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So two guys walk into a bar. Really? No, seriously.
话说两个人走进一家酒吧...你确定？闲言少叙。
Two guys walk into a bar, an ice cream bar:
两个人走进一家酒吧，准确的说是冰激凌吧。
Dave, a physicist working on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the European laboratory for particle physics, and Steve, a blues singer.
Dave，是一位在欧洲粒子物理研究所从事大型强子对撞机（LHC）工作的物理学家，而Steve则是位蓝调歌手。
"Dave, how's it going?" "Steve, good to see you!"
“Dave，最近如何?” “Steve，好久不见。”
"Two scoops of chocolate almond for me." "Vanilla shake."
“给我来两勺杏仁巧克力。” “我要份香草奶昔。”
"Hey, I just saw something about the LHC on TV. You guys found bozo in your detector?"
“嘿，我前两天刚在电视上看到你们LHC。听说你们用探测器发现了傻大个？”
"Well, not exactly. We found a boson, probably the Higgs boson."
“嗯...那不叫傻大个。我们发现的叫玻色子，甚至可能是希格斯玻色子。”
"What's that?" "It's a particle."
“那又是什么？” “是种粒子。”
"Don't you find particles all the time?"
“你们不是一直在发现粒子么？”
"Yes, but this one means that the Higgs field might really exist." "Field? What field?"
“是的，但这次的发现表示希格斯场可能真实存在。” “场？什么场？”
"The Higgs field. It's named after Peter Higgs, although many others contributed to the idea.
“希格斯场，一个以彼得·希格斯及其他对此理论做出贡献的科学家命名的场。
It isn't a field, like where you grow corn, but a hypothetical, invisible kind of force field that pervades the whole universe."
虽说叫‘场’，你可没法用来晒谷子，而是一个假设存在的无形的力场，存在于宇宙中的各个角落。”
"Hmmmm, okay. If it pervades the whole universe, how come I've never seen it? That's a bit strange."
“好吧，可如果它遍布整个宇宙，为什么我从没看见过？这有点奇怪。”
"Well, actually, it's not that strange. Think of the air around us.
“其实也没那么奇怪。想想咱们身边的空气。
We can't see it or smell it. Well, perhaps in some places we can.
我们既看不见，又闻不到。当然，个别地方除外。
But we can detect its presence with sophisticated equipment, like our own bodies.
不过，通过尖端仪器，比如我们的身体，我们可以检测到它的存在。
So the fact that we can't see something just makes it a bit harder to determine whether its really there or not."
我们看不到不过是为我们证明事物实际存在提出了小小的挑战。”
"Alright, go on." "So, we believe this Higgs field is all around us, everywhere in the universe.
“原来如此 然后呢？” “所以我们认为这种‘希格斯场’就在我们身边，遍布整个宇宙。
And what it does is rather special - it gives mass to elementary particles."
它的特殊之处在于为基本粒子赋予质量。”
"What's an elementary particle?"
“基本粒子？这又是什么？”
"An elementary particle is what we call particles that have no structure,
“所谓基本粒子，就是指没有结构、
they can't be divided, they're the basic building blocks of the universe."
不可继续分割、他们是构成宇宙最基础的组成结构。”
"I thought those were atoms."
“我还以为你说的是原子。”
"Well, atoms are actually made of smaller components, protons, neutrons, and electrons.
“其实，原子是由更小的粒子构成的，分别是质子、中子和电子。
While electrons are fundamental particles, neutrons and protons are not.
电子也是基本粒子，中子和质子就不是了。
They are made up of other fundamental particles called quarks."
它们是由另一种叫夸克的基本粒子构成的。”
"Sounds like Russian dolls. Does it ever end?"
“感觉像是俄罗斯套娃一样，什么时候是个头儿啊？”
"Actually, we don't really know. But our current understanding is called the Standard Model.
“说实话，我们也不知道。我们现在所了解的被称为标准模型。
In it, there are two types of fundamental particles:
标准模型中有两种基本粒子：
the fermions, that make up matter, and the bosons, that carry forces.
构成物质的费米子和传递作用力的玻色子。
We often order these particles according to their properties, such as mass.
这些例子可以按照一定性质排序，比如它们的质量。
We can measure the masses of the particles,
我们可以得到它们的质量，
but we never really knew where this mass came from or why they have the masses they do."
可我们却从不知道它们的质量从何而来，或者说它们为什么会有质量。”
"So how does this Higgs field thing explain mass?"
“那希格斯场为什么可以解释质量呢？”
"Well, when a particle passes through the Higgs field, it interacts and gets mass.
“一个粒子穿过希格斯场时会与场相互作用，从而获得质量。
The more it interacts, the more mass it has."
相互作用越频繁，获得的质量就越大。”
"OK, I kind of get that, but is it really that important? I mean, what if there were no Higgs field?"
“我有点懂了。但这发现有这么重要么？如果没有希格斯场会怎么样呢？”
"If there were no Higgs field, the world wouldn't exist at all.
“如果希格斯场不存在，那整个宇宙都不复存在。
There would be no stars, no planets, no air, no anything, not even that spoon or the ice cream you're eating."
没有星星，没有其它星球，没有大气，什么都没有，连你现在拿的勺子和吃的冰激淋都没有。”
"Oh, that would be bad. Okay, but where does this Higgs boson fit into things?"
"哎呀，那可不好。好吧，不过这希格斯玻色子又是干什么的呢？”
"Alright, now, you see the cherry in my shake?" "Can I have it?"
“这么说吧。看到我奶昔里的樱桃了么？” “是要给我么？”
"No, not yet. We have to use it as an analogy first."
“别激动。先拿他打个比方。”
"Oh, right, the cherry's the Higgs boson."
“那樱桃就相当于希格斯玻色子。”
"No, not quite. The cherry is a particle moving through the Higgs field, the shake.
“也不尽然。我们把奶昔看成希格斯场，樱桃是在希格斯场中穿行的粒子。
The shake gives the cherry its mass."
奶昔给了樱桃质量。”
"I get it. Okay, so the molecules of the shake are the Higgs bosons!"
“我懂了。所以奶昔里的分子就好比希格斯玻色子。”
"Well, you're getting closer. It takes an excitation of the Higgs field to produce the Higgs boson.
“差不多了。希格斯场中要产生希格斯玻色子，需要激发作用。
So, for example, if I were to add energy by, say, dropping this cherry in the shake,"
举个例子。比如我把樱桃扔进奶昔里，把这想象成向场中施加能量。”
"Ah, then the drops that spill on the bar are the Higgs bosons."
“啊，那落在吧台上的几滴奶昔就是希格斯玻色子了。”
"Almost! The splash itself is the Higgs boson." "Are you serious?"
“就差一点儿。应该说溅出来的水花本身才是希格斯玻色子。” “不会吧？”
"Well, that's what quantum mechanics teaches us. In fact, all particles are excitations of fields."
“量子力学的理论就是这么指导我们的。实际上，所有粒子都是从场中激发得到的。”
"Okay, right. Well, I kind of see why you like particle physics, it's quite cool, strange, but cool."
“啊，好吧。我有点明白你为什么喜欢粒子物理了，听上去的确挺炫，有点玄又很炫。”
"Yeah, you could call it a bit strange, it's not like everyday life.
“说玄也没错，的确和日常生活离得有些远。
The Higgs boson is an excitation of the Higgs field.
希格斯玻色子是希格斯场的一种激发态。
By finding the Higgs boson, we know that the Higgs field exists."
所以，通过发现希格斯玻色子，我们便证明了希格斯场的存在。”
"Right. So now you found it, we know this Higgs field exists. You must be done.
“好。现在你们探测到玻色子，证明了希格斯场的存在。大功告成了吧。
Is there anything left of particle physics?"
粒子物理还剩下什么未解之谜？”
"Actually, we've just begun. It's a bit like, you know, when Columbus thought he had found a new route to India.
“其实我们这才刚刚上路。这和当初哥伦布以为自己发现了去印度的新航线差不多。
He'd, indeed, found something new, but not quite what he was expecting.
他是有新发现，不过并不是他想要的。
So, first, we need to make sure that the boson we found is actually the Higgs boson.
所以第一步，我们需要证明我们发现的就是希格斯玻色子。
It seems to fit, but we need to measure its properties to be sure." "How'd you do that?"
表面看没什么问题，不过我们需要进一步观测其性质以最终确定。” “怎么观测？”
"Take a lot more data. This new boson lives for only a very short time before it breaks down or decays into lighter, more stable particles.
“这需要更多数据。新发现的粒子只能稳定存在极短时间，之后便会迅速分解，衰变成为更稳定、质量更小的粒子。
By measuring these particles, you learn about the properties of the boson."
通过观测这些更小的粒子，我们就可以了解玻色子的性质。”
"And what exactly are you looking for?"
“那你们需要观测什么”
"Well, the Standard Model predicts how often and in what ways the Higgs boson would decay to the various, lighter particles.
“标准模型预测了希格斯玻色子衰变为更轻、更小粒子的频率与方式。
So we want to see if the particle we have found is the one predicted by the Standard Model or if it fits into other possible theoretical models."
所以我们要观测我们发现的粒子的这些性质是否符合标准模型，或其他理论模型。”
"And if it fits a different model?"
“要是符合不同的模型呢？”
"That would be even more exciting! In fact, that's how science advances.
“那就更有意思了。科学只有这样才能进步。
We replace old models with new ones if they better explain our observations."
如果有新模型能对观测结果做出更好的解释，那我们就会用其替代现有模型。”
"Right, so it seems like finding this Higgs boson gives a direction for exploration, a bit like that Columbus guy heading west."
“嗯，所以发现希格斯玻色子奠定了下一步探索的基础，就好像哥伦布向西进发。”
"Exactly! And this is really just the beginning."
“正是如此！这才刚刚开始。”
