EP209 | 🌌宇宙擴張，理所當然？諾貝爾獎得主顛覆迷思

李老師陪你探索英文世界 Exploring English with Ms. Lee

Adam Riess was just 27 when he began the research that would earn him the Nobel Prize in Physics, and only 41 when he received the honor. His groundbreaking (突破性的) work revealed that distant galaxies are receding (後退；遠離) faster than expected — a discovery that pointed to an accelerating (加速的) expansion of the universe. While Riess excelled (擅長) at making precise (精確的) astronomical observations, explaining this acceleration fell to theorists (理論學家), who proposed the existence of a mysterious (神祕的) force: dark energy (暗能量).
According to these theorists, dark energy is pushing galaxies apart at an increasing rate. Telescopes today can detect hundreds of billions of galaxies, but trillions (兆，萬億) of years from now, dark energy may drive them so far away that they become invisible (無法看見的). Eventually, the universe could end in a state of heat death — cold, dark, and lifeless. This vision forms the foundation of the “standard model of cosmology” (宇宙學標準模型).
However, in recent years, many cosmologists (宇宙學家) — including Riess himself — have begun to question this model. After winning the Nobel, Riess noticed a shift (轉變) in how others treated him. Some became reserved (拘謹的；內斂的); others argued over minor (微小的；不重要的) issues. But instead of stepping back into administrative (行政的) roles or a speaking tour, Riess stayed focused on research. Using data from the Hubble Telescope, he developed more accurate (準確的) methods for measuring cosmic distances.
The more he refined (精煉；改進) his calculations, the more he noticed inconsistencies (不一致). New data suggested that dark energy may have been stronger in the early universe but has since weakened (減弱) — possibly losing much of its force several billion years ago. If this trend is confirmed (證實), it would upend (顛覆) the current understanding of cosmic expansion. Rather than expanding forever, the universe might eventually slow down and settle into a static (靜止的) state. In that case, intelligent life could persist (持續存在) far longer than previously believed.
As a scientist committed to be deferential (尊重的；順從的) to the data, Riess is energized (被激勵的) by the possibility that the standard model could be wrong. Cosmology, once seemingly settled (塵埃落定的；穩定的), is now alive with debate (爭論) — and a new vision of the universe may be just over the horizon.
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