We know that time in some sense is at rock bottom that which allows change to take place, right.
我们知道 从某种意义上来说 处于最低点状态的时间能够变化发生，对吧
When we say that time has elapsed we notice that because things now are different from how they were a little while ago.
当我们说时光已逝时，我们之所以能够觉察到它，是因为我们发现现在的事物与他们先前的状态有所不同了
That’s what we mean by time elapsing.
这就是为什么我们说时光不再原因。
But is time some fundamental quality of reality
但是时间真的是现实的基本本质吗
or is it something that our brains impose on our perceptions to organize our experience into some coherent framework that allows us to survive?
还是我们的大脑臆想出来的幻象。这些幻象能够使我们将经验组织为一个连贯的框架 以便我们更好生存下来
I mean I can well imagine that we have been under evolutionary pressure over the millennia
我的意思是我能想象到我们在千年的进化压力下

to organize perception so that we can survive, get the next meal, plan for the future.
去形成我们的认知 以便我们能够存活下去 吃下一顿饭 计划未来
All of that would seemingly require that we have a conception of time that we apply to
所有这一切似乎都需要我们有一个时间的概念 然后我们能够将时间的概念应用于
what we experience out there.
我们所经历的一切
But that doesn’t mean time as we experience it is real.
但是这并不意味着我们所经历的时间是真实存在的
It doesn’t mean that time as we experience is how the world is actually structured.
这并不意味着 我们所经历的时间就是这个世界被构建的过程
I mean there are many ideas that people put forward.
我的意思是说人们对此提出了很多想法
The possibility for instance that, you know, we all know that matter is made of molecules and atoms.
比如说人们可能提出这样的想法 我们都知道 物质是由分子和原子构成的
Could it be that time is also made of some kind of ingredient?
有没有可能时间也是由某种成分构成的呢
A molecule of time? An atom of time?
我们可以称之为时间分子 或是时间原子
Is that really what time is at fundamental level and
时间最基本的组成真的是那样的吗
what if it had one of these ingredients in time you can stitch you in time all by itself
如果时间的一个元素能够自己对号入座
will there be any hint of time as we experienced all
那时间会有什么暗示吗
during many of these ingredients in order to fill out time as we know it
当我们在那些时间元素里经历一切 为了填满所知道的时间
I mean to find hint to do a molecule of age to all
我是指找到一个暗示
you wouldn't know that is wet that can
你不会知道那是不是
right mean the ingredient doesn't necessarily bare a direct relationship to the microscopic a merging qualities
也就是指时间原材不必基于与微观合并质量的直接关系
that many of those ingredient want put together we're yelled ,like your glass of water.
许多时间元素就像我们希望的聚集在一起 像一杯水一样
Time could be the same thing, there might be ingredient of time that bare no resembling the time we experienced
时间也可以这样 可能一些时间元素和我们经历的时间完全不同
and yet that might be the more fundamental way the time is injected into the make up of proprietary
那也可能是时间被注入集合体的更为基本的方式
Time travel is absolutely possible.
时间旅行绝对是有可能的
And this is not some sort of weird sci-fi thing that I’m talking about here.
现在我谈论的绝对不是某种奇怪的科幻小说类的事物
Albert Einstein taught us more than 100 years ago that time travel is possible if you’re

100多年以前 爱因斯坦就告诉过我们时间旅行是有可能的
focusing upon time travel to the future.
当你指的是通往未来的时间旅行
And I’m not referring to the silly thing that we all age, right.
当然 我并不是指人人都会随着时间变老这件事
We’re all going into the future.
我们都在走向未来
Sure, I’m talking about if you wanted to leapfrog into the future, if you wanted to
当然 我说的是如果你想跳跃到未来的某个时间
see what the Earth will be like a million years from now, Albert Einstein told us how to do that.
看看一百万年后地球会将会变成什么样子 爱因斯坦告诉我们如何去做
In fact he told us two ways of how to do it.
事实上他告诉了我们两种方法
You can build a spaceship, go out into space near the speed of light, turn around and come back.
一是你可以造一艘宇宙飞船 以接近光速的速度进入太空 转个身然后回来
Imagine you go out for six months and you turn around and you come back for six months.
想象一下 你去了六个月 然后一转身 然后你回来也需要六个月的时间。
You will be one year older.
这时候你就会发现你老了一岁
But he taught us that your time is elapsing much slower than time back on Earth.
但他告诉我们 你的时间流逝地在地球上慢得多
So when you step out of your ship you’re one year older but Earth has gone through many, many years.
所以当你走出你的飞船 你只是老了一岁 然而地球上已经过去了很多很多年
It can have gone through 10,000, 100,000 or a million years depending on how close to
它可能过去了一万年 十年或者是一百万年 这取决于你的速度
the speed of light you traveled.
和你旅行时的光速
the speed of light you traveled.
和你旅行时的光速
And he also taught us if you go and hang out near the edge of a black hole
他还告诉我们 如果你去黑洞边缘附近闲逛
time again will elapse more slowly for you at the edge of the black hole than back on Earth.
对你来说 在黑洞边缘的时间流逝得比在地球上更慢
So you hang out there for a while, you come back and again you get out of your ship and
所以你在那里逗留一会 返回地球 再次走出你的飞船
it will be any number of years into the future, whatever you want all depending on how close
你能够到未来的任何时间，你想到哪段时间取决于
you got to the edge of the black hole and how long you hung out there.
你离黑洞边缘有多近和你在那里逗留了有多久
That is time travel to the future.
这就是到未来的时间旅行
Now of course what people really want to know about is getting back.
当然 现在人们真正想知道的是如何回到过去
Can you travel back to the past?
那么你能够穿越到过去吗？
I don’t think so.
我认为不是这样的。
We don’t know for sure.
我们都无法确定。
No one has given a definitive proof that you can’t travel to the past.
没有人给出一个明确的证据表明你不能穿越到过去
In fact, some very reputable scientists have suggested ways that you might travel to the past.
事实上 一些非常有声望的科学家已经提出了你可能穿越到过去的方法
But every time we look at the proposals and detail it seems kind of clear that they’re
但每次当我们看这些建议和细节时 似乎清楚地知道
right at the edge of the known laws of physics.
他们正处于已知物理定律的边缘
And most of us feel that when physics progresses to a point that we understand things even
我们大家都能感觉到 当物理学发展到一定阶段，我们能够更好地理解事物的时候
better, these proposals just will be ruled out, they won’t work.
我们会将这些建议都剔除掉，因为我们知道他们不会奏效
But I guess I would say there’s a long shot possibility based on what we know today that
但是我想我要说的是 这是个基于我们目前所知的概率极低的可能性
time travel to the past might be possible.
即穿越回去的时间旅行或许可行
But most of us wouldn’t bet our life on it.
而我们大多数人是不会拿我们的生命做赌注的