最大规模的爆炸：英语精读讲义

Hey, Vsauce.

嘿，Vsauce。

Michael here and today

我是Michael，今天

I'm in my apartment.

我在自己的公寓里。

But when I was in Kansas with family,

不过之前我在堪萨斯州和家人团聚时，

my dad lit off what is known as a quarter stick. 短語搭配

我爸点燃了一枚俗称“quarter stick”的爆竹。

But don't worry,

不过别担心，

absolutely no children were around.

当时周围绝对没有小孩。

Okay,

好了，

look.

听我说。

The point is that today we're going to talk about explosives. 表達脈絡

重点是，今天我们要聊聊爆炸物。

Let's begin way down the scale with black powder or smokeless powder, 習語

先从威力小得多的黑火药或无烟火药说起，

which many modern rounds use.

许多现代弹药都会使用无烟火药。

Now, usually smokeless powder doesn't even detonate.

通常，无烟火药甚至不会发生爆轰。

Instead,

相反，

it deflagrates. 用詞

它会发生爆燃。

Technically,

严格来说，

an explosion is only a detonation when the material or the gases expelled travel faster than the speed of sound.

只有当物质或释放出的气体运动速度超过音速时，爆炸才算爆轰。

If the explosion is subsonic,

如果爆炸的传播速度低于音速，

you're only dealing with a deflagration.

那就只是爆燃。

Now,

那么，

we want a bullet's propellant to deflagrate,

我们希望子弹的推进药发生爆燃，

not detonate,

而不是爆轰，

because we want it to have enough power to move the bullet quickly,

因为我们既希望它有足够的威力，让子弹快速射出，

but not release its energy so fast as to damage the gun or ourselves. 語法

又不希望它释放能量过快，损坏枪支或伤到自己。

Take a look at some smokeless powder lit in the open and slow motion.

来看看露天点燃的无烟火药，以及它的慢动作画面。

It burns very strongly and quickly,

它燃烧得非常猛烈、迅速，

but at all times,

但在整个过程中，

the gases it expels never exceed the speed of sound and no shock wave is produced.

释放出的气体始终没有超过音速，也没有产生冲击波。

We're looking at deflagration here, 表達脈絡

我们看到的是爆燃，

not detonation.

而不是爆轰。

To compare,

作为对比，

this is nitroglycerin.

这是硝化甘油。

It's so fragile,

它非常不稳定，

you hit it with a hammer and it detonates.

用锤子一敲就会爆轰。

Even at a slower speed,

即使放慢画面，

we can see that all the material immediately explodes.

我们也能看到所有物质瞬间爆炸。

Consumer fireworks use black powder,

消费级烟花使用的是黑火药，

gunpowder,

也就是火药，

and as such, 表達脈絡

因此，

they don't have enough power to really ever be set to detonate.

其威力不足，基本不可能达到爆轰状态。

The same goes for that quarter stick you saw my dad light off. 短語搭配

你刚才看到我爸点燃的那个“quarter stick”也是如此。

Those and M-80s,

这类爆竹和M-80，

cherry bombs are louder and often illegal,

还有樱桃炸弹，响声更大，而且往往属于违禁品，

but they burn flash powder,

但它们燃烧的是闪光粉，

not a high explosive like dynamite.

而不是甘油炸药之类的烈性炸药。

But that doesn't mean fireworks can't be amazing. 語法

但这并不意味着烟花就不能令人惊叹。

Currently,

目前，

some of the largest shells in use are 48 in across.

现役最大的一些烟花弹直径达48英寸。

When exploded in the air,

在空中爆炸时，

a 48-in shell looks like this.

48英寸烟花弹看起来是这样的。

Or like this.

也可能是这样的。

Oh,

哦，

yeah.

没错。

When they fail to launch and burst on the ground instead,

如果它们发射失败，反而在地面爆炸，

it looks like this.

看起来会是这样。

But let's move on to detonations. 短語動詞

不过，接下来我们说说爆轰。

No matter what material releases the energy, 語法

无论释放能量的是什么，

whether it's a conventional explosive or a nuclear bomb or an asteroid impact or an earthquake,

无论是常规炸药、核弹、小行星撞击，还是地震，

they are all commonly measured by saying how much TNT 文化背景

人们通常都会用一个指标来衡量：需要多少TNT

you would have to detonate to get an equivalently strong explosion.

才能产生同等威力的爆炸。

To give you a sense of scale, 表達脈絡

为了让你直观感受一下这个量级，

here is the detonation of approximately 100 tons of TNT

这是约100吨TNT发生爆轰的场面，

by a defense contractor disposing of explosives. 短語動詞

由一家国防承包商在销毁爆炸物时引爆。

Unlike deflagrations,

与爆燃不同，

detonations produce a shock wave, 用詞

爆轰会产生冲击波，

which is just that,

顾名思义，

a wave made of areas of high pressure and low pressure.

这是一种由高压区和低压区构成的波。

This explosion was so powerful,

这次爆炸威力极大，

the area of low pressure had such low pressure that water vapor in the air around it condensed momentarily, 語法

低压区的气压低到让周围空气中的水蒸气短暂凝结，

which formed this cloud.

形成了这片云。

And here's a video of an explosion

这里还有一段爆炸视频，

where the shock wave is particularly visible as it approaches and hits the cameraman.

冲击波在逼近并击中摄影师时格外清晰。

Holy

天哪——

You can also see shock condensation clouds around these explosions 用詞

你还能在这些爆炸周围看到冲击波凝结云。

set off by the United States 短語動詞

这些爆炸由美国引爆，

in Hawaii

地点在夏威夷，

in 1965.

时间是1965年。

The US wanted to know how nuclear attacks would affect naval ships,

美国想知道核打击会对海军舰艇造成什么影响，

so they detonated an equivalent amount of TNT

于是引爆了相应当量的TNT，

on an island with US ships anchored nearby.

地点是一座岛屿，附近停泊着美国军舰。

This pile contains 500 tons of TNT waiting to explode.

这堆等待引爆的TNT重达500吨。

When it does, 語法

引爆后，

it looks like this.

看起来是这样。

Earlier,

更早以前，

the US tested actual nuclear weapons to see how underwater detonations

美国还测试过真正的核武器，以了解水下爆炸

might affect our ships.

可能会对己方舰艇造成什么影响。

This underwater nuclear explosion is much larger,

这次水下核爆的规模大得多，

the equivalent of not 100 tons of TNT, 表達脈絡

当量不是100吨TNT，

not 500 tons,

也不是500吨，

but 8,000 tons.

而是8000吨。

For comparison,

作为对比，

the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 文化背景

1945年投在广岛的原子弹

exploded with the energy of 15,000 tons of TNT.

爆炸能量相当于1.5万吨TNT。

The single most physically powerful device ever used by humanity was the Tsar Bomb. 講解

在物理威力上，人类使用过的最强单一装置是沙皇炸弹。

The Soviet Union tested it in 1961

苏联于1961年对它进行了试验，

far up north away from civilization.

地点在远离文明世界的极北地区。

It was detonated 2.5 mi above the surface of the Earth

它在距地表2.5英里的高空被引爆，

to minimize its destruction,

以尽量减小其破坏，

which was unprecedented by man.

而它的破坏力在人类历史上前所未有。

The Tsar Bomb exploded with the power equivalent

沙皇炸弹爆炸时的威力相当于

to 50 million tons of TNT.

5000万吨TNT。

The mushroom cloud from the Tsar Bomb extended beyond our normal atmosphere

沙皇炸弹产生的蘑菇云冲出了我们通常所说的大气层，

into the mesosphere

一直伸入中间层，

and dwarfed the largest clouds from US detonations. 用詞

让美国最大规模核爆产生的云团都相形见绌。

It was so large that comparatively,

它大到什么程度呢？相比之下，

the bombs dropped on Japan,

投在日本的那些原子弹，

well,

呃，

they're on the graph way down there. 用詞

在图表上只排在最下面那里。

But at the end of the day, 習語

但归根结底，

nothing can beat supernovas,

没有什么能胜过超新星，

the explosion of an entire star.

也就是整颗恒星的爆炸。

While 50 million tons may sound like a lot, 語法

5000万吨听起来可能很多，

one supernova is estimated to give off the energy equivalent 短語動詞

但据估计，一次超新星释放的能量相当于

of 10 octillion million tons of TNT.

10的34次方吨TNT。

I leave you with a cannon developed by the US to shoot a normal little cannonball, 表達脈絡

最后请看美国研制的一门大炮，用来发射普通的小炮弹，

except that it carried a nuclear warhead.

只不过炮弹携带的是核弹头。

I'm pretty sure you can pick these up at Bass Pro Shop, 語氣意圖

我很确定Bass Pro Shop就能买到这种东西，

but regardless,

不过不管怎样，

be sure you're subscribed to Vsauce so you don't miss anything coming up.

一定要订阅Vsauce，才不会错过接下来的任何内容。

And as always,

和往常一样，

thanks for watching.

感谢观看。