评论
打印
It's that time of year again, when everyone looks back at all the good and the bad stuff
又到了一年一度回顾往事的时候了
that happened since the last time Earth was in this spot relative to the Sun.
自从去年这个时候到现在
It's been a pretty cool year for science around the globe, and we here at SciShow like to highlight the superlatives:
对于全球科学而言 这是很酷的一年 我们科学秀在这里想要 重点介绍一些重大发现:
some of the biggest, oldest, fastest, and most amazing discoveries of 2016.
2016年最大，最古老，最快，最令人惊讶的 几个发现
In early January, the highest prime number ever found was announced.
早在一月份，最大素数就已经被发现了
You might remember this from elementary school math, but a prime number is only divisible by itself and 1.
你可能从小学数学中记得这点，素数只能被 1和它本身整除
I'm not going to say the actual number, because it would take months. It's more than 22 million digits long.
说出具体数字要耗时几个月，所以我不打算说了 它的长度超过两千两百万位数
But to keep it brief, it's equivalent to 2^74,207,281 - 1.
但是简单的说 这个最大素数等于2的74,207,281次方减1
That specific format -- two to the power of n minus one -- is what's called a Mersenne prime.
这种特殊素数表达形式——2的n次方减1 称为梅森素数
The number was found by the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, or GIMPS for short,
这个最大素数是由因特网梅森素数大搜索（简称GIMPS）发现的
in which a bunch of networked computers try to come up with prime numbers while they're not being used for something else.
GIMPS利用一批网络计算机尝试算出素数数值 在此期间这些计算机不能用于其他方面
It's a citizen science project like the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence at home,
这是一种公民科学项目 就像在家进行搜寻地外文明实验计划（即SETI@home项目）
where you run a program on your personal device as part of a huge computing effort.
志愿者在个人设备上运行一个程序 为巨大分析计算量做一份贡献
GIMPS turned up this new number by testing a bunch of Mersenne numbers for prime-ness, because they're not all prime.
GIMPS通过一批梅森数的素性测试发现了这个新数字 因为梅森数并不都是素数
For example, 2^4 - 1 is 15, which is also divisible by 3 and 5.
例如 2的4次方减1等于15 也能被3和5整除
Why do we care about searching for prime numbers?
为什么我们要关心素数的探索呢
It's not just for the joy of math -- they can be super important.
并不是为了开数学的玩笑 他们超级重要
We use them to keep our credit cards safe.
我们用它们保护信用卡安全
When you buy something online, your credit card number gets encrypted to protect your information.
当你网上购物时，你的信用卡数字被加密以保护个人 信息
Usually, this happens through RSA encryption, which encrypts data using the number you get from multiplying two really big prime numbers.
通常采用RSA加密算法 这种算法用 两个大素数的乘积作为加密数据
Then, the seller's computer needs to know those prime numbers to decrypt the data.
然后 卖家的电脑需要知道这些素数以解密数据
Because it's really hard to factor out the two primes by brute force,
由于对加密数据进行因式分解很困难
it's hard for people to steal your credit card information.
所以外人很难偷取你的信用卡信息
The prime numbers that protect your credit card are typically around 300 digits,
保护你信用卡的素数通常大约300位数
so the GIMPS number is actually way too big to be useful for RSA encryption.
因此实际上GIMPS数字太大了 不能用于RSA加密算法
But it is a neat mathematical achievement, and shows what idle computers can do when you give them some busy work.
然而这依旧是一个全新的数学成就 并且展示了 在给电脑布置一些繁忙任务时 电脑能做什么
Also in January, archaeologists turned up the oldest physical evidence of tea.
同时在一月份，考古学家发现了 茶叶存在的最古老的物证
While the oldest written evidence for tea consumption goes back to the year 59 BCE,
尽管最古老书面证据表明公元前59年茶叶已经存在
we still don't know where it came from or when people started drinking it.
但我们仍然不知道这些茶来自哪里或者什么时候人们开始喝茶
Tea leaves are pretty fragile and usually don't last well across the centuries,
跨越几个世纪后 茶叶相当易碎不能长久保存
so this surprising discovery pushed back the date for earliest tea-drinkers to about 141 BCE.
因此这项令人惊讶的发现将最早饮茶年代往前推到大约公元前141 年
In the 1990s, a strange lump of plant matter was discovered in the tomb of the Chinese Emperor Jingdi of the Han Dynasty.
在上世纪90年代，一团奇怪的植物块状物 在中国汉景帝的陵墓中被发现
Some of the remains were identified right away, like rice and millet.
一些残留物能够马上被辨认出来，就像稻谷和小米
Other leaves were shaped like tea buds, but that alone wasn't enough to be sure.
其他叶子的形状类似茶叶芽 但是仍然不能够确认
Like many plants, tea leaves contain tiny, hard crystals called phytoliths made of calcium oxalate.
像许多植物，茶叶中包含微小的 硬的结晶 这种结晶称为植物岩 由草酸钙组成
These can be seen with a microscope, and used to identify different kinds of leaves.
能够在显微镜下观察到这些 并且用于不同种类叶子的鉴定
Using mass spectrometry, the researchers also found other chemicals, like caffeine and theanine.
通过质谱 研究人员也发现了一些其他化学物质 如咖啡因和茶氨酸
While caffeine is in a variety of plants, you only find theanine in the family that includes tea.
咖啡因存在多种植物中 而茶氨酸只存在于 包含茶树的一类植物科中
And this tea was the good stuff -- the sample from the tomb seems to be high-quality budded leaves from the very tips of branches,
这些茶是好东西 陵墓中的样品看起来像是高品质芽叶
which are used in so-called "fine plucked" tea.
从叶尖采得用于所谓的精采茶
So now we know that Chinese emperors were enjoying delicious tea even earlier than we thought, more than 2100 years ago.
所以现在我们知道中国皇帝享受茶的日子比 我们知道的还早 大约是在2100年前
Finally, move over, birds -- there's a new fastest horizontal flyer in town,
最后 翻过这一篇 鸟类 在城镇中有一种新的飞行最快的飞行物
and it's a mammal: the Brazilian free-tailed bat.
并且这是一种哺乳动物:巴西无尾蝙蝠
The peregrine falcon is well-known as the world's fastest animal.
游隼作为世界上最快的动物闻名于世
It can make gravity-assisted dives topping 300 kilometers per hour.
它们在重力辅助下 速度最高达300千米每小时
Without the help of gravity, though, the records are a little more modest.
而没有重力辅助 这个速度记录就低得多了
The previous champions, a group of birds aptly known as swifts, have been clocked at 110 kilometers per hour.
之前的冠军 一类鸟更准确的说是雨燕飞行记录为110 千米每小时
But the Brazilian free-tailed bat blows that record out of the water,
但是巴西无尾蝙蝠 打破了这个记录
reaching speeds of 160 kilometers per hour in short bursts during their long nighttime hunting expeditions.
在它们长期夜间捕食过程中 短时间爆发速度能达到160千米每小时
They might use these speed bursts like a cheetah does: to dash after prey and nab it.
它们可能像猎豹一样运用这种速度爆发:在猎物后冲刺然后抓住猎物
Some researchers found this out by sticking tiny radio transmitters to seven bats with a non-permanent glue,
一些研究人员通过用一种暂时性胶水往七只蝙蝠身上黏上微型无线电发射器
and following them in an airplane to collect data.
并在飞机里追踪它们收集数据 发现了这个现象
Birds are really good at flying, obviously, and they have wings that are well-adapted for speed.
鸟类很擅长飞行 很明显 它们的翅膀能很好的适应 速度
So it's a bit surprising that a mammal could wrestle this crown from them.
所以一种哺乳动物能够从它们那夺取这项桂冠有点令人惊讶
At the very least, the scientists say this gives us a reason to re-evaluate the flight abilities and adaptations of bats in general,
至少 科学家们说这给了我们一个理由来重新评估 蝙蝠的飞行能力和适应能力
to see what else we're missing.
来了解我们还错过了什么其他的东西
And that wraps it up for 2016's science superlatives, but 2017 could still outdo them all.
以上这些囊括了2016年破纪录科学发现，相信2017年仍然会超过 这些所有记录
We'll just have to wait and see!
让我们拭目以待
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow News,
感谢观看这期科学秀新闻节目
and thanks especially to all of our patrons on Patreon who make this show possible.
尤其感谢Patreon上所有的赞助商 是你们让这个节目顺利进行
If you want to help us keep making videos like this, just go to patreon.com/scishow?.
如果你想要帮助我们保持节目顺利进行 请去patreon.com/scishow
And don't forget to go to youtube.com/scishow and subscribe!
也不要忘记去youtube.com/scishow 订阅我们
