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". The numerical accuracy of his observation and calculation in De Revolution ibus orbium coelestium 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 was 60.30 times that of radius of the earth, and compared with the current 60.27 times, the error was only five ten thousandths.
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.
Respondent: Wang Shizhen-Grade III July 30, 2009 12: 13.
Polish name: mikolaj kopernik (1473 ~ 1543).
The founder of modern astronomy, the founder of Heliocentrism.
brief introduction
Copernicus1February 473 19 was born in a wealthy family in Torun-sur-Visva, Poland. 18 years old, studying at the University of Klaikau, the old capital of Poland, became interested in astronomy while studying medicine. 1496, 23-year-old Copernicus came to Italy, the birthplace of the Renaissance, and studied law, medicine and theology at the University of Bologna and the University of Padua. Novara, an astronomer at the University of Bologna (1454- 1540), had a great influence on Copernicus, from whom he learned astronomical observation techniques and. Later, he received a doctorate in religious law in university of ferrara. Copernicus, as a doctor, is known as the "imperial doctor" because of his brilliant medical skills. Copernicus spent most of his adult life as a priest in Flawn Translation Cathedral. Copernicus was not a professional astronomer. His famous masterpieces were finished in his spare time.
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". The numerical accuracy of his observation and calculation in De Revolution ibus orbium coelestium 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 was 60.30 times that of radius of the earth, and compared with the current 60.27 times, the error was only five ten thousandths.
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.
The historical position of Copernicus in editing this paragraph
Copernicus's "Heliocentrism" dealt a heavy blow to the world outlook of the church and was a great victory in the struggle between materialism and idealism. Therefore, astronomy has been liberated from the bondage of religious theology and natural science has been reborn, which is of epoch-making significance in the development of modern science.
Copernicus was a giant in the European Renaissance. He devoted his whole life to astronomical research, leaving a valuable legacy to future generations. Due to the limitation of the times, Copernicus only moved the center of the universe from the earth to the sun, and did not give up the theory of cosmocentrism and cosmofinity. After Kepler in Germany summed up the three laws of planetary motion and Newton in Britain discovered the law of gravity, Copernicus' theory of the sun center became more stable. From the later research results, it is proved that space is infinite, it has no boundary, no shape and therefore no center. Although Copernicus's viewpoint is not completely correct, his theory has brought great changes to the world outlook of mankind.
Engels spoke highly of Copernicus' theory of celestial motion in Dialectics of Nature. He said: "The publication of Copernicus' immortal works, which was used by natural science to declare its independence, seems to repeat Luther's revolutionary action of burning the Oracle, challenge the authority of the church on natural things (although timid, and only at his deathbed), and natural science began to be liberated from theology."
Edit this religious belief
Copernicus, who wrote about celestial movements, was a devout Catholic from beginning to end. With scientific observation, he denied the old knowledge of the Catholic church that had no biblical basis but had far-reaching influence.
To what extent is he religious? Let's find out his answer from his masterpiece "The Operation of Celestial Bodies: An Introduction". He wrote in his introduction: "If there is a science that can make people noble and free themselves from the filth of time, it must be astronomy. Because when human beings really see that all the solemn order of the universe is under the management of God, they will inevitably feel a kind of motivation to urge people to tend to a standardized life and practice various morals. We can see from everything that the creator is indeed the source of truth, goodness and beauty. "
Copernicus' other works are also full of God's name and God's wisdom and love. He defended the Catholic faith all his life and fought back against the new sects that emerged in the Catholic revolution.
Copernicus died on 1543 at the age of 70. Before he died, he made an epitaph for himself. The inscription reads: "You don't have to repay me with your kindness to St. Paul, but please give me your forgiveness to St. Peter and your kindness to thieves."
Russell, a thinker who has always been famous for his anti-Christianity, also commented on Copernicus: "Copernicus is a Polish priest with pure orthodox beliefs ... His orthodox beliefs are sincere, and he does not think that his theory conflicts with the Bible." (History of Western Philosophy)
Edit this historical event related to Copernicus.
1687, Newton's Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy came out, marking the final victory of Copernicus system.
1685, there was a translation and detailed explanation of Copernicus theory system in Damascus.
Bruno, the Italian Renaissance materialist philosopher, was burned to death in Rome Flower Square on February 1660 because he criticized the Bible and firmly agreed with Heliocentrism of Copernicus.
During the first phase of Nieolas Smoglenski (1609-1655), a Polish missionary came to Huawei from 1930s to 1646. In this short period of more than ten years, Xu Guangqi established and presided over the Calendar Bureau, compiled a large-scale series "Chongzhen Almanac", and systematically introduced western astronomy.
On 1634, the universe still released light. This book is based on Copernicus' theory and is incompatible with the church's point of view. Galileo was persecuted by the church, and Descartes had to temporarily stop publishing.
A large number of materials in The Operation of Celestial Bodies were translated in the Annals of Chongzhen compiled by 1634, but Copernicus' theory was not introduced due to the concealment and distortion of missionaries.
1633 On June 22nd, the Inquisition declared Copernicus a heresy, sentenced Galileo to life imprisonment, declared (dialogue) a forbidden book, and then forced Galileo to take an oath.
1633, Galileo was sentenced to life imprisonment by a religious verdict, and his book "Dialogue between Ptolemy and Copernicus" was listed in the banned book list.
1632, Galileo wrote a book to defend the Copernican system when he was over half a year old.
Galileo gave decisive support to the Copernican system when he published the dialogue between Ptolemy and Copernicus in 1632. 1638, he published the discussion and mathematical proof of two new sciences, mechanics and displacement, refuted Aristotle's theory of motion and its cause of formation, and created a research method that skillfully combined experiment, physical thinking and mathematical deduction.
1632, Galileo's dialogue about Ptolemy and Copernicus came out.
1632, Galileo published the dialogue between Ptolemy and Copernicus, and once again lashed out at the absurd Ptolemy universe system with new observation facts.
/kloc-Tang Ruowang, who came to China in 0/622, mentioned Copernicus in his later book Journey to the West in the Western Calendar, and said, "It has been written by Copernicus, and there are many ancestors in later generations.
1618 ~1621year, Kepler published the Copernican Astronomy Outline, which briefly described Copernicus' theory and supplemented, revised and developed it with his own findings.
1618 ~1621year, Kepler wrote a book "Overview of Copernicus Astronomy", which summarized the research of astronomy into five aspects: observing astronomical phenomena; Put forward a hypothesis to explain the observed astronomical phenomena; The physics or philosophy of cosmology; Calculate the past and future orientations of celestial bodies; Mechanics related to the manufacture and use of instruments.
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. By the end of 15, many countries are basically centralized monarchies. 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) opposed the sale of atonement symbols by the church and publicly broke 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.
Editing this 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, a great astronomer in ancient Greece, summed up the observation results of predecessors for 400 years in the second century A.D., wrote a book "Selected Astronomies" (that is, "Great Theory") and put 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 left for home.