Earth and Weather · 地球與天氣
Earth and Weather 地球與天氣
Taiwan sits where two great plates meet and where typhoons pass in summer. Why does the ground shake? Where does the rain come from? Look inside the Earth, up into the sky, and down a river to the sea.
台灣坐落在兩大板塊相接的地方，夏天又有颱風經過。地為什麼會搖？雨是從哪裡來的？往地球裡面看、往天空看，再順著河流一路看到海。
Every lesson starts with something you have lived through: an earthquake alert on your phone, a typhoon day, a sudden afternoon storm. A 3D model shows what is going on, one idea at a time, and an English reading explains it, with Chinese a tap away.
每一課都從你親身經歷過的事開始：手機上的地震警報、颱風天、突然下起來的午後雷陣雨。先用 3D 模型看清楚發生了什麼事，一課只講一個道理；再讀一篇英文短文把它說明白，中文翻譯隨點隨看。
The lessons are grouped into four units: the ground beneath us, the sky above, water and the sea, and a changing Earth. When a lesson touches something already explained in Astronomy or How Things Work, such as the seasons, the tides, or rainbows, it links there instead of explaining it twice.
課程分成四個單元：腳下的地、頭上的天、水與海、變動中的地球。遇到「天文教育」或「萬物原理」已經講過的東西，例如四季、潮汐、彩虹，就直接連過去，不重講一次。
Every number is checked against a source listed at the bottom of each lesson, starting with Taiwan's own Central Weather Administration. What to do in an earthquake, a typhoon, or a thunderstorm follows official guidance only.
每一個數字都查證過，出處列在每課最下方，並且優先採用中央氣象署的資料。地震、颱風、打雷時該怎麼做，一律只照官方的說明。
16 of 16 lessons are ready so far; more are on the way.
目前完成 16 課（共規劃 16 課），持續增加中。
Unit 1 · 單元一
The Ground Beneath Us 腳下的地
What is inside the Earth, why Taiwan shakes, how its mountains rose, and how a volcano erupts.
地球裡面有什麼、台灣為什麼會搖、山是怎麼升起來的，以及火山怎麼噴發。
What Is Inside the Earth?
地球裡面有什麼？The deepest hole people have ever drilled is about 12 kilometers deep. The center of the Earth is 6,371 kilometers down. So how do we know what is in between? Cut the Earth in half in 3D, travel down through its four layers, and see how earthquake waves show us what no one has ever seen.人類鑽過最深的洞，大約 12 公里深。地球的中心在 6,371 公里底下。那麼中間有什麼，我們是怎麼知道的？在 3D 裡把地球切成兩半，一路往下穿過四層，再看看地震波怎麼讓我們「看見」從來沒有人看過的地方。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →Why Does Taiwan Have So Many Earthquakes?
台灣為什麼地震這麼多？Taiwan records about 40,000 earthquakes a year, and people can feel about 1,000 of them. Why here? In a 3D model, watch one plate push against another until a stuck fault suddenly slips. Then find out why your phone can ring a few seconds before the shaking starts.台灣每年大約測到四萬次地震，其中人感覺得到的大約有一千次。為什麼偏偏是這裡？在 3D 模型裡，看一塊板塊推著另一塊，直到卡住的斷層突然滑動。再來看看，手機為什麼能在開始搖之前幾秒就響起來。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →What Is the Difference Between Magnitude and Intensity?
規模和震度有什麼不同？After every earthquake, the report gives two kinds of numbers: one magnitude, and a different intensity for every town. Which one tells you how big the earthquake was, and which one tells you how hard your house shook? On a 3D map of Taiwan, change the magnitude and the depth of an earthquake and watch ten cities respond.每次地震之後，報告上都有兩種數字：一個規模，還有每個鄉鎮各不相同的震度。哪一個是在說地震有多大？哪一個是在說你家搖得多厲害？在台灣的 3D 地圖上，改變一個地震的規模和深度，看十個城市怎麼反應。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →How Did Taiwan's Mountains Rise?
台灣的山是怎麼來的？Taiwan has 268 peaks higher than 3,000 meters, on an island you can drive across in a few hours. Where did they come from? In a 3D model, watch the push of a plate squeeze the seabed into mountains while rain and rivers wear them down. Then work out how tall the mountains would be if nothing ever wore them away.台灣有 268 座超過 3,000 公尺的高山，而這座島開車幾個小時就能橫越。這些山是從哪裡來的？在 3D 模型裡，看板塊的推力把海底擠成高山，雨水和河流又把山削下來。再算算看：如果從來沒有東西把山削掉，它們會有多高？Start the lesson · 開始上課 →How Does a Volcano Erupt?
火山怎麼噴發？Some volcanoes pour out rivers of glowing lava. Others blow their tops off in a cloud of ash. What makes the difference? Cut a volcano open in 3D, choose what the magma is like and how much gas it holds, and watch four kinds of eruption. Then see why a bubble rising from deep underground grows hundreds of times bigger.有些火山流出一條條發亮的熔岩河，有些卻把山頂整個炸開，噴出一大團火山灰。差別在哪裡？在 3D 裡把火山切開，選一選岩漿是稀是黏、裡面有多少氣體，看四種不同的噴發。再看看，為什麼從地底深處升上來的氣泡會變大好幾百倍。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →Unit 2 · 單元二
The Sky Above 頭上的天
Where rain and wind come from, how a typhoon grows, what lightning is, and how a forecast is made.
雨和風是從哪裡來的、颱風怎麼長大、閃電是什麼，以及天氣預報是怎麼做出來的。
Why Does It Rain?
為什麼會下雨？The water that falls on your umbrella was in the sea not long ago. How did it get into the sky, and why does it fall on one side of a mountain and not the other? In a 3D model, send moist air from the sea up a mountain, watch a cloud form, and find the hot, dry wind on the far side. Then work out how much water one storm really brings.落在你雨傘上的水，不久之前還在海裡。它是怎麼跑到天上去的？又為什麼只下在山的這一邊，不下在另一邊？在 3D 模型裡，把海上來的潮溼空氣送上一座山，看雲怎麼形成，再找找山的另一邊那股又乾又熱的風。最後算算看，一場雨到底帶來多少水。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →Why Does the Wind Blow?
風是怎麼來的？You cannot see the wind, but you can feel it push. Where does it come from, and why does it change direction between day and night? In a 3D model of a coast, move the clock and watch the sea breeze turn into a land breeze. Then move the calendar and watch the same thing happen across a whole year. Last, learn to tell the strength of the wind just by looking at the trees.風看不見，可是你感覺得到它在推你。它是從哪裡來的？為什麼白天和晚上的風向會不一樣？在一個海岸的 3D 模型裡，撥動時鐘，看海風怎麼變成陸風；再撥動月曆，看同一件事怎麼在一整年裡發生。最後，學會只看樹就說出現在是幾級風。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →How Does a Typhoon Form?
颱風是怎麼形成的？A typhoon can be hundreds of kilometers wide, yet it starts as nothing more than warm, wet air rising from the sea. In a 3D model, watch a loose patch of cloud grow into a spinning storm with an eye in the middle. Cut it open to see where the air goes, then move it over land and watch what happens. Last, follow the eye of a typhoon as it passes right over your town.颱風可以有好幾百公里寬，可是它一開始只不過是從海面上升的暖溼空氣。在 3D 模型裡，看一團鬆散的雲怎麼長成一個旋轉的風暴，中間還有一個眼。把它剖開，看看空氣往哪裡走；再把它移到陸地上，看看會發生什麼事。最後，跟著颱風眼，看它從你住的地方正上方通過。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →What Are Lightning and Thunder?
閃電和打雷是怎麼回事？A flash, a pause, and then a boom that shakes the windows. What is that light, what makes the noise, and why does the noise always come late? In a 3D model, watch a thundercloud fill with electric charge and let it go, then follow the sound as it travels to your house in real time. Last, learn to tell how far away a storm is by counting.一道閃光，停了一下，然後是震得窗戶都在抖的一聲巨響。那道光是什麼？聲音是什麼東西發出來的？為什麼聲音總是比較晚到？在 3D 模型裡，看一朵雷雨雲怎麼充滿電、又怎麼把電放掉，再跟著聲音，看它用真實的速度傳到你家。最後，學會用數數的方法，知道雷雨離你多遠。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →How Do We Forecast the Weather?
天氣預報是怎麼做出來的？The forecast says there is a 70% chance of rain tomorrow. Where does that number come from, and what does it really mean? In a 3D model, send a band of rain toward a small town and run the forecast once, then ten times. Watch the ten answers drift apart as you look further into the future. Then learn the exact words that forecasters in Taiwan use for the sky.氣象預報說明天的降雨機率是 70%。這個數字是怎麼來的？它到底是什麼意思？在 3D 模型裡，讓一條雨帶移向一個小鎮，先把預報算一次，再算十次。看得越遠，十次的答案就分得越開。最後，學會台灣的預報員描述天空時用的那幾個詞。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →Unit 3 · 單元三
Water and the Sea 水與海
How rivers carry mountains to the sea, what makes a tsunami different, and why the sea is salty.
河流怎麼把山搬到海裡、海嘯哪裡不一樣，以及海水為什麼是鹹的。
How Do Rivers Shape the Land?
河流怎麼改變大地？A river does not only carry water. It carries the mountains away, one grain at a time, and builds new land with the pieces. In a 3D model, follow gravel, sand, and mud down a river from the mountains to the sea, and watch a valley grow deeper and a plain grow higher. Then find out why the longest river in Taiwan is always the color of milk tea.河流帶走的不只是水。它把山一粒一粒地搬走，再用這些碎屑造出新的土地。在 3D 模型裡，跟著礫石、沙和泥，順著一條河從山上一路走到海裡，看山谷怎麼越切越深、平原怎麼越墊越高。最後找出答案：台灣最長的河，為什麼永遠是奶茶的顏色？Start the lesson · 開始上課 →How Is a Tsunami Different from an Ordinary Wave?
海嘯和一般的海浪有什麼不同？The waves at the beach come and go all day and do no harm. A tsunami is something else. Out at sea it is so low that a ship may not notice it, yet it crosses the ocean as fast as a jet. In a 3D cutaway of the sea, compare the two kinds of waves, and follow a tsunami from deep water to the shore as it slows down and rises. Then learn the signs that tell you to move to high ground at once.海邊的浪整天來來去去，不會傷人。海嘯卻是完全不同的東西。它在外海矮到船上的人可能根本沒發現，卻用噴射機的速度橫越大洋。在海的 3D 剖面裡，比一比這兩種浪，再跟著一道海嘯從深海走到岸邊，看它怎麼變慢、變高。最後，學會哪些徵兆是在告訴你：馬上往高處走。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →Why Is the Sea Salty?
海水為什麼是鹹的？Rain is not salty. Rivers are not salty. Yet all the rivers in the world run into the sea, and the sea is very salty. Where does the salt come from? In a 3D model, follow water as it goes around and around, and watch what happens to the salt it carries. Then work out how much salt is hiding in a bucket of seawater, and visit the old salt fields of Lukang.雨水不鹹，河水也不鹹。可是全世界的河都流進海裡，海水卻非常鹹。鹽是從哪裡來的？在 3D 模型裡，跟著水一圈一圈地繞，看看它帶著的鹽後來怎麼了。然後算一算一桶海水裡藏了多少鹽，再去看看鹿港以前的鹽田。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →Unit 4 · 單元四
A Changing Earth 變動中的地球
How fossils form, how we know the age of the Earth, and what the greenhouse effect is.
化石是怎麼形成的、我們怎麼知道地球幾歲，以及溫室效應是什麼。