物理學(xué)的最大秘密之一便是,我們?nèi)匀粵]有從根本上理解 當(dāng)極小的物體和大物體相互作用時(shí)會(huì)發(fā)生什么 也就是說,當(dāng)量子力學(xué)和我們的日常生活相遇時(shí),會(huì)發(fā)生什么。
You've probably heard of the "Schrodinger's Cat"experiment where a particle (in this case a cat)is in a superposition of two states (both dead and alive)at once,until it interacts with the outside world,normally a photon of light that we send in to see what's going on (but it could also just be a random particle that has nothing to do with us).Upon interaction with the outside world,the cat is observed as being either dead,or alive,but not both.
你也許聽說過“薛定諤的貓”的實(shí)驗(yàn)。一個(gè)粒子(在這個(gè)實(shí)驗(yàn)中是一只貓) 同時(shí)處于兩種狀態(tài)的疊加(即死又活)中,直到它 與外界相互作用,通常是我們?yōu)榱颂角鍍?nèi)部情況發(fā)送的一束光子 有可能是一個(gè)與我們沒有任何關(guān)系的隨機(jī)粒子。在與外界 相互作用之后,人們認(rèn)為這只貓或活或死,但非即死又活的狀態(tài) .
The problem is,physics can't explain how the cat,or particle,goes from being in a combination of two states at once to being in "just one",or "just the other";nor do we know how the "decision"is made.This isn't just a problem with cats,either,It plagues every single quantum mechanics experiment,famous or otherwise,from the double slit experiment and quantum teleportation to the Stern-Gerlach experiment and tests of the Bell inequalities.In every case,we can predict how likely it is for a particle to be in one state or another,but have no clue how it actually ends up that way,That's where the many-worlds picture of quantum mechanics comes in-basically,"many-worlds"proposes the idea that the quantum system doesn't actually decide-rather,at every junction where large everyday stuff interacts with a quantum system,the timeline of history splits and both possibilites happen on different,alternate branches,You know,a choose-your-own-adventure where every possible story happens.
問題是,物理學(xué)不能解釋貓,或者粒子是如何 怎么從兩種狀態(tài)的疊加一下子變?yōu)?一種狀態(tài),或另一種,我們亦無從得知這樣的“決定”是怎么做出的 這也不只是貓的問題,它困擾著每一個(gè)量子力學(xué)實(shí)驗(yàn) 無論實(shí)驗(yàn)是否知名,從雙縫,干涉實(shí)驗(yàn),量子隱形傳送實(shí)驗(yàn) 到斯特恩-蓋拉赫實(shí)驗(yàn),貝爾不等式的檢驗(yàn)。在每一種情況下,我們 都能預(yù)測(cè)粒子在不同狀態(tài)下的可能性,但無法知道 它實(shí)際上是怎么達(dá)到這個(gè)狀態(tài)的。量子力學(xué)的多重世界的圖景就是這么 被引入的?;旧险f,“多重世界”推崇的是量子系統(tǒng) 并不做出最終的“決定”,相反,在每個(gè)交匯處 當(dāng)生活中常見的大物體和量子系統(tǒng)相互作用時(shí),歷史的時(shí)間軸 分成兩半,事物的兩種可能性發(fā)生于 兩個(gè)不同的,相互間隔的分支。就是在一個(gè)什么都有可能 發(fā)生的故事里選擇自己的命運(yùn)。
In this scenario,we'd think that only one possibility happened because we'd be stuck on one of the branches,in a version of ourselves that only sees one possibility happen.In some ways,this sounds pretty fishy,I mean,it's hard to test the reality of a universe that hides its true nature from us by not allowing us to test or observe its true nature.But anyway,in the many-worlds picture of quantum mechanics,"branch-points"are predicted to happen all the time,everywhere.Pretty much any time subatomic particles interact with each other,or with anything else,anywhere in the universe,there are multiple possible outcomes.Which means a LOT of branching of history.There may even be infinitely many branches.
在這種情況下,我們 認(rèn)為只有一種情況發(fā)生了,因?yàn)?我們最終停在了一個(gè)分支上,也就是說我們僅僅看到一種可能性 成為現(xiàn)實(shí)。這似乎聽上去有些不對(duì)勁。我的意思是,想要考證 一個(gè)不容我們考證或者觀察其本質(zhì)的宇宙的真實(shí)面貌 的確很難。但不論如何,在量子力學(xué)的多重世界圖景中,“分支點(diǎn)”一直在產(chǎn)生,無論任何時(shí)間或任何地點(diǎn)。正如 亞原子粒子在宇宙中任何地點(diǎn)與任何一個(gè)亞原子或者其他物質(zhì) 相互作用時(shí),會(huì)產(chǎn)生多種可能的結(jié)果。這對(duì)于歷史“分支”來說 意義重大。這種分支的數(shù)量可能有無窮多。
So is the Many Worlds hypothesis true?We don't know -it hasn't yet been tested experimentally.There's a bit of mathematics that supports it,and there are also a number of mathematical models that don't require such an extravagantly big & complex picture of the universe,But luckily,physics is science,not speculation,and eventually,someone,maybe even you,will perform an experiment that helps us discover the truth.
所以“多重世界”假說是真的么 我們并不知道尚無實(shí)驗(yàn)對(duì)其作出證明。有很多數(shù)學(xué)公式支持它存在。同時(shí),也有許多數(shù)學(xué)模型 并不支持如此揮霍無度而又復(fù)雜的 宇宙圖景。幸運(yùn)的是,物理是一門科學(xué)而非投機(jī)活動(dòng),最終 會(huì)有人,甚至可能是你能夠設(shè)計(jì)出一個(gè)實(shí)驗(yàn)來幫助我們 探索出真相。