太陽風暴會摧毀人類文明嗎？太陽閃焰與日冕物質拋射：英語精讀講義

The sun,

太陽，

smooth and round and peaceful,

光滑、圓潤、寧靜，

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

除非它突然向四面八方噴射輻射和電漿。

These solar flares and coronal mass ejections or CMEs

這些太陽閃焰和日冕物質拋射（或稱 CME）

can hit Earth and have serious consequences for humanity.

可能擊中地球並對人類造成嚴重後果。

How exactly do they work? 表達脈絡

它們究竟是如何運作的？

How bad could they be?

它們能有多糟糕？

And can we prepare for them?

我們能做好準備嗎？

While the sun seems pretty solid, 文法

雖然太陽看起來相當堅固，

it's actually like a very hot ocean.

但實際上它就像一個非常炎熱的海洋。

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

熱到把原子撕裂成電子和原子核，在電漿中相互流轉。

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

這種電漿受到太陽磁場的推動和塑造，

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

就像太陽的引力場

reaches out to the planets and shapes their orbits.

延伸至行星並塑造它們的軌道。

But magnetism is very different from gravity.

但磁力與引力截然不同。

Magnetism is one part of a dual force,

磁力是雙重力量的一部分，

electromagnetism.

即電磁力。

Electricity creates magnetic fields

電產生磁場，

and magnetic fields create electricity.

磁場產生電。

On the sun,

在太陽上，

the plasma made of electrically charged protons and electrons

由帶電質子和電子組成的電漿

creates a magnetic field as they move,

在移動時產生磁場，

and this magnetic field then shapes the flow of particles.

隨後這個磁場又塑造了粒子的流動。

They're stuck in a dynamic feedback loop 用詞

它們陷入了一個動態的反饋迴圈中，

called a dynamo,

稱為發電機效應，

which keeps the sun's magnetic field alive.

這維持了太陽磁場的存在。

This magnetic field stores enormous amounts of energy

這個磁場儲存了巨大的能量

and leaks out over the solar system.

並向整個太陽系洩漏。

It carries with it a constant trickle of solar plasma 慣用語

它攜帶著持續不斷流動的太陽電漿，

like a light rain known as the solar wind,

就像被稱為太陽風的毛毛雨，

creating a sort of space weather.

創造了一種太空天氣。

But it isn't always calm and smooth.

但它並不總是平靜順暢的。

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

隨著太陽電漿自身的翻滾和流動，

its magnetic field gets all kinked and twisted.

它的磁場變得扭曲纏繞。

This creates magnetic knots

這產生了磁結，

that build up enormous amounts of energy.

積聚了巨大的能量。

When the magnetic knots break

當磁結斷裂時，

like a tangle of springs exploding outwards, 表達脈絡

就像糾纏的彈簧向外爆炸，

the sun can vomit plasma and other awful things

太陽就會把電漿和其他可怕的東西

into the solar system.

噴吐到太陽系中。

These solar storms come in many types,

這些太陽風暴有很多種，

like solar flares,

比如太陽閃焰，

a tidal wave of high energy radiation. 慣用語

它是高能輻射的狂潮。

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

它們以光速在太陽系中穿梭，

sweeping up protons in the solar wind, 片語動詞

席捲太陽風中的質子，

accelerating them into a high-speed solar proton storm.

將它們加速成高速的太陽質子風暴。

Then there are coronal mass ejections,

然後是日冕物質拋射，

which rip millions or billions of tons of plasma

它從太陽大氣中撕裂

from the sun's atmosphere,

數百萬或數十億噸的電漿，

catapulting it through the solar system

將它們投射穿過太陽系，

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

速度高達每小時900萬公里。

When these monsters hit us, 表達脈絡

當這些怪物撞擊我們時，

nothing happens on Earth.

地球上什麼也沒發生。

While even smaller storms can damage satellites,

雖然即使是較小的風暴也會損壞衛星，

affect radio communication,

影響無線電通信，

or be dangerous to astronauts,

或者對太空人造成危險，

for people on the surface,

但對於地表上的人來說，

space weather is harmless.

太空天氣是無害的。

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

地球大氣層保護我們免受太陽閃焰最嚴重的影響，

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

透過在高空吸收X射線衝擊波，

well before it reaches the surface.

遠遠在它到達地表之前。

The electrified plasma from a CME

來自 CME 的帶電電漿

is deflected by the Earth's magnetic field,

被地球磁場偏轉，

diverting the energy storm to the north and south poles,

將能量風暴引向南北極，

where energetic particles fall into the atmosphere,

高能粒子在那裡落入大氣層，

causing the atmosphere to glow and creating beautiful auroras.

使大氣發光並產生美麗的極光。

As with any sort of weather, 表達脈絡

就像任何天氣一樣，

most of the time things are fine.

大多數時候一切都好。

Sometimes there are hurricanes, though,

不過有時也會有颶風，

or in the case of the sun,

或者就太陽而言，

solar superstorms.

太陽超級風暴。

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

我們知道它們每個世紀會發生一兩次。

If one were to happen today, 文法

如果今天發生一次，

we would first detect strong solar flares,

我們首先會探測到強烈的太陽閃焰，

a sort of flash 慣用語

就像是一種閃電，

before the much more dangerous thunder.

在遠比它危險的雷聲之前出現。

The thunder is a CME,

雷聲就是 CME，

consisting of billions of tons of hot magnetic plasma

由數十億噸熾熱的磁性電漿組成，

that crosses the 150 million km between the sun and Earth

跨越太陽和地球之間1.5億公里的距離，

in less than a day.

耗時不到一天。

When it arrives,

當它到達時，

it causes a shock wave

它會引發衝擊波，

that violently compresses the Earth's magnetic field

劇烈壓縮地球磁場，

and transfers energy into the magnetosphere.

並將能量傳遞到磁層中。

But it can get worse.

但這可能會變得更糟。

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

如果 CME 的磁場與地球磁場

in just the right way,

恰好以某種方式對齊，

the two magnetic fields merge.

這兩個磁場就會合併。

As the magnetic cloud passes over Earth,

當磁雲經過地球時，

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

它會將地球磁場拉伸成一條長尾巴。

Eventually,

最終，

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

尾巴中儲存的能量變得太多而無法包含。

It snaps and explosively releases its energy towards Earth.

它斷裂並爆炸性地向地球釋放能量。

A geomagnetic storm has begun.

地磁暴開始了。

A few hundred years ago,

幾百年前，

nobody would have cared. 文法

沒人在乎。

This storm gushing over the Earth is not relevant for machines

這場湧過地球的風暴對於由血肉之軀

made out of meat and bones. 表達脈絡

構成的機器毫無關聯。

But it's very relevant for machines

但這與由金屬和電線

made out of metal and wire.

構成的機器息息相關。

Remember the dynamo? 表達脈絡

還記得發電機效應嗎？

Magnetism creates electric currents.

磁力產生電流。

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

21世紀的地球上覆蓋著數百萬公里

of wires transporting electricity and a complex grid

用於輸電的電線，以及一個由變壓器等機器構成的複雜電網，

of machines like transformers that make this transfer possible.

使這種電力傳輸成為可能。

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

CME 的能量能在我們的電網中感應出電流，

that can either completely shut it down

這既可能使電網完全癱瘓，

or worse, 表達脈絡

或者更糟的是，

destroy the transformer stations that keep our grid running.

摧毀維持電網運行的變電站。

This has happened already,

這種事情已經發生過，

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

比如1989年一場強烈的太陽風暴後，魁北克電網崩潰。

But in general,

但總體來說，

our engineers know how to deal with these storms,

我們的工程師知道如何應對這些風暴，

and so we usually don't even notice.

所以我們通常甚至注意不到。

The last time a solar hurricane washed over Earth

上一次太陽颶風席捲地球

was in 1859,

是在1859年，

the Carrington event, 文化背景

即卡林頓事件，

the largest geomagnetic storms ever observed on Earth.

這是地球上觀測到的最大的地磁暴。

Massive auroras occurred as far south as the Caribbean.

連南至加勒比海的地區都出現了巨大的極光。

In some places,

在某些地方，

they were so bright that people got up, 文法

它們太亮了，以至於人們起床了，

thinking the sun was rising.

以為太陽升起來了。

Luckily,

幸運的是，

we only had one sort of modern technology,

我們當時只有一種現代技術，

telegraph systems.

即電報系統。

They failed all over the world,

它們在世界各地都失靈了，

shocking their operators and chucking out sparks. 片語動詞

讓操作員觸電並迸發出火花。

Today,

今天，

we have a tad more technology, 用詞

我們的技術稍微多了一點，

and our luck may run out soon. 慣用語

而我們的好運可能很快就會耗盡。

Another bad solar storm is bound to happen eventually. 文法

另一場糟糕的太陽風暴終究會發生。

A storm as strong as the Carrington event

2012年，一場與卡林頓事件同樣強烈的風暴

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

與地球擦肩而過。

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

研究預測它本會對全球電子系統造成嚴重破壞，

costing up to $2.6 trillion to the US alone.

僅美國就可能損失高達2.6兆美元。

The time to replace all the damaged systems

更換所有受損系統所需的時間

was estimated at between 4 and 10 years.

估計在4到10年之間。

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

很難說本來會有多糟糕。

Experts disagreed.

專家們意見不一。

Some assumed there would just be temporary blackouts,

一些人認為只會有暫時的停電，

but others worried it could be much worse.

但另一些人擔心可能會糟糕得多。

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

在巨大的太陽颶風擊中我們之前，我們無法確切知道。

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

此類事件發生的機率估計為每十年12%。

That's about a 50-50 chance 片語搭配

這大約意味著未來50年內至少發生一次

of at least one in the next 50 years.

的機率為50%。

And there is more unsettling news.

還有更多令人不安的消息。

A 2019 paper found that even calm stars like our sun

2019年的一篇論文發現，即使是像我們太陽這樣平靜的恆星

can create superflares every few thousand years.

也能每隔幾千年產生一次超級閃焰。

Eruptions orders of magnitude stronger 片語搭配

其爆發強度比我們

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

在太陽系中觀測到的最強風暴要高出幾個數量級。

If such a storm hits us unprepared,

如果這樣一場風暴在毫無準備的情況下襲擊我們，

the consequences could be catastrophic.

後果可能是災難性的。

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

無論怎麼誇大我們對電力的依賴都不為過。

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

這不僅僅是家裡的燈光，

it means no computers,

這意味著沒有電腦，

no communication,

沒有通信，

no navigation.

沒有導航。

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

持續的停電可能會導致供應鏈崩潰，

water supply systems failing,

供水系統失效，

and hospital generators running dry. 慣用語

醫院的發電機燃油耗盡。

Supermarkets not being refilled

超市得不到補貨，

while food rots in the fields.

而食物卻在田裡腐爛。

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

缺乏電力可能使重啟我們損壞的電網變得極其困難，

taking years or decades to restart our starving civilization.

需要數年或數十年才能重啟我們飢餓的文明。

Okay,

好吧，

time to panic.

是時候恐慌了。

As much as daily newspapers might like for solar storms 文法

儘管日報可能喜歡渲染太陽風暴

to send us back to the Stone Age, 慣用語

把我們送回石器時代，

they probably won't.

但它們可能不會。

Fortunately,

幸運的是，

even though solar storms aren't preventable, 文法

儘管太陽風暴是不可預防的，

virtually all of their nasty side effects are.

但幾乎所有它們帶來的惡劣副作用都是可以預防的。

Scientists observing the sun

觀察太陽的科學家

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

有幾個小時到幾天的時間來發現 CME 的到來。

And the engineers working the systems that keep the world running

而維護世界運轉系統的工程師們

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

也非常清楚太陽風暴帶來的風險。

Transformers and substations can be taken offline, 用詞

變壓器和變電站可以下線，

short preventative blackouts,

進行短暫的預防性停電，

or in other words, 表達脈絡

或者換句話說，

by unplugging stuff.

拔掉設備的插頭。

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

工程師可以開啟額外的線路來消散多餘的電力，

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

相比應對其他自然災害所需的花費，這些投資和升級成本低廉，

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

我們可以保護全球電網免受即使是最惡劣風暴的破壞。

But we do need to prepare. 文法

但我們確實需要做好準備。

While the risk is manageable,

雖然風險可控，

it is real.

但它是真實的。

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

因為儘管我們的太陽沐浴我們於溫暖宜人的光芒中，

one day it might send a monster our way

有一天它可能會向我們送來一個怪物，

that we better be ready for. 文法

我們最好為此做好準備。