PBS高端访谈:爱因斯坦的相对论是怎样改变了世界?

 JUDY WOODRUFF: But, first, this week marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Albert Einstein's greatest work, a series of papers laying out the general theory of relativity.

Gwen has a look at how it changed our understanding of the cosmos¹ and the man behind the ideas.

She recorded this conversation earlier this week.

GWEN IFILL: His work transformed our way of living at the cosmos.

When Einstein put forward his general theory of relativity, that gravity itself is the bending of space and time by mass and energy, it was a seminal² moment in the history of science.

Today, the importance of his work is even better recognized than a century ago.

"NOVA" pays tribute tonight with a special program called "Inside Einstein's Mind."

Here's a clip about how it's seen today.

爱因斯坦的相对论是怎样改变了世界?

MAN: The best theories in physics always take to places where the people who invented them didn't imagine.

And a truly wonderful theory like general relativity predicts all sorts of things that Einstein didn't conceive of. The theory has a life of its own. We understand general relativity much better right now than Albert Einstein ever did.

MAN: And liftoff of space shuttle Discovery with the Hubble space telescope, our window on the universe.

NARRATOR: Today, 100 years after general relativity is first presented, new technology is allowing us to explore the most remarkable³ predictions of the theory, an expanding universe, black holes, ripples⁴ in space-time, and perhaps the most bizarre, the idea that not just space, but time itself, is distorted by heavy objects.

GWEN IFILL: Walter Isaacson, who's in tonight's special, is the author of a well-known biography on Einstein. He's also the CEO of the Aspen Institute.

Welcome, Walter.

WALTER ISAACSON, Author, "Einstein: His Life and Universe": Good to be back, Gwen.

GWEN IFILL: You have said that the theory, the general theory of relativity — I'm going to say that right — is the most beautiful theory in the history of science.

What do you mean by that?

WALTER ISAACSON: Gorgeous.

It is a mathematical, as well as conceptual masterpiece. It's something that can be visualized⁶ as bodies telling space and time how to curve and the curving of space and time telling bodies how to move, and then the math goes with it.

And it was just a hugely — it wasn't like a little improvement over Newton's universe. It was just a whole new way of looking at the universe.

GWEN IFILL: Define relativity for a layperson like myself.

WALTER ISAACSON: Relativity begins in 1905, in which Einstein says, oh, time is relative depending on your state of motion.

Then 10 years ago, exactly 100 years ago this week, he comes up with the generalization⁷ of the theory that says acceleration⁸, gravity, time, space, they're all related, and these equations show how.

GWEN IFILL: And the thing that bends the whole conversation is the speed of light, right? We use the term speed of light in a haphazard⁹ way all the time, but he meant it in a very literal way.

WALTER ISAACSON: It begins with Einstein trying to figure out, why is the speed of light always constant, no matter which way you're moving, if you're moving toward the source of the light or away from it?

And in 1905, when he was just a patent clerk in the Swiss patent office, all the physicists¹⁰ of Europe are trying to figure this out. And he begins his path to whole theory of relativity by realizing that if you're traveling really fast, say, to a clock, it will look different for you, whether it's synchronized¹¹, as somebody traveling really fast in the other direction.

And he comes up with the amazing, sort of imaginatively, that, oh, I get it, the speed of light is always constant, but time is relevant depending on your state of motion. So that's the first building block of the whole theory of relativity. It's called the special theory of relativity, because it was just about constant velocity¹², motion and the speed of light.

GWEN IFILL: And then gravity comes into the equation.

WALTER ISAACSON: Right. It takes him 10 years to generalize this — the theory, because he's wondering, what about the acceleration?

And his theory says, nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. But Newton's theory of gravity said that gravity acts instantaneously, the moon pulling the sun, pulling the Earth, vice¹³ versa. That's instantaneous.

And Einstein is trying to figure out how that could be, and so he realizes that the effects you would feel of acceleration, like if you're in an car, an elevator car accelerating upwards¹⁴, that feels just like gravity. And he comes up with the equivalence theory, that gravity and acceleration are both really the same thing.

GWEN IFILL: Bowling¹⁵ ball and the trampoline, explain — I love that idea, that analogy.

WALTER ISAACSON: That's another way he visualizes¹⁶ it, because the cool thing about Einstein is, he thinks visually in imaginative thought experiment.

And one of them is rolling a big ball on a piece of fabric¹⁷. You and I can call it a trampoline. And what happens? It curves the fabric. Now, if you roll some billiard balls behind it, what happens? They roll and they start curving towards the bowling ball. Why? Not because the bowling ball has some mysterious attraction at a distance, but because the ball has curved the fabric of the trampoline.

And what Einstein is able to visualize⁵ is that a big mass moving curves not just the fabric of the trampoline, but all four dimensions of space and time.

GWEN IFILL: You talk about thought experiments. Was Einstein basically a daydreamer¹⁸?

WALTER ISAACSON: Yes. He gets to call them gedankenexperiment, which means thought experiments.

These are things where he imagines what happens if a big object is rolling across a fabric. And it's just imagination, what we might call daydreaming¹⁹. He never did physical experiments in a lab. He just did the experiments visualizing²⁰ concepts in his head and said, well, what if I caught up with a light beam? Or what if I were in the car — an elevator car accelerating upward in outer space where there is no gravity?

Or what would happen if a massive object rolled over a fabric? These were the imaginative thought experiments that leads him to this most beautiful of all theories.

GWEN IFILL: If this was never proven in a lab, or at least if that is not where his ideas came from, has anyone ever tried in the 100 years since to debunk²¹ the theory?

WALTER ISAACSON: Oh, over and over again.

The first major proof is in 1919, because he says, well, gravity will bend a light beam a certain way. And you say, well, we could look at the light from a star that goes right next to the sun to see if it's bent²². But you can't do that unless you have a total eclipse. Otherwise, you go blind.

So, they wait for the 1919 eclipse, and it proves Einstein right. Over and over again, you read stories saying, Einstein's theories disproved or debunked²³, and then you wait a month or two, and there has been nothing that has cut out the underpinnings of general relativity, of all of relativity.

And even the ones that Einstein thought, well, this just can't be true, like his theory predicts black holes — it predicts an expanding cosmos. He said, well, that can't be right, so maybe somebody will have to fix the theory. It turns out the theory is right, and the universe is expanding. There are black holes.

GWEN IFILL: Einstein, we salute²⁴ you.

WALTER ISAACSON: A hundred years ago. Happy birthday.

GWEN IFILL: A hundred years ago.

GWEN IFILL: Walter Isaacson, thank you very much.

WALTER ISAACSON: Thank you, Gwen.

1 cosmos   

n.宇宙；秩序，和谐

参考例句：

• Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。
• Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗？

2 seminal   

adj.影响深远的；种子的

参考例句：

• The reforms have been a seminal event in the history of the NHS.这些改革已成为英国国民保健制度史上影响深远的一件大事。
• The emperor's importance as a seminal figure of history won't be diminished.做为一个开创性历史人物的重要性是不会减弱的。

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 ripples   

逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
• The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。

5 visualize   

vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想

参考例句：

• I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人，但他的样子我想不起来了。
• She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。

6 visualized   

直观的，直视的

参考例句：

• I had visualized scientists as bearded old men. 我曾经把科学家想像成长满胡子的老人。
• "I visualized mangled and inadequate branches for my fires. 我想像中出现了砍得乱七八糟的树枝子，供不上壁炉烧的。 来自名作英译部分

7 generalization   

n.普遍性，一般性，概括

参考例句：

• This sweeping generalization is the law of conservation of energy.这一透彻的概括就是能量守恒定律。
• The evaluation of conduct involves some amount of generalization.对操行的评价会含有一些泛泛之论。

8 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。

9 haphazard   

adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的

参考例句：

• The town grew in a haphazard way.这城镇无计划地随意发展。
• He regrerted his haphazard remarks.他悔不该随口说出那些评论话。

10 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

11 synchronized   

同步的

参考例句：

• Do not use the synchronized keyword in Managed Objects. 不要在管理对象上使用synchronized关键字。 来自互联网
• The timing of the gun was precisely synchronized with the turning of the plane's propeller. 风门的调速与飞机螺旋桨的转动精确同步。 来自辞典例句

12 velocity   

n.速度，速率

参考例句：

• Einstein's theory links energy with mass and velocity of light.爱因斯坦的理论把能量同质量和光速联系起来。
• The velocity of light is about 300000 kilometres per second.光速约为每秒300000公里。

13 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

14 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

15 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

16 visualizes   

在脑中使（某人或某物）形象化，设想，想像( visualize的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He mentally visualizes a complex form all round itself. 他在脑海里从形体的各个方面来模拟复杂的形体。
• He is much older, but do you think he visualizes scenarios, exchanges? 他年纪大很多你对他可有想入非非？

17 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

18 daydreamer   

n.空想家

参考例句：

• Don't trust him any more. He is always living as a daydreamer. 别再相信他了，他是个一直住在空中楼阁里的空想家。 来自互联网
• A developed and strong imagination does not make you an impractical daydreamer. 一种扩展和坚固想象力不是一种不实用的空想家。 来自互联网

19 daydreaming   

v.想入非非，空想( daydream的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Stop daydreaming and be realistic. 别空想了，还是从实际出发吧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Bill was sitting and daydreaming so his mother told him to come down to earth and to do his homework. 比尔坐着空想， 他母亲要他面对现实，去做课外作业。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 visualizing   

肉眼观察

参考例句：

• Nevertheless, the Bohr model is still useful for visualizing the structure of an atom. 然而，玻尔模型仍有利于使原子结构形象化。
• Try to strengthen this energy field by visualizing the ball growing stronger. 通过想象能量球变得更强壮设法加强这能量场。

21 debunk   

v.揭穿真相，暴露

参考例句：

• let's debunk some of the most common falsehoods.让我们来揭穿一些最常见的谬误吧。
• Sequences of maps can also debunk misconceptions.一系列的地图，也有助于厘清错误概念。

22 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

23 debunked   

v.揭穿真相，暴露( debunk的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His theories have been debunked by recent research. 最近的研究揭穿了他的理论的真相。
• Some advertising slogans should be debunked. 某些夸大的广告用语应予揭露。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。