睿丁君导读：有人说，有些观念可能是先验的，比如时空观。人们喜欢探索空间，所以有太空梦。俄罗斯企业家丹尼斯·蒂托就曾自费遨游太空，无数的电影作品也在探讨着太空的奇妙之处。那么我们在了解的同时，对太空旅行产生了哪些有趣的误解呢？一位毕业于斯坦福大学的游戏设计顾问，作家和教授——Ernest W. Adams 欧内斯特·亚当斯，简单描述和解释了普通人对太空旅行的误解，下面是双语正文，别忘了学英语：

Science fiction has promoted a ton of misconceptions.

科幻小说已经引发了大量的误解。

Space is really, really big. A lot of people seem to think that going to Mars would be a lot like going to the moon, just a little longer. It's much, much longer and different in many ways. Going to the moon was a week-long camping trip, during which you’re willing to put up with the lack of toilets and laundry and the limited food options. Going to Mars is more like Magellan’s voyage around the world in contrast.

空间真的很大。很多人似乎认为去火星很像去月球，只是稍微远一点。它耗时更长，在很多方面有区别。如果说去月球是一个为期一周的野营旅行，在此期间你愿意忍受厕所和洗衣房的缺乏以及有限的食物选择。相比之下，去火星更像是麦哲伦的环球之旅。

Interstellar travel is not going to happen in our lifetimes and may never happen at all. We know of no technology that would permit it. The “Alcubierre drive” is a fantasy that violates the laws of physics. The em drive is just a very weak thruster—if it works at all. And the farther you get from the sun, the more you need a self-contained power source. But one that lasts for generations?

星际旅行在我们的有生之年不会发生，也可能永远不会发生。我们知道没有任何技术可以支持它。“Alcubierre drive”（阿库别瑞引擎，米给尔·阿库别瑞提出的）是一个违反物理定律的幻想（睿丁君：Alcubierre drive如下图，如果你可以创造以这种特殊方式扭曲的空间，你可以坐在你的宇宙飞船内部，并以比光更快的速度移动你周围的空间，这样看起来你的行进速度比光快）。电磁驱动器只是一个非常弱的推进器——如果它能工作的话。离太阳越远，就越需要一个独立的能源。但它能持续几代人的时间吗?

Alcubierre drive，允许时间空间扭曲

Low Earth orbit is a whole other thing from deep space. You don't need nearly as much radiation protection, because you’re within the Earth’s magnetosphere. In deep space a solar flare can kill you. There are theoretical ways to beat this, but none of them have been tried.

近地轨道是来自于深空的另一种东西。你不需要那么多的辐射保护，因为你在地球的磁层中。在太空深处，太阳耀斑可以杀死你。有一些理论上的方法可以克服这个问题，但是没有一个方法是可行的。

Microgravity is bad for you. You can recover from it with time, but you need to be back in gravity to do so. It's not only the bone loss. Throwing off all that calcium gives you kidney stones. It messes with your eyesight. It messes with your metabolism. Even exercising two and a half hours a day, you still experience muscle atrophy.

微重力对你有害。你可以随时间恢复，但你需要回到重力状态。不仅仅是骨质流失得问题。钙的流失会导致肾结石。微重力还会影响你的视力。还会影响你的新陈代谢。即使每天锻炼两个半小时，你仍然会肌肉萎缩。

左边是微重力下的火苗

You need a huge centrifuge to simulate 1G if it's not going to turn so fast that it makes you dizzy. Huge like the one in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

你需要一个巨大的离心机来模拟重力加速度g，如果它的转速不会快到让你头晕的话。就像《2001：太空漫游》。

2001：太空漫游，科幻小说改编的经典电影

You can't get into space with a gun or a catapult. You need steady acceleration all the way up, and that means taking your engine and fuel with you. Orbital velocity is fast—8 km/sec or so. A gun that could achieve that would squash anything inside to jelly.

你不能用枪或弹弓进入太空。你需要稳定的加速度，这意味着你要带上引擎和燃料。轨道速度接近8千米/秒左右。这是一把可以把里面的东西挤成果冻的枪。

Space suits are difficult and uncomfortable to use, and you can't get into or out of one by yourself.

宇航服使用起来很困难也很不舒服，你无法一个人穿上或脱下。

You can't get to the speed of light no matter how hard you wish for it. You can't even get close. And if you did get close, your ship would be abraded away to nothing by interstellar dust.

你不可能达到光速，无论你多么渴望。你甚至无法接近光速。如果你接近光速，你的飞船就会被星际尘埃所磨损。