CHAPTER 12 CONCLUSION

第十一章　结论

We find ourselves in a bewildering world. We want to make sense of what we see around us and to ask: What is the nature of the universe? What is our place in it and where did it and we come from? Why is it the way it is? To try to answer these questions we adopt some “world picture.” Just as an infinite tower of tortoises supporting the fiat earth is such a picture, so is the theory of superstrings. Both are theories of the universe, though the latter is much more mathematical and precise than the former. Both theories lack observational evidence: no one has ever seen a giant tortoise with the earth on its back, but then, no one has seen a superstring either. However, the tortoise theory fails to be a good scientific theory because it predicts that people should be able to fall off the edge of the world. This has not been found to agree with experience, unless that turns out to be the explanation for the people who are supposed to have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle!

我们发现自已是处于使人为难的世界中。我们要为自己在四周所看的一切赋予意义并问道：什么是宇宙的性质？我们在它之中的位置如何，以及宇宙和我们从何而来？为何它是这个样子的？我们采用某种“世界图”来试图回答这些问题，如同无限的乌龟塔——一个支持平坦的地球是这样的一种图象一样，超弦理论也是一种图象。虽然后者比前者更数学化、更精确，但两者都是宇宙的理论。两个理论都缺乏观察的证据：没人看到一个背负地球的大龟，但也没有人看到超弦。然而，龟理论作为一个好的科学理论是不够格的，因为它预言了人会从世界的边缘掉下去。除非发现它能为据说在百慕达三角消失的人提供解释。这个预言和经验不一致！

The earliest theoretical attempts to describe and explain the universe involved the idea that events and natural phenomena were controlled by spirits with human emotions who acted in a very humanlike and unpredictable manner. These spirits inhabited natural objects, like rivers and mountains, including celestial bodies, like the sun and moon. They had to be placated and their favor sought in order to ensure the fertility of the soil and the rotation of the seasons. Gradually, however, it must have been noticed that there were certain regularities: the sun always rose in the east and set in the west, whether or not a sacrifice had been made to the sun god. Further, the sun, the moon, and the planets followed precise paths across the sky that could be predicted in advance with considerable accuracy. The sun and the moon might still be gods, but they were gods who obeyed strict laws, apparently without any exceptions, if one discounts stories like that of the sun stopping for Joshua.

最早先在理论上描述和解释宇宙的企图牵涉到这样的思想，事件或自然现象是由具备人类感情的灵魂所控制，它们的行为和人类非常相像，并且是不可预言的。这些灵魂栖息在自然对象之中，诸如河流和山岳，包括诸如太阳和月亮这样的天体之中。它们必须被祈祷并供奉，以保证土壤的肥沃和四季的变化。然而，一些规律性逐渐地被注意到：太阳总是东升西落，而不管是否用牺牲去对之进贡。更进一步，太阳、月亮和行星沿着以被预言得相当精确的轨道穿越天穹。太阳、月亮仍然还可以是神祗，只不过是服从严格定律的神。如果你不将耶和华停止太阳运行之类的神话当真，则这一切显然是毫不例外的。

At first, these regularities and laws were obvious only in astronomy and a few other situations. However, as civilization developed, and particularly in the last 300 years, more and more regularities and laws were discovered. The success of these laws led Laplace at the beginning of the nineteenth century to postulate scientific determinism; that is, he suggested that there would be a set of laws that would determine the evolution of the universe precisely, given its configuration at one time.

首先，只有在天文学和一些其他情形下，这些规则和定律是显而易见的。然而随着文明的发展，特别是近300年期间，越来越多的规则和定律被发现。这些定律的成功，使得拉普拉斯在19世纪初主张科学的宿命论。他提议只要给定宇宙在某一时刻的结构，由给定的一组定律即能精确地决定它的演化。

Laplace’s determinism was incomplete in two ways. It did not say how the laws should be chosen and it did not specify the initial configuration of the universe. These were left to God. God would choose how the universe began and what laws it obeyed, but he would not intervene in the universe once it had started. In effect, God was confined to the areas that nineteenth-century science did not understand.

拉普拉斯的宿命论在两个方面是不完整的。它没讲定律应该如何选择，也没指定宇宙的初始结构。这些都留给了上帝。上帝会选择让宇宙如何开始并要服从什么定律，但是一旦开始之后它将不再干涉。事实上，上帝是被限制于19世纪科学不能理解的领域里。

We now know that Laplace’s hopes of determinism cannot be realized, at least in the terms he had in mind. The uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics implies that certain pairs of quantities, such as the position and velocity of a particle, cannot both be predicted with complete accuracy.

我们现在知道，拉普拉斯的宿命论的希望，至少在按照他头脑中的方式，是不能实现的。量子力学不确定性原理表明，某些诸如粒子的位置和速度的对偶的量，不能同时以完全的精确度去预言。

Quantum mechanics deals with this situation via a class of quantum theories in which particles don’t have well-defined positions and velocities but are represented by a wave. These quantum theories are deterministic in the sense that they give laws for the evolution of the wave with time. Thus if one knows the wave at one time, one can calculate it at any other time. The unpredictable, random element comes in only when we try to interpret the wave in terms of the positions and velocities of particles. But maybe that is our mistake: maybe there are no particle positions and velocities, but only waves. It is just that we try to fit the waves to our preconceived ideas of positions and velocities. The resulting mismatch is the cause of the apparent unpredictability.

量子力学通过一族量子理论来处理这种情形，粒子没有很好定义的位置和速度，而是由一个波来代表。它们给出了这波随时间演化的定律，在这种意义上，这些量子理论从属于宿命论。这样，如果某一时刻这个波是已知的，便可以将任一时刻的波算出。只是当我们试图按照粒子的位置和速度对波作解释之时，不可预见性的紊乱的要素才出现。但这也许是我们的错误：也许不存在粒子的位置和速度，只有波。只不过是我们企图将波硬套到我们预想的位置和速度的观念之中而己。由此导致的不一致乃是表面上不可预见性的原因。

In effect, we have redefined the task of science to be the discovery of laws that will enable us to predict events up to the limits set by the uncertainty principle. The question remains, however: how or why were the laws and the initial state of the universe chosen?

事实上，我们已经重新将科学的任务定义为发现能使我们在由不确定性原理设定的极限内预言事件的定律。然而，还存在如下问题：宇宙的定律和初始条件是如何及为何选取的？

In this book I have given special prominence to the laws that govern gravity, because it is gravity that shapes the large-scale structure of the universe, even though it is the weakest of the four categories of forces. The laws of gravity were incompatible with the view held until quite recently that the universe is unchanging in time: the fact that gravity is always attractive implies that the universe must be either expanding or contracting. According to the general theory of relativity, there must have been a state of infinite density in the past, the big bang, which would have been an effective beginning of time. Similarly, if the whole universe recollapsed, there must be another state of infinite density in the future, the big crunch, which would be an end of time. Even if the whole universe did not recollapse, there would be singularities in any localized regions that collapsed to form black holes. These singularities would be an end of time for anyone who fell into the black hole. At the big bang and other singularities, all the laws would have broken down, so God would still have had complete freedom to choose what happened and how the universe began.

在本书中，我特别将制约引力的定律突出出来，因为正是引力使宇宙的大尺度结构成形，即使它是四类力中最弱的一种。引力定律和直到相当近代还被坚持的宇宙随时间不变的观念不相协调：引力总是吸引的这一事实意味着，宇宙的演化方式必居其一，要么正在膨胀，要么正在收缩。按照广义相对论，宇宙在过去某一时刻必须有一无限密度的状态，亦即大爆炸，这是时间的有效起始。类似地，如果整个宇宙坍缩，在将来必有另一个无限密度的状态，即大挤压，这是时间的终点。即使整个宇宙不坍缩，在任何坍缩形成黑洞的局部区域里都会有奇点。这些奇点正是任何落进黑洞的人的时间终点。在大爆炸或其他奇点，所有定律都失效，所以上帝仍然有完全的自由去选择发生了什么以及宇宙是如何开始的。

When we combine quantum mechanics with general relativity, there seems to be a new possibility that did not arise before: that space and time together might form a finite, four-dimensional space without singularities or boundaries, like the surface of the earth but with more dimensions. It seems that this idea could explain many of the observed features of the universe, such as its large-scale uniformity and also the smaller-scale departures from homogeneity, like galaxies, stars, and even human beings. It could even account for the arrow of time that we observe. But if the universe is completely self-contained, with no singularities or boundaries, and completely described by a unified theory, that has profound implications for the role of God as Creator.

当我们将量子力学和广义相对论相结合，似乎产生了以前从未有过的新的可能性：空间和时间一起可以形成一个有限的、四维的没有奇点或边界的空间，这正如地球的表面，但有更多的维数。看来这种思想能够解释观察到的宇宙的许多特征，诸如它的大尺度一致性，还有像星系、恒星甚至人类等等小尺度的对此均匀性的偏离。它甚至可以说明我们观察到的时间的箭头。但是如果宇宙是完全自足的、没有奇点或边界、并且由统一理论所完全描述，那么就对上帝作为造物主的作用有深远的含义。

Einstein once asked the question: “How much choice did God have in constructing the universe?” If the no boundary proposal is correct, he had no freedom at all to choose initial conditions. He would, of course, still have had the freedom to choose the laws that the universe obeyed. This, however, may not really have been all that much of a choice; there may well be only one, or a small number, of complete unified theories, such as the heterotic string theory, that are self-consistent and allow the existence of structures as complicated as human beings who can investigate the laws of the universe and ask about the nature of God.

有一次爱因斯坦问道：“在制造宇宙时上帝有多少选择性？”如果无边界假设是正确的，在选择初始条件上它就根本没有自由。当然，它仍有选择宇宙所服从的定律的自由。然而，实在并没有那么多的选择性；很可能只有一个或数目很少的完整的统一理论，它是自治的，并且允许复杂到像能研究宇宙定律和询问上帝本性的人类那样的结构的存在。

Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe? The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe. Why does the universe go to all the bother of existing? Is the unified theory so compelling that it brings about its own existence? Or does it need a creator, and, if so, does he have any other effect on the universe? And who created him?

即使只存在一个可能的统一理论，那只不过是一组规则或方程。是什么赋予这些方程以生命去制造一个为它们所描述的宇宙？通常建立一个数学模型的科学方法不能回答，为何必须存在一个为此模型所描述的宇宙这样的问题。为何宇宙陷入其存在性的错综复杂之中？是否统一理论是如此之咄咄逼人，以至于其自身之实现成为不可避免？或者它需要一个造物主？若是这样，它还有其他的宇宙效应吗？又是谁创造了造物主？

Up to now, most scientists have been too occupied with the development of new theories that describe what the universe is to ask the question why. On the other hand, the people whose business it is to ask why, the philosophers, have not been able to keep up with the advance of scientific theories. In the eighteenth century, philosophers considered the whole of human knowledge, including science, to be their field and discussed questions such as: did the universe have a beginning? However, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, science became too technical and mathematical for the philosophers, or anyone else except a few specialists. Philosophers reduced the scope of their inquiries so much that Wittgenstein, the most famous philosopher of this century, said, “The sole remaining task for philosophy is the analysis of language.” What a comedown from the great tradition of philosophy from Aristotle to Kant!

迄今，大部分科学家太忙于发展描述宇宙为何物的理论，以至于没工夫去过问为什么的问题。另一方面，以寻根究底为己任的哲学家不能跟得上科学理论的进步。在18世纪，哲学家将包括科学在内的整个人类知识当作他们的领域，并讨论诸如宇宙有无开初的问题。然而，在19和20世纪，科学变得对哲学家，或除了少数专家以外的任何人而言，过于技术性和数学化了。哲学家如此地缩小他们的质疑的范围，以至于连维特根斯坦——这位本世纪最著名的哲学家都说道：“哲学仅余下的任务是语言分析。”这是从亚里士多德到康德以来哲学的伟大传统的何等的堕落！

However, if we do discover a complete theory, it should in time be understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason – for then we would know the mind of God.

然而，如果我们确实发现了一套完整的理论，它应该在一般的原理上及时让所有人（而不仅仅是少数科学家）所理解。那时，我们所有人，包括哲学家、科学家以及普普通通的人，都能参加为何我们和宇宙存在的问题的讨论。如果我们对此找到了答案，则将是人类理智的最终极的胜利——因为那时我们知道了上帝的精神。

ALBERT EINSTEIN

阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦

Einstein’s connection with the politics of the nuclear bomb is well known: he signed the famous letter to President Franklin Roosevelt that persuaded the United States to take the idea seriously, and he engaged in postwar efforts to prevent nuclear war. But these were not just the isolated actions of a scientist dragged into the world of politics. Einstein’s life was, in fact, to use his own words, “divided between politics and equations.”

爱因斯坦和核弹政治的瓜葛是众所周知的：他签署了那封著名的致富兰克林·罗斯福总统的信，说服美国认真考虑他的想法，并且他在战后从事阻止核战争的各项努力。但是，这些不仅仅是一位科学家被拖入政界的孤立行动。事实上，爱因斯坦的一生用他自己的话来说是“踌躇于政治和方程之间。”

Einstein’s earliest political activity came during the First World War, when he was a professor in Berlin. Sickened by what he saw as the waste of human lives, he became involved in antiwar demonstrations. His advocacy of civil disobedience and public encouragement of people to refuse conscription did little to endear him to his colleagues. Then, following the war, he directed his efforts toward reconciliation and improving international relations. This too did not make him popular, and soon his politics were making it difficult for him to visit the United States, even to give lectures.

爱因斯坦最早从事政治活动是在第一次世界大战，当时他在柏林当教授。由于目睹草菅人命而不胜厌恶，他卷入了反战示威。他拥护国内反抗以及公开鼓励人民拒绝征兵，因而不讨他的同事们喜欢。后来，在战时他又致力于调解和改善国际关系。这也不得人心，而且他的政治态度很快使他难以访问美国，甚至连讲学都有困难。

Einstein’s second great cause was Zionism. Although he was Jewish by descent, Einstein rejected the biblical idea of God. However, a growing awareness of anti-Semitism, both before and during the First World War, led him gradually to identify with the Jewish community, and later to become an outspoken supporter of Zionism. Once more unpopularity did not stop him from speaking his mind. His theories came under attack; an anti-Einstein organization was even set up. One man was convicted of inciting others to murder Einstein (and fined a mere six dollars). But Einstein was phlegmatic. When a book was published entitled 100 Authors Against Einstein, he retorted, “If I were wrong, then one would have been enough!”

爱因斯坦第二个伟大的事业是犹太复国主义。虽然他在血统上是犹太人，但他拒绝《圣经》上关于上帝的说法。然而，第一次世界大战之前和期间，他越发看清反犹主义，这导致他逐渐和犹太团体相认同，而后成为一个直言不讳的犹太复国主义的拥护者。再度不受欢迎也未能阻止他发表自己的主张。他的理论一发表就受到攻击，甚至成立了一个反爱因斯坦的组织。有一个人被定罪为教唆他人去谋杀爱因斯坦（只罚了6美金）。但爱因斯坦是冷静的：当一本书以题为《100个反爱因斯坦的作家》出版时，他反驳道：“如果真是我错了的话，那么一个人反对我就足够了！”

In 1933, Hitler came to power. Einstein was in America, and declared he would not return to Germany. Then, while Nazi militia raided his house and confiscated his bank account, a Berlin newspaper displayed the headline “Good News from Einstein – He’s Not Coming Back.” In the face of the Nazi threat, Einstein renounced pacifism, and eventually, fearing that German scientists would build a nuclear bomb, proposed that the United States should develop its own. But even before the first atomic bomb had been detonated, he was publicly warning of the dangers of nuclear war and proposing international control of nuclear weaponry.

1933年，希特勒上台了，爱因斯坦正在美国，他宣布不再回德国。后来纳粹义勇军抄查了他的房子，并没收了他的银行账号。一家柏林报纸的头条写道：“来自爱因斯坦的好消息——他不回来了。”面对着纳粹的威胁，爱因斯坦放弃了和平主义，终于忧虑到德国科学家会制造核弹，因而建议美国应该发展自己的核弹。但是，即使在第一枚原子弹爆炸之前，他就曾经公开警告过核战争的危险，并提议对核武器进行国际控制。

Throughout his life, Einstein’s efforts toward peace probably achieved little that would last – and certainly won him few friends. His vocal support of the Zionist cause, however, was duly recognized in 1952, when he was offered the presidency of Israel. He declined, saying he thought he was too naive in politics. But perhaps his real reason was different: to quote him again, “Equations are more important to me, because politics is for the present, but an equation is something for eternity.”

贯穿爱因斯坦一生，他致力于和平的努力可能成效甚微——肯定只说服了很少的朋友。然而，他对犹太复国主义事业的口头支持在1952年被及时承认，其时他被推荐为以色列的总统。但他谢绝了。他说他认为自己在政治上太天真。可是，也许其真正的原因却并非如此，再次引用他自己的话：“方程对我而言更重要些，因为政治是为当前，而一个方程却是一种永恒的东西。”

GALILEO GALILEI

伽利雷·伽利略

Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science. His renowned conflict with the Catholic Church was central to his philosophy, for Galileo was one of the first to argue that man could hope to understand how the world works, and, moreover, that we could do this by observing the real world.

伽利略可能比任何其他的人更有资格称为近代科学的奠基人。其与天主教会名闻遐迩的冲突是他哲学的中心事件。这是因为伽利略是作如下论断最早的人之一：人类有望理解世界是怎样运行的，而且我们还能通过观察现实世界来做到这一点。

Galileo had believed Copernican theory (that the planets orbited the sun) since early on, but it was only when he found the evidence needed to support the idea that he started to publicly support it. He wrote about Copernicus’s theory in Italian (not the usual academic Latin), and soon his views became widely supported outside the universities. This annoyed the Aristotelian professors, who united against him seeking to persuade the Catholic Church to ban Copernicanism.

伽利略很早就相信哥白尼理论（即行星绕太阳公转），但只有当他发现了证据来支持这一学说时，才公开表示支持。他用意大利文写有关哥白尼理论的文章（没有用普通的学院式拉丁文），并且他的观点很快就广泛地得到大学界之外的支持。这惹怒了亚里士多德派的教授们，他们联合起来反对他，并极力说服天主教会禁止哥白尼主义。

Galileo, worried by this, traveled to Rome to speak to the ecclesiastical authorities. He argued that the Bible was not intended to tell us anything about scientific theories, and that it was usual to assume that, where the Bible conflicted with common sense, it was being allegorical. But the Church was afraid of a scandal that might undermine its fight against Protestantism, and so took repressive measures. It declared Copernicanism “false and erroneous” in 1616, and commanded Galileo never again to “defend or hold” the doctrine. Galileo acquiesced.

伽利略为此而担心，他赶到罗马去向天主教权威当面申诉。他争辩道，《圣经》并未试图告诉我们任何关于科学理论的东西，通常都是假定，当《圣经》和常识发生矛盾时，就成为比喻。但是教会害怕这丑闻可能伤害它对新教徒的斗争，所以采取了镇压的手段。1616年，它宣布哥白尼主义是“虚伪的、错误的”，并命令伽利略不准再“保卫或坚持”这一学说。伽利略勉强接受了。

In 1623, a longtime friend of Galileo’s became the Pope. Immediately Galileo tried to get the 1616 decree revoked. He failed, but he did manage to get permission to write a book discussing both Aristotelian and Copernican theories, on two conditions: he would not take sides and would come to the conclusion that man could in any case not determine how the world worked because God could bring about the same effects in ways unimagined by man, who could not place restrictions on God’s omnipotence.

1623年，伽利略的一位长期朋友成为教皇。伽利略立即试图为1616年的判决翻案。他失败了，但他设法获得了准许，在两个前提下写一本叙述亚里士多德派和哥白尼派理论的书：他不能有倾向，同时要得出结论，人类在任何情况下都无法决定世界是如何运行的，因为上帝会以人类不能想像的方法来达到同样的效果，而人类不能限制上帝的万能。

The book, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, was completed and published in 1632, with the full backing of the censors – and was immediately greeted throughout Europe as a literary and philosophical masterpiece. Soon the Pope, realizing that people were seeing the book as a convincing argument in favor of Copernicanism, regretted having allowed its publication. The Pope argued that although the book had the official blessing of the censors, Galileo had nevertheless contravened the 1616 decree. He brought Galileo before the Inquisition, who sentenced him to house arrest for life and commanded him to publicly renounce Copernicanism. For a second time, Galileo acquiesced.

这本题为《关于两个主要世界体系的对话》的书，于1632年在检查官的全面支持下完成并出版了，并且立刻被全欧洲欢呼为文学和哲学的杰作。不久教皇就意识到，人们把这本书看作是确认哥白尼主义的论证，后悔允许该书出版。教皇指出，虽有检查官正式批准出版该书，但伽利略依然违背了1616年的禁令。他把伽利略带到宗教法庭面前，宣布他终身软禁，并命令他公开放弃哥白尼主义。伽利略又第二次被迫从命。

Galileo remained a faithful Catholic, but his belief in the independence of science had not been crushed. Four years before his death in 1642, while he was still under house arrest, the manuscript of his second major book was smuggled to a publisher in Holland. It was this work, referred to as Two New Sciences, even more than his support for Copernicus, that was to be the genesis of modern physics.

伽利略始终是一个忠实的天主教徒，但是他对科学独立的信仰从来未被动摇过。1642年，即他逝世前4年，当他仍然被软禁时，他第二本主要著作的手稿被私下交给一个荷兰的出版商。正是这本被称为《两种新科学》的书，甚至比支持哥白尼更进一步，成为现代物理学的起源。

ISAAC NEWTON

伊萨克·牛顿

Isaac Newton was not a pleasant man. His relations with other academics were notorious, with most of his later life spent embroiled in heated disputes. Following publication of Principia Mathematica – surely the most influential book ever written in physics – Newton had risen rapidly into public prominence. He was appointed president of the Royal Society and became the first scientist ever to be knighted.

伊萨克·牛顿不是一个讨人喜欢的人物。他和其他院士的关系声名狼藉。他晚年的大部分时间都是在激然的争吵纠纷中渡过。随着那部肯定是物理学有史以来最有影响的书——《数学原理》的出版，牛顿很快就成为名重一时的人物。他被任命为皇家学会主席，并成为第一个被授予爵士的科学家。

Newton soon clashed with the Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed, who had earlier provided Newton with much-needed data for Principia, but was now withholding information that Newton wanted. Newton would not take no for an answer: he had himself appointed to the governing body of the Royal Observatory and then tried to force immediate publication of the data. Eventually he arranged for Flamsteed’s work to be seized and prepared for publication by Flamsteed’s mortal enemy, Edmond Halley. But Flamsteed took the case to court and, in the nick of time, won a court order preventing distribution of the stolen work. Newton was incensed and sought his revenge by systematically deleting all references to Flamsteed in later editions of Principia.

牛顿不久就与皇家天文学家约翰·夫莱姆斯梯德发生冲突。他早先曾提供牛顿许多《原理》一书所需的数据，后来他扣压了牛顿需要的资料。牛顿是不许别人回答“不”字的，他自封为皇家天文台的大总管，然后迫使立即出版这些数据。最后，他指使夫莱姆斯梯德的冤家对头爱德蒙·哈雷夺得夫莱姆斯梯德的工作成果，并且准备出版。可是夫莱姆斯梯德告到法庭去，在最紧要关头，赢得了法庭的判决：不得散发这剽窃的著作。牛顿被激怒了，作为报复，他就在后来的《原理》版本中系统地删除所有来自夫莱姆斯梯德的引证。

A more serious dispute arose with the German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz. Both Leibniz and Newton had independently developed a branch of mathematics called calculus, which underlies most of modern physics. Although we now know that Newton discovered calculus years before Leibniz, he published his work much later. A major row ensued over who had been first, with scientists vigorously defending both contenders. It is remarkable, however, that most of the articles appearing in defense of Newton were originally written by his own hand – and only published in the name of friends! As the row grew, Leibniz made the mistake of appealing to the Royal Society to resolve the dispute. Newton, as president, appointed an “impartial” committee to investigate, coincidentally consisting entirely of Newton’s friends! But that was not all: Newton then wrote the committee’s report himself and had the Royal Society publish it, officially accusing Leibniz of plagiarism. Still unsatisfied, he then wrote an anonymous review of the report in the Royal Society’s own periodical. Following the death of Leibniz, Newton is reported to have declared that he had taken great satisfaction in “breaking Leibniz’s heart.”

他和德国哲学家高特夫瑞德·莱布尼兹之间发生了更严重的争吵。莱布尼兹和牛顿各自独立地发展了叫做微积分的数学分支，它是大部分近代物理的基础。虽然现在我们知道，牛顿发现微积分要比莱布尼兹早若干年，可是他很晚才出版他的著作。随着关于谁是第一个发现者的严重争吵的发生，科学家们激烈地为双方作辩护。然而值得注意的是，大多数为牛顿辩护的文章均出自牛顿本人之手，只不过仅仅用朋友的名义出版而已！当争论日趋激烈时，莱布尼兹犯了向皇家学会起诉来解决这一争端的错误。牛顿作为其主席，指定了一个清一色的由牛顿的朋友组成的“公正的”委员会来审查此案。更有甚者后来牛顿自己写了一个委员会报告，并让皇家学会将其出版，正式地谴责莱布尼兹剽窃。牛顿还不满意，他又在皇家学会自己的杂志上写了一篇匿名的、关于该报告的回顾。据报道，莱布尼兹死后，牛顿扬言他为伤透了莱布尼兹的心而洋洋得意。

During the period of these two disputes, Newton had already left Cambridge and academe. He had been active in anti-Catholic politics at Cambridge, and later in Parliament, and was rewarded eventually with the lucrative post of Warden of the Royal Mint. Here he used his talents for deviousness and vitriol in a more socially acceptable way, successfully conducting a major campaign against counterfeiting, even sending several men to their death on the gallows.

在这两次争吵期间，牛顿已经离开剑桥和学术。在剑桥他曾积极从事反天主教运动，后来在议会中也很活跃，最终作为酬报，他得到皇家造币厂厂长的肥缺。在这里，他以社会上更能接受的方式，施展他那狡狯和刻薄的能耐，成功地导演了一场反对伪币的重大战役，甚至将几个人送上了绞刑架。

GLOSSARY

小辞典

Absolute zero： The lowest possible temperature, at which substances contain no heat energy

绝对零度：所能达到的最低的温度，在这温度下物体不包含热能。

Acceleration： The rate at which the speed of an object is changing

加速度：物体速度改变的速率。

Anthropic principle： We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to observe it

人择原理：我们之所以看到宇宙是这个样子，只是因为如果它不是这样，我们就不会在这里去观察它。

Antiparticle： Each type of matter particle has a corresponding antiparticle. When a particle collides with its antiparticle, they annihilate, leaving only energy

反粒子：每个类型的物质粒子都有与其相对应的反粒子。当一个粒子和它的反粒子碰撞时，它们就湮灭，只留下能量。

Atom： The basic unit of ordinary matter, made up of a tiny nucleus (consisting of protons and neutrons) surrounded by orbiting electrons

原子：通常物质的基本单元，是由很小的核于（包括质子和中子）以及围着它转动的电子所构成。

Big bang： The singularity at the beginning of the universe

大爆炸：宇宙开端的奇点。

Big crunch： The singularity at the end of the universe

大挤压：宇宙终结的奇点。

Black hole： A region of space-time from which nothing, not even light, can escape, because gravity is so strong

黑洞：空间-时间的一个区域，因为那儿的引力是如此之强，以至于任何东西，甚至光都不能从该处逃逸出来。

Casimir effect： The attractive pressure between two flat, parallel metal plates placed very near to each other in a vacuum. The pressure is due to a reduction in the usual number of virtual particles in the space between the plates

卡西米尔效应：在真空中两片平行的平坦金属板之间的吸引压力。这种压力是由平板之间空间中的虚粒子的数目比正常数目减小造成的。

Chandrasekhar limit： The maximum possible mass of a stable cold star, above which it must collapse into a black hole

强德拉塞卡极限：一个稳定的冷星的最大的可能的质量的临界值，若比这质量更大的恒星，则会坍缩成一个黑洞。

Conservation of energy： The law of science that states that energy (or its equivalent in mass) can neither be created nor destroyed

能量守恒：关于能量（或它的等效质量）既不能产生也不能消灭的科学定律。

Coordinates： Numbers that specify the position of a point in space and time

坐标：指定点在空间-时间中的位置的一组数。

Cosmological constant： A mathematical device used by Einstein to give space-time an inbuilt tendency to expand

宇宙常数：爱因斯坦所用的一个数学方法，该方法使空间-时间有一固有的膨胀倾向。

Cosmology： The study of the universe as a whole

宇宙学：对整个宇宙的研究。

Dark matter： Matter in galaxies, clusters, and possibly between clusters, that can not be observed directly but can be detected by its gravitational effect. As much as 90 percent of the mass of the universe may be in the form of dark matter

暗物质：存在于星系、星系团以及也许在星系团之间的，不能被直接观测到，但是能用它的引力效应检测到的物质。宇宙物质的90％可能采取暗物质的形态。

Duality： A correspondence between apparently different theories that lead to the same physical results

对偶性：在表观上非常不同但是导致相同物理结果的理论之间的对应。

Einstein-Rosen bridge： A thin tube of space-time linking two black holes. Also see Wormhole

爱因斯坦-罗森桥：连接两个黑洞的时空的细管。参见虫洞。

Electric charge： A property of a particle by which it may repel (or attract) other particles that have a charge of similar (or opposite) sign

电荷：粒子的一个性质，由于这性质粒子排斥（或吸引）其他与之带相同（或相反）符号电荷的粒子。

Electromagnetic force： The force that arises between particles with electric charge; the second strongest of the four fundamental forces

电磁力：带电荷的粒子之间的相互作用力，它是四种基本力中第二强的力。

Electron： A particle with negative electric charge that orbits the nucleus of an atom

电子：带有负电荷并绕着一个原子核转动的粒子。

Electroweak unification energy： The energy (around 100 GeV) above which the distinction between the electromagnetic force and the weak force disappears

弱电统一能量：大约为100吉电子伏的能量，在比这能量更大时，电磁力和弱力之间的差别消失。

Elementary particle： A particle that, it is believed, cannot be subdivided

基本粒子：被认为不可能再分的粒子。

Event： A point in space-time, specified by its time and place

事件：由它的时间和空间所指定的空间-时间中的一点。

Event horizon： The boundary of a black hole

事件视界：黑洞的边界。

Exclusion principle： The idea that two identical spin-1/2 particles cannot have (within the limits set by the uncertainty principle) both the same position and the same velocity

不相容原理：两个相同的自旋为1／2的粒子（在测不准原理设定的极限之内）不能同时具有相同的位置和速度。

Field： Something that exists throughout space and time, as opposed to a particle that exists at only one point at a time

场：某种充满空间和时间的东西，与它相反的是在一个时刻，只存在于空间-时间中的一点的粒子。

Frequency： For a wave, the number of complete cycles per second

频率：对一个波而言，在1秒钟内完整循环的次数。

Gamma rays： Electromagnetic rays of very short wavelength, produced in radio-active decay or by collisions of elementary particles

伽玛射线：波长非常短的电磁波，是由放射性衰变或由基本粒子碰撞产生的。

General relativity： Einstein’s theory based on the idea that the laws of science should be the same for all observers, no matter how they are moving. It explains the force of gravity in terms of the curvature of a four-dimensional space-time

广义相对论：爱因斯坦的基于科学定律对所有的观察者（而不管他们如何运动的）必须是相同的观念的理论。[奇+书+网]它将引力按照四维空间-时间的曲率来解释。

Geodesic： The shortest (or longest) path between two points

测地线：两点之间最短（或最长）的道路。

Grand unification energy： The energy above which, it is believed, the electro-magnetic force, weak force, and strong force become indistinguishable from each other

大统一能量：人们相信，在比这能量更大时，电磁力、弱力和强力之间的差别消失。

Grand unified theory (GUT)： A theory which unifies the electromagnetic, strong, and weak forces

大统一理论（GUT）：一种统一电磁、强和弱力的理论。

Imaginary time： Time measured using imaginary numbers

虚时间：用虚数测量的时间。

Light cone： A surface in space-time that marks out the possible directions for light rays passing through a given event

光锥：空间-时间中的面，在上面标出光通过一给定事件的可能方向。

Light-second (light-year)： The distance traveled by light in one second (year)

光秒（光年）：光在1秒（1年）时间里走过的距离。

Magnetic field： The field responsible for magnetic forces, now incorporated along with the electric field, into the electromagnetic field

磁场：引起磁力的场，和电场合并成电磁场。

Mass： The quantity of matter in a body; its inertia, or resistance to acceleration

质量：物体中物质的量；它的惯性，或对加速的抵抗。

Microwave background radiation： The radiation from the glowing of the hot early universe, now so greatly red-shifted that it appears not as light but as microwaves (radio waves with a wavelength of a few centimeters) Also see COBE, on page 145

微波背景辐射：起源于早期宇宙的灼热的辐射，现在它受到如此大的红移，以至于不以光而以微波（波长为几厘米的无线电波）的形式呈现出来。

Naked singularity： A space-time singularity not surrounded by a black hole

裸奇点：不被黑洞围绕的空间-时间奇点。

Neutrino： An extremely light (possibly massless) particle that is affected only by the weak force and gravity

中微子：只受弱力和引力作用的极轻的（可能是无质量的）基本物质粒子。

Neutron： An uncharged particle, very similar to the proton, which accounts for roughly half the particles in an atomic nucleus

中子：一种不带电的、和质子非常类似的粒子，在大多数原子核中大约一半的粒子是中子。

Neutron star： A cold star, supported by the exclusion principle repulsion between neutrons

中子星：一种由中子之间的不相容原理排斥力所支持的冷的恒星。

No boundary condition： The idea that the universe is finite but has no boundary (in imaginary time)

无边界条件：宇宙是有限的但无界的（在虚时间里）思想。

Nuclear fusion： The process by which two nuclei collide and coalesce to form a single, heavier nucleus

核聚变：两个核碰撞并合并成一个更重的核的过程。

Nucleus： The central part of an atom, consisting only of protons and neutrons, held together by the strong force

核：原子的中心部份，只包括由强作用力将其束缚在一起的质子和中子。

Particle accelerator： A machine that, using electromagnets, can accelerate moving charged particles, giving them more energy

粒子加速器：一种利用电磁铁能将运动的带电粒子加速，并给它们更多能量的机器。

Phase： For a wave, the position in its cycle at a specified time： a measure of whether it is at a crest, a trough, or somewhere in between

相位：一个波在特定的时刻的在它循环中的位置--一种它是否在波峰、波谷或它们之间的某点的标度。

Photon： A quantum of light

光子：光的一个量子。

Planck’s quantum principle： The idea that light (or any other classical waves) can be emitted or absorbed only in discrete quanta, whose energy is proportional to their wavelength

普朗克量子原理：光（或任何其他经典的波）只能被发射或吸收其能量与它们频率成比例的分立的量子的思想。

Positron： The (positively charged) antiparticle of the electron

正电子：电子的反粒子（带正电荷）。

Primordial black hole： A black hole created in the very early universe

太初黑洞：在极早期宇宙中产生的黑洞。

Proportional： ‘X is proportional to Y’ means that when Y is multiplied by any number, so is X. ‘X is inversely proportional to Y’ means that when Y is multiplied by any number, X is divided by that number

比例：“X比例于Y”表示当Y被乘以任何数时，X也如此；“X反比例于Y”，表示，当Y被乘以任何数时，X被同一个数除。

Proton： A positively charged particle, very similar to the neutron, that accounts for roughly half the particles in the nucleus of most atoms

质子：构成大多数原子中的核中大约一半数量的、带正电的粒子。

Pulsar： A rotating neutron star that emits regular pulses of radio waves

Quantum： The indivisible unit in which waves may be emitted or absorbed

量子：波可被发射或吸收的不可分的单位。

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD)： The theory that describes the interactions of quarks and gluons

Quantum mechanics： The theory developed from Planck’s quantum principle and Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle

量子力学：从普郎克量子原理和海森堡不确定性原理发展而来的理论。

Quark： A (charged) elementary particle that feels the strong force. Protons and neutrons are each composed of three quarks

夸克：感受强作用力的带电的基本粒子。每一个质子和中子都是由三个夸克组成。

Radar： A system using pulsed radio waves to detect the position of objects by measuring the time it takes a single pulse to reach the object and be reflected back

雷达：利用脉冲无线电波的单独脉冲到达目标并折回的时间间隔来测量对象位置的系统。

Radioactivity： The spontaneous breakdown of one type of atomic nucleus into another

放射性：一种类型的原子核自动分裂成其他的核。

Red shift： The reddening of light from a star that is moving away from us, due to the Doppler effect

红移：由于多普勒效应，从离开我们而去的恒星发出的光线的红化。

Singularity： A point in space-time at which the space-time curvature becomes infinite

奇点：空间-时间中空间-时间曲率变成无穷大的点。

Singularity theorem： A theorem that shows that a singularity must exist under certain circumstances – in particular, that the universe must have started with a singularity

奇点定理：这定理是说，在一定情形下奇点必须存在--特别是宇宙必须开始于一个奇点。

Space-time： The four-dimensional space whose points are events

时空：四维的空间，上面的点即为事件。

Spatial dimension： Any of the three dimensions that are spacelike – that is, any except the time dimension

空间的维：空间-时间的类空的、也就是除了时间的维之外的三维的任一维。

Special relativity： Einstein’s theory based on the idea that the laws of science should be the same for all observers, no matter how they are moving, in the absence of gravitational phenomena

狭义相对论：爱因斯坦的基于科学定律对所有进行自由运动的观察者（不论他们的运动速度）必须相同的观念。

Spectrum： The component frequencies that make up a wave. The visible part of the sun’s spectrum can be seen in a rainbow

谱：诸如电磁波对它的分量频率的分解。

Spin： An internal property of elementary particles, related to, but not identical to, the everyday concept of spin

自旋：相关于但不等同于日常的自转概念的基本粒子的内部性质。

Stationary state： One that is not changing with time： a sphere spinning at a constant rate is stationary because it looks identical at any given instant

稳态：不随时间变化的态：一个以固定速率自转的球是稳定的，因为即便它不是静止的，在任何时刻它看起来都是等同的。

String theory： A theory of physics in which particles are described as waves on strings. Strings have length but no other dimension

弦理论：物理学的一种理论，其中粒子被描述成弦上的波。弦只有长度，但是没有其他维。

Strong force： The strongest of the four fundamental forces, with the shortest range of all. It holds the quarks together within protons and neutrons, and holds the protons and neutrons together to form atoms

强力：四种基本力中最强的、作用距离最短的一种力。它在质子和中子中将夸克束缚在一起，并将质子和中子束缚在一起形成原子。

Uncertainty principle： The principle, formulated by Heisenberg, that one can never be exactly sure of both the position and the velocity of a particle; the more accurately one knows the one, the less accurately one can know the other

不确定性原理：人们永远不能同时准确知道粒子的位置和速度；对其中一个知道得越精确，则对另一个就知道得越不准确。

Virtual particle： In quantum mechanics, a particle that can never be directly detected, but whose existence does have measurable effects

虚粒子：在量子力学中，一种永远不能直接检测到的，但其存在确实具有可测量效应的粒子。

Wave/particle duality： The concept in quantum mechanics that there is no distinction between waves and particles; particles may sometimes behave like waves, and waves like particles

波/粒二象性：量子力学中的概念，是说在波动和粒子之间没有区别；粒子有时可以像波动一样行为，而波动有时可以像粒子一样行为。

Wavelength： For a wave, the distance between two adjacent troughs or two adjacent crests

波长：对于一个波，在两相邻波谷或波峰之间的距离。

Weak force： The second weakest of the four fundamental forces, with a very short range. It affects all matter particles, but not force-carrying particles

弱力：四种基本力中第二弱的、作用距离非常短的一种力。它作用于所有物质粒子，而不作用于携带力的粒子。

Weight： The force exerted on a body by a gravitational field. It is proportional to, but not the same as, its mass

重量：引力场作用到物体上的力。它和质量成比例，但又不同于质量。

White dwarf： A stable cold star, supported by the exclusion principle repulsion between electrons

白矮星：一种由电子之间不相容原理排斥力所支持的稳定的冷的恒星。

Wormhole： A thin tube of space-time connecting distant regions of the universe. Wormholes might also link to parallel or baby universes and could provide the possibility of time travel.

虫洞：连接宇宙遥远区域间的时空细管。虫洞也可以把平行的宇宙或者婴儿宇宙连接起来，并提供时间旅行的可能性。

Many people have helped me in writing this book. My scientific colleagues have without exception been inspiring. Over the years my principal associates and collaborators were Roger Penrose, Robert Geroch, Brandon Carter, George Ellis, Gary Gibbons, Don Page, and Jim Hartle. I owe a lot to them, and to my research students, who have always given me help when needed.

我在著作本书时得到多人相助。我的科学同仁毫无例外地富有灵感。在漫长的岁月里，我主要的同伴和合作者为罗杰·彭罗斯、罗伯特·格罗许、布兰登·卡特、乔治·埃里斯、盖瑞·吉朋斯。当·佩奇和詹姆·哈特尔。他们总是有求必应，我欠他们以及我的学生们许多情。

One of my students, Brian Whitt, gave me a lot of help writing the first edition of this book. My editor at Bantam Books, Peter Guzzardi, made innumerable comments which improved the book considerably. In addition, for this edition, I would like to thank Andrew Dunn, who helped me revise the text.

我的一名学生布里安·维特在准备初版时提供了许多帮助。拜坦姆书社的编辑彼德·古查底还给我写下无数评语，使本书改善甚多。此外，我还想感谢安德鲁·杜恩，他为我作了文字修正。

I could not have written this book without my communication system. The software, called Equalizer, was donated by Walt Waltosz of Words Plus Inc., in Lancaster, California. My speech synthesizer was donated by Speech Plus, of Sunnyvale, California. The synthesizer and laptop computer were mounted on my wheelchair by David Mason, of Cambridge Adaptive Communication Ltd. With this system I can communicate better now than before I lost my voice.

如果没有眼前的这台交流系统，本书就写不成。这套称作平衡器的软件是加利福尼亚兰卡斯特峨尔兹·帕拉斯公司的瓦特·沃尔托兹捐赠的。我的语言合成器是加利福尼亚太阳谷的斯匹兹·帕拉斯公司捐赠的。剑桥适用通讯公司的大卫·梅森把合成器和控制板安装在我的轮椅之上。我现在利用这个系统交流，能够进行得比我失声之前还要好。

I have had a number of secretaries and assistants over the years in which I wrote and revised this book. On the secretarial side, I’m very grateful to Judy Fella, Ann Ralph, Laura Gentry, Cheryl Billington, and Sue Masey. My assistants have been Colin Williams, David Thomas, and Raymond Laflamme, Nick Phillips, Andrew Dunn, Stuart Jamieson, Jonathan Brenchley, Tim Hunt, Simon Gill, Jon Rogers, and Tom Kendall. They, my nurses, colleagues, friends, and family have enabled me to live a very full life and to pursue my research despite my disability.

在我著作和修改此书的年代里，有过许多秘书和助手。对于秘书们，我特别应感谢的有茱迪·费拉、安·拉弗、劳拉·珍翠、谢瑞尔·比林顿和苏梅西。我的助手为柯灵·威廉斯、大卫·托玛斯、雷蒙·拉夫勒蒙、尼克、菲利普、安德鲁·杜恩、斯图瓦·詹米森、约纳逊·布连奇利、提蒙·汉特、赛蒙·基尔、琼·罗杰斯和汤姆·肯达尔。尽管我是残废的，但是我的护士、合作者、朋友以及家人们使我的生命非常充实并能进行研究。

Stephen Hawking

史蒂芬·霍金