如果你在馬里亞納海溝引爆核彈會怎樣？（科學探討，絕非幻想）：英語精讀講義

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

如果我們引爆人類威力最強大的核武器會發生什麼，

at the deepest point of the ocean?

就在海洋的最深處？

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

毫無疑問，數百公尺高的海嘯將摧毀沿海城市，

earthquakes would level countries, 用詞

地震會夷平許多國家，

new volcanoes would bring us nuclear winter.

新的火山噴發將給我們帶來核子冬天。

Maybe even Earth could be ripped apart 片語動詞

甚至地球都可能會被撕裂，

or thrown out of orbit. 片語搭配

或是被震出軌道。

Well, almost. 表達脈絡

嗯，差不多就是這樣吧。

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

目前，地球已知最深處位於馬里亞納海溝內。

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

馬里亞納海溝是剛好位於兩大板塊邊緣的一個極深的海谷，

that looks like an upside-down mountain. 慣用語

看起來就像一座倒置的山脈。

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

它的深度達到了約11公里，

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

幾乎是鐵達尼號那幽暗長眠之地的三倍深。

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

它是地球上供人類探索的最後幾塊處女地之一。

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

漆黑一片，並且承受著一千個大氣壓，

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

由於沒有人類涉足，這裡的環境相對原始。

A great place for our nuclear test. 語氣意圖

簡直是我們進行核子試爆的絕佳地點。

We'll use the most powerful nuclear bomb 文法

我們將使用人類引爆過的

humans have ever exploded,

威力最強大的核彈，

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

RDS-220氫彈，也就是「沙皇炸彈」。

Its explosion was so massive 文法

它的爆炸規模如此巨大，

that its shockwave traveled around the Earth three times,

以至於產生的衝擊波繞了地球三次，

and its mushroom cloud stretched 56 km into the sky.

並且其蘑菇雲直衝天空達56公里高。

Its shockwave was strong enough 文法

它的衝擊波足夠強大，

to destroy everything in a thousand square kilometers,

能夠摧毀一千平方公里內的一切，

its fireball hot enough to burn the rubble.

其火球的溫度足以將碎石燒成灰燼。

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

像這樣的炸彈會在瞬間釋放出極其巨大的能量，

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

甚至能將整座湖水煮乾。

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

如果我們在馬里亞納海溝引爆一顆核彈，

that's exactly what happens.

那剛好就會發生這種情況。

Let's pull the trigger. 慣用語

讓我們按下起爆按鈕吧。

In the first few microseconds,

在最初的幾微秒內，

the nuclear fuel undergoes its chain reaction 片語搭配

核燃料發生連鎖反應，

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

並爆發出相當於5000萬噸TNT的威力。

A blinding flash of light illuminates the darkness of the trench

一道極其耀眼的閃光照亮了海溝的黑暗，

for the first time in history.

這在歷史上還是頭一遭。

The heat of the explosion produces a cavity,

爆炸的高溫產生了一個空腔，

a flaming bubble of water vapor,

一個由水蒸氣組成的燃燒氣泡，

radioactive nuclei,

放射性核種，

and the remains of very unlucky fish.

以及倒楣魚類的殘骸。

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

氣泡在蒸發周圍水分的過程中迅速膨脹。

The pressure of the bubble is immense,

氣泡的壓力極其巨大，

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

如入無人之境般向外橫衝直撞，

sending off a shockwave

發出一股衝擊波，

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

世界各地的地震測站和鯨魚都能感受到。

And then, almost as fast as it emerges, 文法

緊接著，幾乎在它出現的同時，

it stops.

它停了下來。

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

這種火球氣泡在引爆後的一秒鐘內就能膨脹到10公里大，

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

因為大氣層幾乎無法阻擋它的膨脹。

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

但在馬里亞納海溝底部的壓力是巨大的。

With 11 km of water overhead, 文法

頭頂有11公里深的海水，

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

待在馬里亞納海溝裡就像是被液壓機

from every direction.

從四面八方瘋狂擠壓。

Here, a second after the detonation,

在這裡，引爆一秒鐘後，

our bubble is about a kilometer across 用詞

我們的氣泡直徑大約是一公里，

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

奇怪的是，這時它開始縮小。

The bubble overextends itself,

氣泡過度擴張了自己，

losing pressure as it expands

在膨脹的過程中失去了壓力，

until the water turns it back, 片語動詞

直到海水將其反推，

recompressing it.

重新壓縮它。

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

這個致命的燃燒氣泡和海水之間的拉鋸戰會來回進行幾次，

the bubble shrinking and growing

氣泡不斷縮小和膨脹，

until eventually the bubble loses for good. 慣用語

直到最終氣泡徹底敗下陣來。

The pressure around it is too great,

周圍的壓力太大了，

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

湍急的海水開始將其切碎。

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

它變成了類似水下蘑菇雲一樣的東西，

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

並瓦解成許多較小的、帶有放射性的高溫氣泡向上漂浮。

And as our mighty destructive blast rises to the surface,

當我們那極具破壞力的巨大爆炸升至水面時，

it does basically nothing.

它基本上已經沒有任何威力了。

Just a small wave

僅僅是掀起了一朵小小的浪花，

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

並在太平洋中升起一縷翻滾著放射性熱水的羽流。

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

沒有海嘯會沖毀日本或加利福尼亞，

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

儘管該地區的船隻和鯨魚可能會遭殃。

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

幾天後，放射性落塵將被稀釋到太平洋中，

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

儘管有相當一部分放射性水和鹽分會進入大氣層，

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

在那裡聚集，然後再次以雨水的形式落下。

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

即使風將落塵直接吹向菲律賓，

the worst of it probably happens over the oceans.

最糟糕的情況可能也就是發生在海洋上空。

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

但顯然，真正的危險來自於爆炸引發的地震和火山，對吧？

Even if we detonated the bomb right in the trench

即使我們剛好在海溝中

at the exact point where tectonic plates touch,

也就是構造板塊接觸的精確位置引爆炸彈，

probably not.

可能也不會。

The explosion would vaporize a part of the seafloor

爆炸會使部分海底汽化，

and turn a lot of sand into glass, 文法

並將大量沙子變成玻璃，

but most of the energy goes into the water, 用詞

但大部分能量都進入了水中，

not seismic waves.

而不是轉化成了地震波。

Earthquakes are already quite common at tectonic plate boundaries,

地震在構造板塊邊界已經相當普遍，

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

而且地震能量和我們這顆炸彈一樣強的地震每年都會發生幾次，

without triggering any sort of apocalypse. 文法

也並未引發任何形式的世界末日。

But maybe it will affect the Earth's orbit.

但也許它會影響地球的軌道。

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

既然地球沒有失去也沒有增加任何質量，

our orbit is completely unaffected.

我們的軌道完全不受影響。

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

此外，在過去的70年裡，已經進行了超過一千次核子試爆，

and that didn't change our orbit,

那也沒有改變我們的軌道，

so why would this time be different? 表達脈絡

所以為什麼這次會有所不同呢？

The strongest forces humanity can unleash 文法

人類所能釋放的最強力量，

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

與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

那麼，如果我們在海洋深處

really deep in the ocean?

引爆核武器，我們會有什麼下場？

Pretty much nothing. 片語搭配

幾乎什麼事都不會有。

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

你知道我們影片裡的每隻小鳥都有主人嗎？

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

超過1000人已經擁有了他們專屬的小鳥。

It helps us explain things,

它幫助我們解釋事物，

clowns around in the background, 片語動詞

在背景裡搞笑，

or dies a horrible and avoidable death.

或者經歷可怕且本可避免的死亡。

If you want your own bird too

如果你也想擁有自己的小鳥，

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

並且希望它出現在我們的某個影片中，

you can get it at patreon.com/kurzgesagt.

你可以在 patreon.com/kurzgesagt 獲取。

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

Patreon 是我們維持營運的主要方式之一，

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

所以除了獲得一個超級讚的大頭貼之外，

you also help us make more and better videos.

你也能幫助我們製作出更多、更好的影片。