Blockchainexplainedin1000words千字解析區塊鏈

Has trying to understand blockchain ever left you dazed and confused? Sick ofhearing nonsense like SHA256 algorithms and byzantine fault tolerance? Just want to know what the hell blockchain is and why people keep talking about it?

試圖瞭解區塊鏈有沒有讓您迷茫和困惑？討厭聽到像SHA256算法和拜占庭式容錯之類的廢話嗎？只想知道到底什麼是區塊鏈，為什麼人們一直在談論它？

Well you’re in luck. In this article, I’ll explain in plain English what blockchainis, how it works and why it’s so important in less than 1000 words. Let’s getto it.

好吧，你很幸運。在本文中，我將以簡單的英語用不到1000個字解釋什麼是區塊鏈，其工作原理以及為什麼如此重要。讓我們開始吧。

Whatis blockchain?

什麼是區塊鏈？

At its core, a?blockchain?isnot so different from a regular database.?It stores information on thingsthat happened in the past, with unique attributes, such as:

從本質上講，區塊鏈與常規數據庫沒有太大區別。它以獨特的屬性存儲有關過去發生的事情的信息，例如：

Decent ralization — no single party has control over what information goes in.Consensus— many different parties store exact copies of the same ledger, so the majorityhas to agree on the information being added.

分權化—沒有任何一方可以控制輸入的信息。共識-許多不同的方面都存儲同一分類帳的精確副本，因此大多數必須就添加的信息達成共識

‘Add-only’,meaning you can’t edit what’s already there, you can only add information.New information can’t conflict with what’s already been added.Informationis able to be accessed and replicated by everybody on the network.

“僅添加”，表示您無法編輯已存在的內容，只能添加信息。新信息不得與已添加的內容衝突。網絡上的每個人都可以訪問和複製信息。

The most important feature of a blockchain is decent ralisation. Copies of a blockchain ledger are stored and updated on computers all over the world,meaning that there is no central authority to make decisions.

區塊鏈的最重要特徵是去中心化。區塊鏈分類帳的副本在世界各地的計算機上存儲和更新，這意味著沒有中央決策權。

At its core, a blockchain is not so different from a regular data base. It stores information on things that happened in the past, but with unique attributes.

從本質上講，區塊鏈與常規數據庫沒有太大區別。它存儲有關過去發生的事情的信息，但具有獨特的屬性。

Let’s take a look at a Bitcoin transaction as an example of how blockchain works(Bitcoin is just one possible application of blockchain technology. Blockchain is to Bitcoin what the internet is to email):

讓我們看一下以比特幣交易為例的區塊鏈工作方式（比特幣只是區塊鏈技術的一種可能應用。區塊鏈對比特幣的作用類似於互聯網對電子郵件的作用）：

Let’s say I have one bitcoin and I want to send it to you. Everybody who holds a copyof the Bitcoin ledger can see that I have one bitcoin and you have zero (but onthe Bitcoin network our identities are relatively private).

假設我有一個比特幣，我想將其發送給您。每個持有比特幣分類帳副本的人都可以看到我有一個比特幣，而您只有零（但是在比特幣網絡上，我們的身份相對私密）。

I can then send you one bitcoin, and the network will see this and immediately update every ledger.But what if I’m greedy, and want to try and cheat the network?

然後，我可以向您發送一個比特幣，網絡將看到此情況並立即更新每個分類帳。但是，如果我很貪婪並想欺騙網絡怎麼辦？

I could change my copy of the ledger to say I have 2 bitcoins, send you one anduse the other to buy myself something nice.

我可以更改總帳的副本，說我有2個比特幣，給你一個，然後用另一個給自己買些好東西。

But in the history of the Bitcoin network this act of double-spending has never happened.Whynot?

但是在比特幣網絡的歷史上，這種雙重支出的行為從未發生過。為什麼不？

Blockchainsecurity

區塊鏈安全

To understand how and why blockchains are so resistant to tampering and fraud, weneed to understand how they work.Without getting too technical, let’s take a look under the hood and see what’s goingon.

要瞭解區塊鏈如何以及為何如此抵禦篡改和欺詐，我們需要瞭解它們的工作原理。無需太過專業，讓我們看一下內部情況，看看發生了什麼。

The information stored on a blockchain is stored in groups — called blocks — andeach block is time-stamped and linked to the one generated before in time,creating a linear chain of blocks — hence the term blockchain.

存儲在區塊鏈上的信息按組存儲（稱為塊），每個塊都帶有時間標記，並與在其之前及時生成的塊鏈接，從而創建了線性的塊鏈，因此稱為“塊鏈”。

Each of these blocks contains 3 types of information:

這些塊中的每一個都包含3種類型的信息：

Data on transactions 交易數據

The block’s hash 區塊的哈希

The hash of the previous block 上一個區塊的哈希

This is really important, so bear with me while I explain what a hash is.Essentially, it is like a block’s finger print —a unique string of numbers that identifies each block. The numbers are automatically calculated based on the information stored in the block. If you change the information in the block you change the hash, and therefore the block’s identity.

這真的很重要，所以在我解釋什麼是哈希值時請多多包涵。從本質上講，這就像一個區塊的指紋-標識每個區塊的唯一數字字符串。這些數字是根據存儲在塊中的信息自動計算的。如果您更改區塊中的信息，則會更改哈希值，並因此更改區塊的身份。

The hash of the previous block also sits in each block, which is what creates the chain of blocks, and is what makes a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin so secure.

前一個區塊的哈希也位於每個區塊中，這是創建區塊鏈的原因，也是使像比特幣這樣的加密貨幣如此安全的原因。

Takea look at this graphic:

看一下這個圖形：

Each block contains the three elements listed above. But watch what happens when I try to tamper with the information in block 2 to give myself that extrabitcoin:

每個塊包含上面列出的三個元素。但是請注意當我嘗試篡改塊2中的信息以給自己額外的比特幣時會發生什麼：

Block 3 contains the hash of block 2, but when block 2 is changed, so does its hash,meaning everything in block 3 and beyond becomes invalid, breaking the chain.I will then need to re-calculate the hashes of everyblock that has changed.

塊3包含塊2的哈希，但是當更改塊2時，其哈希也是如此，這意味著塊3及其以後的所有內容均無效，從而中斷了鏈。然後，我需要重新計算每個已更改的塊的哈希值。

But it does not stop there. The Bitcoin network makes it intentionally difficult to find these hashes. On average, the hash fora block is found every 10 minutes by computers constantly guessing random numbers and seeing if one fits (it is actually a lotmore complicated than this). This process is called ‘proof-of-work’ (PoW), and is done by powerful computers called miners.

但這並不止於此。比特幣網絡使得有意地很難找到這些哈希。平均而言，每隔10分鐘，計算機就會不斷猜測隨機數並查看一個數字是否合適，從而找到一個區塊的哈希值（實際上比這複雜得多）。此過程稱為“工作量證明”（PoW），由稱為礦工的功能強大的計算機完成。

So for every block I stuffed up, it would take me 10 minutes of intense calculation to mine each block and find the correct hashes.And that’s just for my copy of the ledger.

因此，對於我填充的每個塊，要花10分鐘的大量時間才能挖掘每個塊並找到正確的哈希值。那只是我的分類帳副本。

The Bitcoin ledger exists on thousands of computers all over the world, so to fake that transaction, I would need to somehow get access to over 50% of the computers, and repeat the mining process for all the ledgers I control.

比特幣分類帳存在於全球數千台計算機上，因此，要假冒該交易，我需要以某種方式訪問超過50％的計算機，並對我控制的所有分類帳重複挖掘過程。

This is insanely expensive from a computational stand point, as I would need an almost impossible number of computers to pull it off.

從計算的角度來看，這是非常昂貴的，因為我需要幾乎不可能的數量的計算機來實現它。

But by the time I do, and able to give myself bitcoins at will, the rest of the network will have noticed. They would either try to kick me off, or would desert Bitcoin in droves, crashing the price and leaving me with control over a worthless currency.

但是到我這樣做的時候，並且能夠隨意給自己比特幣，網絡的其餘部分將會注意到。他們要麼試圖將我踢開，要麼成群結隊地拋棄比特幣，使價格崩潰，讓我無法控制一文不值的貨幣。

So it’s pretty easy to see that blockchains are incredibly resistant to fraud, and why they’re considered ‘trustless’ — it’s in everyone’s best interest to play by the rules.So why is all this important?

因此，很容易看到區塊鏈具有極強的抗欺詐能力，以及為什麼將其視為“不信任”-遵守規則方式參與符合每個人的最大利益。那麼，為什麼所有這些都很重要？

That’s a good question.

Blockchain technology is still very much in its infancy, but promises to revolutionize many different industries, such as:

這是個好問題。區塊鏈技術仍處於起步階段，但有望徹底改變許多不同的行業，例如：

Bankingand payments

銀行和付款

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies

like?Litecoin,?Monero?and?Zcash?are making the storage and transfer of value simpler and cheaper by removing the need for middle men such as banks.

比特幣和其他加密貨幣（如Litecoin，Monero和Zcash）通過消除對銀行等中間商的需求，使價值的存儲和轉移變得更簡單，更便宜。

Governments

政府

Governments can use blockchains

to implement secure and accurate voting, public record keeping, citizen identification (IDs) and border control.

政府可以使用區塊鏈實施安全，準確的投票，公共記錄保存，公民身份識別（ID）和邊境管制。

Healthcare

衛生保健

Medical records are not oriously in accurate and difficult to transfer. If they were hosted on a blockchain they would be secure, accurate and easily accessible by approved parties.

眾所周知，病歷不準確且難以轉移。如果將它們託管在區塊鏈上，則它們將是安全，準確的，並且易於被批准的各方訪問。

Supplychain

供應鏈

Want to know if those apples are actually organic? Or if that diamond ring is source dethically? Putting goods like these on the blockchain would allow consumers and businesses to gain greater transparency on the life cycle of their products.

想知道那些蘋果是否真的是有機的嗎？還是該鑽石戒指是合法採購的？將此類商品放在區塊鏈上將使消費者和企業在其產品生命週期中獲得更大的透明度。

Insurance

保險

No more calling up and hassling your insurer for weeks before getting your pay out.With the implementation of?smart contracts?on the blockchain, insurers would be able to instantly accept and pay out claims to customers based on predefined rules.

在獲得付款之前，無需再花費數周的時間來煩擾您的保險公司。通過在區塊鏈上實施智能合約，保險公司將能夠根據預定義的規則立即接受並向客戶支付索賠。

—-

编译者/作者：GSL環球通證

玩币族申明：玩币族作为开放的资讯翻译/分享平台，所提供的所有资讯仅代表作者个人观点，与玩币族平台立场无关，且不构成任何投资理财建议。文章版权归原作者所有。