TED：月球从哪里来？这是一个新理论

TED英语演讲课

给心灵放个假吧

月球可能形成于约45亿年前，在地球形成后不久，有关它的起源有几种假说，得到更多事实证据支持的说法是它形成于地球与火星般大小的天体-“忒伊亚”之间一次巨大撞击所产生的碎片，在地球外围聚集而形成的“大碰撞起源说”。

关于宇宙我们有太多太多未知的事情。

离我们最近的月球究竟从何而来？今天的TED演讲给大家带来一个新的理论。

Nobody likes to make a mistake.

没有人喜欢犯错。

And I made a whopping one.

而我犯了个超级大错。

And figuring out what I did wrong led to a discovery

我找出了我做错什麽， 后续导致了一个发现，

that completely changes the way we think about the Earth and Moon.

完全改变了我们对于 地球和月球的看法。

I’m a planetary scientist,

我是行星科学家，

and my favorite thing to do is smash planets together.

我最爱做的事情就是 把行星撞在一起。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

In my lab, I can shoot at rocks using cannons like this one.

在我的实验室，我可以用 像这样的大砲对岩石开火。

(Cannon shot)

（大砲开火）

(Laughter)

（笑声）

In my experiments, I can generate the extreme conditions

依我的经验，我可以产生出

during planet formation.

在行星形成时的极端条件。

And with computer models, I can collide whole planets together

用电脑模型，我可以 让行星整个相撞，

to make them grow,

让它们长大，

or I can destroy them.

或是我也可以摧毁它们。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I want to understand how to make the Earth and the Moon

我想要了解，如何能 製造出地球和月球，

and why the Earth is so different from other planets.

以及为什麽地球 和其他行星如此不同。

The leading idea for the origin of the Earth and Moon

关于地球和月球最初 如何形成的主要想法是

is called the 'giant impact theory.'

所谓的「大碰撞说」。

The theory states that a Mars-sized body struck the young Earth,

这个理论是火星大小的天体 撞击了年轻的地球，

and the Moon formed from the debris disc around the planet.

而月球是从该行星的盘状分佈 碎片残骇所形成。

The theory can explain so many things about the Moon,

这个理论能解释许多月球的状况，

but it has a huge flaw:

但它有个巨大的瑕疵：

it predicts that the Moon is mostly made from the Mars-sized planet,

它预测，月球的主要成分 是那个火星大小的行星，

that the Earth and the Moon are made from different materials.

所以地球和月球是用 不同的材料生成的。

But that’s not what we see.

但，我们看到的并非如此。

The Earth and the Moon are actually like identical twins.

地球和月球其实像是同卵双胞胎。

The genetic code of planets is written in the isotopes of the elements.

行星的基因码是写在 元素的同位素中。

The Earth and Moon have identical isotopes.

地球和月球有相同的同位素。

That means that the Earth and Moon are made from the same materials.

那就表示，地球和月球 是用同样的材料生成的。

It’s really strange that the Earth and the Moon are twins.

地球和月球是双胞胎， 这是很奇怪的事。

All of the planets are made from different materials,

所有的行星都是由 不同的材料生成的，

so they all have different isotopes,

所以它们都有不同的同位素，

they all have their own genetic code.

它们都有自己的基因码。

No other planetary bodies have the same genetic relationship.

没有任何其他行星体 有相同的基因关係。

Only the Earth and Moon are twins.

只有地球和月球是双胞胎。

When I started working on the origin of the Moon,

当我开始研究月球的起源时，

there were scientists that wanted to reject the whole idea of the giant impact.

有些科学家想要推翻 整个大碰撞说。

They didn’t see any way for this theory to explain the special relationship

他们不认为这个理论能够解释

between the Earth and the Moon.

地球和月球之间的特殊关係。

We were all trying to think of new ideas.

我们都在试图提出新的想法。

The problem was, there weren’t any better ideas.

问题是，没有其他更好的想法。

All of the other ideas had even bigger flaws.

所有其他想法都有更大的瑕疵。

So we were trying to rescue the giant impact theory.

所以，我们在试图拯救大碰撞说。

A young scientist in my group suggested that we try changing the spin

我的团队中有一位 年轻的科学家建议，

of the giant impact.

我们可以试著改变 大碰撞说的自转。

Maybe making the Earth spin faster could mix more material

也许让地球自转速度更快， 就能混合更多材料，

and explain the Moon.

并能解释月球的形成。

The Mars-sized impactor had been chosen

撞击地球的火星大小行星 已经被选定，

because it could make the Moon

因为它可以形成月球，

and make the length of Earth’s day.

并形成地球白天时间的长度。

People really liked that part of the model.

大家真的很喜欢模型的这个部分。

But what if something else determined the length of Earth’s day?

但，如果地球的白天时间长度 是由其他因素决定的呢？

Then there would be many more possible giant impacts that could make the Moon.

那麽，就会有更多大碰撞 都有可能形成月球。

I was curious about what could happen,

我很好奇可能发生的状况，

so I tried simulating faster-spinning giant impacts,

所以我试著模拟 自转更快速的大碰撞，

and I found that it is possible

我发现，的确有可能

to make a disc out of the same mixture of materials as the planet.

用这个行星的材料组合 来生成一个盘。

We were pretty excited.

我们相当兴奋。

Maybe this was the way to explain the Moon.

也许这种方式就能解释月球。

The problem is, we also found that that’s just not very likely.

问题是，我们也发现， 这实在不太可能发生。

Most of the time, the disc is different from the planet,

通常，生成的盘 都和这个星球不同，

and it looked like making our Moon this way

看起来，若要用这种方式 生成我们的月球，

would be an astronomical coincidence,

那会是天文学上的巧合，

and it was just hard for everyone to accept the idea

大家很难接受

that the Moon’s special connection to Earth was an accident.

月球和地球的特殊关联只是个意外。

The giant impact theory was still in trouble,

大碰撞理论仍然在困境中，

and we were still trying to figure out how to make the Moon.

我们仍然在试图想出 月球是怎麽生成的。

Then came the day when I realized my mistake.

接著，有一天，我发现了我的错误。

My student and I were looking at the data from these fast-spinning giant impacts.

我和我的学生在看 快速自转大碰撞的资料。

On that day, we weren’t actually thinking about the Moon,

那天，我们其实 并没有在想月球的问题，

we were looking at the planet.

我们是在看那个行星。

The planet gets super-hot and partially vaporized

因为撞击的能量， 那个星球变得超级热，

from the energy of the impact.

且有部分已经蒸发。

But the data didn’t look like a planet.

但那资料看起来并不像个行星。

It looked really strange.

它看起来相当奇怪。

The planet was weirdly connected to the disc.

这个行星和盘有著奇怪的连结。

I got that super-excited feeling

我有种超兴奋的感觉，

when something really wrong might be something really interesting.

当有非常不对劲的状况时， 可能会有很有趣的发现。

In all of my calculations,

在我所有的计算中，

I had assumed there was a planet with a separate disc around it.

我都假设有一个行星， 它周围有一个分开的盘。

Calculating what was in the disc was how we tested

我们测试碰撞是否能够 生成月球的方式，

whether an impact could make the Moon.

就是计算那个盘中有什麽。

But it didn’t look that simple anymore.

但，看起来不再是那麽简单了。

We were making the mistake

我们犯的错

of thinking that a planet was always going to look like a planet.

是认为行星看起来 一定会是行星的样子。

On that day, I knew that a giant impact was making something completely new.

那天，我知道

I’ve had eureka moments.

大碰撞产生出来的是全新的东西。

This was not one of them.

我有过灵光一现的时刻。

(Laughter)

这个时刻并非其中之一。（笑声）

I really didn’t know what was going on.

我真的不知道到底怎麽回事。

I had this strange, new object in front of me

我前面有著这个奇怪的新物体，

and the challenge to try and figure it out.

面对著要试图搞懂它的挑战。

What do you do when faced with the unknown?

当你面对未知时，该怎麽做？

How do you even start?

到底要如何开始？

We questioned everything:

我们质疑一切：

What is a planet?

什麽是行星？

When is a planet no longer a planet anymore?

何时行星不再算是行星？

We played with new ideas.

我们开始玩新的想法。

We had to get rid of our old way of thinking,

我们得要摆脱过去的思考方式，

and by playing, I could throw away all of the data,

透过「玩」，我可以 丢掉所有的资料、

all of the rules of the real world,

真实世界中的所有规则，

and free my mind to explore.

解放我的大脑，让它去探索。

And by making a mental space

我製造了一个心智空间，

where I could try out outrageous ideas

在那裡，我可以尝试 无法无天的想法，

and then bring them back into the real world to test them,

接著把这些想法 带回真实世界做测试，

I could learn.

我能学习。

And by playing, we learned so much.

透过「玩」，我们学了好多。

I combined my lab experiments with computer models

我把我的实验室实验 和电脑模型结合，

and discovered that after most giant impacts,

发现在大部分大碰撞之后，

the Earth is so hot, there’s no surface.

地球都非常热，热到没有表面。

There’s just a deep layer of gas that gets denser and denser with depth.

只有一层很深层的气体， 越深的地方密度越高。

The Earth would have been like Jupiter.

地球本来可能像木星一样。

There’s nothing to stand on.

没有立足之地。

And that was just part of the problem.

那只是问题的一部分。

I wanted to understand the whole problem.

我想要了解整个问题。

I couldn’t let go of the challenge to figure out what was really going on

我无法放手这个挑战，我想要想通

in giant impacts.

在大碰撞中到底发生了什麽事。

It took almost two years

花了近两年时间，

of throwing away old ideas

不断把旧想法丢弃，

and building new ones

建立新想法，

that we understood the data

我们才了解了那些资料，

and knew what it meant for the Moon.

搞懂那对月球的意涵是什麽。

I discovered a new type of astronomical object.

我发现了一种新的天文物体。

It’s not a planet.

它不是行星。

It’s made from planets.

它是由行星生成的。

A planet is a body whose self-gravity

行星是一个天体，它自己的重力

is strong enough to give it its rounded shape.

强到可以让它形成圆形的形状。

It spins around all together.

它会形成一个整体一起自转。

Make it hotter and spin it faster,

若让它更热，自转更快，

the equator gets bigger and bigger until it reaches a tipping point.

赤道就会越来越大， 直到达到临界点。

Push past the tipping point,

若超过了临界点，

and the material at the equator spreads into a disc.

赤道的材料会散佈成盘状。

It’s now broken all the rules of being a planet.

现在，它就打破了 所有身为行星的规则。

It can’t spin around together anymore,

它不再能整体一起自转了。

its shape keeps changing as it gets bigger and bigger;

随著它越长越大， 它的形状不断改变；

the planet has become something new.

这个行星变成了某种新东西。

We gave our discovery its name:

我们把这项发现命名为：

synestia.

索内斯蒂亚（synestia）。

We named it after the goddess Hestia,

我们採用的是女神 Hestia 的名字，

the Greek goddess of the hearth and home,

掌管炉灶和家庭的希腊女神，

because we think the Earth became one.

因为我们认为地球 变成了这样的角色。

The prefix means 'all together,'

字首 syn 意思是「全部一起」，

to emphasize the connection between all of the material.

强调所有材料之间的连结。

A synestia is what a planet becomes

当高热与自转速度将一个行星

when heat and spin push it over the limit of a spheroidal shape.

推过了圆球形的极限时，它就变成了索内斯蒂亚。

Would you like to see a synestia?

你们想要看看索内斯蒂亚吗？

(Cheers)

（欢呼）

In this visualization of one of my simulations,

这裡透过视觉呈现出来的 是我的其中一项模拟，

the young Earth is already spinning quickly from a previous giant impact.

年轻的地球已经因为 先前的大碰撞而在快速自转，

Its shape is deformed, but our planet would be recognizable

它的形状变形了，但仍然 可以认出这是我们的星球，

by the water on its surface.

因为它的表面有水。

The energy from the impact vaporizes the surface,

碰撞的能量让蒸发了地表、

the water, the atmosphere,

水、大气，

and mixes all of the gases together in just a few hours.

只花了几个小时的时间 就把所有的气体混合在一起。

We discovered that many giant impacts make synestias,

我们发现，许多大碰撞 会产生索内斯蒂亚，

but these burning, bright objects don’t live very long.

但这些燃烧、明亮的物体 没有很长的生命。

They cool down, shrink and turn back into planets.

它们会冷却、缩小，转变回行星。

While rocky planets like Earth were growing,

当像地球这种岩石行星在成长时，

they probably turned into synestias one or more times.

可能会有一次或数次 转变为索内斯蒂亚。

A synestia gives us a new way to solve the problem of the origin of the Moon.

索内斯蒂亚让我们有了一个新方法 可以解决月球起源的问题。

We propose that the Moon formed inside a huge, vaporous synestia.

我们提出，月球是在一个大型、 蒸汽的索内斯蒂亚中形成的。

The Moon grew from magma rain

岩石蒸汽浓缩成岩浆雨，

that condensed out of the rock vapor.

月球则从岩浆雨中生成。

The Moon’s special connection to Earth

月球和地球的连结会如此特殊，

is because the Moon formed inside the Earth

是因为月球在地球内部形成，

when Earth was a synestia.

当时地球是个索内斯蒂亚。

The Moon could have orbited inside the synestia for years,

月球有可能在这个索内斯蒂亚 内部运行了很多年，

hidden from view.

这时是看不见的。

The Moon is revealed by the synestia cooling and shrinking

当索内斯蒂亚在月球轨道 内部冷却并缩小时，

inside of its orbit.

月球就显现出来了。

The synestia turns into planet Earth

这个索内斯蒂亚再经过 数百年的冷却之后，

only after cooling for hundreds of years longer.

就转变成了地球。

In our new theory,

在我们的新理论中，

the giant impact makes a synestia,

大碰撞造成了一个索内斯蒂亚，

and the synestia divides into two new bodies,

而这个索内斯蒂亚 分开成了两个新天体，

creating our isotopically identical Earth and Moon.

创造出我们的地球和月球， 且让它们拥有相同的同位素。

Synestias have been created throughout the universe.

在宇宙各处都有 索内斯蒂亚被创造出来。

And we only just realized that by finding them in our imagination:

我们会了解这件事，是因为 我们在我们的想像中找到它们：

What else am I missing in the world around me?

在我周遭的世界中， 我还遗漏了什麽？

What is hidden from my view by my own assumptions?

有什麽是被我自己的假设 给遮蔽了，让我无法看见？

The next time you look at the Moon,

下次当你抬头看月亮时，

remember:

别忘了：

the things you think you know

你认为你知道的事，

may be the opportunity to discover something truly amazing.

也许会是发现惊人新事物的机会。

Nobody likes to make a mistake.

没有人喜欢犯错。

And I made a whopping one.

而我犯了个超级大错。

And figuring out what I did wrong led to a discovery

我找出了我做错什麽， 后续导致了一个发现，

that completely changes the way we think about the Earth and Moon.

完全改变了我们对于 地球和月球的看法。

I’m a planetary scientist,

我是行星科学家，

and my favorite thing to do is smash planets together.

我最爱做的事情就是 把行星撞在一起。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

In my lab, I can shoot at rocks using cannons like this one.

在我的实验室，我可以用 像这样的大砲对岩石开火。

(Cannon shot)

（大砲开火）

(Laughter)

（笑声）

In my experiments, I can generate the extreme conditions

依我的经验，我可以产生出

during planet formation.

在行星形成时的极端条件。

And with computer models, I can collide whole planets together

用电脑模型，我可以 让行星整个相撞，

to make them grow,

让它们长大，

or I can destroy them.

或是我也可以摧毁它们。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I want to understand how to make the Earth and the Moon

我想要了解，如何能 製造出地球和月球，

and why the Earth is so different from other planets.

以及为什麽地球 和其他行星如此不同。

The leading idea for the origin of the Earth and Moon

关于地球和月球最初 如何形成的主要想法是

is called the 'giant impact theory.'

所谓的「大碰撞说」。

The theory states that a Mars-sized body struck the young Earth,

这个理论是火星大小的天体 撞击了年轻的地球，

and the Moon formed from the debris disc around the planet.

而月球是从该行星的盘状分佈 碎片残骇所形成。

The theory can explain so many things about the Moon,

这个理论能解释许多月球的状况，

but it has a huge flaw:

但它有个巨大的瑕疵：

it predicts that the Moon is mostly made from the Mars-sized planet,

它预测，月球的主要成分 是那个火星大小的行星，

that the Earth and the Moon are made from different materials.

所以地球和月球是用 不同的材料生成的。

But that’s not what we see.

但，我们看到的并非如此。

The Earth and the Moon are actually like identical twins.

地球和月球其实像是同卵双胞胎。

The genetic code of planets is written in the isotopes of the elements.

行星的基因码是写在 元素的同位素中。

The Earth and Moon have identical isotopes.

地球和月球有相同的同位素。

That means that the Earth and Moon are made from the same materials.

那就表示，地球和月球 是用同样的材料生成的。

It’s really strange that the Earth and the Moon are twins.

地球和月球是双胞胎， 这是很奇怪的事。

All of the planets are made from different materials,

所有的行星都是由 不同的材料生成的，

so they all have different isotopes,

所以它们都有不同的同位素，

they all have their own genetic code.

它们都有自己的基因码。

No other planetary bodies have the same genetic relationship.

没有任何其他行星体 有相同的基因关係。

Only the Earth and Moon are twins.

只有地球和月球是双胞胎。

When I started working on the origin of the Moon,

当我开始研究月球的起源时，

there were scientists that wanted to reject the whole idea of the giant impact.

有些科学家想要推翻 整个大碰撞说。

They didn’t see any way for this theory to explain the special relationship

他们不认为这个理论能够解释

between the Earth and the Moon.

地球和月球之间的特殊关係。

We were all trying to think of new ideas.

我们都在试图提出新的想法。

The problem was, there weren’t any better ideas.

问题是，没有其他更好的想法。

All of the other ideas had even bigger flaws.

所有其他想法都有更大的瑕疵。

So we were trying to rescue the giant impact theory.

所以，我们在试图拯救大碰撞说。

A young scientist in my group suggested that we try changing the spin

我的团队中有一位 年轻的科学家建议，

of the giant impact.

我们可以试著改变 大碰撞说的自转。

Maybe making the Earth spin faster could mix more material

也许让地球自转速度更快， 就能混合更多材料，

and explain the Moon.

并能解释月球的形成。

The Mars-sized impactor had been chosen

撞击地球的火星大小行星 已经被选定，

because it could make the Moon

因为它可以形成月球，

and make the length of Earth’s day.

并形成地球白天时间的长度。

People really liked that part of the model.

大家真的很喜欢模型的这个部分。

But what if something else determined the length of Earth’s day?

但，如果地球的白天时间长度 是由其他因素决定的呢？

Then there would be many more possible giant impacts that could make the Moon.

那麽，就会有更多大碰撞 都有可能形成月球。

I was curious about what could happen,

我很好奇可能发生的状况，

so I tried simulating faster-spinning giant impacts,

所以我试著模拟 自转更快速的大碰撞，

and I found that it is possible

我发现，的确有可能

to make a disc out of the same mixture of materials as the planet.

用这个行星的材料组合 来生成一个盘。

We were pretty excited.

我们相当兴奋。

Maybe this was the way to explain the Moon.

也许这种方式就能解释月球。

The problem is, we also found that that’s just not very likely.

问题是，我们也发现， 这实在不太可能发生。

Most of the time, the disc is different from the planet,

通常，生成的盘 都和这个星球不同，

and it looked like making our Moon this way

看起来，若要用这种方式 生成我们的月球，

would be an astronomical coincidence,

那会是天文学上的巧合，

and it was just hard for everyone to accept the idea

大家很难接受

that the Moon’s special connection to Earth was an accident.

月球和地球的特殊关联只是个意外。

The giant impact theory was still in trouble,

大碰撞理论仍然在困境中，

and we were still trying to figure out how to make the Moon.

我们仍然在试图想出 月球是怎麽生成的。

Then came the day when I realized my mistake.

接著，有一天，我发现了我的错误。

My student and I were looking at the data from these fast-spinning giant impacts.

我和我的学生在看 快速自转大碰撞的资料。

On that day, we weren’t actually thinking about the Moon,

那天，我们其实 并没有在想月球的问题，

we were looking at the planet.

我们是在看那个行星。

The planet gets super-hot and partially vaporized

因为撞击的能量， 那个星球变得超级热，

from the energy of the impact.

且有部分已经蒸发。

But the data didn’t look like a planet.

但那资料看起来并不像个行星。

It looked really strange.

它看起来相当奇怪。

The planet was weirdly connected to the disc.

这个行星和盘有著奇怪的连结。

I got that super-excited feeling

我有种超兴奋的感觉，

when something really wrong might be something really interesting.

当有非常不对劲的状况时， 可能会有很有趣的发现。

In all of my calculations,

在我所有的计算中，

I had assumed there was a planet with a separate disc around it.

我都假设有一个行星， 它周围有一个分开的盘。

Calculating what was in the disc was how we tested

我们测试碰撞是否能够 生成月球的方式，

whether an impact could make the Moon.

就是计算那个盘中有什麽。

But it didn’t look that simple anymore.

但，看起来不再是那麽简单了。

We were making the mistake

我们犯的错

of thinking that a planet was always going to look like a planet.

是认为行星看起来 一定会是行星的样子。

On that day, I knew that a giant impact was making something completely new.

那天，我知道

I’ve had eureka moments.

大碰撞产生出来的是全新的东西。

This was not one of them.

我有过灵光一现的时刻。

(Laughter)

这个时刻并非其中之一。（笑声）

I really didn’t know what was going on.

我真的不知道到底怎麽回事。

I had this strange, new object in front of me

我前面有著这个奇怪的新物体，

and the challenge to try and figure it out.

面对著要试图搞懂它的挑战。

What do you do when faced with the unknown?

当你面对未知时，该怎麽做？

How do you even start?

到底要如何开始？

We questioned everything:

我们质疑一切：

What is a planet?

什麽是行星？

When is a planet no longer a planet anymore?

何时行星不再算是行星？

We played with new ideas.

我们开始玩新的想法。

We had to get rid of our old way of thinking,

我们得要摆脱过去的思考方式，

and by playing, I could throw away all of the data,

透过「玩」，我可以 丢掉所有的资料、

all of the rules of the real world,

真实世界中的所有规则，

and free my mind to explore.

解放我的大脑，让它去探索。

And by making a mental space

我製造了一个心智空间，

where I could try out outrageous ideas

在那裡，我可以尝试 无法无天的想法，

and then bring them back into the real world to test them,

接著把这些想法 带回真实世界做测试，

I could learn.

我能学习。

And by playing, we learned so much.

透过「玩」，我们学了好多。

I combined my lab experiments with computer models

我把我的实验室实验 和电脑模型结合，

and discovered that after most giant impacts,

发现在大部分大碰撞之后，

the Earth is so hot, there’s no surface.

地球都非常热，热到没有表面。

There’s just a deep layer of gas that gets denser and denser with depth.

只有一层很深层的气体， 越深的地方密度越高。

The Earth would have been like Jupiter.

地球本来可能像木星一样。

There’s nothing to stand on.

没有立足之地。

And that was just part of the problem.

那只是问题的一部分。

I wanted to understand the whole problem.

我想要了解整个问题。

I couldn’t let go of the challenge to figure out what was really going on

我无法放手这个挑战，我想要想通

in giant impacts.

在大碰撞中到底发生了什麽事。

It took almost two years

花了近两年时间，

of throwing away old ideas

不断把旧想法丢弃，

and building new ones

建立新想法，

that we understood the data

我们才了解了那些资料，

and knew what it meant for the Moon.

搞懂那对月球的意涵是什麽。

I discovered a new type of astronomical object.

我发现了一种新的天文物体。

It’s not a planet.

它不是行星。

It’s made from planets.

它是由行星生成的。

A planet is a body whose self-gravity

行星是一个天体，它自己的重力

is strong enough to give it its rounded shape.

强到可以让它形成圆形的形状。

It spins around all together.

它会形成一个整体一起自转。

Make it hotter and spin it faster,

若让它更热，自转更快，

the equator gets bigger and bigger until it reaches a tipping point.

赤道就会越来越大， 直到达到临界点。

Push past the tipping point,

若超过了临界点，

and the material at the equator spreads into a disc.

赤道的材料会散佈成盘状。

It’s now broken all the rules of being a planet.

现在，它就打破了 所有身为行星的规则。

It can’t spin around together anymore,

它不再能整体一起自转了。

its shape keeps changing as it gets bigger and bigger;

随著它越长越大， 它的形状不断改变；

the planet has become something new.

这个行星变成了某种新东西。

We gave our discovery its name:

我们把这项发现命名为：

synestia.

索内斯蒂亚（synestia）。

We named it after the goddess Hestia,

我们採用的是女神 Hestia 的名字，

the Greek goddess of the hearth and home,

掌管炉灶和家庭的希腊女神，

because we think the Earth became one.

因为我们认为地球 变成了这样的角色。

The prefix means 'all together,'

字首 syn 意思是「全部一起」，

to emphasize the connection between all of the material.

强调所有材料之间的连结。

A synestia is what a planet becomes

当高热与自转速度将一个行星

when heat and spin push it over the limit of a spheroidal shape.

推过了圆球形的极限时，它就变成了索内斯蒂亚。

Would you like to see a synestia?

你们想要看看索内斯蒂亚吗？

(Cheers)

（欢呼）

In this visualization of one of my simulations,

这裡透过视觉呈现出来的 是我的其中一项模拟，

the young Earth is already spinning quickly from a previous giant impact.

年轻的地球已经因为 先前的大碰撞而在快速自转，

Its shape is deformed, but our planet would be recognizable

它的形状变形了，但仍然 可以认出这是我们的星球，

by the water on its surface.

因为它的表面有水。

The energy from the impact vaporizes the surface,

碰撞的能量让蒸发了地表、

the water, the atmosphere,

水、大气，

and mixes all of the gases together in just a few hours.

只花了几个小时的时间 就把所有的气体混合在一起。

We discovered that many giant impacts make synestias,

我们发现，许多大碰撞 会产生索内斯蒂亚，

but these burning, bright objects don’t live very long.

但这些燃烧、明亮的物体 没有很长的生命。

They cool down, shrink and turn back into planets.

它们会冷却、缩小，转变回行星。

While rocky planets like Earth were growing,

当像地球这种岩石行星在成长时，

they probably turned into synestias one or more times.

可能会有一次或数次 转变为索内斯蒂亚。

A synestia gives us a new way to solve the problem of the origin of the Moon.

索内斯蒂亚让我们有了一个新方法 可以解决月球起源的问题。

We propose that the Moon formed inside a huge, vaporous synestia.

我们提出，月球是在一个大型、 蒸汽的索内斯蒂亚中形成的。

The Moon grew from magma rain

岩石蒸汽浓缩成岩浆雨，

that condensed out of the rock vapor.

月球则从岩浆雨中生成。

The Moon’s special connection to Earth

月球和地球的连结会如此特殊，

is because the Moon formed inside the Earth

是因为月球在地球内部形成，

when Earth was a synestia.

当时地球是个索内斯蒂亚。

The Moon could have orbited inside the synestia for years,

月球有可能在这个索内斯蒂亚 内部运行了很多年，

hidden from view.

这时是看不见的。

The Moon is revealed by the synestia cooling and shrinking

当索内斯蒂亚在月球轨道 内部冷却并缩小时，

inside of its orbit.

月球就显现出来了。

The synestia turns into planet Earth

这个索内斯蒂亚再经过 数百年的冷却之后，

only after cooling for hundreds of years longer.

就转变成了地球。

In our new theory,

在我们的新理论中，

the giant impact makes a synestia,

大碰撞造成了一个索内斯蒂亚，

and the synestia divides into two new bodies,

而这个索内斯蒂亚 分开成了两个新天体，

creating our isotopically identical Earth and Moon.

创造出我们的地球和月球， 且让它们拥有相同的同位素。

Synestias have been created throughout the universe.

在宇宙各处都有 索内斯蒂亚被创造出来。

And we only just realized that by finding them in our imagination:

我们会了解这件事，是因为 我们在我们的想像中找到它们：

What else am I missing in the world around me?

在我周遭的世界中， 我还遗漏了什麽？

What is hidden from my view by my own assumptions?

有什麽是被我自己的假设 给遮蔽了，让我无法看见？

The next time you look at the Moon,

下次当你抬头看月亮时，

remember:

别忘了：

the things you think you know

你认为你知道的事，

may be the opportunity to discover something truly amazing.

也许会是发现惊人新事物的机会。

    TED演讲课，这是一个有温度的空间

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