慢动作揭秘折断意大利面的秘密 - 每天变聪明一点点 127：英语精读讲义

Looks good to me.

看起来不错。

Nice.

很好。

Hey, it's me Destin.

嘿，我是 Destin。

Welcome back to Smarter Every Day.

欢迎回到《Smarter Every Day》。

So, I'm going to show you something today that's fascinating.

今天我要给你们看些有趣的东西。

If you take a normal piece of dry spaghetti,

如果你拿一根普通的干意大利面，

you can do this in your home,

你可以在家里试一下，

and you bend it right up until the point it breaks. 短語搭配

把它一直弯曲直到折断。

It doesn't do what you think it should. 語法

结果可能跟你想的不一样。

It doesn't break into two pieces.

它不会断成两截。

It breaks into three.

而是断成三截。

It happens almost every time.

几乎每次都这样。

You see that?

看到了吗？

That broke out of the middle.

从中间断开了。

Today on Smarter Every Day,

今天在《Smarter Every Day》，

we're going to wait till the kids finish their dinner,

我们要等孩子们吃完晚饭，

and then we're going to break out the Phantom V1610 and record this at a quarter million frames per second. 短語動詞

然后拿出 Phantom V1610，以每秒25万帧的速度记录这个过程。

And we're going to unravel the secret of why spaghetti shatters the way it does. 習語

我们将揭开意大利面为什么会这样断裂的秘密。

You're getting smarter every day.

你每天都在变聪明。

If you haven't already run to the kitchen, 語法

如果你还没跑去厨房，

do that now.

现在就去吧。

Grab some spaghetti and goggle up cuz science is about to happen. 語法

拿点意大利面，戴上护目镜，因为科学即将发生。

One at a time,

一次一根，

grab a noodle on both ends and bend it until it breaks.

抓住面条两端，弯曲直到它折断。

You'll notice that the majority of the noodles break into more than two pieces.

你会注意到大多数面条都会断成两截以上。

Now,

现在，

you might not think this is a big deal, 表達脈絡

你可能觉得这没什么大不了的，

but it's a really big deal.

但这其实很不简单。

You see, it's really easy to understand why bending a rod makes it break into two pieces. 語法

你看，要理解弯曲一根杆子为什么会让它断成两截很容易。

The bottom is in compression, 用詞

底部受压，

and the top is in tension.

顶部受拉。

When the tension on the top exceeds the maximum allowable tensile stress, 用詞

当顶部的拉力超过最大容许拉应力时，

it rips it in half,

它就会从中间断裂，

and you're left with only two pieces of the rod left. 短語搭配

然后你就只剩下两截杆子了。

So, why is spaghetti different?

那么，为什么意大利面不一样呢？

Something else is happening here.

这里肯定还有别的原因。

The simple act of snapping spaghetti has stumped brilliant scientists for years, 用詞

折断意大利面这个简单的动作，多年来难倒了许多杰出的科学家，

including Richard Feynman,

包括 Richard Feynman，

who, as you might know,

你可能知道他，

was on the theoretical physics team during the Manhattan project and also won a Nobel Prize for physics in 1965. 文化背景

他曾在曼哈顿计划中担任理论物理团队成员，并在1965年获得了诺贝尔物理学奖。

Everyone accepts that Richard Feynman was a genius.

大家都承认 Richard Feynman 是个天才。

So, it's no surprise that his theory about why spaghetti snaps into multiple pieces makes a lot of sense. 短語搭配

所以，他关于意大利面为什么会断成多截的理论很有道理也就不足为奇了。

If you tried it by now yourself,

如果你刚才自己试过了，

you know that when you snap it,

你就会知道，当你折断它时，

you feel this little vibration in your fingers.

你能感觉到手指有轻微的震动。

He thought that this vibration,

他认为这种震动，

if it was significant enough, 語法

如果足够强烈的话，

could excite the remaining spaghetti sufficiently so that it would cause a secondary fracture on down the rod.

可以充分激发剩下的意大利面，从而导致杆子上的二次断裂。

To test this theory, 表達脈絡

为了测试这个理论，

Feynman and a friend decided to snap spaghetti underwater

Feynman 和一个朋友决定在水下折断意大利面，

to dampen out this vibration. 短語動詞

来减弱这种震动。

They were surprised to find out that when they snapped it underwater,

他们惊讶地发现，当他们在水下折断它时，

it still seemed to break into multiple pieces.

它似乎仍然断成了多截。

So, here we are.

所以，这就是我们现在的处境。

If a smart dude like Richard Feynman can't figure this out,

如果像 Richard Feynman 这么聪明的人都搞不懂，

what chance do we have? 語氣意圖

我们还有什么机会？

So, we're going to figure this out in my kitchen.

所以，我们要在我的厨房里弄清楚这个问题。

This is what we're doing.

我们是这样做的。

My wife brought home all kinds of different pasta for me at my request. 短語搭配

我妻子应我的要求带回了各种不同的意大利面。

I've got them taken out here,

我把它们拿出来放在这里，

and we're running an experiment with this high-speed camera.

我们要用这台高速摄像机做个实验。

It's a Phantom V1610.

这是一台 Phantom V1610。

We have a lamp set up, 語法

我们架设了一盏灯，

and we're just going to sit and break pasta and observe.

我们就坐在这儿折断面条并进行观察。

I looked all over the internet,

我查遍了整个互联网，

and the fastest research imagery I could find was 4,000 frames per second. 語法

我能找到的最快的研究影像也就是每秒4000帧。

So, in order to further science, 語法

所以，为了推动科学发展，

we're going to start out at least 18,000 frames per second,

我们至少要从每秒18000帧开始，

which surely should tell us something, right?

这肯定能告诉我们点什么，对吧？

Woah.

哇。

That was fast.

太快了。

Okay, I couldn't even tell which fracture happened first.

好吧，我甚至分辨不出哪次断裂先发生。

We'll zoom it back in and go frame by frame. 短語搭配

我们把它放大，逐帧来看。

Yeah, it's way too fast.

是的，还是太快了。

Both fractures happen at what seems to be the same time. 語法

两次断裂似乎是在同一时间发生的。

Let's look at another piece that breaks up even more

我们来看看另一根断得更多的面条，

and see if it sheds some light into what's going on here. 習語

看看能不能启发我们到底发生了什么。

What?

什么？

It's like all the fracture points are happening at the exact same time,

好像所有的断裂点都在完全相同的时间发生，

which is crazy cuz we're well below a millisecond timescale here. 短語搭配

这太疯狂了，因为这里的时间尺度远低于一毫秒。

I'm not really sure what the researchers were seeing at 4,000 frames per second,

我不太清楚研究人员在每秒4000帧时看到了什么，

but I'm not seeing it.

反正我没看出来。

So, let's bump this thing up to 40,000 frames per second, 短語動詞

所以，让我们把速度调到每秒40000帧，

which is 10 times faster than any research paper I've read. 語法

这比我读过的任何研究论文都要快10倍。

Hmm.

嗯。

Okay, so we're starting to learn something.

好了，我们开始有所发现了。

I can at least tell that the right side broke first,

我至少能看出右边先断，

but both still seemed to be happening within a 100 microseconds of each other,

但两次断裂似乎仍在彼此相隔不到100微秒内发生，

which is really, really fast.

这真的非常非常快。

Also, let's start to watch the rotation direction of the broken pieces.

另外，让我们开始观察断片的旋转方向。

Let's watch another one and see if vibration has anything to do with that second fracture. 短語搭配

让我们再看一个，看看震动是否与第二次断裂有关。

No.

不是。

In fact, it appears that the longer rods aren't even vibrating on the same timescale. 表達脈絡

事实上，较长的杆子似乎根本不在同一时间尺度上震动。

Here's something, though.

不过，有个发现。

If you look, the smaller broken pieces,

如果你注意看，较小的断片，

when they start to rotate,

当它们开始旋转时，

always seem to rotate away from the first fracture.

似乎总是向远离第一次断裂处旋转。

The back, however, appears to be breaking downwards.

然而，后部似乎是向下断裂的。

It's almost as if the spaghetti is trying to straighten itself out, 講解

简直就像意大利面试图把自己变直，

but it can't overcome its own mass.

但它无法克服自身的质量。

Buckle your seat belt cuz we're going to a quarter million frames per second. 習語

系好安全带，因为我们要上到每秒25万帧了。

Man,

哇哦，

we had to go way faster than I thought we would to get this answer, 語法

我们必须比我想象的快得多才能得到这个答案，

but there it is. 語氣意圖

但它就在这里。

I mean, it's not vibration.

我是说，这不是震动。

It's the curvature of the spaghetti as it straightens out.

而是意大利面变直时的曲率。

Think about it this way. 表達脈絡

这样想。

The entire spaghetti rod is under torque, 用詞

整根意大利面都承受着扭矩，

right?

对吧？

Because of this torque, it bends in a curve.

因为这种扭矩，它弯成了一条曲线。

And when a break occurs,

当断裂发生时，

the side near the break is now free from torque.

靠近断裂处的一侧现在不再承受扭矩。

But there's still this counter torque built up in the rod. 短語動詞

但杆子里仍然积聚着这种反扭矩。

So, it starts to straighten itself out from left to right,

所以，它开始从左向右把自己变直，

rotating up and straightening out along the way. 短語搭配

一路向上旋转并变直。

Because the spaghetti on the left is already straightened out

因为左边的意大利面已经变直了，

and the spaghetti on the right is still curved,

而右边的意大利面仍然弯曲着，

the point where they meet is now even more curved,

它们相遇的点现在弯曲得更厉害了，

which causes the spaghetti to bend beyond the minimum failure radius.

这导致意大利面弯曲超过了最小失效半径。

This results in a fracture. 短語搭配

这就导致了断裂。

It's like one side doesn't get the message fast enough. 習語

就像一侧没有足够快地收到消息一样。

If the whole rod were to release at one time, 語法

如果整根杆子能同时释放能量，

it'd be fine, but it doesn't.

那就没事，但事实并非如此。

It breaks itself apart along the way.

它在变直的过程中把自己弄断了。

Every time you have a new break,

每次发生新的断裂时，

the process starts all over again. 短語搭配

这个过程又会重新开始。

This physical phenomenon is called a cascading fracture. 用詞

这种物理现象叫做级联断裂。

Until recently, the math behind this phenomenon wasn't very well understood.

直到最近，人们对这种现象背后的数学原理还不是很了解。

But, I did find a really cool French research paper on the topic,

但是，我确实找到了一篇非常酷的关于这个话题的法国研究论文，

as well as a neat simulation created by some Norwegian petroleum engineers. 短語搭配

还有一些挪威石油工程师创建的精巧模拟。

To my knowledge, though, the video that we just watched gives more insight into this physical phenomenon 講解

不过据我所知，我们刚才看的那段视频比以前任何研究，

than anything else that's ever been done.

都能更深入地揭示这一物理现象。

We just did it at a quarter of a million frames per second,

我们刚刚以每秒25万帧的速度拍下了它，

which is amazing.

这太神奇了。

So, there you go. 語氣意圖

所以，你看。

The secret of snapping spaghetti is not just a party trick. 表達脈絡

折断意大利面的秘密不仅仅是个派对魔术。

The next time you boil spaghetti,

下次你煮意大利面时，

be careful because you are about to explore the very edge of scientific knowledge. 習語

要小心，因为你即将探索科学知识的最前沿。

So, thank you very much for watching this episode of Smarter Every Day.

所以，非常感谢收看本期《Smarter Every Day》。

If you would like to get a book that talks about all the things that Richard Feynman studied,

如果你想买一本讲述 Richard Feynman 研究所做事情的书，

I recommend an Audible book called Surely You're Joking,

我推荐一本 Audible 有声书叫《Surely You're Joking,

Mr. Feynman.

Mr. Feynman》。

I'm listening to it right now,

我现在就在听，

and it's really good.

真的很好听。

If you would like to support Smarter Every Day,

如果你想支持《Smarter Every Day》，

go to audible.com/smarter

请访问 audible.com/smarter

and download Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman,

下载《Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman》，

and you would support Smarter Every Day,

这将支持《Smarter Every Day》，

and I would greatly appreciate that. 語氣意圖

我会非常感激。

So, thank you very much.

所以，非常感谢。

I'm Destin.

我是 Destin。

You're getting smarter every day.

你每天都在变聪明。

Have a good one. 短語搭配

祝你开心。

You ever heard of Richard Feynman?

你听说过 Richard Feynman 吗？

No.

没有。

No idea. 語氣意圖

不知道。

No idea?

不知道？

I have no idea who he is,

我不知道他是谁，

but it sounds fine.

但听起来不错。

Well, he is.

嗯，他确实不错。

He's a little different than daddy,

他和爸爸有点不同，

but he's a pretty smart awesome dude.

但他是个相当聪明的厉害家伙。

Three.

三截。

At least four.

至少四截。

I hope this video earned your subscription.

我希望这个视频能赢得你的订阅。

If not, just enjoy this confused fish.

如果没有，那就欣赏一下这条困惑的鱼吧。

Thanks.

谢谢。