太阳风暴会摧毁人类文明吗？太阳耀斑与日冕物质抛射：英语精读讲义

The sun,

太阳，

smooth and round and peaceful,

光滑、圆润、宁静，

except when it suddenly vomits radiation and plasma in random directions. 習語

除非它突然向四面八方喷射辐射和等离子体。

These solar flares and coronal mass ejections or CMEs

这些太阳耀斑和日冕物质抛射（或称 CME）

can hit Earth and have serious consequences for humanity.

可能会击中地球并给人类带来严重后果。

How exactly do they work? 表達脈絡

它们究竟是如何运作的？

How bad could they be?

它们能有多糟糕？

And can we prepare for them?

我们能做好准备吗？

While the sun seems pretty solid, 語法

虽然太阳看起来相当坚固，

it's actually like a very hot ocean.

但实际上它就像一个非常炎热的海洋。

So hot that it rips atoms into electrons and nuclei all flowing around each other in a plasma.

热到把原子撕裂成电子和原子核，在等离子体中相互流转。

This plasma is pushed around and shaped by the sun's magnetic field,

这种等离子体受到太阳磁场的推动和塑造，

similar to how the sun's gravitational field 表達脈絡

就像太阳的引力场

reaches out to the planets and shapes their orbits.

延伸至行星并塑造它们的轨道。

But magnetism is very different from gravity.

但磁力与引力截然不同。

Magnetism is one part of a dual force,

磁力是双重力量的一部分，

electromagnetism.

即电磁力。

Electricity creates magnetic fields

电产生磁场，

and magnetic fields create electricity.

磁场产生电。

On the sun,

在太阳上，

the plasma made of electrically charged protons and electrons

由带电质子和电子组成的等离子体

creates a magnetic field as they move,

在移动时产生磁场，

and this magnetic field then shapes the flow of particles.

随后这个磁场又塑造了粒子的流动。

They're stuck in a dynamic feedback loop 用詞

它们陷入了一个动态的反馈循环中，

called a dynamo,

称为发电机效应，

which keeps the sun's magnetic field alive.

这维持了太阳磁场的存在。

This magnetic field stores enormous amounts of energy

这个磁场储存了巨大的能量

and leaks out over the solar system.

并向整个太阳系泄漏。

It carries with it a constant trickle of solar plasma 習語

它携带着持续不断流动的太阳等离子体，

like a light rain known as the solar wind,

就像被称为太阳风的毛毛雨，

creating a sort of space weather.

创造了一种太空天气。

But it isn't always calm and smooth.

但它并不总是平静顺畅的。

As the sun's plasma churns and flows around itself,

随着太阳等离子体自身的翻滚和流动，

its magnetic field gets all kinked and twisted.

它的磁场变得扭曲缠绕。

This creates magnetic knots

这产生了磁结，

that build up enormous amounts of energy.

积聚了巨大的能量。

When the magnetic knots break

当磁结断裂时，

like a tangle of springs exploding outwards, 表達脈絡

就像纠缠的弹簧向外爆炸，

the sun can vomit plasma and other awful things

太阳就会把等离子体和其他可怕的东西

into the solar system.

喷吐到太阳系中。

These solar storms come in many types,

这些太阳风暴有很多种，

like solar flares,

比如太阳耀斑，

a tidal wave of high energy radiation. 習語

它是高能辐射的狂潮。

They race through the solar system at the speed of light,

它们以光速在太阳系中穿梭，

sweeping up protons in the solar wind, 短語動詞

席卷太阳风中的质子，

accelerating them into a high-speed solar proton storm.

将它们加速成高速的太阳质子风暴。

Then there are coronal mass ejections,

然后是日冕物质抛射，

which rip millions or billions of tons of plasma

它从太阳大气中撕裂

from the sun's atmosphere,

数以百万或数十亿吨的等离子体，

catapulting it through the solar system

将它们投射穿过太阳系，

at speeds of up to 9 million km per hour. 短語搭配

速度高达每小时900万公里。

When these monsters hit us, 表達脈絡

当这些怪物撞击我们时，

nothing happens on Earth.

地球上什么也没发生。

While even smaller storms can damage satellites,

虽然即使是较小的风暴也会损坏卫星，

affect radio communication,

影响无线电通信，

or be dangerous to astronauts,

或者对宇航员造成危险，

for people on the surface,

但对于地表上的人来说，

space weather is harmless.

太空天气是无害的。

Earth's atmosphere protects us from the worst effects of a solar flare 語法

地球大气层保护我们免受太阳耀斑最严重的影响，

by absorbing the blast of X-rays high up in the atmosphere,

通过在高空吸收X射线冲击波，

well before it reaches the surface.

远远在它到达地表之前。

The electrified plasma from a CME

来自 CME 的带电等离子体

is deflected by the Earth's magnetic field,

被地球磁场偏转，

diverting the energy storm to the north and south poles,

将能量风暴引向南北极，

where energetic particles fall into the atmosphere,

高能粒子在那里落入大气层，

causing the atmosphere to glow and creating beautiful auroras.

使大气发光并产生美丽的极光。

As with any sort of weather, 表達脈絡

就像任何天气一样，

most of the time things are fine.

大多数时候一切都好。

Sometimes there are hurricanes, though,

不过有时也会有飓风，

or in the case of the sun,

或者就太阳而言，

solar superstorms.

太阳超级风暴。

And we know that they happen once or twice every century.

我们知道它们每个世纪会发生一两次。

If one were to happen today, 語法

如果今天发生一次，

we would first detect strong solar flares,

我们首先会探测到强烈的太阳耀斑，

a sort of flash 習語

就像是一种闪电，

before the much more dangerous thunder.

在远比它危险的雷声之前出现。

The thunder is a CME,

雷声就是 CME，

consisting of billions of tons of hot magnetic plasma

由数十亿吨炽热的磁性等离子体组成，

that crosses the 150 million km between the sun and Earth

跨越太阳和地球之间1.5亿公里的距离，

in less than a day.

耗时不到一天。

When it arrives,

当它到达时，

it causes a shock wave

它会引发冲击波，

that violently compresses the Earth's magnetic field

剧烈压缩地球磁场，

and transfers energy into the magnetosphere.

并将能量传递到磁层中。

But it can get worse.

但这可能会变得更糟。

If the magnetic field of the CME is aligned to Earth's

如果 CME 的磁场与地球磁场

in just the right way,

恰好以某种方式对齐，

the two magnetic fields merge.

这两个磁场就会合并。

As the magnetic cloud passes over Earth,

当磁云经过地球时，

it stretches the Earth's field into a long tail.

它会将地球磁场拉伸成一条长尾巴。

Eventually,

最终，

the energy stored in the tail becomes too much to contain. 語法

尾巴中储存的能量变得太多而无法包含。

It snaps and explosively releases its energy towards Earth.

它断裂并爆炸性地向地球释放能量。

A geomagnetic storm has begun.

地磁暴开始了。

A few hundred years ago,

几百年前，

nobody would have cared. 語法

没人在乎。

This storm gushing over the Earth is not relevant for machines

这场涌过地球的风暴对于由血肉之躯

made out of meat and bones. 表達脈絡

构成的机器毫无关联。

But it's very relevant for machines

但这与由金属和电线

made out of metal and wire.

构成的机器息息相关。

Remember the dynamo? 表達脈絡

还记得发电机效应吗？

Magnetism creates electric currents.

磁力产生电流。

Earth in the 21st century is covered in millions of kilometers

21世纪的地球上覆盖着数百万公里

of wires transporting electricity and a complex grid

用于输电的电线，以及一个由变压器等机器构成的复杂电网，

of machines like transformers that make this transfer possible.

使这种电力传输成为可能。

A CME's energy can induce currents in our power grid 用詞

CME 的能量能在我们的电网中感应出电流，

that can either completely shut it down

这既可能使电网完全瘫痪，

or worse, 表達脈絡

或者更糟的是，

destroy the transformer stations that keep our grid running.

摧毁维持电网运行的变电站。

This has happened already,

这种事情已经发生过，

like when the Quebec power grid failed after a strong solar storm in 1989.

比如1989年一场强烈的太阳风暴后，魁北克电网崩溃。

But in general,

但总体来说，

our engineers know how to deal with these storms,

我们的工程师知道如何应对这些风暴，

and so we usually don't even notice.

所以我们通常甚至注意不到。

The last time a solar hurricane washed over Earth

上一次太阳飓风席卷地球

was in 1859,

是在1859年，

the Carrington event, 文化背景

即卡林顿事件，

the largest geomagnetic storms ever observed on Earth.

这是地球上观测到的最大的地磁暴。

Massive auroras occurred as far south as the Caribbean.

连南至加勒比海的地区都出现了巨大的极光。

In some places,

在某些地方，

they were so bright that people got up, 語法

它们太亮了，以至于人们起床了，

thinking the sun was rising.

以为太阳升起来了。

Luckily,

幸运的是，

we only had one sort of modern technology,

我们当时只有一种现代技术，

telegraph systems.

即电报系统。

They failed all over the world,

它们在世界各地都失灵了，

shocking their operators and chucking out sparks. 短語動詞

让操作员触电并迸发出火花。

Today,

今天，

we have a tad more technology, 用詞

我们的技术稍微多了一点，

and our luck may run out soon. 習語

而我们的好运可能很快就会耗尽。

Another bad solar storm is bound to happen eventually. 語法

另一场糟糕的太阳风暴终究会发生。

A storm as strong as the Carrington event

2012年，一场与卡林顿事件同样强烈的风暴

missed Earth only by a small margin in 2012. 短語搭配

与地球擦肩而过。

Studies projected that it would have inflicted serious damage to electronic systems globally, 語法

研究预测它本会对全球电子系统造成严重破坏，

costing up to $2.6 trillion to the US alone.

仅美国就可能损失高达2.6万亿美元。

The time to replace all the damaged systems

更换所有受损系统所需的时间

was estimated at between 4 and 10 years.

估计在4到10年之间。

It's hard to say how bad it could have been. 語法

很难说本来会有多糟糕。

Experts disagreed.

专家们意见不一。

Some assumed there would just be temporary blackouts,

一些人认为只会有暂时的停电，

but others worried it could be much worse.

但另一些人担心可能会糟糕得多。

We won't know for sure until a big solar hurricane hits us.

在巨大的太阳飓风击中我们之前，我们无法确切知道。

The probability of such an event is estimated to be 12% per decade.

此类事件发生的概率估计为每十年12%。

That's about a 50-50 chance 短語搭配

这大约意味着未来50年内至少发生一次

of at least one in the next 50 years.

的概率为50%。

And there is more unsettling news.

还有更多令人不安的消息。

A 2019 paper found that even calm stars like our sun

2019年的一篇论文发现，即使是像我们太阳这样平静的恒星

can create superflares every few thousand years.

也能每隔几千年产生一次超级耀斑。

Eruptions orders of magnitude stronger 短語搭配

其爆发强度比我们

than the strongest storms we have observed in the solar system.

在太阳系中观测到的最强风暴要高出几个数量级。

If such a storm hits us unprepared,

如果这样一场风暴在毫无准备的情况下袭击我们，

the consequences could be catastrophic.

后果可能是灾难性的。

It's hard to overstate how much we depend on electricity. 短語搭配

无论怎么夸大我们对电力的依赖都不为过。

It's not just the lights at home, 表達脈絡

这不仅仅是家里的灯光，

it means no computers,

这意味着没有电脑，

no communication,

没有通信，

no navigation.

没有导航。

A sustained power outage might lead to a breakdown of the supply chain, 短語搭配

持续的停电可能会导致供应链崩溃，

water supply systems failing,

供水系统失效，

and hospital generators running dry. 習語

医院的发电机燃油耗尽。

Supermarkets not being refilled

超市得不到补货，

while food rots in the fields.

而食物却在田里腐烂。

The lack of power might make it extremely hard to reboot our broken power grid, 語法

缺乏电力可能使重启我们损坏的电网变得极其困难，

taking years or decades to restart our starving civilization.

需要数年或数十年才能重启我们饥饿的文明。

Okay,

好吧，

time to panic.

是时候恐慌了。

As much as daily newspapers might like for solar storms 語法

尽管日报可能喜欢渲染太阳风暴

to send us back to the Stone Age, 習語

把我们送回石器时代，

they probably won't.

但它们可能不会。

Fortunately,

幸运的是，

even though solar storms aren't preventable, 語法

尽管太阳风暴是不可预防的，

virtually all of their nasty side effects are.

但几乎所有它们带来的恶劣副作用都是可以预防的。

Scientists observing the sun

观察太阳的科学家

have a few hours up to a few days to see a CME coming. 語法

有几个小时到几天的时间来发现 CME 的到来。

And the engineers working the systems that keep the world running

而维护世界运转系统的工程师们

are well aware of the risks posed by solar storms. 短語搭配

也非常清楚太阳风暴带来的风险。

Transformers and substations can be taken offline, 用詞

变压器和变电站可以下线，

short preventative blackouts,

进行短暂的预防性停电，

or in other words, 表達脈絡

或者换句话说，

by unplugging stuff.

拔掉设备的插头。

Engineers can open up extra lines to dissipate the extra power,

工程师可以开启额外的线路来消散多余的电力，

and with investments and upgrades cheap compared to those other natural disasters require, 語法

相比应对其他自然灾害所需的花费，这些投资和升级成本低廉，

we could protect the world's electric grid against even the nastiest of storms.

我们可以保护全球电网免受即使是最恶劣风暴的破坏。

But we do need to prepare. 語法

但我们确实需要做好准备。

While the risk is manageable,

虽然风险可控，

it is real.

但它是真实的。

For while our sun bathes us in warm and pleasant light, 習語

因为尽管我们的太阳沐浴我们于温暖宜人的光芒中，

one day it might send a monster our way

有一天它可能会向我们送来一个怪物，

that we better be ready for. 語法

我们最好为此做好准备。