10個瘋狂的假設場景 第二部分(下)

Would Happen if We Collided with Another Universe?

5.如果我們與另一個宇宙碰撞了會怎樣？

In the multiverse theory, there are an infinite number of universes running parallel to our own. And parallel is exactly how we want the universes to run, because if one collides with our own, we're in big trouble.

在多重宇宙的理論中，存在無數個平行宇宙。而平行正是我們希望宇宙運行的狀態，因爲一旦有一個和我們的發生碰撞，我們就有大麻煩了。

The good news is that we won't be able to tell it's happening because it will happen so fast. In fact, the exterior wall of the other universe will be traveling nearly at the speed of light when it hits us. Anthony Aguirre, a physicist at the University of California-Santa Cruz, says that if we could slow it down, it would look like a giant mirror crashing down on us. It would look like a mirror because the outer boundary of the other universe would reflect light.

好消息是，因爲碰撞的過程非常之快，我們根本不會知道發生了什麼。事實上，另一個宇宙的邊緣將會以光速撞上我們。 加州大學聖克魯茲分校的物理學家安東尼·阿吉雷認爲，如果用慢鏡頭看，就像一面巨大的鏡子砸向我們。因爲別的宇宙的邊界是可以反射光的。

After that, we won't feel anything because we'll no longer exist. Boy, isn't this becoming one heck of a feel-good list?

之後，我們就什麼也感覺不到了，因爲我們已經不存在了。老天啊，這個列表是不是越來越讓你珍惜現有生活了？

Would Happen if You Fell Into a Volcano?

4.如果跌入火山裏會怎樣？

There's pretty much no hope for this one. You'd die, but the interesting question is how would you die if you fell into a volcano? Would you drown like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings? Or would you burn to death?

這樣的話真的沒什麼生還希望了。你會死，但有趣的問題是跌入火山究竟會怎麼死，是會像《魔戒》裏咕嚕那樣被淹沒，還是被燒死？

If you fell into a volcano, you'd fall onto a pool of magma, which is molten rock that is below the earth. The difference between magma and lava is that lava is molten rock that has come to the surface. Nevertheless, magma and lava behave very similarly when it comes to falling on it.

如果你跌入火山，那你就相當於落到熔岩池裏，那是地底熔化的岩石。岩漿和熔岩都是熔化的岩石，但兩者的區別在於，岩漿是暴露於地表的。不管怎樣吧，只要掉進去，產生的結果都是相似的。

Magma and lava are about two-to-three times denser than water and it can be thousands to millions of times more viscous than water, so it isn't as easily deformed. It would be like landing on wet cement. You'd make a small indentation, but wouldn't submerge or sink in.

岩漿和熔岩的密度是水的2-3倍，粘性則可以達到水的成千上萬倍，所以它們不容易變形。跌入的話就像掉到沒幹的水泥上，會在上面砸出個凹陷，但不會沉下去。

The good news is that you may be dead before hitting the magma. As you fall and get closer to the magma, your lungs could char or you might asphyxiate. If you aren't killed while falling, then hitting the magma at a high rate of speed will probably break your neck or skull, which should kill you.

好消息是你在接觸到岩漿之前就已經死了。當你逐漸下落到岩漿的過程中，熱浪會燒焦你的肺，或者你會窒息而亡。如果你在下落過程中存活了，高速砸向岩漿時很有可能折斷脖子或摔碎頭骨，結果還是死。

If you do survive all that, your body will burst into flames the instant you hit the magma and you'll melt into the magma or become specks of ash. So try to avoid jumping into an active volcano, alright?

如果經歷了以上這些你都還活着，那你在接觸到岩漿的一瞬間就會被燒成灰燼，或與岩漿熔爲一體。所以，不要跳進活火山裏，好嗎？

Happens if a Hole Opens Up on an Airplane While it's Flying?

3.如果在飛行過程中飛機機身漏了個洞會怎樣？

It is by far one of the biggest movie tropes of all time: There's a hole in an airplane, it sucks people out, and they fall to their deaths. Since it's been in so many movies, it has to be real, right?

這是電影史上最喜歡使用的橋段：飛機上出現了一個洞，人們都被洞吸出去摔死。既然這麼多電影裏都是這麼刻畫的，那必然是事實了，對吧？

First off, if a hole does open in an airplane, it's not going to be because someone opened a door mid-flight. It's physically impossible to open a passenger door on modern planes while they are in flight because the cabins have a higher pressure than the outside, so there is around 6 pounds per square inch of differential pressure against a door that is hundreds of square inches.

首先，如果飛機上出現了一個洞，不可能是因爲某人在飛行途中打開了艙門。因爲從機械原理上是無法實現的，現代的飛機在飛行途中艙內的壓力比外界高，大約每平方英尺的門上有6磅的壓力差，一扇門有100多平方英尺，算算看，以人力根本不可能打開。

But what happened if, for whatever reason, a giant hole forms in the side of the plane that you're aboard? If that's the case, there would be an explosive decompression, which would cause someone standing next to the hole to be sucked out. If someone is buckled into their seat near the hole, they won't fly out because plane seats are secured into the plane so that they won't fly out the hole. In other words: when the flight attendants tell you to buckle up, do what they say.

但是如果，由於某種原因，飛機上就是出現了一個大洞究竟會發生什麼事呢？如果是這樣，由於壓力爆炸式的釋放，站在破洞旁邊的人就會被吸出去。但要是破洞旁邊的人安全帶是繫好的，那他們也不會被吸出去，因爲座位是跟飛機緊密相連的。換句話說：當空乘人員叫你係好安全帶時，照做！

Now all you have to worry about is possibly being violently thrown off a flight that you paid for so that the airline's staff can fly instead.

現在你需要擔心的是本來買好了票，但爲了臨時多出來的空乘，被強制請出飛機的可能。

Would Happen if You Didn't Shower or Bathe for a Year?

2.如果你一年不洗澡會怎樣？

Obviously, you'd stink.

很明顯，你會很臭。

Dead skin would accumulate on top of your skin and part of that dead skin is a protein that is really smelly. Also, bacteria would grow on your skin and when it mixes with sweat, it gives off a terrible odor.

死亡的皮膚會逐漸聚集在表皮上，死皮的成分中含有蛋白質，腐爛的蛋白質非常難聞。還有，細菌會在皮膚表面生長，細菌與汗液混合後，散發出的臭味可怕到極致。

Brown clumps will also grow in areas where your body produces the most oil, like behind your ears and under your arms. Your head would itch something fierce, because of all the dead skin accumulated on top of it. Acne and puss bumps will also become common.

棕色的塊狀物會出現在身體油脂分泌旺盛的區域，比如耳後和胳膊下方。由於死皮的積累，頭會奇癢無比。粉刺和痤瘡也會更頻繁的出現。

Your groin will also be another major problem area because rashes could become common. It's even possible that the scum between your toes will spread to your groin.

隨着皮疹的增加，腹股溝的衛生會是另一個主要問題。甚至足間的泥垢都會傳播至腹股溝處。

One of the biggest problems you'd face is infection. If you cut yourself, the first thing you're supposed to do is wash the cut so it doesn't get infected. So if you're covered in bacteria, that means you're more likely to get a soft issue infection.

另一個你需要面臨的大問題是感染。如果你不小心割傷了自己，要做的第一件事是清洗傷口避免感染。所以要是你全身都被細菌覆蓋，那受到感染的可能性會更大。

Finally, if you wanted to return to normal (and let's be honest, who wouldn't?), the bad news is that it would take several weeks. That means if you want to try this experiment – which we beg you not to do – you may not want to set up a date within the first month of showering again.

最後，如果你想回歸正常（說實話，誰會不想？），壞消息是需要花費好幾周的時間才行。所以要是你想試試看（但我們極力不推薦本實驗），結束後你最好騰出一個月來洗澡。

Would Happen if Every Species Became Self-Aware and Intelligent

1.要是每個物種都產生了自我意識而且有智能了會怎樣？

In the Planet of the Apes films, we have a problem when one species becomes intelligent and self-aware. But what would happen if all species suddenly became self-aware and intelligent? Innes Cuthill, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Bristol, thinks that it will be an all-out war between the species.

在電影《人猿星球》中，只是一個物種產生了自我意識和智能，我們就陷入了大麻煩。那要是所有的物種突然之間都產生了自我意識而且有智能了會怎樣？布里斯托大學的行爲生態學家英尼斯·卡特希爾認爲如果是這樣，那麼各個物種間將會爆發全面戰爭。

Humans would probably set out to wipe out any animals we'd view as threats like lions, tigers, and bears (Oh my! Yeah, we know). Next, we'd have to kill off the primates before they got organized because if they somehow got ahold of human technology like guns or even computers and learned how to use them, we would be in big trouble. Physically, they are much bigger, stronger, and more agile than us, so if they became smarter and used technology it could be too hard for us to overcome.

首先，人類極有可能會滅掉被我們視爲威脅的動物，比如獅子、老虎和熊（我的天，太可怕了！是的，我們知道）。第二，我們必須在靈長類動物組織起來之前殺光它們，因爲要是它們掌握了人類的科技，例如槍支武器，甚至計算機技術並加以應用的話，我們的麻煩就更大了。生理上，它們要更高大、更強壯、更敏捷，所以，如果它們在智能上也超越了我們，還懂得利用科學技術，我們將很難戰勝它們。

But in the end, there is a good chance humans would win the early stages of the war because there are so many of us and we're already armed, plus we have already access to technology and – most importantly – know how to use it.

但到最後，人類在戰爭早期階段肯定能大獲全勝，因爲畢竟我們已經有這麼多人武裝上了，再加上我們已經有了先進的科技——並且懂得如何利用它們，這點非常重要。

We just have to hope that something like bacteria doesn't gain intelligence, because a smart bacterium could probably kill off all humans (and everything else) and take over the planet.

我們現在只希望細菌什麼的不要進化出智能，因爲一隻聰明的細菌大概就能殺光全人類（和其他的一切活物），掌管地球。

Even if a bacterium doesn't gain intelligence, the war of the species would be horrible for anyone who survives because ecosystems will collapse and only things like cockroaches will survive.

即使細菌沒有智能，物種戰爭結束後的倖存者將會面對非常可怕的世界，因爲生態環境會被破壞殆盡，大概只適合蟑螂們生存。