引力的幻象

引力的幻象
The Illusion of Gravity
Chris Kaplan
7-15-10 •
Erik Verlinde, a string theorist and professor of physics at the University of Amsterdam, is shaking the giant box of contemporary science, jumbling what we think we know by declaring that gravity is just an illusion.
一位阿姆斯特丹大學的弦理論家和物理學教授埃里克弗林德，動搖當代科學的巨型盒子，使我們以為我們知道的混亂，他宣佈重力衹是一種幻象。
Gravity, according to Verlinde, is a microcosmic byproduct of a larger entropic force, which is just one refracted face of a larger field of illusion, much like the Hindu Maya. In physics, entropy and entropic force are determined by the overall effect--the entire landscape--and not by one microscopic path. Verlinde references the standard example in physics of a polymer molecule. "a strand of DNA…curling up." A strand is unique because it offers only one possibility out of the whole realm of possibilities. But due to the infinite nature of outside influences in a macrocosmic entirety, the results are far more probable that the force will cause the "object" to curl and accumulate higher entropic force, like an absorbed sponge or coiled spring.
根據弗林德，引力是一種更大熵力的微觀副產品，它只是幻象的更大領域的一個折射面，很像印度教瑪雅。在物理學中，熵和熵力取決於整體效果 -- 整個景觀 -- 而不是被一條微觀途徑。弗林德引用物理學的標準例子如聚合物分子。 “DNA的一鏈 ...蜷曲。”一鏈是獨一無二的因為它出於整個可能性的領域僅提供一種可能性。但在一個宏觀的整體，由於外界影響的無限本質，結果是遠更可能那力量會導致“物體”捲曲和積累更高的熵力，像一件吸飽的海綿或螺旋的彈簧。
And that is where the effects of "gravity" come in: gravity is not just one direct acting force onto a particular object, an A>B scenario, but rather the notion of "gravity" is an accumulation of macrocosmic influences, where the law of averages create the propensity for acting entropic force.
和那正是“重力”的影響所在：重力不只是一種直接的臨時力至一件特定的物體上，一項甲>乙的方案，但相反“重力”的觀念是一個宏觀影響的積累，在那平均的法規創造為臨時熵力的傾向。
According to Verlinde, nature likes options. All of its intimate workings thrive on diversity, and all of the microcosmic elements that build the macrocosm, create a harmonious tension that balances with such entropic force. When something wants to act against the spiraling realm of such cyclical energies, it takes a higher force to shape through all of the diversity to one unique object. Verlinde used the example of frizzing hair to explain such a feat. There are more options for strands of hair to curl than to be straight, and it requires a greater number of factors and energy for the hair to be pulled straight.

If true, maybe defying gravity will only be a matter of finding the right frequency of vibrations, the one path that cuts through all the entropic force.

Dr. Verlinde's paper has raised a lot of of criticism, and a lot of support, but it has definitely raised eyebrows. Even if his theories prove to be unfounded, his ideas already helped to reinvigorate the scientific community, proving that conflict does indeed propel the story.

Image: "Anti-gravity" by tukat on Flickr courtesy of Creative Commons Licensing.
http://www.realitysandwich.com/illusionary_story_gravity