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We know this because in 1982
我们知道这些，是因为在1982年
a group of scientists including myself
包括我在内的一群科学家
spent three solid weeks working it out.
花了整整三周的时间才将此一探究竟
Although the calculations were hard,
尽管计算过程繁复
demonstrating what we discovered is easy.
但证明我们的发现却很简单
First, I need a nice flat floor like this one, for example.
首先，我需要一块像这样的水平地板
This is the dining room in my college.
这里是我所在大学的餐厅
I'm going to fill the place with lots and lots of ball bearings.
我将用无以计数的钢珠覆盖地面
These balls represent the matter of the early universe,
这些钢珠代表着早期宇宙中的物质
a thin gas spread out evenly across the vast cosmos.
即均匀扩散到广袤宇宙之中的稀薄气体
Here's where luck comes in.
这时，好运来了
If they are all the same distance apart,
如果他们彼此间距离相同
gravity pulls each ball
每个钢珠在所有方向上
the same amount in all directions.
受到的万有引力大小是相同的
They stay perfectly aligned
它们会相当均衡地排列开来
and precisely nothing happens.
什么都不会发生
Fortunately, one of the basic rules of the universe
幸运的是，宇宙基本规则之一便是
is that nothing's perfect.
万物皆不完美
Perfection simply doesn't exist.
世间不存在十全十美
The early universe had a tiny unevenness
早期宇宙存在着微小的不平衡
that can be simulated by removing just five ball bearings.
仅移走五颗钢珠就能再现情景
It may not look like much has changed,
变化看似不足为奇
but to gravity,
但对于万有引力来说
those missing balls create a giant opportunity.
这些缺失的钢珠却创造出了巨大的机会
Gravity now pulls more strongly on one side of some of the bearings.
引力在某一方向上作用更强
The tiny irregularities in the sea of ball bearings
无数钢珠中微小的不规则
have given gravity something to sink its teeth into.
给了万有引力发挥作用的机会
And this is exactly what happened back where we left the young universe.
这正是刚才讲到的年轻的宇宙所发生的事
Parts of the sea of early gas were ever so slightly thinner than others.
部分早期的雾气要比其他部分略微稀薄一些
The less dense areas were like the gaps between the ball bearings.
较为稀疏的区域就像是钢珠之间的空隙
The denser parts of the sea of gas
较为密集的雾气部分
where gravity was having its way clumped together.
则在万有引力作用下凝聚在一起
And it was in these areas
也正是在这些区域里
that all the stars and galaxies would fall.
才汇聚成所有的恒星和星系
