(单词翻译:单击)
There's been a lot of talk about starships over the last week or so.
过去一周里，星际飞船成了热门话题。
You know: exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new life, and all that.
无论是探索奇异的新世界还是寻找新生命等，都与星际飞船有关。
And all thanks to a new engine that's stumping scientists.
这都要归功于科学家发明的一种新发动机。
Back in 2015, Hank took a trip into the SciShow Space Debunker, where we explored the rumor that NASA had created an EM drive, or an electromagnetic drive.
回首2015年，汉克来到我们的节目，跟我们聊了聊一个传言的真假，即美国宇航局是否发明了电磁驱动器。
It's a propulsion system that doesn't need any propellant, and in theory, the technology could get you to Mars in only 70 days.
这是一个不需要任何推进物的推进系统。从理论上讲，该系统可以在短短70年间让人类登录火星。
Problem is, it also seems to violate the laws of physics.
但问题在于，该系统似乎违背了物理学原理。
Back then, other labs had created EM drives and reported that they generated a tiny amount of thrust, but nothing had been peer-reviewed.
那时候，其他实验室也发明了各种电磁驱动器，还对外宣称说他们的驱动器可以提供少许推力，但这些都未经过同行评审。
And there was no official report that NASA had made their own EM drive.
但还没有官方报告确认美国宇航局是否做出了自己的电磁驱动器。
But a year and a half later, it's official: NASA has actually created an EM drive.
但一年半后，官方证实称，美国宇航局已经制造出了电磁驱动器，
And it seems to work.
而且似乎还真有用。
The peer-reviewed paper, which was published last week in the AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power, comes from researchers at Eagleworks, a lab at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
这篇经过同行评审的论文于上周发表在美国航空航天学会的《推进与动力杂志》上。这篇文章是鹰工厂实验室的研究人员所作。该实验室隶属于美国宇航局约翰逊航天中心。
Instead of the usual rocket fuel, the EM drive works by bouncing microwaves back and forth in a cone-shaped chamber.
其制造的电磁驱动器一反使用火箭燃料的做法，而是通过在圆锥形的密闭空间中来回弹射微波来实现。
The waves start in the narrow end of the cone, and eventually generate thrust toward the wider end to move the spacecraft.
微波从圆锥较窄的那头出发，最后在较宽的那头产生推力，为航天器提供动能。
Which is really cool!
这就很酷了！
Except, according to Isaac Newton, it should also be impossible.
不过，艾萨克·牛顿肯定会认为这是不可能实现的。
Newton's Third Law of Motion says that every action has an equal and opposite reaction -- so when the microwaves hit the chamber, the chamber should push back, and the spacecraft shouldn't go anywhere.
因为根据牛顿第三定律，作用力与反作用力大小相等，方向相反——所以如果微波撞击了圆锥容器，那么圆锥容器会给它一个反作用力，其结果就是：航天器不会发生移动。
Right now, no one is actually sure why the EM drive works, but the researchers think it could have something to do with the pilot-wave theory of quantum mechanics.
目前，还没有人知道为何这个电磁驱动器会起作用，但有研究人员认为，这可能是跟量子力学的导航波理论有关。
According to the traditional, mainstream model of quantum mechanics, particles don't have a definite location until you observe them.
传统的主流量子力学理论认为，只有观测到的粒子才有确定的位置。
But according to pilot-wave theory, particles always have a definite location.
但导航波理论则认为，粒子始终有确定的位置。
It might sound simple, but it has a lot of weird implications -- like that vacuums, which are supposed to be empty, must be filled with some kind of quantum field.
这个听起来很简单，但其实有很多奇怪的引申含义——比如本应该是空无一物的真空空间里也充满了某种量子场。
There isn't much support for the theory, but if it is true, it would mean the microwaves in the EM drive could sort of bounce against the vacuum.
该理论尚无充分的证实，但如果该理论为真，那就意味着电磁驱动器中的微波与其中的真空发生了某种弹撞。
The force between the waves and the chamber wouldn't cancel out, so Newton's Third Law wouldn't be violated.
这样的话，微波和圆锥容器之间的相互作用力并没有相互抵消，所以也就没有违背牛顿第三定律。
If that sounds vague and complicated — well, it is.
听起来很模糊复杂吧？那是因为确实模糊复杂。
Even the NASA researchers aren't sure how it really works, and pilot-wave theory is just one idea.
即便是美国宇航局的研究人员也不是十分清楚这其中的机制，而且导航波理论也只是一个想法而已。
They have done tests to make sure nothing is interfering with the drive, though – like running it in a vacuum to make sure air molecules weren't getting in the way.
研究人员已经进行过测试，旨在确保驱动器不会受到干扰。测试的方法比如：在真空环境中运行驱动器，确保空气分子不会阻碍驱动器运转。
So, no one really knows what's going on, but it looks like the technology is legit.
所以，目前没有人知道其中的机制，但看起来这项技术似乎没有任何问题。
It still has a long way to go before it could possibly be useful, though.
不过，但在该技术得到应用之前，还有很长一段路要走。
Right now, the drive produces about 1.2 millinewtons per kilowatt of thrust.
目前，该驱动器12毫牛顿/千瓦推力。
Compare that to the Hall thruster, which accelerates ions to move spacecraft through deep space and is a serious contender for Mars missions.
对比后可以发现，霍尔推进器是该驱动器在入选火星之旅路上强劲的竞争对手。霍尔推进器是靠加速离子来推动航天器在深空飞行，
It generates about 60 millinewtons per kilowatt.
并可以产生60毫牛顿/千瓦推力。
So even though the EM drive is lighter and might be easier to manage, we'll need a much more efficient version before we can use it to zoom around the galaxy.
所以，即便电磁驱动器质量更轻，更易把控，但我们需要提高其功效，才能付诸实践。
Meanwhile, Elon Musk continues to make us all wonder if there's anything SpaceX can't do.
与此同时，伊隆·马斯克的举动也让大家惊奇太空探索技术公司真是无所不能。
In September, the company announced big plans to colonize Mars -- but while they're working on that, they'll also be trying to deliver satellite internet to the entire world.
9月，太空探索技术公司宣布几项殖民火星的重大计划——但在他们进行这几项计划期间，也在尝试为全世界提供卫星网络。
Last week, SpaceX filed an application with the United States Federal Communications Commission to launch 4,425 satellites into Earth's orbit for a global internet service.
上周，太空探索技术公司向联邦通信委员会提交申请，请求向地球轨道发射4425颗卫星，以提供全球网络服务。
And if you think that seems like a lot of satellites, you are right.
如果大家觉得这个数目惊人的话，那是因为——确实很惊人。
Right now, there are only around 7500 satellites in orbit, meaning SpaceX hopes to increase that number by 50% all by themselves.
目前，地球轨道上仅有大约7500颗卫星，也就是说，太空探索技术公司金凭一己之力就要将这个数目增加50%。
This puts SpaceX on a growing list of companies, like Facebook and OneWeb, that are trying to bring the internet to everyone on Earth -- including the billions of people who don't have access to the internet right now.
太空探索技术公司的期望与许多公司不谋而合，比如脸书和一网公司。这些公司都在努力将网络服务提供给地球上的每个人——包括很多连互联网都没机会接触的人。
With traditional internet, the signal travels along wires from your phone or cable provider to your modem.
在传统互联网的帮助下，信号可以通过电线从手机或者电网供应商那里传到调制解调器上。
Satellite internet, on the other hand, sends the signals between a dish on your roof, a satellite in orbit, and a larger dish at a ground station.
另一方面，卫星网络可以实现信号在屋顶天线、轨道卫星、地面卫星接收站更大的天线之间进行传播。
Satellite internet doesn't require any cable or phone networks, so it's great for rural communities, but it also takes a while for the signals to bounce back and forth.
卫星网络不需要电网，也不需要电话网络，所以这对于农村来说是一件好事。
Other companies are already providing satellite internet to some of the world, but SpaceX's network will be faster and more accessible.
还有一些公司已经在为一些地方提供卫星网络服务了，但太空探索技术公司的网速更快，更亲民便捷。
For one thing, their satellites will have much lower orbits -- around 1100 to 1325 kilometers, which will cut lag times down to 25 to 35 milliseconds since the signals don't have to travel as far.
一方面，他们的卫星轨道离地面更近——在1100-1325km之间，所以可以将延迟缩短25-35毫秒，因为信号传播距离变短了。
For comparison, the company HughesNet has satellites orbiting around 35,400 kilometers up with lag times of 600 milliseconds or more.
为了对比，这里举个休斯网络公司的例子：他们的卫星轨道在35400km左右，延迟不低于600毫秒。
The planned SpaceX network will be at least 17 times faster.
而太空探索技术公司计划实现的网速是这个网速的至少17倍。
SpaceX also promises download speeds up to 1 gigabit per second, which is 100 times faster than other networks, which offer around 10 megabits per second.
太空探索技术公司还承诺可以将下载速度提高到1千兆比特/秒，是其他网络速度的100倍，因为其他网速只有10兆位/秒。
If their application is approved, SpaceX will still have to build the satellites and ground stations, but satellites could potentially start launching as soon as 2019.
如果太空探索技术公司的申请得到审批，它还要先建造卫星和地面卫星接收站。不过，卫星可能2019年就能发射了。
Which means that pretty soon, a lot more people could have access to the internet — all thanks to a little rocket science.
也就是说，不久后，很多人就能有网可用了——这都要归功于航天器学。
Thank you for watching this episode of SciShow Space News, and special thanks to our patrons on Patreon!
感谢收看本期的《太空科学秀》，尤其要感谢我们的忠实观众们！
If you'd like to help us keep making episodes just like this, you can go to patreon.com/scishow.
如果大家想为我们的节目尽一份力的话，可以登录patreon.com/scishow。
And don't forget to go to youtube.com/scishowspace and subscribe!
不要忘记订阅youtube.com/scishowspace哦！
