During his stay in Italy, Copernicus became familiar with the theory of the Greek philosopher Aristakes (the third century before), and he was convinced that the Heliocentrism of the earth and other planets revolving around the sun was correct. When he was about 40 years old, he began to distribute a short manuscript among his friends, initially expounding his views on Heliocentrism. After years of observation and calculation, Copernicus finally completed his masterpiece "The Theory of the Operation of Celestial Bodies". He is in the theory of celestial bodies (Germany? revolutionibus？ Obim? Coelestium), the accuracy of the numerical values obtained through observation and calculation is amazing. For example, he got the sidereal year in 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and 40 seconds, which is about 30 seconds more than the exact value now, and the error is only one in a million; The average distance from the moon to the earth he got is 60.30 times that of radius of the earth, and the error is only five ten thousandths compared with the current 60.27 times.
1533, 60-year-old Copernicus made a series of speeches in Rome and put forward the main points of his theory, which was not opposed by the Pope. But he was afraid of church opposition, and even after his book was finished, he still dared not publish it. It was not until he was nearly 70 years old that he finally decided to publish it. 1543 On the day of his death on May 24th, I received a book written by him from the publishing house.
In the book, he correctly discusses that the earth moves around the axis; The moon goes around the earth; The fact that the earth and all other planets revolve around the sun. But he also seriously underestimated the size of the solar system like his predecessors. He thinks that the orbit of a star is a series of concentric circles, which is of course wrong. The mathematical operations in his theory are both complicated and inaccurate. However, his book immediately attracted great attention and prompted other astronomers to observe the motion of planets more accurately, the most famous of which was the great Danish astronomer Taishou Brejo. Kepler finally deduced the correct law of star motion according to the observation data accumulated by the satrap.
Although Aristakes suggested that Heliocentrism was earlier than Copernicus 1700 years ago, actually Copernicus got this reputation. Aristakes just made a guess by inspiration, without discussing it in detail, so his theory is useless in science. After Copernicus solved the mathematical problems in the conjecture one by one, he turned it into a useful scientific theory-a theory that can be used to make predictions. By examining the observation results of celestial bodies and comparing them with the old theory that the earth is the center of the universe, you will find its great significance.
Obviously, Copernicus' theory is a revolution in human understanding of the universe, which has greatly changed people's whole world outlook. But when evaluating Copernicus' influence, we should also note that astronomy is not widely used like physics, chemistry and biology. Theoretically, even if people don't know anything about the knowledge and application of Copernicus, they will make TV sets, cars, modern factories and the like. But it is inconceivable not to apply the theories of Faraday, Maxwell, lavoisier and Newton.
Only considering the influence of Copernicus theory on technology will completely ignore its real significance. Copernicus's book is an indispensable prelude to the work of Galileo and Kepler. They became Newton's main predecessors again. It was the discovery of these two things that enabled Newton to determine the laws of motion and gravity.
From a historical point of view, the theory of celestial bodies is the starting point of contemporary astronomy-and of course the starting point of modern science.
[Edit this paragraph] Anecdotes
1. People are ambitious
Copernicus received a good school education from an early age and liked to observe the astronomical phenomena. He often looks up at the starry night sky alone. Once, my brother inexplicably asked Copernicus, "Is it filial piety for you to stay at the window all night and stare at the sky?" Copernicus replied, "No, I want to study the weather all my life so that people are not afraid to look at the sky." I want the starry sky to make friends with people and let it correct the course for seagoing ships and guide the voyage for sailors. "
However, before she came to us, we shouted for a thousand times and urged for a thousand times.
Because Ptolemy's geocentric theory has become the theological theoretical basis for maintaining the church's rule at that time, Copernicus knew the consequences of publishing Heliocentrism. He wrote: "I know clearly that once they find out that I think the earth is moving when demonstrating the celestial movement, they will try their best to insist that I must be judged by religious authorities for this ..." And "They will shout and kick me off the stage immediately." So Copernicus was unwilling to publish his book "On the Operation of Celestial Bodies". It was not until the spring of 1539 that Copernicus agreed to publish it at the urging of the German young scholar Redikas (15 14- 1576) and some other friends. 154 1 autumn, Redikas took the revised manuscript to Nuremberg and asked a lutheran theologian, Osinder, to write a preface anonymously, declaring that "this book can't be a scientific fact, but a dramatic fantasy". Under such circumstances, 1543 was only published in March, and it was shelved for nearly "four nine years" from writing the first draft to publication.
[Edit this paragraph] The development of Heliocentrism and its significance.
Before Copernicus' Heliocentrism was published, geocentric theory had been dominant in medieval Europe. Since ancient times, human beings have been thinking about the structure of the universe. As early as in ancient Greece, philosophers put forward the idea that the earth was moving, but there was no basis at that time, so it was not recognized by people. ? In ancient Europe, Aristotle and Ptolemy advocated "geocentric theory", believing that the earth was stationary and all other stars revolved around the center of the universe. This theory coincides with what the Christian Bible says about heaven, earth and hell, so the dominant Holy See strongly supports geocentric theory, integrating geocentric theory with God's creation of the world, so as to fool people and safeguard their own rule. Therefore, the geocentric theory is regarded as a biblical classic by the church and has been in a dominant position for a long time. ? With the continuous development of things, the accuracy of astronomical observation has gradually improved, and people have gradually discovered the flaw of geocentric theory. In the Renaissance, it was found that the number of equal rounds and present rounds proposed by Ptolemy was as high as 80 or so, which was obviously unreasonable and unscientific. People expect a scientific celestial system to replace the geocentric theory. Under this historical background, Copernicus's earthquake theory came into being. ? About 15 15 years ago, Copernicus wrote a paper entitled "A Brief Talk", which expounded his basic views on celestial motion. He believes that the motion of celestial bodies must meet the following seven points: there is no center that is the same as all celestial bodies' orbits or celestial bodies; The earth is only the center of gravity and orbit of the moon, not the center of the universe; All celestial bodies revolve around the sun, and the center of the universe is near the sun; The ratio of the distance from the earth to the sun to the height of the sky can be ignored; Any movement seen in the sky is caused by the movement of the earth; All the phenomena of the movement of the sun seen in the air are not caused by its own movement, but by the movement of the earth, which is moving several times at the same time; The back-and-forth motion of the planet that people see is caused by the motion of the earth. The movement of the earth is enough to explain all kinds of phenomena people see in the air. ? In addition, Copernicus also described the apparent motion of the sun, the moon, three outer planets (Saturn, Jupiter and Mars) and two inner planets (Venus and Mercury). In the book, Copernicus criticized Ptolemy's theory. Scientifically expounded the movement of celestial bodies, overthrew the long-standing dominant geocentric theory, fundamentally denied the Christian fallacy that God created everything, and realized the fundamental change in astronomy. ? He correctly expounded the fact that the earth revolves around its axis, the moon revolves around the earth, and the earth and all other planets revolve around the sun. But he also seriously underestimated the size of the solar system like his predecessors. He thinks that the orbit of a star is a series of concentric circles, which is of course wrong. The mathematical operations in his theory are both complicated and inaccurate. However, his book immediately attracted great attention and prompted other astronomers to observe the motion of planets more accurately, the most famous of which was the great Danish astronomer Taishou Brejo. Kepler finally deduced the correct law of star motion according to the observation data accumulated by the satrap. ? This is an unheard-of theory that opens a new era, which is undoubtedly a blow to Ptolemy's geocentric theory, which has been regarded as a thousand-year conclusion by academic circles. ? Although Aristakes suggested that Heliocentrism was earlier than Copernicus 1700 years ago, actually Copernicus got this reputation. Aristakes just made a guess by inspiration, without discussing it in detail, so his theory is useless in science. After Copernicus solved the mathematical problems in the conjecture one by one, he turned it into a useful scientific theory-a theory that can be used to make predictions. By examining the observation results of celestial bodies and comparing them with the old theory that the earth is the center of the universe, you will find its great significance. ? Obviously, Copernicus' theory is a revolution in human understanding of the universe, which has greatly changed people's whole world outlook. But when evaluating Copernicus' influence, we should also note that astronomy is not widely used like physics, chemistry and biology. Theoretically, even if people don't know anything about the knowledge and application of Copernicus, they will make TV sets, cars, modern factories and the like. But it is inconceivable not to apply the theories of Faraday, Maxwell, lavoisier and Newton. ? Only considering the influence of Copernicus theory on technology will completely ignore its real significance. Copernicus's book is an indispensable prelude to the work of Galileo and Kepler. They became Newton's main predecessors again. It was the discovery of these two things that enabled Newton to determine the laws of motion and gravity. ? Since Copernicus' Heliocentrism cosmos system is the product of the times, it cannot but be limited by the times. Oppose the incompleteness of theology, and at the same time, Copernicus' system is flawed in some viewpoints. The universe referred to by Copernicus was confined to a very small scope. Specifically, his cosmic structure is the solar system we are familiar with today, that is, the celestial system centered on the sun. Since the universe has a center, it must have boundaries. Although Copernicus denied Ptolemy's "cloud nine", he kept a layer of star sky. Although he avoided the question of whether the universe was finite, he actually thought that the celestial sphere was the "shell" of the universe, and he still thought that celestial bodies could only move in the so-called perfect circular orbit, so Copernicus's universe system still contained the motionless central celestial body. But as the founder of modern natural science, Copernicus's historical contribution is enormous. Recognizing that the earth is not the center of the universe, but one of the planets has set off a fundamental revolution in astronomy and is a milestone on the road of human exploration of objective truth. ? Copernicus' great achievements not only paved the way for modern astronomy, but also initiated a new era for the development of the whole natural science. Since the Copernican era, natural science and philosophy that got rid of the shackles of the church began to develop by leaps and bounds.
[Edit this paragraph] On the operation of celestial bodies?
The first volume of "On the Operation of Celestial Bodies" is the essence of the book, which successively discusses that "the universe is spherical", "the earth is spherical" and "the motion of celestial bodies is uniform and eternal circular motion or compound motion". Copernicus said, "This rotation of celestial bodies is an inherent property of the ball and reflects its characteristics. The shape of the ball is characterized by simplicity, no starting point and no ending point, and it is impossible to distinguish parts when rotating. The shape of the sphere is also caused by the rotation itself. "
Copernicus agreed with the Pythagorean school that concise geometric images should be used to represent the structure of the universe and the operation law of celestial bodies. Copernicus correctly arranged the orbits of the planets and the earth around the sun in Chapter 10 of Volume I, and published his model diagram of the universe. At that time, this seemingly ordinary celestial sphere sequence diagram was a great leap for human beings to understand the universe.
Copernicus also explained in detail a series of phenomena caused by the three major movements of the earth (rotation, revolution and declination), such as precession, moon movement, planetary movement, latitude deviation between Venus and Mercury, and inclination of orbital plane. The birth of celestial theory made the position and motion of celestial bodies in the solar system known at that time more complete.
Copernicus' theory was opposed by the church because it violated Christian teachings. His works were even banned. But the truth is unstoppable, and Copernicus's theory has been inherited and developed by many scientists. 1882, the Pope had to admit that Copernicus' theory was correct. After three centuries of hard struggle, this brilliant theory has finally won a complete victory and been recognized by the society.
[Edit this paragraph] Historical background
Copernicus' scientific achievements are the product of his time, which in turn promoted the development of the times.
15 to the 6th century, Europe was in a critical period of transition from a feudal society to a capitalist society. During these two hundred years, great changes have taken place in society. /kloc-Before 0/4th century, Europe was full of small divided city-states. Later, with the rise of urban industry and commerce, especially the development of mining and metallurgy, many emerging big cities appeared, and small city-states tended to unite to form a country. Arrive? /kloc-at the end of 0/5, a basically centralized monarchy appeared in many countries. At that time, there were not only big cities like Krakow and Poznan in Poland, but also many cities with prosperous handicrafts. Warsaw, 1526 merged into Poland and became an important commercial, political, cultural and geographical center. 16 became the capital of Poland.
Consistent with this political and economic change, it has also begun to be reflected in culture and science. At that time, Europe was "the unity of politics and religion", the Vatican controlled many countries, the Bible was declared as the supreme truth, all doctrines that violated the Bible were denounced as "heresies", and all those who opposed theocracy were burned at the stake. For their own survival and development, the emerging bourgeoisie set off a struggle against feudalism and church superstition, and humanism came into being. The fighting weapons they used were ancient Greek philosophy, science, literature and art that were not polluted by theology. This is the Renaissance that shocked Europe. The Renaissance first took place in Italy and soon spread to Poland and other European countries.
At the same time, commercial activities also promote the development of foreign trade. Driven by the "golden" spell, many European adventurers sailed to Africa, India and the whole Far East. Ocean voyage needs rich knowledge of astronomy and geography, and the observation data accumulated in practice makes people think that the popular "static and dynamic" cosmology at that time is doubtful, which requires people to further explore the mysteries of the universe, thus promoting the development of astronomy and geography. 1492, the famous Italian navigator Columbus discovered the new continent, and Magellan and his companions circled the earth once, which proved that the earth was round and made people really understand it.
Under the strict control of the church, a vigorous religious revolution also took place in the Middle Ages. Because many Catholic doctrines do not conform to the teaching of the Bible, plus too many popes' personal wishes and the achievements of various theologians, many believers began to question the Catholic doctrines and organizations and launched the action of returning to the Bible.
Jan Huss (1369 ~ 14 15), a Czech patriot and president of Prague University, publicly condemned the oppression and exploitation of the Czech Republic by German feudal lords and the Catholic Church at the religious conference in Constantinople. Although he was burned at the stake by the reactionary church, his revolutionary activities aroused strong repercussions in society. Czech farmers held an uprising under the banner of Hus, and this movement also spread to Poland. 15 17, in Germany, Martin Luther? (1483 ~ 1546) Oppose the church to sell atonement symbols and openly break with the Pope. 152 1 year, Luther exposed the sins of the holy see in Vorm's parliament and put forward the idea of establishing Protestantism. Protestantism is supported by many countries, and Poland is also deeply influenced.
In such an era of great change and turmoil, Copernicus was born in Torun City on the Vistula River on February 9, 473. His father is a wealthy businessman and a member of parliament. He has a brother and two sisters. When Copernicus/Kloc-0 was 0/0 years old, his father died, and he was sent to the home of his uncle and archbishop Kasch to raise him. Wukash is a humanitarian. He was closely related to the progressive Polish intelligentsia at that time, and was close friends with the outstanding Italian revolutionary and humanist Filippo BuOnac. When Copernicus was in middle school, Vukash took him to a humanist party. 149 1 year, Copernicus went to Cracow University to study astronomy and mathematics according to his uncle's arrangement.
At that time, Poland had produced some famous astronomers, such as Ma Qing Klohr, who wrote the book 1450 Revised Catalogue of alfons and gave speeches in many countries. Another example is the famous astronomer Wojciech, who compiled an astronomical calendar. He lectured at Krakow University and was a professor of mathematics and astronomy while studying in Copernicus. Copernicus's "Heliocentrism" was conceived when he was studying in Krakow University.
Although the Bible does not cover all kinds of astronomical knowledge such as "the earth is the center of the universe" and "the sky is round and the earth is round". But in the Middle Ages, astronomy also had an official argument, which extended to ancient Greece and was framed by scholastic theologians. In order to consolidate feudal rule, the inquisition of the Catholic Church burned many precious scientific works, sometimes burning 20 cars a day. 1327, Italian astronomer Tseko Dascori was burned alive. His "crime" is against the teaching of the Bible, proving that the earth is spherical and there are people in the other hemisphere.
[Edit this paragraph] Great theory
In that era when science became the handmaid of theology, many theories were distorted and castrated to serve feudal rule. In medieval Europe, few people knew the true content of ancient scientific classics. At this time, an important task for scientists is to explore the ancient cultural heritage.
Ptolemy, the great astronomer of ancient Greece, summed up the observation results of predecessors for 400 years in the second century A.D. and wrote? The book Astronomical Anthology (the Supreme Theory) puts forward the theory that "the earth is the center of the universe". This theory has been accepted by people and circulated for 1400 years.
Ptolemy believed that the earth was motionless at the center of the universe, and all celestial bodies, including the sun, revolved around the earth. However, in the observation, people found that the operation of celestial bodies has a phenomenon of good and bad, fast and slow. In order to explain the round-trip phenomenon, Ptolemy said that it is not the celestial body itself that makes a balanced motion around the earth, but the center of the round wheel where the celestial body runs. He called the round wheel around the earth "even wheel" and the smaller round wheel "present wheel". In order to explain the phenomenon of fast and slow, he added some auxiliary "current wheel" besides the main "current wheel" and adopted the word "virtual wheel" to make the unbalanced movement of the center of "current wheel" seem to be "balanced" from the center of "virtual wheel". Ptolemy thus gave a far-fetched explanation to the ancient observation data.
However, in the following centuries, a large number of observation data accumulated, Ptolemy's "current round" was not enough to explain the operation of celestial bodies, and more and more "current rounds" were needed. Later scholars devoted themselves to this "mending" work, which made Ptolemy's system more and more complicated, and the research on astronomy also stayed at this level.
The statement that "the earth is the center of the universe" is the basis of "the sky of theologians". Medieval theologians praised Ptolemy's conclusion, but concealed Ptolemy's methodology: Ptolemy established a set of gifted mathematical theories, trying to discover the causes and laws of celestial bodies by means of observation, calculus and reasoning with human wisdom, which is a crucial part of Ptolemy's theory. Therefore, Ptolemy's geocentric theory coincides with theologians' view of the universe, but they are essentially different. One is a wrong conclusion in science, and the other is a big lie that fools human beings and tries to make feudal rule eternal. Copernicus made a correct evaluation of this. He said, "You should shoot your arrow in the same direction as Ptolemy, but the material of the bow and arrow should be completely different from his."
Copernicus studied Ptolemy's works very diligently. He saw the contradiction between Ptolemy's wrong conclusion and scientific method. It was Copernicus who discovered the root of Ptolemy's mistake and the truth.
Copernicus realized that the development of astronomy should not continue to "repair" Ptolemy's old theory, but should discover a new theory of the structure of the universe. He made an analogy: those scholars who stood in Ptolemy's position made individual and isolated observations and pieced together some overlapping "wheels" to explain the phenomenon of the universe, just like someone looking around for limbs and heads and describing them, and the result was not like a person, but like a monster.
Copernicus began to think about the operation of the earth when he was studying at Krakow University. In the preface of "Celestial Movement", he said that predecessors had the right to fabricate round wheels to explain the starry sky phenomenon, and he also had the right to try to find a more appropriate way to explain celestial movement than round wheels.
The purpose of Copernicus's observation of celestial bodies is contrary to that of scholars in the past. He didn't force the phenomena of the universe to obey Copernicus's famous saying, "Phenomena guide astronomers." The question he wants to answer is precisely the phenomenon of the universe, and the observed phenomenon confirms a newly founded theory-"the sun center" theory. His targeted observation eventually led to a radical change in astronomy.
Copernicus' observation made a good start at Krakow University. He used the famous astrologer Ma Qing Blitcha (about 1433 ~ 1493) to observe the eclipse and study the boundless starry sky.
Copernicus stopped studying in Cracow University for three years and went to Italy to study "Church Law". It was his uncle Wukash's idea. Because the Knights of the Cross, which was entrenched in northern Poland at that time, often violated the border and did evil, and to confront them, someone must be proficient in the "church law." Copernicus believed that it was an unshirkable responsibility to fight against the Knights Cross. He said: "There is no more solemn obligation than the obligation of the motherland. It is not hesitant to give one's life for the motherland." So he agreed to Wukash's suggestion. In order to get the travelling expenses abroad and the living expenses for studying abroad for a long time, he once again accepted the arrangement of his uncle and decided to hold the post of the church for life. /kloc-in the autumn of 0/496, Copernicus put on his robe and set off for Italy.
He studied "canon law" at the University of Bologna in northern Italy, and studied astronomy hard at the same time. Here, he met Dominique Maria, a famous astronomer at that time, and studied the theory of the moon with him. He began to expose the contradiction between Ptolemy's theory and objective phenomena with practical observation. He found that Ptolemy's explanation of the moon's motion, as Reggie Monte pointed out, would surely lead to an absurd conclusion: the volume of the moon sometimes expands and sometimes contracts, the full moon is the result of expansion, and the new moon is the result of contraction. 1497 On March 9th, Copernicus and Maria made a famous observation together. That night, the night was clear, the stars were shining and a crescent moon was floating in space. Standing on the tower of St Joseph's Church, they observed the bright star "Bi Su Wu" of Taurus to understand how it was covered by the waning moon approaching. When "Su Biwu" met the moon, there was still some gap, and "Su Biwu" soon disappeared. They accurately measured the time when Bi Su Wu disappeared, and calculated irrefutable data, which proved that those gaps were all part of the moon's lack of food. "Bi Su Wu" was covered by the shadow of the moon itself, and the volume of the moon did not shrink. Thus Copernicus opened a gap in Ptolemy's geocentric theory.
/kloc-in 0/500, Copernicus went to Rome as a math teacher due to financial difficulties. The following summer, Copernicus returned to China, and later went to Padua to study medicine because of the funding of the church. 1503, Copernicus received a doctorate in church law from Farallo University.
At this time, Copernicus also made great efforts to study ancient books, with the aim of seeking reference materials for Heliocentrism. He read almost all the literature he could find. Later, he wrote: "The more I seek help in my own work, the more I am with the people who founded this subject. I am willing to combine my findings with their findings. " When he was studying ancient books, he wrote some bold ideas like this:
"The sky, the sun, the moon, the stars and everything in the sky are still. There is nothing moving in the universe except the earth. The earth rotates around its axis at a great speed, creating a feeling that the earth is still and the sky is turning. "
"Most scholars think that the earth is stationary, but Philovos and Pythagoras told it to revolve around the fire."
"In the center of the planet stands a huge and majestic sun, which is not only the master of time, but also the master of the earth, and the master of the stars and the sky."
The outstanding opinions of these ancient scholars were considered to be "deviant" at that time, but for Copernicus, they were like lighthouses flying in the night, illuminating his direction.
1506, Copernicus ended his ten-year study abroad career in Italy and set off for home. Shen Kuo (A.D. 103 1 ~ 1095) was born in Qiantang, Hangzhou (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang), Han nationality. Scientists and politicians in the Northern Song Dynasty. 1 year-old, moved south to Wuyishan and Jianyang generation in Fujian, and then lived in Youxi area in Fujian. Injong Jiayou was a scholar in the eighth year (AD 1063). Zong Shen participated in Wang Anshi's political reform. In the fifth year of Xining (A.D. 1072), he was promoted to supervisor of Tianbu, and the following year he went to Zhejiang to inspect water conservancy and officers. In the eighth year of Xining (AD 1075), he sent envoys to Liao to refute Liao's land claims. The following year, he served as a bachelor of Hanlin, and made the third secretary right, rectifying Shaanxi salt policy. Later, Yanzhou (now Yan 'an, Shaanxi) was famous for strengthening its defense against Xixia. In the fifth year of Yuanfeng (1082), Song Jun was defeated by Xixia in the battle of Yongle City and was demoted. In his later years, he wrote Meng Qian Bi Tan in Meng Xi Park, Zhenjiang. ?
Shen Kuo's scientific achievements are manifold. He devoted himself to astronomy and advocated a new calendar similar to today's solar calendar. In physics, he recorded the principle of compass and various production methods; The existence of magnetic declination was discovered more than 400 years before Europe. The principle of concave mirror imaging is expounded. The law of * * * vibration is also studied. In mathematics, he founded "gap product" (second-order arithmetic progression summation method) and "meeting circle" (knowing the diameter of the circle and the height of the bow, finding the chord and arc length of the bow). In geology, he studied the formation of alluvial plain and water erosion, and put forward the name of oil for the first time. In medicine, there are many records about effective prescriptions and many medical works. In addition, he also recorded the scientific development and production technology at that time, such as movable type printing and metal smelting method invented by Bi Sheng.