100 must-read books for college students

Chapter 41 The Great Book That Opened the Door to Physics

Chapter 40 The great book that opened the door to physics: "A Dialogue on the Two World Systems of Ptolemy and Copernicus"

The scientific theories expounded in the book "Dialogue on the Two World Systems of Ptolemy and Copernicus" have great influence on the development of natural science.
The development has also had a great impact, especially on the development of classical mechanics had a great role in promoting.Galileo in this book

in the book
The proposed theory of falling motion, pendulum motion theory, parabolic motion theory, acceleration theory, etc. are the basis of classical mechanics.

This theory, especially the problem of the earth's attraction that he discussed in this book, had a great impact on Newton's proposal and demonstration of the theory of universal gravitation.

had a direct impact.Many theories in Newtonian mechanics are discussed in this book, so if there is no Galileo
It is difficult to say that Newton's theory will be produced.

Insist on the truth book "Dialogue"

Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy on February 1564, 2.

Galileo left the University of Pisa in 1591 to work as a professor at the University of Padua, where the academic
Freer, he began to advocate and publicize Copernicus's theory, and in the same year he corresponded with Kepler.

In 1610, Galileo was the first to develop
Astronomical telescope and use it for astronomical observation.Facts have proved that Copernicus' heliocentric system is correct.Galileo thought it necessary
Let the truth be revealed to the public, let the truth overcome the falsehood. In 1610 he published the book "The Messenger of the Stars".Then, he was hired as a palace
Mathematician and philosopher, and concurrently the chief professor of mathematics at the University of Pisa. In 1612 he began to study the problem of sunspots, 16
In 13, he published the communication "About Sunspots".Thereafter, he was attacked by the Holy See, who ordered him to
The study of the motion of the earth must cease.But Galileo was still engaged in the research of astronomy and mechanics with tenacious perseverance.
The obstruction and warnings of the Holy See tried to write and published in 1632 "On the Two World Systems of Ptolemy and Copernicus".
The Dialogues, openly promoting Copernicus's new teachings, although in the preface to the Dialogues Galileo pretended to support the Holy See
, and praised God many times in the book, the Holy See was not deceived by these smoke screens, and keenly saw the impact of this book on them
threat.The Inquisition in Rome notified Galileo to go to Rome for trial in October of this year, and the Holy See sentenced him in 10
imprisoned.It was during his imprisonment that the 70-year-old Galileo summed up the scientific research results of his life and created his
Galileo's second dialogue, Dialogue Concerning the Two New Sciences and Mathematical Expressions, in which Galileo explicates his own
own achievements in mechanics.After the original manuscript of the book was smuggled out of Italy, it was published in Leiden, the Netherlands in 1638, when Galileo
Both eyes are completely blind.In the second "Dialogue", he expresses his achievements in mechanics more clearly than in the first.

"Dialogue" is more detailed and complete.The previous "Dialogue" was translated into Latin in Holland in 1635 and into French in 1641.

The text was translated into English in 1663, so it spread widely and had great influence.The Latin version of the latter "Dialogue" was published in 1700.
Published, at this time Newton's "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" had already come out. On January 1642, 1, Galileo finished his men

the road to life.

Four Days of Dialogue with Scientific Literature

Galileo's "Dialogue on the Two World Systems of Ptolemy and Copernicus" (hereinafter referred to as "Dialogue") is one of them.

. The book "Dialogue" consists of four parts, recording the conversations of four days respectively.

In the first part, it is recorded that Galileo criticized many previous wrong theories and put forward his own scientific view.in the book

, he first criticized the statement that the celestial bodies are perfect since Aristotle.In the history of Western science and thought, since Asia

Ideas about geocentrism and celestial perfection have been unshakable theories since Aristotle and Ptolemy, and these
The point of view has been demonstrated and promoted by religious theology, combined with the teachings of Christianity, and almost no one dares to make a difference

Copernicus' theory of celestial movement broke this dogma for the first time.Here Galileo used himself to observe the moon and
The data obtained from the study of sunspots, and using the discovery of two new stars in 1572 and 1604, shows that this happened in the

The events outside the orbit of the moon prove that the celestial bodies are by no means perfect and unchanged, and that the earth and other planets have nothing to do with each other.

Both are nothing more than moving celestial bodies.

On the basis of criticism, he expounded his own materialistic view of science. He proposed that natural science must be based on the understanding of things.
On top of observation and analysis, analysis must be based on facts. Eloquent debate or sophistry is not science, but natural science.
The conclusion of science must be correct and inevitable, independent of people's will.In terms of basic views on science, Galley

The position of a little materialism is very clear.During the conversation on the first day, Galileo also expressed confidence in the future of science
.He believes that with the continuous development of scientific tools and means, the progress of human science is inevitable, and the future of science

The level of awareness will certainly exceed the current level.In the second part, Galileo scientifically demonstrated the diurnal motion of the earth (i.e.

Rotation motion), proposed and expounded many of his research results in mechanics.The earth does not move, it is said to be very old and affects
The theory of greatness, which has been a dominant theory of the earth since Aristotle, through Christianity

The theological argument of society has become an unshakable theory, which has restricted the development of science for a long time and affected the progress of human thought.

, which Galileo criticized.The argument Aristotle used to prove that the earth does not move is that if the earth moves,

The thrown object should fall behind its original position.Galileo, based on his famous falling experiment of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, clearly pointed out that

There are actually two kinds of motion when the object falls, one is to move along the tower body, and the other is to move along the tower, and the result is

The falling motion of an object is a mixture of the two motions.Here Galileo drew two conclusions: first, the

Large and small bodies fall freely in the air at the same speed; the second in a vacuum with no resistance at all, all

An object is in free fall with the same velocity.After Galileo observed and studied the motion of falling bodies, he also raised many mechanical questions.

Problems such as the independence of motions and their composition, inertial effects, the motion of falling bodies, etc.

When Galileo was studying the motion of falling objects, he had come into contact with and initially involved in the problem of acceleration. He knew from his many experiments that

It turns out that the falling distance of an object is not proportional to time, but faster and faster.In further research analysis and calculation,

He derived the relationship between distance and the square of time.He also deals with and discusses the problem of attraction, and he regards gravity as the
The tendency of the earth's center to fall is regarded as a common natural phenomenon, which is believed to be the function of attraction.of course he didn't

Recognize that this is the more general gravitational force between objects that

A special manifestation of "gravity".

Galileo also studied the law of pendulum motion and proposed some scientific theories on this issue.He points out from the same height
Pendulums swinging along different arcs achieve the same velocity at the bottom, which takes the pendulum away from the bottom point
Continue to swing in the direction of the other side, and it will return to the starting position under the condition of ignoring friction.Galileo also discovered
The oscillation period of the pendulum has nothing to do with the swing amplitude, that is, the path traveled by the pendulum in the oscillation, which is the so-called isochronism of the pendulum. He used this

It is found that the clock has been improved, which is a contribution to the history of clock and watch technology development. The second part of the Dialogue deals with Galley

Most of his contributions in mechanics, of course, he only used this result to prove the rotation of the earth, so the achievements themselves
The content is not introduced in detail, but the book "Dialogue" is widely circulated in Western Europe, so his influence on mechanics is reflected in "Dialogue"

The Dialogue spread.

In the third part, Galileo uses his own observation data and other people's observation data to prove the earth's annual motion (that is, revolution).in this
In particular, he made ruthless exposure and satire on the Peripatetic School and theologians.

Galileo used a large number of convincing observation data as evidence to expose that the Peripatetic School used the same trick of inverting black and white in an attempt to prove that 1592
The lie that the nova that appeared took place below the Moon (because it fits Aristotle's teachings).

In the fourth part, Galileo uses tides as a proof of the motion of the earth. Of course, this view is wrong.Although many people
The relationship between the tide and the moon has been guessed, but before the law of universal gravitation is established, the relationship between the moon's gravity and the tide is
It is impossible to get a real scientific explanation.

Galileo's "Dialogue" is a book full of revolutionary fighting spirit that defends scientific truth, and it still makes readers feel affectionate.

; As for its thorough reasoning and vivid language, it not only has an indelible position in the history of science, but also has an indelible position in the history of thought and literature.
The historical value is also very high.

This scientific literature highly praises and defends Copernicus's scientific thought, and criticizes Aristotle's dogma and religious views.

This point has had an extremely important impact on the development of science.

The "Dialogue" written by Galileo not only has the value of natural science, but also has the value of ideological emancipation.

In considerable circumstances, Galileo dared to break through the pressure of the church and openly supported the theory of Copernicus who opposed the theory of the church, expressing
His great theoretical courage and fighting spirit greatly influenced many scientists of his time.
The field of natural sciences responded to the Renaissance movement in the field of humanities.In fact, "Dialogue" continued to have a
It was not until 1979 and 1980 that Pope John Paul II was forced to announce the peace of Galileo.

On the contrary, it can be seen that "Dialogue".

(End of this chapter)