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第一章
宏观世界与微观世界
Macro world and micro world

人类文明在地球上已经探索了很多年,是否还存在一些无法解释,也无法理解的事情呢?

目前,这些科学无法解释的现象都集中在“微观世界”中,也就是宇宙万物的最小组成部分——基本粒子在运动时发生的事情,我们口中常常提到的“量子力学”就是描述微观世界中物理规律的一门学科,而爱因斯坦的相对论则是描述宏观世界物理规律的学科。

Human civilization has been exploring on Earth for many years. Is there still something unexplainable and incomprehensible?At present, these phenomena that cannot be explained by science are concentrated in the "microscopic world" ,which is the smallest component of all things in the universe - what happens when elementary particles move. The "quantum mechanics" we often refer to is a discipline that describes the physical laws in the microscopic world,while Einstein's theory of relativity is a discipline that describes the physical laws in the macroscopic world.

宏观世界亦称“大宇宙”。是宏观物体和宏观现象的总称。肉眼能见的物体都是宏观物体,人们把由大量分子、原子和光子组成的物体称作宏观物体。宇宙天体,广漠辽阔的天体,我们看到的是一片蓝天,其实它是由各种天体组成的:太阳系、银河系、总星系。人类借助现代天文望远镜,已经可以看到10多亿颗星球。宇宙空间并非空白,而是由亿万颗星球天体组成的“大家庭”。

The macro world is also known as the 'big universe' .It is a general term for macroscopic objects and macroscopic phenomena.Objects visible to the naked eye are macroscopic objects, and people refer to objects composed of a large number of molecules, atoms,and photons as macroscopic objects. Cosmic celestial bodies, vast and boundless celestial bodies,what we see is a blue sky, which is actually composed of various celestial bodies: the solar system,the Milky Way, and the total galaxy. With the help of modern astronomical telescopes, humans can already see over 1 billion planets. The universe is not blank, but a "big family" composed of billions of planets and celestial bodies.

宏观世界的尺度通常指的是肉眼能看见的物体和现象,如行星、星系等。

The scale of the macroscopic world usually refers to objects and phenomena that can be seen by the naked eye, such as planets,galaxies, etc.

人们把分子、原子、原子核、质子、中子、电子、光子等称为微观客体。微观客体遵循的物理学规律称为微观规律,它们与宏观规律有着极大的差别。符合微观规律的客观物质世界称为微观世界。量子理论就是描述微观世界的一种理论。

微观世界的尺度则是指原子、分子、电子等基本粒子的尺度,这些粒子的尺寸大约在10^-10米(纳米)级别。

People refer to molecules, atoms, atomic nuclei, protons,neutrons,electrons, photons, etc. a s microscopic objects.The physical laws followed by microscopic objects are called microscopic laws, which differ greatly from macroscopic laws.The objective material world that conforms to microscopic laws is called the microscopic world. Quantum theory is a theory that describes the microscopic world. The scale of the microscopic world refers to the size of basic particles such as atoms, molecules, and electrons,which are approximately in the range of 10 ^ -10 meters(nanometers) in size.

夸克也是基本粒子,无法再细分下去,因此,在现在的认识条件下,最小的物质就是夸克了。

由于夸克是看不见也摸不到的微小物质,科学家花了很大功夫才终于得出了一个不是很精确的数据,即夸克的半径在4.3×10^-19米到4.3×10^-17米之间。

Quarks are also fundamental particles that cannot be further subdivided,therefore,under current understanding, the smallest substance is quarks. Due to the fact that quarks are tiny matter that cannot be seen or touched,scientists have spent a lot of effort finally obtaining a data that is not very accurate, that is, the radius of quarks is between 4.3 × 10 ^ -19 meters and 4.3 × 10 ^ -17 meters.

在科学界提出的所有革命性思想中,最奇怪、最违反直觉的或许就是量子力学的概念。此前,科学家们认为宇宙是确定性的,也就是说,物理定律能够让你非常准确地预测任何系统未来的演变。我们假设,我们对宇宙的还原论方法——寻找现实中最小的组成部分,并努力理解它们的属性——将引导我们获得对事物的终极认识。如果我们能够知道事物是由什么构成的,并能确定支配它们的规则,那么至少在原则上,没有什么是我们无法预测的。

Among all the revolutionary ideas proposed in the scientific community, perhaps the most peculiar and counterintuitive is the concept of quantum mechanics. Previously, scientists believed that the universe was deterministic,meaning that the laws of physics could enable you to predict the future evolution of any system very accurately. We assume that our reductionist approach to the universe - searching for the smallest components of reality and striving to understand their properties - will guide us to the ultimate understanding of things. If we can know what things are made of and determine the rules that govern them, then at least in principle, there is nothing we cannot predict.

我们可以想象一个宇宙,那里根本没有量子,你可以将物质任意分割成越来越小的块,没有限制。在任何时候,你都不会遇到一个基本的、不可分割的构造块;你可以将物质分解成任意小的碎片,如果你有一个足够锋利或坚固的“分割器”,你总是可以把它分解得更细。

We can imagine a universe where there are no quanta at all,and you can arbitrarily divide matter into smaller and smaller pieces without any limitations. At any time, you will never encounter a basic,indivisible building block; You can break down matter into any small piece, and if you have a sharp or sturdy 'splitter' ,you can always break it down into finer pieces.

当涉及到微观世界时,这一假设很快就被证明是不正确的。当你将现实事物简化为最小的组成部分时,你会发现你可以将所有形式的物质和能量分成不可分割的部分:量子。在微观世界研究中常用到量子的概念,指一个个不可分割的基本个体。一个物理量如果存在最小的不可分割的基本单位,则这个物理量是量子化的,并把最小单位称为量子。量子英文名称量子一词来自拉丁语quantus,意为“有多少”,代表“相当数量的某物质”。

When it comes to the microcosm,this assumption is quickly proven to be incorrect. When you simplify reality into its smallest components, you will find that you can divide all forms of matter and energy into inseparable parts: quantum. The concept of quantum is commonly used in the study of the microscopic world, referring to indivisible basic entities.If a physical quantity has the smallest indivisible fundamental unit,then this physical quantity is quantized and the smallest unit is called a quantum. The English name for quantum comes from the Latin word quantus, which means "how many" and represents "a considerable amount of a substance".

物质中基本粒子组成原子的方式都是:质子和中子组成原子核,电子以高速围绕原子核运动。而电子围绕原子核运动过程中需要找到一种能平衡原子核施加的万有引力和电磁力的轨道才能稳定地围绕原子核运动,而这样的轨道是由多种因素共同决定的,因此,符合条件的轨道是离散的。就像太阳系的行星围绕太阳公转的轨道也是很有规律的、离散分布一样。

The way basic particles in matter are composed of atoms is that protons and neutrons form the nucleus, and electrons move around the nucleus at high speed. During the movement of electrons around the atomic nucleus,it is necessary to find an orbit that can balance the gravitational and electromagnetic forces exerted by the nucleus in order to move stably around the nucleus. Such orbits are determined by multiple factors, therefore, the orbits that meet the conditions are discrete.Just like the orbits of planets in the solar system around the sun are also very regular and discretely distributed .

总之,是物质中基本粒子组成方式决定了微观世界的诸多物理量呈现出离散的、量子化的特性。

In short,it is the composition of fundamental particles in matter that determines the discrete and quantized nature of many physical quantities in the microscopic world.

然而,这些量子不再以确定性的方式行事,而只是以概率的方式行事。然而,即使有了这种补充,另一个问题仍然存在:这些量子对彼此的影响。我们对场和力的经典概念无法捕捉量子力学宇宙的真实影响,这表明它们也需要以某种方式量化。量子间的相互作用使得量子力学也不足以解释宇宙;为此,又发展出了量子场论。

However,these quanta no longer act in a deterministic way, but only in a probabilistic way. However, even with this supplement,another issue still exists: the impact of these quanta on each other.Our classical concepts of fields and forces cannot capture the true impact of the quantum mechanical universe, indicating that they also need to be quantified in some way. The interaction between quanta makes quantum mechanics insufficient to explain the universe; For this reason, quantum field theory has also been developed.

在量子力学和量子场论中存在很多颠覆传统物理知识的定律。从根本上来看,在量子力学中,宇宙是不确定的,一切都需要看概率,任何事情都有可能发生,但是在相对论中,宇宙就像是一个绝对精准的机械钟表,每一秒过去后,下一秒的事实就已经被决定了。

There are many laws in quantum mechanics and quantum field theory that overturn traditional physics knowledge. Fundamentally speaking, in quantum mechanics, the universe is uncertain,everything depends on probability, and anything can happen.However,in relativity, the universe is like an absolutely accurate mechanical clock,where every second passes and the next second is already determined.

大部分的科学家都认同爱因斯坦对于宇宙的理解,但是也有一小部分科学家认为量子力学才是宇宙的真理,可以说宏观和微观之间似乎存在一个无法解释的界限,导致了两者遵循不同的规律。

Most scientists agree with Einstein's understanding of the universe,but there is also a small group of scientists who believe that quantum mechanics is the truth of the universe. It can be said that there seems to be an inexplicable boundary between macro and micro,which leads to the two following different laws.

量子场论的最初建立历程是和量子力学以及狭义相对论密不可分的,它是基本粒子物理标准模型的理论框架。2013年的诺贝尔物理学奖被授予量子场论中希格斯机制的发现者。希格斯粒子也是构造粒子物理标准模型的最后一环。

The initial establishment process of quantum field theory is closely related to quantum mechanics and special relativity, and it is the theoretical framework of the Standard Model of elementary particle physics. The 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to the discoverer of the Higgs mechanism in quantum field theory. The Higgs boson is also the final link in constructing the Standard Model of particle physics.

粒子物理标准模型是关于目前已知的基本粒子的物理学理论,而量子场论是粒子物理标准模型的数学基础和理论框架。标准模型认为目前已知的物质都是由该模型中的基本粒子构成,而这些基本粒子的动力学和相互作用可以用量子场论来描述。

The Standard Model of Particle Physics is a physical theory about the known elementary particles, while quantum field theory is the mathematical foundation and theoretical framework of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. The Standard Model assumes that all known substances are composed of elementary particles in the model,and the dynamics and interactions of these elementary particles can be described using quantum field theory.

场论是关于场的性质、相互作用和运动规律的理论。量子场论则是在量子力学基础上建立和发展的场论,即把量子力学原理应用于场,把场看作无穷维自由度的力学系统实现其量子化而建立的理论。

Field theory is a theory about the properties, interactions, and laws of motion of fields. Quantum field theory is a field theory established and developed on the basis of quantum mechanics,which applies the principles of quantum mechanics to fields and regards them as mechanical systems with infinite degrees of freedom to achieve quantization.

量子场论给出的物理图像是:在全空间充满着各种不同的场,它们互相渗透并且相互作用着;场的激发态表现为粒子的出现,不同激发态表现为粒子的数目和状态不同,场的相互作用可以引起场激发态的改变,表现为粒子的各种反应过程。

所有的场处于基态时表现为真空。从上述量子场论的物理含义可以知道真空并非没有物质。处于基态的场具有量子力学所特有的零点振动和量子涨落。

The physical image given by quantum field theory is: the entire space is filled with various different fields, which permeate and interact with each other; The excited state of the field is manifested as the appearance of particles, and different excited states are manifested as different numbers and states of particles.The interaction of the field can cause changes in the excited state of the field,manifested as various reaction processes of particles. All fields exhibit vacuum when in the ground state. From the physical meaning of the quantum field theory mentioned above, it can be inferred that vacuum is not devoid of matter.The field in the ground state exhibits zero point vibrations and quantum fluctuations unique to quantum mechanics.

已知的12种基本粒子构成了我们的宇宙,每种粒子都对应于一个独特的量子场。在这12个粒子场的基础上,标准模型又增加了四个力场,代表了四种基本相互作用:引力、电磁力、强核力和弱核力。标准模型将这16个场融合到一个方程中,描述了它们之间是如何相互作用的。通过这些相互作用,基本粒子被理解为它们各自量子场的涨落,这样,整个物理世界就呈现在我们眼前了。

The 12 known elementary particles make up our universe,each corresponding to a unique quantum field. On the basis of these 12 particle fields, the Standard Model adds four force fields,representing four fundamental interactions: gravity, electromagnetic force,strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear force. The standard model integrates these 16 fields into one equation, describing how they interact with each other. Through these interactions, elementary particles are understood as fluctuations in their respective quantum fields,thus presenting the entire physical world before our eyes.

量子场论(QFT)是粒子物理学标准模型的框架。特别是,量子电动力学(QED)以前所未有的精确度预测了物理量的值。然而,量子场论也因其分歧而闻名,最重要的一个是真空能量密度。每个量子场都有一个相应发散的零点能量,把所有的模态加起来,就会得到一个巨大的真空能量密度值。

Quantum Field Theory (QFT) is the framework of the Standard Model in particle physics. Especially, quantum electrodynamics(QED) has predicted the values o f physical quantities with unprecedented accuracy. However, quantum field theory is also known for its divergences, the most important of which is vacuum energy density. Each quantum field has a corresponding divergent zero point energy, and adding up all modes results in a huge vacuum energy density value.

费曼图表示量子场论分歧的例子。在第一种情况下,一个光子产生一个虚拟的电子-正电子对,然后湮灭(真空极化)。在第二种情况下,电子发射并重新吸收一个虚光子。

然而,由广义相对论预测和实验观察到的真空能量是非常小的。两种估值的差异可能高达107个数量级。

Feynman diagram represents an example of divergence in quantum field theory. In the first scenario, a photon generates a virtual electron positron pair and then annihilates (vacuum polarization) .In the second scenario, an electron emits and reabsorbs a virtual photon. However, the vacuum energy predicted by general relativity and observed experimentally is very small. The difference between the two valuations may be as high as 107 orders of magnitude.

然后,我们转到爱因斯坦的广义相对论,这是一个关于引力的理论。正如我们先前提到的,引力源自物体间的相互吸引,物体的质量越大,引力就越强。但为何物体的质量会产生引力呢?引力为何微弱却能作用于宏观世界?

Then,we turn to Einstein's theory of general relativity, which is a theory about gravity. As we mentioned earlier, gravity originates from the mutual attraction between objects, and the larger the mass of an object, the stronger the gravity. But why does the mass of an object generate gravity? Why is gravity weak yet able to act on the macroscopic world?

爱因斯坦解答了这一谜题。他提出,空间本身具有形状,在没有物质或能量存在时,空间是平直的。但当一个质量极大的物体进入空间时,平直的空间便会发生弯曲。广义相对论将引力转化成了优美的几何图形,引力似乎并不存在,只是空间的几何形变所产生的效果。广义相对论似乎完美地解释了引力的本质。

Einstein solved this puzzle. He proposed that space itself has a shape, and in the absence of matter or energy, space is flat. But when a massive object enters space, the flat space will bend. General relativity transforms gravity into beautiful geometric shapes, where gravity does not seem to exist, but rather is the result of geometric deformations in space. General relativity seems to perfectly explain the essence of gravity.

然而,空间的几何形变无法解释其他三种力——电磁力、强力和弱力。这些力似乎无法通过空间的弯曲实现。爱因斯坦曾设想,所有物质均由空间的扭结和振动形成。如果四种力都与引力一样源自空间的几何形变,那么四种力将统一于空间弯曲的几何学中。但微观世界并非平滑,而是由无数粒子不停地喧嚣构成,广义相对论的核心原理——平滑的空间几何概念,在这里遭遇了挑战。

However,the geometric deformation of space cannot explain the other three forces - electromagnetic force, strong force, and weak force.These forces seem unable to be achieved through the bending of space. Einstein once envisioned that all matter is formed by the twisting and vibration of space. If all four forces, like gravity,originate from the geometric deformation of space, then the four forces will be unified in the geometry of spatial curvature. But the microscopic world is not smooth, but composed of countless particles constantly clamoring, challenging the core principle of general relativity - the concept of smooth spatial geometry.

于是,需要量子理论来解释其他三种力。量子理论研究微观世界的基本粒子,它认为宇宙中的所有物质都由数百种基本粒子构成,这些粒子的质量极小,运动轨迹无常。量子理论认为,力是由粒子交换产生的:电磁力由光子交换产生,弱力由弱规范玻色子交换产生,强力由胶子交换产生。

So, quantum theory is needed to explain the other three forces.Quantum theory studies the fundamental particles of the microscopic world,believing that all matter in the universe is composed of hundreds of elementary particles with extremely small masses and unpredictable trajectories. Quantum theory holds that force is generated by particle exchange: electromagnetic force is generated by photon exchange, weak force is generated by weak gauge boson exchange, and strong force is generated by gluon exchange.

然而,基于空间弯曲的引力却无法通过粒子交换产生,且在微观世界中,粒子质量微小,运动无常,它们间的引力何从谈起?量子理论无法涵盖引力。

However, gravity based on spatial curvature cannot be generated through particle exchange, and in the microscopic world,particles have small masses and unpredictable movements. How can we talk about the gravity between them? Quantum theory cannot encompass gravity.

在量子场论中,即使在没有物质存在的真空中,所有基本粒子的量子场也会经历所谓的“零点波动”,这意味着真空实际上充满了虚拟粒子对的瞬间产生和湮灭。这些过程会产生一个非零的能量密度,即真空能。

In quantum field theory, even in a vacuum without the existence of matter,the quantum fields of all elementary particles undergo what is known as "zero point fluctuations, "which means that the vacuum is actually filled with the instantaneous generation and annihilation of virtual particle pairs. These processes will generate a non-zero energy density, namely vacuum energy.

然而,根据广义相对论,任何能量密度都会引起空间的弯曲,从而导致引力效应。如果将量子场论预测的真空能密度代入广义相对论方程,计算出的结果与实际观测到的宇宙加速膨胀所需的暗能量密度相差极大。这就是所谓的真空灾变。

However,according to general relativity, any energy density will cause the bending of space, leading to gravitational effects.If the vacuum energy density predicted by quantum field theory is substituted into the equations of general relativity, the calculated result differs greatly from the observed dark energy density required for the accelerated expansion of the universe. This is called a vacuum disaster .

物理学家至今仍没有给出一个被广泛接受的解决方案。这个问题仍然是现代物理学中的一个重大挑战。它被认为是当今物理学理论的重大瑕疵。

Physicists have yet to provide a widely accepted solution. This issue remains a major challenge in modern physics. It is considered a major flaw in current physics theory.

广义相对论和量子理论的不兼容,成为现代物理学的核心难题。人们很难相信,在宇宙的微观和宏观层面,竟然存在两个不同的理论。为了使两者相容,物理学家们进行了大量的努力,他们通过修正广义相对论或量子理论,试图找到答案,但多数尝试都以失败告终。

The incompatibility between general relativity and quantum theory has become a core challenge in modern physics. It is hard for people to believe that there are two different theories at the micro and macro levels of the universe .In order to make the two compatible, physicists have made a lot of efforts to find answers by modifying general relativity or quantum theory, but most attempts have ended in failure. 8mw2IlV3D4WIYX07FRwEv3bmBK7MR1P0VN/NzzgO/sToJYM6FrAI+e+kBf6J+CoU

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