时光机的艰辛研究史

The past, it has been said, is a foreign country.

据说，过去就好比是外国。

And sometimes it's another country we yearn to visit.

有时它会是一个我们渴望访问的国家。

We can't, of course.

当然了，我们还没法回到过去。

Whereas actual travel is limited only by how much cash we can spare, visa requirements and flight cancellations, journeying to times gone by is limited by the cold, hard laws of physics.

实际的旅行只会受到我们能省下多少钱、签证要求和航班取消的限制，而回到过去的旅行则受到冷冰冰的物理定律的限制。

Or maybe it's not.

不过，也许也并非如此。

Joining the ranks of movie inventors like Doc Brown of "Back to the Future" are a few real-life scientists currently trying to realize the dream of turning back the clock to travel to the ultimate destination.

像《回到未来》中的布朗博士这样的电影发明家，还有一些现实生活中的科学家正在努力实现让时光倒流到最终目的地的梦想。

Among them is Ron Mallett, an astrophysicist who has dedicated much of his adult life to the notion that time travel is possible.

罗恩·马利特就是其中之一，他是一位天体物理学家，他成年后的大部分时间都致力于时间旅行是可能的这一概念。

He's come up with the scientific equations and principles upon which he says a time machine could be created.

他提出了科学方程式和原理，他说时间机器可以根据这些方程式和原理创造出来。

While acknowledging that his theories and designs are unlikely to allow time travel in his lifetime, for years he's been working in parallel to a respected academic career to fulfill his dream of venturing back in time to see his beloved father again.

尽管他承认自己的理论和设计不太可能在有生之年实现时间旅行，但多年来，他一直在一边从事备受尊敬的学术工作，一边实现自己的梦想:回到过去，再次见到自己深爱的父亲。

Mallett was aged 10 when his father died suddenly, of a heart attack, an event that the scientist says changed the track of his life forever.

马利特10岁时，他的父亲突然死于心脏病，科学家称这一事件永远地改变了他的人生轨迹。

"For me, the sun rose and set on him, he was just the center of things," he tells us.

“对我来说，太阳在他身上升起和落下，他就是一切的中心，”他告诉C我们说。

"Even today, after all of these years, there's still an unreality about it for me."

“即使在今天，这么多年过去了，我仍然觉得它不真实。”

Mallett's father, a TV repair man, instilled in his son a love of reading, and encouraged his budding passion for science.

马利特的父亲是一名电视维修工人，他给儿子培养了阅读的爱好，并鼓励他对科学的热情萌芽。

About a year after his father's death, a grieving Mallett stumbled across an illustrated version of the classic sci-fi novel "The Time Machine."

父亲去世大约一年后，悲伤的马莱特偶然发现了经典科幻小说《时间机器》的插画版。

"The book that changed my life," he says.

“这本书改变了我的生活，”他说。

Thanks to the imagination of author H.G. Wells, suddenly Mallett felt his family tragedy presented not an end -- but a beginning.

由于作家H.G.威尔斯的想象力，马莱特突然觉得他的家庭悲剧不是结束，而是开始。

Sixty years later, 74-year-old Mallett is a professor of physics at the University of Connecticut.

60年后，74岁的马利特成为了康涅狄格大学的物理学教授。

He's spent his career investigating black holes and general relativity -- the theories of space, time and gravity famously explored by Albert Einstein.

他的职业生涯一直在研究黑洞和广义相对论——阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦对空间、时间和引力的理论进行的著名的探索。

Mallett has also been theorizing about time travel, in the course of which he has embarked on his own personal journey: a complex and often contentious quest to build a machine capable of visiting the past.

马利特也一直在建立关于时间旅行的理论，在这个过程中，他已经开始了他自己的个人旅程:一个复杂的，经常有争议的探索，去建造一个能够回到过去的机器。

He's still a long way from his destination -- some would argue he'll never get there -- but his voyage makes for a poignant story that dwells on the power of love, the potency of childhood dreams and the human desire to control destiny in an unknowable universe.

他离目的地还有很长一段路——有些人会说他永远也到不了那里——但他的旅程构成了一个辛酸的故事，讲述了爱的力量，童年梦想的力量，以及人类在未知宇宙中控制命运的欲望。

Mallett first encountered the concept of time travel back in the 1950s.

马利特在20世纪50年代时首次提出了时间旅行的概念。

"We hadn't even gone into space," he recalls. "And people weren't even sure if we could."

“我们当时还没有进入太空，”他回忆道。“人们甚至不确定我们能否做到。”

Growing up in New York City's Bronx neighborhood, and later in Pennsylvania, Mallett's family struggled for money.

马莱特小时候在纽约布朗克斯区，后来在宾夕法尼亚州长大。

As a self-described "bookaholic" he still found ways to get hold of reading material, finding comfort, after his father's death, among the the shelves of the local Salvation Army bookstore.

自诩为“书虫”的他，在父亲去世后，仍能在当地救世军书店的书架上找到阅读材料，找到安慰。

It was here that Mallett encountered the writings of Einstein, his next key inspiration.

就是在这里，马莱特遇到了爱因斯坦的著作，这是他的下一个关键灵感。

He continued poring over science books throughout his teenage years and, after leaving high school, aimed for college via the G.I. Bill which supports US military veterans in their post-service education.

他在青少年时期继续钻研科学书籍，高中毕业后，通过支持美国退伍军人退役后教育的《退伍军人权利法案》进入了大学。

He enlisted in the US Air Force, where he served for four years, including deployment to Vietnam.

他加入了美国空军，在那里服役了四年，中途还被派往了越南。

Eventually, Mallett made it to academia.

最终，马利特进入了学术界。

He gained a bachelor's degree in physics, followed by a master's and a doctorate, specializing in Einstein's theory.

他获得了物理学学士学位，接着是硕士和博士学位，专攻爱因斯坦的理论。

His first job was working on lasers at United Technologies, an aircraft manufacturer, looking into how they could be used to bore holes in the turbine blades of jet engines.

他的第一份工作是在飞机制造商联合技术公司从事激光方面的工作，研究如何利用激光在喷气发动机的涡轮叶片上钻孔。

After a couple of years of applying mathematical theories in this practical setting, Mallet joined the University of Connecticut (UCONN) as an assistant professor of physics.

在这一实用领域应用了几年的数学理论后，马利特加入了康涅狄格大学作为助理教授的物理学。

Through all of this, from Vietnam to back again, Mallett was quietly considering the possibility of time travel.

经历了这一切，从越南到回来，马利特一直在考虑时间旅行的可能性。

But he only began speaking publicly about his ambitions once UCONN made him a tenured professor, an open-ended academic position that grants holders the freedom to work largely free from fear of dismissal.

但他是在康州大学授予他终身教授头衔后才开始公开谈论自己的抱负，终身教授是一种开放式的学术职位，允许持有者自由工作，基本上不用担心被解雇。

"I wanted to make sure that I got to that pinnacle of professionalism," he says, "Even then I was a bit reluctant."

他说:“我想确保自己达到了职业素养的顶峰，但即便如此，我还是有点不情愿。”

He was aware of the "mad professor" stereotype.

他清楚人们对“疯子教授”的成见。

He wanted to ensure his ambitions weren't ridiculed and his job threatened.

他想确保自己的抱负不会被嘲笑，工作不会受到威胁。

But when Mallett began speaking openly about his ideas, he found they struck a chord with many others, something he says shows the universality of the desire to revisit the past.

但当马利特开始公开谈论他的想法时，他发现这些想法引起了许多人的共鸣，他说，这表明了想要回到过去的普遍愿望。

We all have, he says, regrets, or past decisions we wonder about, or people we've lost who we long to see again.

他说，我们每个人都有遗憾，或者对过去的决定感到疑惑，或者失去了渴望再次见到的人。

"People started contacting me, literally from all over the world about the possibility of going back in time," he says.

他说:“人们开始联系我，实际上是来自世界各地的人，都在谈论时光倒流的可能性。”

Today, photos of Mallett at work show him surrounded by equipment in a cluttered laboratory, demonstrating his principles at work via small-scale experiments -- or standing, beaming, in front of chalk boards where he's etched out his formulas.

如今，马利特工作时的照片显示，他被一间杂乱的实验室里的设备包围着，通过一些小规模的实验来展示他的工作原理——或者面带微笑地站在写有公式的黑板前。

The personal aspect of Mallett's work is profoundly moving, but how plausible is the science behind his ideas?

马利特的个人作品非常感人，但他的观点背后的科学道理又有多可信呢?

It all hinges, says Mallett, on Einstein's special theory of relativity and general theory of relativity.

马利特说，这一切都取决于爱因斯坦的狭义相对论和广义相对论。

"To put it in a nutshell, Einstein said that time can be affected by speed," says Mallett.

“简而言之，爱因斯坦说过时间会受到速度的影响，”马利特说。

Mallett gives the example of astronauts traversing space in a rocket that's traveling close to the speed of light.

马利特举了一个宇航员乘坐接近光速的火箭穿越太空的例子。

Time would pass differently on Earth than it would for the people in the rocket.

在地球上度过的时间与在火箭上度过的时间是不同的。

"They could actually come back finding out that they're only a few years older, but decades have passed here on Earth," he says.

他说:“他们回来的时候可能会发现自己只是老了几岁，但地球上已经过去了几十年。”

Mallett points to the 1968 sci-fi classic movie "Planet of the Apes," at the end of which [spoiler alert] an astronaut realizes that he hasn't traveled to a distant, ape-ruled planet, but merely returned to Earth in a post-apocalyptic future in which mankind has been subjugated by simians.

马利特提到了1968年的科幻经典电影《人猿星球》，在电影的结尾，一名宇航员意识到他并不是去了一个遥远的、由人猿统治的星球，而是回到了地球，进入了一个人类已经被人猿征服的末日后的未来。

"That is an accurate representation of Einstein's special theory of relativity," says Mallet.

“这是爱因斯坦狭义相对论的准确表述，”马利特说。

"So the upshot is that, according to the special theory of relativity, if you're traveling fast enough, you respectively are traveling through time. And effectively, that would be a representation of time travel."

“所以结果是，根据狭义相对论，如果你走得足够快，你就好像是在时间里旅行一样。实际上，这就是时间旅行的一种表现。”

However, this is all about going forward not backward, so how would this help Mallett's quest to be reunited with his father?

然而，这一切都是为了前进，而不是后退，那么这将如何帮助马利特寻求与他的父亲团聚呢?

Einstein's general theory of relativity is based in the concept of gravity -- and considers how time is affected by gravity.

爱因斯坦的广义相对论是建立在引力的概念上的，它考虑了时间是如何受引力影响的。

"What Einstein meant by that is the stronger gravity is, the more time will slow down," says Mallett.

“爱因斯坦的意思是，引力越大，时间越慢，”马利特说。

Einstein's general theory of relativity says that what we call the force of gravity isn't a force at all, it's actually the bending of space by a massive object.

爱因斯坦的广义相对论说，我们所说的重力根本不是力，它实际上是一个巨大物体对空间的弯曲。

"If you can bend space, there's a possibility of you twisting space," says Mallett.

“如果你能弯曲空间，你就有可能扭曲空间，”马利特说道。

"In Einstein's theory, what we call space also involves time -- that's why it's called space time, whatever it is you do to space also happens to time."

“在爱因斯坦的理论中，我们所说的空间也包括时间——这就是为什么它被称为时空，无论你对空间做什么，时间也会发生变化。”

Mallett posits that by twisting time into a loop, one could travel from the future back to the past -- and then back to the future.

马利特假设，通过把时间扭曲成一个循环，一个人可以从未来回到过去——然后再回到未来。

And this is the idea of a wormhole, a sort of tunnel with two openings.

这就是虫洞的概念，一种有两个开口的隧道。

Mallett suggests that light could also be used to affect time via something called a ring laser.

马利特认为光也可以通过一种叫做环形激光的东西来影响时间。

He's created a prototype illustrating how lasers could be used to create a circulating beam of light that twists space and time -- inspired by his first job experimenting with lasers' effect on airplane jet engines.

他的第一份工作是在飞机喷气发动机上试验激光的效果，受此启发，他创造了一个原型，演示了如何利用激光来制造一束扭曲时空的循环光束。

"It turned out my understanding about lasers eventually helped me in my breakthrough with understanding how I might be able to find a whole new way for the basis of a time machine," says Mallett.

“事实证明，我对激光的了解最终帮助我实现了突破，因为我知道我可能会找到一种全新的方法来构建时间机器，”马利特说。

"By studying the type of gravitational field that was produced by a ring laser, this could lead to a new way of looking at the possibility of a time machine based on a circulating beam of light."

“通过研究环形激光器产生的重力场类型，这可能会导致一种新的方式来研究基于循环光束的时间机器的可能性。”

Mallett's also got a theoretical equation that, he argues, proves this would work.

马利特还提出了一个理论方程，证明这是可行的。

"Eventually a circulating beam of laser lights could act as a sort of a time machine and cause a twisting of time that would allow you to go back into the past," he says.

他说:“最终，一束循环的激光可以起到时间机器的作用，使时间扭曲，让你回到过去。”

There's a snag though -- a pretty big one.

但有一个障碍——一个相当大的障碍。

"You can send information back, but you can only send it back to the point at which you turn the machine on," says Mallett.

马利特说:“你可以把信息发送回去，但是你只能在你打开机器的时候发送回去。”

While his quest to go back to the 1950s isn't anywhere closer to a reality, he remains optimistic, and continues to ponder possibilities.

虽然他对回到20世纪50年代的追求与现实相去甚远，但他仍然保持乐观，并继续思考各种可能性。

So could there be a not-too-distant future in which time travel is part of our daily reality?

那么，在不远的将来，时间旅行会成为我们日常生活的一部分吗?

After all, we're entering a new decade in which once fanciful concepts like space tourism and hyperloop trains are entering the realms of possibility.

毕竟，我们正在进入一个新的十年，在这个十年里，曾经充满幻想的概念，如太空旅游和超级高铁，正在成为可能。

Maybe, but not everyone thinks so.

有可能，但也有人不同意。

"Time travel into the past is allowed, potentially, in our theory of general relativity, how we understand gravity," says Paul Sutter, an astrophysicist who hosts a podcast called "Ask a Spaceman!"

天体物理学家保罗·萨特主持了一个名为“问太空人”的播客，他说:“在我们理解引力的广义相对论中，是允许回到过去的。”

"But every time we try to concoct a theoretical time travel device, some other bit of physics busts in and breaks up the party."

“但每次我们试图制造一种理论上的时间旅行装置时，一些其他的物理问题就会闯进来，破坏这个聚会。”

Sutter says he is aware of Mallett's work, and thinks it's interesting, if not necessarily on track to deliver results.

萨特说，他了解马利特的工作，认为他的工作很有趣，尽管不一定能带来成果。

"I don't think it's necessarily going to be fruitful, because I do think that there are deep flaws in his mathematics and his theory, and so a practical device seems unattainable."

“我不认为一定会有成果，因为我确实认为他的数学和他的理论有很深的缺陷，所以一个实用的装置似乎是不可企及的。”

Serious criticism of Mallett's theory was voiced in 2005 by Ken D. Olum and Allen Everett, of the Institute of Cosmology, Department of Physics and Astronomy at Tufts University.

2005年，塔夫茨大学物理与天文系宇宙学研究所的肯·迪·奥勒姆和艾伦·埃弗雷特对马莱特的理论提出了严肃的批评。

They said they'd found holes in Mallett's equation and the practicality of his proposed device.

他们说，他们发现了马莱特方程和他提出的装置的实用性的漏洞。

British science writer Brian Clegg looks more favorably on Mallett's ideas, he also profiled the scientist in his book, "How to Build a Time Machine."

英国科学作家布莱恩·克莱格更赞同马莱特的观点，他还在《如何建造时间机器》一书中介绍了这位科学家。

"While not everyone agrees that his planned device would work, I think it's an interesting enough proposition to go for an experimental trial," says Clegg.

克莱格说:“虽然不是每个人都同意他计划中的装置会起作用，但我认为这是一个足够有趣的提议，值得进行试验。”

"If it did work, it should be stressed that it's not a practical time machine, it would simply produce a tiny but measurable effect, which would demonstrate the principle."

“如果它真的有用，应该强调的是，它不是一台实用的时间机器，它只会产生微小但可测量的效果，这将证明这一原理。”

Mallett is quick to clarify that his ideas are theoretical.

马利特很快澄清他的想法是理论性的。

He says he's currently trying to get funds to conduct real-life experiments.

他说，他目前正在努力筹集资金进行现实生活中的实验。

"It's not like the movies," says Mallett.

“这跟电影里不一样，”马利特说道。

"It's not going happen at the end of two hours, at the cost of whatever it is you pay for the movie ticket. It's going to cost."

“这不像你花点钱去看电影，两小时后就搞定了。这需要巨大的花费。”

Movie comparisons are a common theme of conversation with Mallett.

马利特常常谈起电影与现实的对比。

He relishes explaining concepts about time travel through cinematic examples.

他喜欢用电影中的例子来解释时间旅行的概念。

When asked about the ethical implications of going back to the past, he suggests there'd be a need for international regulation and policing, and namechecks 1994 movie "Timecop," in which Jean-Claude Van Damme plays an officer working for an agency regulating time travel.

当被问及回到过去对道德的影响时，他建议有必要建立国际监管和警察制度，而在1994年的电影《时间机器》中，让-克洛德·范·达蒙饰演的是一名在一家管理时间旅行的机构工作的官员。

Another favorite, says Mallett, is the 2014 Christopher Nolan movie "Interstellar," which deals in ideas of how time impacts people in space differently than people on Earth.

马利特说，另一部热门影片是2014年克里斯托弗·诺兰的电影《星际穿越》，讲述的是时间如何以不同于地球上的人的方式影响空间里的人。

That movie's scientific credentials were boosted by the involvement of Nobel prize-winning theoretical physicist Kip Thorne.

诺贝尔奖得主、理论物理学家基普·索恩的参与提升了这部电影在科学上的可信度。

But Mallet also appreciates the emotional core of the movie -- the father-daughter story that drives the plot: "It's beautiful," he says.

但马利特也欣赏电影的情感核心——推动情节发展的父女故事:“它很美，”他说。

Hollywood has come calling for Mallett a few times.

好莱坞曾几次邀请过马利特。

A proposed adaptation of "The Time Traveler," an autobiography he co-authored in 2008, fell through despite the involvement of celebrated director Spike Lee.

2008年，他与人合写了一部自传《时间旅行者》，尽管有著名导演斯派克·李的参与，计划改编的这部自传还是以失败告终。

Mallett says a major production company has now bought the rights to his story and there's another cinematic project in the works.

马利特表示，一家大型制片公司已经买下了他的故事版权，另外还有一个电影项目正在筹备中。

Even after a lifetime spent investigating time travel, Mallet may never physically go back to 1950s New York.

即使花了一生时间研究时间旅行，马利特可能也永远回不去20世纪50年代的纽约了。

But, thanks to the magic of cinema, he may yet get a glimpse of the past, that "foreign country", and, in a way, meet his father one last time.

但是，由于电影的魔力，他也许还能一瞥过去，在那个“外国”，在某种程度上，最后一次见到他的父亲。

"The idea I will actually be able to see my father on the big screen, it will almost be like bringing him back to life for me," says Mallett, poignantly.

“我真的能在大银幕上看到我父亲的样子，对我来说，这几乎就像把他带回到现实生活中一样，”马利特心酸地说。

问题

看完本文后，你觉得时空穿梭可能吗？为什么？

留言回复正确答案，前十名朋友可以获得红包奖励哦，赶快来试试吧！

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