不可思议的科学奇思:宇宙绝不止一个!

 　　Ranga-Ram Chary¹, U.S. Planck Data Center's project manager in California, recently discovered a "mysterious glow" by mapping the Cosmic Microwave Background, otherwise known as the light that was left over from a few hundred thousand years after the Big Bang.

　　最近，美国加州普朗克数据中心的项目经理Ranga-Ram Chary，在绘制宇宙微波背景辐射图时发现了一束“神秘亮光”，被认为是宇宙大爆炸几十万年后遗留的光线。

　　Ordinarily, Chary would have found nothing "except noise." But the spots of light were 4,500 times brighter than they should have been.

　　通常，Chary的发现除了噪音没有别的，但这一束光的亮度相比之前的高出4500多倍。

　　Chary concluded that the glow could represent matter from another universe "leaking" or colliding into ours. This would validate² the hypothesis that our universe is merely "a region within an eternally inflating³ super-region," said Chary in an Astrophysical Journal study published in September.

　　Chary认为这束光代表着另一个宇宙的物质“泄露”或是闯入到了我们所在的宇宙，他在9月份发表《天文物理期刊》中称这一发现证实了之前的假设，即我们所在的宇宙空间存在于一个“不断膨胀的超级大空间”之中。

　　不可思议的科学奇思:宇宙绝不止一个!

　　Cosmologists have speculated about multiple universes for years, but have thus far been unable to prove their existence. Chary's research is therefore significant because it could lend credence⁴ to the theory that cosmic inflation -- which is the notion that the universe began inflating right after the Big Bang -- led to multiple universes.

　　多年来宇宙学家一直在推测多重宇宙的存在，但至今都无法证实。因此Chary的研究意义重大，因为其证实了宇宙膨胀说，即宇宙在大爆炸之后开始不断膨胀，最终导致多重宇宙的产生。

　　However, this type of claim would "require a very high burden of proof," Chary wrote. There's a 30 percent chance that the glow is nothing out of the ordinary.

　　然而Chary还写道，这种论断“需要非常确凿的证据”，该光束是普通光线的几率仍然有30%。

　　Other scientists share this skepticism. Alexander Vilenkin, director of Tufts University's Institute of Cosmology, doesn't see how "this signal can be explained by a collision with another bubble universe." Any collisions must have been "more like little nudges," Vilenkin added. "But a collision that would greatly enhance the density⁵ of protons seems to require a much more violent encounter."

　　另外一些科学家对此持怀疑态度，塔夫斯大学宇宙学研究所主任Alexander Vilenkin认为，这束光线“无法解释为宇宙碰撞的线索”。他说：“任何碰撞都更像是微小的震动，但要使碰撞能够极大的增加质子密度，则需要更强烈的破坏力。”

　　"The supposed observations of a giant void and an apparently⁶ cold spot in the cosmic background radiation have so many types of potential explanations," said Jay Pasachoff, chair of the astronomy department at Williams College. He maintains that it's too premature⁷ to cite an alternate universe as the explanation.

　　威廉姆斯学院天文系主任Jay Pasachoff称：“在宇宙背景辐射中观察到的巨洞和类似的冰点都存在多种形式的解释。”他强调引用平行宇宙来解释这一发现还为时过早。

　　"But it could also be something new and unexpected," Vilenkin added.

　　Vilenkin最后说道：“然而，这束光线也有可能是新的未知事物。”

1 chary   

adj.谨慎的，细心的

参考例句：

• She started a chary descent of the stairs.她开始小心翼翼地下楼梯。
• She is chary of strangers.她见到陌生人会害羞。

2 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

3 inflating   

v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• I felt myself inflating slowly with rage, like a tyre. 我感到自己体内的怒气正慢慢膨胀，像一只轮胎那样。 来自互联网
• Many are already overheating, with prices rising and asset bubbles inflating. 随着物价日益上涨、资产泡沫膨胀，很多新兴国家经济已经过热。 来自互联网

4 credence   

n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证

参考例句：

• Don't give credence to all the gossip you hear.不要相信你听到的闲话。
• Police attach credence to the report of an unnamed bystander.警方认为一位不知姓名的目击者的报告很有用。

5 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。