第14部分(第1/7 頁)

〃Yes。。。〃

〃So；〃　Ted　said；　〃space　is　curved　by　gravity。〃

〃Okay。〃

〃And　that　means　that　you　can　think　of　gravity　as　nothing　more　than　the　curvature　of　space。　The　Earth　has　gravity　because　the　Earth　curves　the　space　around　it。〃

〃Okay。〃

〃Except　it's　not　that　simple；〃　Ted　said。

Norman　sighed。　〃I　didn't　think　it　would　be。〃

Harry　came　back　into　the　room；　looked　at　the　fruit　on　the　table；　but　said　nothing。

〃Now；〃　Ted　said；　〃when　you　roll　your　ball　bearing　across　the　bowl；　you　notice　that　it　not　only　spirals　down；　but　it　also　goes　faster；　right？〃

〃Yes。〃

〃Now；　when　an　object　goes　faster；　time　on　that　object　passes　slower。　Einstein　proved　that　early　in　the　century。　What　it　means　is　that　you　can　think　of　the　curvature　of　space　as　also　representing　a　curvature　of　time。　The　deeper　the　curve　in　the　bowl；　the　slower　time　passes。〃

Harry　said；　〃Well　。。。〃

〃Layman's　terms；〃　Ted　said。　〃Give　the　guy　a　break。〃

〃Yeah；〃　Norman　said；　〃give　the　guy　a　break。〃

Ted　held　up　the　bowl。　〃Now；　if　you're　doing　all　this　mathematically；　what　you　find　is　that　the　curved　bowl　is　neither　space　nor　time；　but　the　bination　of　both；　which　is　called＇＇87＇＇　space…time。　This　bowl　is　space…time；　and　objects　moving　on　it　are　moving　in　space…time。　We　don't　think　about　movement　that　way；　but　that's　really　what's　happening。〃

〃It　is？〃

〃Sure。　Take　baseball。〃

〃Idiot　game；〃　Harry　said。　〃I　hate　games。〃

〃You　know　baseball？〃　Ted　said　to　Norman。

〃Yes；〃　Norman　said。

〃Okay。　Imagine　the　batter　hits　a　line　drive　to　the　center　fielder。　The　ball　goes　almost　straight　out　and　takes；　say；　half　a　second。〃

〃Right。〃

〃Now　imagine　the　batter　hits　a　high　pop　fly　to　the　same　center　fielder。　Th