如果你在马里亚纳海沟引爆核弹会发生什么？（科学探讨，并非幻想）：英语精读讲义

What would happen if we detonated humanity's most powerful nuclear weapon 語法

如果我们引爆人类威力最强大的核武器会发生什么，

at the deepest point of the ocean?

就在海洋的最深处？

For sure, tsunamis hundreds of meters high would destroy coastal cities,

毫无疑问，数百米高的海啸将摧毁沿海城市，

earthquakes would level countries, 用詞

地震会夷平许多国家，

new volcanoes would bring us nuclear winter.

新的火山喷发将给我们带来核冬天。

Maybe even Earth could be ripped apart 短語動詞

甚至地球都可能会被撕裂，

or thrown out of orbit. 短語搭配

或是被震出轨道。

Well, almost. 表達脈絡

嗯，差不多就是这样吧。

Currently, Earth's deepest known point is inside the Mariana Trench.

目前，地球已知最深点位于马里亚纳海沟内。

The Mariana Trench is a very deep valley right at the edge of two tectonic plates

马里亚纳海沟是正好位于两大板块边缘的一个极深的海谷，

that looks like an upside-down mountain. 習語

看起来就像一座倒置的山脉。

It reaches a depth of about 11 km, 短語搭配

它的深度达到了约11公里，

almost three times deeper than the dark grave of the Titanic. 語法

几乎是泰坦尼克号那幽暗长眠之地的三倍深。

It's one of the last places on Earth for humans to explore. 語法

它是地球上供人类探索的最后几块未境之地之一。

Pitch black and under a thousand atmospheres of pressure, 短語搭配

漆黑一片，并且承受着一千个大气压，

it's a relatively pristine environment thanks to the absence of humans. 短語搭配

由于没有人类涉足，这里的环境相对原始。

A great place for our nuclear test. 語氣意圖

简直是我们进行核试验的绝佳地点。

We'll use the most powerful nuclear bomb 語法

我们将使用人类引爆过的

humans have ever exploded,

威力最强大的核弹，

the RDS-220 hydrogen bomb, or Tsar Bomba. 文化背景

RDS-220氢弹，也就是“沙皇炸弹”。

Its explosion was so massive 語法

它的爆炸规模如此巨大，

that its shockwave traveled around the Earth three times,

以至于产生的冲击波绕了地球三次，

and its mushroom cloud stretched 56 km into the sky.

并且其蘑菇云直冲天空达56公里高。

Its shockwave was strong enough 語法

它的冲击波足够强大，

to destroy everything in a thousand square kilometers,

能够摧毁一千平方公里内的一切，

its fireball hot enough to burn the rubble.

其火球的温度足以将碎石烧成灰烬。

Bombs like this release such an enormous amount of energy at once 語法

像这样的炸弹会在瞬间释放出极其巨大的能量，

that they could boil away an entire lake. 短語動詞

甚至能将整座湖水煮干。

And if we set off a nuclear bomb in the Mariana Trench, 短語動詞

如果我们在马里亚纳海沟引爆一颗核弹，

that's exactly what happens.

那刚好就会发生这种情况。

Let's pull the trigger. 習語

让我们按下起爆按钮吧。

In the first few microseconds,

在最初的几微秒内，

the nuclear fuel undergoes its chain reaction 短語搭配

核燃料发生链式反应，

and explodes with the power of 50 megatons of TNT. 短語搭配

并爆发出相当于5000万吨TNT的威力。

A blinding flash of light illuminates the darkness of the trench

一道极其耀眼的闪光照亮了海沟的黑暗，

for the first time in history.

这在历史上还是头一次。

The heat of the explosion produces a cavity,

爆炸的高温产生了一个空腔，

a flaming bubble of water vapor,

一个由水蒸气组成的燃烧气泡，

radioactive nuclei,

放射性核素，

and the remains of very unlucky fish.

以及倒霉鱼类的残骸。

The bubble grows quickly as it vaporizes the water around it.

气泡在蒸发周围水分的过程中迅速膨胀。

The pressure of the bubble is immense,

气泡的压力极其巨大，

plowing outwards as if there's nothing in the way, 語法

如入无人之境般向外横冲直撞，

sending off a shockwave

发出一股冲击波，

that will be felt by seismic stations and whales around the world.

世界各地的地震台和鲸鱼都能感受到。

And then, almost as fast as it emerges, 語法

紧接着，几乎在它出现的同时，

it stops.

它停了下来。

On the surface of the Earth,

在地球表面，

this fireball bubble would grow to 10 km the second after it's detonated

这种火球气泡在引爆后的一秒钟内就能膨胀到10公里大，

as the atmosphere barely puts up a fight to hold it back. 講解

因为大气层几乎无法阻挡它的膨胀。

But the pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench is enormous.

但在马里亚纳海沟底部的压力是巨大的。

With 11 km of water overhead, 語法

头顶有11公里深的海水，

being in the Mariana Trench is like being crushed by a hydraulic press 習語

待在马里亚纳海沟里就像是被液压机

from every direction.

从四面八方疯狂挤压。

Here, a second after the detonation,

在这里，引爆一秒钟后，

our bubble is about a kilometer across 用詞

我们的气泡直径大约是一公里，

when, oddly enough, it starts to shrink. 短語搭配

奇怪的是，这时它开始缩小。

The bubble overextends itself,

气泡过度扩张了自己，

losing pressure as it expands

在膨胀的过程中失去了压力，

until the water turns it back, 短語動詞

直到海水将其反推，

recompressing it.

重新压缩它。

The tug of war between the fiery death bubble and water goes back and forth a few times, 習語

这个致命的燃烧气泡和海水之间的拉锯战会来回进行几次，

the bubble shrinking and growing

气泡不断缩小和膨胀，

until eventually the bubble loses for good. 習語

直到最终气泡彻底败下阵来。

The pressure around it is too great,

周围的压力太大了，

and turbulent water begins to chop it up. 短語動詞

湍急的海水开始将其切碎。

It becomes something like the underwater equivalent of a mushroom cloud 短語搭配

它变成了类似水下蘑菇云一样的东西，

as it disintegrates into many smaller hot and radioactive bubbles drifting upwards.

并瓦解成许多较小的、带有放射性的高温气泡向上漂浮。

And as our mighty destructive blast rises to the surface,

当我们那极具破坏力的巨大爆炸升至水面时，

it does basically nothing.

它基本上已经没有任何威力了。

Just a small wave

仅仅是掀起了一朵小小的浪花，

and a bubbling plume of radioactive warm water in the Pacific.

并在太平洋中升起一缕翻滚着放射性热水的羽流。

No tsunami will wash away Japan or California, 短語動詞

没有海啸会冲毁日本或加利福尼亚，

although boats and whales in the area might have a bad time. 語氣意圖

尽管该地区的船只和鲸鱼可能会遭殃。

The radioactive fallout will be diluted into the Pacific after a few days, 用詞

几天后，放射性沉降物将被稀释到太平洋中，

although a fair amount of radioactive water and salt makes it to the atmosphere, 講解

尽管有相当一部分放射性水和盐分会进入大气层，

where it collects and then rains down again. 短語動詞

在那里聚集，然后再次以雨水的形式落下。

Even if the wind blows the fallout directly towards the Philippines, 語法

即使风将沉降物直接吹向菲律宾，

the worst of it probably happens over the oceans.

最糟糕的情况可能也就是发生在海洋上空。

But clearly, the real danger comes from our explosion-triggering earthquakes and volcanoes, right? 語氣意圖

但显然，真正的危险来自于爆炸引发的地震和火山，对吧？

Even if we detonated the bomb right in the trench

即使我们正好在海沟中

at the exact point where tectonic plates touch,

也就是构造板块接触的精确位置引爆炸弹，

probably not.

可能也不会。

The explosion would vaporize a part of the seafloor

爆炸会使部分海底汽化，

and turn a lot of sand into glass, 語法

并将大量沙子变成玻璃，

but most of the energy goes into the water, 用詞

但大部分能量都进入了水中，

not seismic waves.

而不是转化成了地震波。

Earthquakes are already quite common at tectonic plate boundaries,

地震在构造板块边界已经相当普遍，

and earthquakes with as much seismic energy as our bomb happen a few times a year 語法

而且地震能量和我们这颗炸弹一样强的地震每年都会发生几次，

without triggering any sort of apocalypse. 語法

也并未引发任何形式的世界末日。

But maybe it will affect the Earth's orbit.

但也许它会影响地球的轨道。

Since no mass is taken away or added to the Earth,

既然地球没有失去也没有增加任何质量，

our orbit is completely unaffected.

我们的轨道完全不受影响。

Also, there have been well over a thousand nuclear tests in the last 70 years, 短語搭配

此外，在过去的70年里，已经进行了超过一千次核试验，

and that didn't change our orbit,

那也没有改变我们的轨道，

so why would this time be different? 表達脈絡

所以为什么这次会有所不同呢？

The strongest forces humanity can unleash 語法

人类所能释放的最强力量，

are laughable compared to the forces of nature. 短語搭配

与大自然的力量相比不值一提。

The planet is too big. 表達脈絡

地球太大了。

It doesn't care.

它根本不在乎。

So, what happens to us if we detonate a nuclear weapon

那么，如果我们在海洋深处

really deep in the ocean?

引爆核武器，我们会有什么下场？

Pretty much nothing. 短語搭配

几乎什么事都不会有。

Did you know that every bird in our videos has an owner? 表達脈絡

你知道我们视频里的每只小鸟都有主人吗？

More than 1,000 people have got their own bird. 語法

超过1000人已经拥有了他们专属的小鸟。

It helps us explain things,

它帮助我们解释事物，

clowns around in the background, 短語動詞

在背景里搞笑，

or dies a horrible and avoidable death.

或者经历可怕且本可避免的死亡。

If you want your own bird too

如果你也想拥有自己的小鸟，

and you want it to appear in one of our videos,

并且希望它出现在我们的某个视频中，

you can get it at patreon.com/kurzgesagt.

你可以在 patreon.com/kurzgesagt 获取。

Patreon is one of the main ways we sustain ourselves, 用詞

Patreon 是我们维持运营的主要方式之一，

so on top of getting a super nice avatar, 短語搭配

所以除了获得一个超级赞的头像之外，

you also help us make more and better videos.

你也能帮助我们制作出更多、更好的视频。