興趣是最好的老師，而好奇心則是激發(fā)興趣的關(guān)鍵。

我們每個(gè)人都會(huì)或多或少地對(duì)某些事情感興趣，當(dāng)我們激發(fā)出了自己的好奇心以后我們需要做的就是進(jìn)我們可能利用好自己的好奇心。

究竟如何去做呢？

-TED英語演講-

In the late 19th century, scientists were trying to solve a mystery.

在十九世紀(jì)末，科學(xué)家 試圖想要破解一個(gè)謎。

They found that if they had a vacuum tube like this one

他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，如果他們有 一支像這樣真空管，

and applied a high voltage across it,

接著讓高電壓通過它，

something strange happened.

會(huì)發(fā)生很奇怪的現(xiàn)象。

They called them cathode rays.

他們稱之為陰極射線。

But the question was: What were they made of?

但，問題是，陰極射線 是什麼做成的？

In England, the 19th century physicist, J.J. Thompson,

十九世紀(jì)，在英國， 物理學(xué)家 J.J. 湯普森

conducted experiments using magnets and electricity, like this.

用磁鐵和電來進(jìn)行實(shí)驗(yàn)，像這樣。

And he came to an incredible revelation.

他得到了很難以置信的意外發(fā)現(xiàn)。

These rays were made of negatively charged particles

這些射線是由 帶負(fù)電的粒子所構(gòu)成，

around 2,000 times lighter than the hydrogen atom,

粒子的重量比氫原子 還要輕兩千倍，

the smallest thing they knew.

氫原子是我們所知最小的東西。

So Thompson had discovered the first subatomic particle,

所以，湯普森發(fā)現(xiàn)了 第一個(gè)亞原子粒子，

which we now call electrons.

現(xiàn)在我們稱之為電子。

Now, at the time, this seemed to be a completely impractical discovery.

在當(dāng)時(shí)，這似乎是個(gè) 完全不實(shí)際的發(fā)現(xiàn)。

I mean, Thompson didn’t think there were any applications of electrons.

我是指，湯普森不認(rèn)為 電子可以做任何應(yīng)用。

Around his lab in Cambridge, he used to like to propose a toast:

在他在劍橋的實(shí)驗(yàn)室， 他以前會(huì)這樣子敬酒：

To the electron.

「敬電子。

May it never be of use to anybody.'

愿它永遠(yuǎn) 不會(huì)對(duì)任何人有用。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

He was strongly in favor of doing research out of sheer curiosity,

他非常支持 單純出于好奇心來做研究，

to arrive at a deeper understanding of the world.

以對(duì)世界有更深的了解。

And what he found did cause a revolution in science.

他的發(fā)現(xiàn)，確實(shí)造成了 一次科學(xué)的革命。

But it also caused a second, unexpected revolution in technology.

但，它也造成了科技的 第二次且是未預(yù)期的革命。

Today, I’d like to make a case for curiosity-driven research,

今天，我想要提出幾個(gè)例子來說明， 由好奇心驅(qū)使的研究，

because without it,

因?yàn)槿魶]有這樣的好奇心

none of the technologies I’ll talk about today

今天我要談得這些科技

would have been possible.

通通都不可能發(fā)生。

Now, what Thompson found here has actually changed our view of reality.

湯普森的發(fā)現(xiàn)，改變了 我們對(duì)于現(xiàn)實(shí)的觀點(diǎn)。

I mean, I think I’m standing on a stage,

我的意思是，我認(rèn)為 我站在一個(gè)舞臺(tái)上，

and you think you’re sitting in a seat.

而你認(rèn)為你坐在一張椅子上。

But that’s just the electrons in your body

但那只是你體內(nèi)的電子

pushing back against the electrons in the seat,

在對(duì)抗著椅子的電子，

opposing the force of gravity.

抵抗地心引力。

You’re not even really touching the seat.

你甚至沒有觸碰到椅子。

You’re hovering ever so slightly above it.

你其實(shí)是停留在椅子 上方一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)的位置。

But in many ways, our modern society was actually built on this discovery.

但，就許多層面來說，我們的現(xiàn)代 社會(huì)是建立在這項(xiàng)發(fā)現(xiàn)之上的。

I mean, these tubes were the start of electronics.

我是指，這些真空管 是電子的開端。

And then for many years,

接著，許多年來，

most of us actually had one of these, if you remember, in your living room,

如果你記得的話，很多人 在客廳中都有一個(gè)這樣的東西，

in cathode ray tube televisions.

就在映像管電視裡。

But -- I mean, how impoverished would our lives be

但——我是指， 我們的人生會(huì)有多麼無趣，

if the only invention that had come from here was the television?

如果從這個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)產(chǎn)生的發(fā)明 就只有電視而已？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Thankfully, this tube was just a start,

謝天謝地，這個(gè)射線管只是個(gè)開端，

because something else happens when the electrons here

因?yàn)?，?dāng)這裡的電子 撞到管內(nèi)的一片金屬時(shí)，

hit the piece of metal inside the tube.

會(huì)發(fā)生另一種現(xiàn)象。

Let me show you.

讓我示范給各位看。

Pop this one back on.

把這個(gè)重新打開。

So as the electrons screech to a halt inside the metal,

所以，當(dāng)電子碰撞金屬 并停在金屬內(nèi)的時(shí)候，

their energy gets thrown out again

它們的能量會(huì)再次被丟出來，

in a form of high-energy light, which we call X-rays.

形式是高能光， 也就是我們所謂的 X 光。

(Buzzing)

（嘈雜聲）

(Buzzing)

（嘈雜聲）

And within 15 years of discovering the electron,

在發(fā)現(xiàn)電子之后的十五年內(nèi)，

these X-rays were being used to make images inside the human body,

這些 X 光就被用來 製造人體內(nèi)的影像，

helping soldiers’ lives being saved by surgeons,

協(xié)助外科醫(yī)生拯救士兵的性命，

who could then find pieces of bullets and shrapnel inside their bodies.

在士兵的體內(nèi)找到 子彈碎片以及抱彈碎片。

But there’s no way we could have come up with that technology

我們不可能要求科學(xué)家

by asking scientists to build better surgical probes.

藉由找到更好的手術(shù)方法來 發(fā)現(xiàn)這類的科技，

Only research done out of sheer curiosity, with no application in mind,

唯有腦子沒有雜念， 靠著好奇心所做出來的研究，

could have given us the discovery of the electron and X-rays.

才能發(fā)現(xiàn)電子和 X 光。

Now, this tube also threw open the gates for our understanding of the universe

如今，這射線管為我們打開了一扇門，讓我們能了解宇宙

and the field of particle physics,

以及粒子物理學(xué)的領(lǐng)域，

because it’s also the first, very simple particle accelerator.

因?yàn)樗彩堑谝粋€(gè) 非常簡單的粒子加速器。

Now, I’m an accelerator physicist, so I design particle accelerators,

我是加速器物理學(xué)家， 我設(shè)計(jì)粒子加速器，

and I try and understand how beams behave.

我試圖了解光束的行為。

And my field’s a bit unusual,

我的領(lǐng)域有一點(diǎn)不尋常，

because it crosses between curiosity-driven research

因?yàn)樗缭诤闷嫘尿?qū)使的研究

and technology with real-world applications.

和真實(shí)世界應(yīng)用 所需要的技術(shù)之間。

But it’s the combination of those two things

但，正是因?yàn)檫@兩者的結(jié)合，

that gets me really excited about what I do.

讓我對(duì)于我的工作感到非常興奮。

Now, over the last 100 years,

在過去一百年間，

there have been far too many examples for me to list them all.

有太多例子了，我無法一一列舉。

But I want to share with you just a few.

但我想和各位分享其中幾個(gè)。

In 1928, a physicist named Paul Dirac found something strange in his equations.

1928 年，物理學(xué)家保羅狄拉克發(fā)現(xiàn)他的方程式有點(diǎn)奇怪。

And he predicted, based purely on mathematical insight,

他完全憑著數(shù)學(xué)上的洞見，

that there ought to be a second kind of matter,

預(yù)測(cè)到應(yīng)該還有第二種

the opposite to normal matter,

與正常物質(zhì)相反的東西存在，

that literally annihilates when it comes in contact:

就在碰觸的時(shí)候，會(huì)消失不見：

antimatter.

反物質(zhì)。

I mean, the idea sounded ridiculous.

這個(gè)想法聽起來很可笑。

But within four years, they’d found it.

但在四年后，他們終于找到了。

And nowadays, we use it every day in hospitals,

現(xiàn)今，我們每天都會(huì) 在醫(yī)院中用到它，

in positron emission tomography, or PET scans, used for detecting disease.

用在正電子發(fā)射電腦斷層掃描， 或簡稱 PET 掃描，用來偵測(cè)疾病。

Or, take these X-rays.

或者，比如這些 X 光。

If you can get these electrons up to a higher energy,

如果你能讓這些電子的 能量提升到更高，

so about 1,000 times higher that this tube,

比這種射線管還要高一千倍，

the X-rays that those produce

產(chǎn)生出來的 X 光

can actually deliver enough ionizing radiation to kill human cells.

就會(huì)有足夠的游離輻射， 可以殺死人類細(xì)胞。

And if you can shape and direct those X-rays where you want them to go,

如果你能夠操控 這些 X 光的形狀和方向，

that allows us to do an incredible thing:

就能讓我們做到 一件很了不起的事：

to treat cancer without drugs or surgery,

不用藥物或手術(shù)就能治療癌癥，

which we call radiotherapy.

這就是所謂的放射線療法。

In countries like Australia and the UK,

在像是澳洲和英國這些國家，

around half of all cancer patients are treated using radiotherapy.

癌癥病人有一半左右 都是用放射線療法來治療。

And so, electron accelerators are actually standard equipment

所以，電子加速器

in most hospitals.

其實(shí)是大部分醫(yī)院的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)配備。

Or, a little closer to home:

或者，更樸實(shí)一點(diǎn)的例子：

if you have a smartphone or a computer --

如果你有智慧手機(jī)或是電腦——

and this is TEDx, so you’ve got both with you right now, right?

這是 TEDx，所以你們現(xiàn)在應(yīng)該 兩種都帶在身上，對(duì)吧？

Well, inside those devices

在那些裝置內(nèi)的晶片

are chips that are made by implanting single ions into silicon,

製作方式是將單獨(dú)的 離子植入到硅當(dāng)中，

in a process called ion implantation.

這個(gè)過程叫做離子佈植。

And that uses a particle accelerator.

這過程會(huì)運(yùn)用到粒子加速器。

Without curiosity-driven research, though,

不過，若沒有好奇心驅(qū)使的研究，

none of these things would exist at all.

這些東西都完全不會(huì)存在。

So, over the years, we really learned to explore inside the atom.

所以，多年來，我們真的在學(xué)習(xí)探索原子的內(nèi)部。

And to do that, we had to learn to develop particle accelerators.

為了做到這一點(diǎn)， 我們得要開發(fā)出離子加速器。

The first ones we developed let us split the atom.

我們最早開發(fā)出來的加速器， 讓我們能把原子分割。

And then we got to higher and higher energies;

接著，我們朝向 越來越高的能量前進(jìn)；

we created circular accelerators that let us delve into the nucleus

我們創(chuàng)造出環(huán)形加速器， 讓我們能鉆研原子核，

and then create new elements, even.

接著，甚至創(chuàng)造出新的元素。

And at that point, we were no longer just exploring inside the atom.

現(xiàn)在，我們不再 只是在探索原子的內(nèi)部了。

We’d actually learned how to control these particles.

我們已經(jīng)學(xué)會(huì)控制 這些粒子的方法。

We’d learned how to interact with our world

我們已經(jīng)學(xué)會(huì)在微小規(guī)模上，

on a scale that’s too small for humans to see or touch

和我們的世界互動(dòng)，微小到 人類肉眼看不到也摸不到，

or even sense that it’s there.

甚至無法感覺到它的存在。

And then we built larger and larger accelerators,

接著，我們建立的 加速器越來越大，

because we were curious about the nature of the universe.

因?yàn)槲覀兒芎闷嬗钪娴谋举|(zhì)。

As we went deeper and deeper, new particles started popping up.

隨著我們?cè)酵谠缴睿?新的粒子不斷出現(xiàn)。

Eventually, we got to huge ring-like machines

最終，我們做出了 巨大的環(huán)型機(jī)器，

that take two beams of particles in opposite directions,

採用來自相反方向的兩道粒子束，

squeeze them down to less than the width of a hair

將它們擠壓到比 一根頭髮的寬度還小，

and smash them together.

讓它們猛撞在一起。

And then, using Einstein’s E=mc2,

接著，用愛因斯坦的 E=mc2，

you can take all of that energy and convert it into new matter,

可以把所有產(chǎn)生的能量 轉(zhuǎn)換成新的物質(zhì)，

new particles which we rip from the very fabric of the universe.

我們從宇宙的構(gòu)造中 扯下來的新粒子。

Nowadays, there are about 35,000 accelerators in the world,

現(xiàn)今，世界上有大約 三萬五千臺(tái)加速器，

not including televisions.

不包括電視機(jī)。

And inside each one of these incredible machines,

在每個(gè)加速器中， 都是很了不起的機(jī)器，

there are hundreds and billions of tiny particles,

有數(shù)百、數(shù)十億個(gè)小粒子，

dancing and swirling in systems that are more complex

在比銀河形成還要複雜的

than the formation of galaxies.

系統(tǒng)中飛舞、旋轉(zhuǎn)。

You guys, I can’t even begin to explain how incredible it is

各位，我實(shí)在不知道 要如何解釋我們能做到這些

that we can do this.

是多麼不可思議的事。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

So I want to encourage you to invest your time and energy

所以，我想要鼓勵(lì)各位， 把你們的時(shí)間和能量投資給

in people that do curiosity-driven research.

出于好奇心而去做研究的人。

It was Jonathan Swift who once said,

強(qiáng)納森史威夫特曾經(jīng)說過：

Vision is the art of seeing the invisible.

「遠(yuǎn)見就是能洞見 大家尚未能見的一門藝術(shù)?！?/p>

And over a century ago, J.J. Thompson did just that,

這也正是超過一個(gè)世紀(jì)之前， J.J. 湯普森所做的，

when he pulled back the veil on the subatomic world.

他揭開了亞原子粒子世界的面紗。

And now we need to invest in curiosity-driven research,

現(xiàn)在，我們需要投資 由好奇心驅(qū)使的研究，

because we have so many challenges that we face.

因?yàn)槲覀円鎸?duì)好多挑戰(zhàn)。

And we need patience;

我們需要耐心；

we need to give scientists the time, the space and the means

我們需要給科學(xué)家 時(shí)間、空間，和方法，

to continue their quest,

來持續(xù)他們的追尋，

because history tells us

因?yàn)闅v史告訴我們，

that if we can remain curious and open-minded

如果我們能對(duì)研究的結(jié)果

about the outcomes of research,

保持好奇心和開放的心態(tài)，

the more world-changing our discoveries will be.

我們的發(fā)現(xiàn)就更有可能 可以改變世界。

Thank you.

謝謝。