最大規模的爆炸：英語精讀講義

Hey, Vsauce.

嘿，Vsauce。

Michael here and today

我是 Michael，今天

I'm in my apartment.

我在自己的公寓裡。

But when I was in Kansas with family,

不過之前我在堪薩斯州和家人團聚時，

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

我爸點燃了一枚俗稱「quarter stick」的爆竹。

But don't worry,

不過別擔心，

absolutely no children were around.

當時附近絕對沒有小孩。

Okay,

好了，

look.

聽我說。

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

重點是，今天我們要來聊聊爆炸物。

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

先從威力小得多的黑火藥或無煙火藥說起，

which many modern rounds use.

許多現代彈藥都會使用無煙火藥。

Now, usually smokeless powder doesn't even detonate.

通常，無煙火藥甚至不會發生爆轟。

Instead,

相反地，

it deflagrates. 用詞

它會發生爆燃。

Technically,

嚴格來說，

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

只有當物質或釋放出的氣體移動速度超過音速時，爆炸才算是爆轟。

If the explosion is subsonic,

如果爆炸的傳播速度低於音速，

you're only dealing with a deflagration.

那就只是爆燃。

Now,

那麼，

we want a bullet's propellant to deflagrate,

我們希望子彈的推進藥發生爆燃，

not detonate,

而不是爆轟，

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

因為我們既希望它有足夠的威力，讓子彈快速射出，

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

又不希望它太快釋放能量，損壞槍枝或傷到自己。

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

來看看露天點燃的無煙火藥，以及它的慢動作畫面。

It burns very strongly and quickly,

它燃燒得非常猛烈、迅速，

but at all times,

但在整個過程中，

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

釋放出的氣體始終沒有超過音速，也沒有產生衝擊波。

We're looking at deflagration here, 表達脈絡

我們看到的是爆燃，

not detonation.

而不是爆轟。

To compare,

作為對比，

this is nitroglycerin.

這是硝化甘油。

It's so fragile,

它非常不穩定，

you hit it with a hammer and it detonates.

用鎚子一敲就會爆轟。

Even at a slower speed,

即使放慢畫面，

we can see that all the material immediately explodes.

我們也能看到所有物質瞬間爆炸。

Consumer fireworks use black powder,

消費型煙火使用的是黑火藥，

gunpowder,

也就是火藥，

and as such, 表達脈絡

因此，

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

它們威力不足，基本上不可能達到爆轟狀態。

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

你剛才看到我爸點燃的那個「quarter stick」也是如此。

Those and M-80s,

這類爆竹和 M-80，

cherry bombs are louder and often illegal,

還有櫻桃炸彈，聲音更大，而且往往是違禁品，

but they burn flash powder,

但它們燃燒的是閃光粉，

not a high explosive like dynamite.

而不是黃色炸藥之類的烈性炸藥。

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

但這並不表示煙火就不能令人驚嘆。

Currently,

目前，

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

現役最大的一些煙火彈直徑達 48 英吋。

When exploded in the air,

在空中爆炸時，

a 48-in shell looks like this.

48 英吋煙火彈看起來是這樣。

Or like this.

也可能是這樣。

Oh,

喔，

yeah.

沒錯。

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

如果它們發射失敗，反而在地面爆炸，

it looks like this.

看起來就會是這樣。

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

不過，接下來我們來談談爆轟。

No matter what material releases the energy, 文法

無論釋放能量的是什麼，

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

無論是傳統炸藥、核彈、小行星撞擊，還是地震，

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

人們通常都會用一個指標來衡量：需要多少 TNT

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

才能產生同等威力的爆炸。

To give you a sense of scale, 表達脈絡

為了讓你感受一下這個規模，

here is the detonation of approximately 100 tons of TNT

這是大約 100 噸 TNT 發生爆轟的畫面，

by a defense contractor disposing of explosives. 片語動詞

由一家國防承包商在銷毀爆炸物時引爆。

Unlike deflagrations,

與爆燃不同，

detonations produce a shock wave, 用詞

爆轟會產生衝擊波，

which is just that,

顧名思義，

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

這是一種由高壓區和低壓區構成的波。

This explosion was so powerful,

這次爆炸威力極大，

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

低壓區的氣壓低到讓周圍空氣中的水蒸氣短暫凝結，

which formed this cloud.

形成了這片雲。

And here's a video of an explosion

這裡還有一段爆炸影片，

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

衝擊波在逼近並擊中攝影師時格外清楚。

Holy

天啊——

You can also see shock condensation clouds around these explosions 用詞

你還能在這些爆炸周圍看到衝擊波凝結雲。

set off by the United States 片語動詞

這些爆炸由美國引爆，

in Hawaii

地點在夏威夷，

in 1965.

時間是 1965 年。

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

美國想知道核攻擊會對海軍船艦造成什麼影響，

so they detonated an equivalent amount of TNT

於是引爆了相應當量的 TNT，

on an island with US ships anchored nearby.

地點是一座島嶼，附近停泊著美國軍艦。

This pile contains 500 tons of TNT waiting to explode.

這堆等待引爆的 TNT 重達 500 噸。

When it does, 文法

引爆後，

it looks like this.

看起來是這樣。

Earlier,

更早以前，

the US tested actual nuclear weapons to see how underwater detonations

美國還測試過真正的核武，以了解水下爆炸

might affect our ships.

可能會對我方船艦造成什麼影響。

This underwater nuclear explosion is much larger,

這次水下核爆的規模大得多，

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

當量不是 100 噸 TNT，

not 500 tons,

也不是 500 噸，

but 8,000 tons.

而是 8,000 噸。

For comparison,

作為對比，

the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 文化背景

1945 年投在廣島的原子彈

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

爆炸能量相當於 1.5 萬噸 TNT。

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

就物理威力而言，人類使用過的最強單一裝置是沙皇炸彈。

The Soviet Union tested it in 1961

蘇聯於 1961 年對它進行試爆，

far up north away from civilization.

地點在遠離文明世界的極北地區。

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,

以盡量減少其破壞，

which was unprecedented by man.

而它的破壞力在人類歷史上前所未有。

The Tsar Bomb exploded with the power equivalent

沙皇炸彈爆炸時的威力相當於

to 50 million tons of TNT.

5,000 萬噸 TNT。

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

沙皇炸彈產生的蕈狀雲衝出了我們通常所說的大氣層，

into the mesosphere

一直伸入中氣層，

and dwarfed the largest clouds from US detonations. 用詞

讓美國最大規模核爆產生的雲團都相形失色。

It was so large that comparatively,

它大到什麼程度呢？相比之下，

the bombs dropped on Japan,

投在日本的那些原子彈，

well,

呃，

they're on the graph way down there. 用詞

在圖表上只排在最下面那裡。

But at the end of the day, 慣用語

但說到底，

nothing can beat supernovas,

沒有什麼能勝過超新星，

the explosion of an entire star.

也就是整顆恆星的爆炸。

While 50 million tons may sound like a lot, 文法

5,000 萬噸聽起來可能很多，

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

但據估計，一次超新星釋放的能量相當於

of 10 octillion million tons of TNT.

10 的 34 次方噸 TNT。

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

最後請看美國研發的一門大砲，用來發射普通的小砲彈，

except that it carried a nuclear warhead.

只不過砲彈攜帶的是核彈頭。

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

我很確定 Bass Pro Shop 就能買到這種東西，

but regardless,

不過不管怎樣，

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

一定要訂閱 Vsauce，才不會錯過接下來的任何內容。

And as always,

和往常一樣，

thanks for watching.

感謝收看。