138.

住在 K2-138 上也不错。

This is a new system discovered in January of 2018

它是个新系统，在 2018 年一月被发现，

with five planets,

有五个行星，

and just like TRAPPIST,

和 TRAPPIST 很像，

early on in their existence, they were all finely tuned.

它们存在的初期， 都调节得非常一致。

They were actually tuned

其实，它们调节成为

into a tuning structure proposed by Pythagoras himself,

一种由毕达哥拉斯自己

over 2,000 years before.

在至少两千年前 所提出的调节结构。

But the system’s actually named after Kepler,

但这个系统却是以克卜勒命名，

discovered by the Kepler space telescope.

因为它是用克卜勒 太空望远镜发现的。

And so, in the last few billion years,

所以，在最后几十亿年，

they’ve actually lost their tuning,

它们失去了调节，

quite a bit more than TRAPPIST has,

比 TRAPPIST 的状况 严重一点，所以……

and so what we’re going to do is go back in time

我们要做的，就是回到过去，

and imagine what they would’ve sounded like

想像它们在刚形成的时候

just as they were forming.

听起来会是什么样子的。

(Music)

（音乐）

(Music ends)

（音乐结束）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

Now, you may be wondering: How far does this go?

你们可能在纳闷，极限在哪里？

How much music actually is out there?

外太空到底有多少音乐？

And that’s what I was wondering last fall

去年秋天我就是在纳闷这件事，

when I was working at U of T’s planetarium,

当时我在多伦多大学的 天文馆工作，

and I was contacted by an artist named Robyn Rennie and her daughter Erin.

有位艺术家萝宾 和她女儿艾琳与我联络，

Robyn loves the night sky,

萝宾热爱夜空，

but she hasn’t been able to fully see it for 13 years

但她 13 年来她都无法 完全看见夜空，

because of vision loss.

因为她的视力在衰退。

And so they wondered if there was anything I could do.

她们想知道我能不能帮上忙。

So I collected all the sounds I could think of from the universe

于是我收集了所有 我能想到的宇宙的声音，

and packaged them into what became "Our Musical Universe."

把它们包装成为「我们的音乐宇宙」。

This is a sound-based planetarium show

这是个以声音为基础的 天文馆节目，

exploring the rhythm and harmony of the cosmos.

探索宇宙的节奏和和谐。

And Robyn was so moved by this presentation

这场展示让萝宾非常感动，

that when she went home,

当她回家之后，

she painted this gorgeous representation of her experience.

她把她的经历画成 这张迷人的图像。

And then I defaced it by putting Jupiter on it for the poster.

我为了做海报而把木星 放上去，破坏了这杰作。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So ...

所以……

in this show, I take people of all vision levels

在这场展示中， 我带着各种不同视力的人，

and bring them on an audio tour of the universe,

踏上一段宇宙的声音之旅，

from the night sky all the way out to the edge of the observable universe.

从夜空一路旅行到 可见宇宙的边缘。

But even this is just the start of a musical odyssey

但这也只是一段漫长的 音乐探索的开端，

to experience the universe with new eyes and with new ears,

用新的眼睛和耳朵来感受宇宙，

and I hope you’ll join me.

我希望你们能加入我。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）