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A cosmic constant known as the ‘golden ratio’ is said to be found in the shape of hurricanes, elephant tusks and even in galaxies.
据悉，在飓风的漩涡形状、大象的长牙甚至星系中都可以发现那个被称为“黄金分割率”的宇宙常数。
Now researchers say this ratio is also seen in the topology of space-time, affecting the entire universe as a whole.
现在，研究人员表示，这一比率也可在时空的拓扑结构中发现，影响着整个宇宙。
And they say this number can be used to link everything in the universe together, from space-time to chemistry to biology.
他们同时谈到，这个比率可用于将宇宙中的一切事物联系到一起，从时空到化学，再到生物。
The research was carried out by Dr Jan Boeyens at the University of Pretoria and Dr Francis Thackeray of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
该研究是由南非比勒陀利亚大学的扬·布因思博士和威特沃特斯兰德大学的弗朗西斯·萨克里博士共同完成的。
They say the golden ratio - 1.618 - can be seen ‘related not only to aspects of mathematics but also to physics, chemistry, biology and the topology of space-time.’
他们说，可以看出黄金分割率——1.618“不仅与数学方面有关，还与物理、化学、生物和时空的拓扑结构有关”。
And it may dictate how certain things in the universe take shape.
而且这一比率可能决定了宇宙中特定事物的成形。
The golden ratio, represented by the Greek letter 'phi', is said to be a mathematical connection between two aspects of an object.
据称，黄金分割率，用希腊字母Φ表示，是一个物体的两个方面之间的数学联系。
It can be artificially used – for example, some 20th century artists used it for the rectangular shape of their portraits from the long side to the short side.
这一比率可被人为地利用：比如一些20世纪的艺术家用它来决定矩形肖像画的长边和短边的边长。
They believed that the ratio created an aesthetically pleasing appearance.
他们相信，这种比率创造一个美观的外观。
But the ratio is not just artificially created – it is apparently found through nature in the stems of plants, skeletons of animals and so on.
但是这个比率并不仅仅是人为创造的，很显然，在大自然中也可以发现这一比率，包括植物的茎和动物的骨架等等。
And the shape of spirals also seem to follow the golden ratio. This suggests that geometric shapes in the universe ultimately succumb to this mathematical property.
而且，螺旋的形状也符合黄金分割率。这表明，宇宙中的几何形状最终还是屈服于这个数学属性。
‘A convincing case for assuming a cosmic character of the golden ratio can be made based on the ubiquity of logarithmic spirals,’ the researchers write.
研究人员写到：“假定黄金分割率具有宇宙属性，最具说服力的例子是无处不在的对数螺线。”
‘Spectacular examples include the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51), ammonites, the shape of Nautilus shells, Hurricane Katrina and the distribution of planets, moons, asteroids and rings in the solar system.
’突出的例子有漩涡星系（M51）、菊石、鹦鹉螺贝壳、卡特里娜飓风以及太阳系中行星、卫星、小行星和行星环的分布。
The researchers suggest that the reason that this ratio is so ubiquitous is that it is actually a property of space-time.
研究人员称，黄金分割率之所以无处不在，是因为它是一个时空特性。
‘The argument that this amazing consilience (self-similarity) arises from a common environmental constraint, which can only be an intrinsic feature of curved space-time, is compelling,’ they write.
他们写到：“这一惊人的契合（自相似性）源自一个常见的环境限制，即这只能是弯曲时空的固有特性。这个论点令人信服。”
‘The time has come to recognise that relativity and quantum theories can be integrated, and linked numerically to the value of a mathematical constant - whether in the context of space-time or biology’
“时代变迁，现在，我们应该认识到相对论和量子论可以相结合，并且在数值上与一个数学常量的值相联系，不论是在时空还是在生物学的背景下。”
Why the universe follows this rule, however, is not known.
但是，我们还不知道为什么宇宙遵循这个规律。
Some think that our fine-tuned universe is simply a lucky coincidence and, under the multiverse theory, there are an infinite number of other universes that were not quite so lucky.
一些人认为我们的这个“微调过的宇宙”只是天缘巧合，根据多重宇宙论，还有无数个宇宙就没有这么幸运了。
