First, China ancient people's observation of lightning. Humans will encounter lightning from the beginning. The deafening roar and the sudden dazzling flash are so thrilling. Therefore, in ancient times, under unexplained circumstances, I imagined the hypothesis of Lei Gong Dian Mu and even regarded it as a totem worship. This situation also determines that human attention and research on lightning must start very early.
In our country, it existed in the Oracle Bone Inscriptions of Yin Ruins more than 4000 years ago? Ray. Words. As for it? Electricity? Chinese characters also appeared on bronzes in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Sure, this? Electricity? Didn't you understand today? Electricity? The meaning of, but especially lightning.
China attached great importance to the observation and recording of lightning in ancient times. But there are two completely different attitudes here: one is to regard lightning as the wrath of heaven and warn people, so they are afraid.
The Confucian classic "The Analects of Confucius" requires people to be in awe when encountering lightning. Even if they sleep at night, they must get up, put on clothes and sit still to show their sincere respect. Therefore, although they recorded the thunder and lightning, they were of no scientific value.
Another attitude is to observe lightning as a natural phenomenon and record it with a scientific attitude. Seven Books of the South? According to the Five Elements Records, in 490 AD, Baolin Temple in Hengshan Mountain of Huiji Mountain was struck by lightning. Electric fire burns Buddha's face under the tower, but the windows are the same? . This is a record of the facts. When it thunders, there is a discharge between the ground and the clouds, and the Buddha's face must be brushed with gold powder. Gold powder is a conductor and a path of strong current, so it heats up a lot and is melted. The window wood is an insulator, or it is not in the path of current, so it remains intact.
Shen Kuo, a scientist in the Song Dynasty, recorded a similar phenomenon in more detail. He wrote:? Li Shunju, the chamberlain, was struck by lightning. In the room to the west of his main hall, thunder came from the window and jumped on the eaves brightly. People thought the stall was on fire and went out to hide. After the thunder stopped, the house remained the same, except that the walls and enough papers were blackened. There is a wooden frame in the room, which contains all kinds of utensils, including silver-inlaid lacquerware. All the silver on it melted and flowed to the ground, but the lacquer ware was not burnt. There is a treasure knife, the steel is very hard, and it turns into molten steel in the sheath, but the sheath is still intact. ?
This record provides a lot of information. When lightning strikes, strong current can only pass through a channel with a small cross-sectional area, and the air ionizes to give off dazzling light. The huge heat causes high temperature, which is transmitted to the wall and window paper, so it is anxious and turns black. The wooden frame is just in the passage, and the current passes through the silver on the metal knife and lacquer ware, causing its temperature to rise sharply and melt immediately. Insulators, such as scabbard and lacquerware, can't pass current, but can only receive heat from them, but they can still remain intact because of the short time. Then someone saw something similar.
Zhuang Chuo in Song Dynasty said in "Chicken Ribs" that when he was in Nanxiong, he saw that the local Fuhui Temple was struck by lightning, and one of the lion-riding Buddha statues was also broken, and the gold powder painted on it melted away, but the other colors remained unchanged. What does this have to do with what Shen Kuo saw above? Does thunder and fire melt the sword without burning the sheath? This is the same reason. So Zhuang Chuo also said, what did he see? Is it consistent with Shen Suo's book? .
The significance of these three records mentioned above not only describes the scene of lightning strike and its consequences truthfully, but also vaguely sees that different substances have different functions when conducting electricity. Later, in the late Ming Dynasty, Fang Yizhi drew a conclusion based on these records. As far as thunder and fire are concerned, the stone melts, but the paint is not bad. ? This is a bit general about conductors and insulators. As for the strict distinction between conductor and insulator, it was not clear in ancient times.
Second, the explanation and observation of lightning in ancient China can only understand the appearance of things, and theoretical explanation can explore the essence of things. Since there are so many observations and records of lightning in ancient times, it will inevitably provide a basis for discussing its causes.
China's discussion on the causes of lightning began in the Zhou Dynasty. At that time, the theoretical weapon was mainly the theory of Yin and Yang based on the theory of material vitality. This aspect is recorded in many ancient books from pre-Qin to Han Dynasty. It is generally believed that lightning is produced by the interaction of yin and yang.
As Huai Nan Zi in the early Han Dynasty said,? Yin and yang are thin for thunder, and excitement is electricity? . It means that the collision of yin and yang produces thunder, and mutual infiltration produces electricity. Although these statements contain dialectical factors, they are always too shallow and general and not specific enough.
Wang Chong, a scientist in the Eastern Han Dynasty, studied lightning and wrote a paper called Xu Lei (see Lun Heng), trying to refute what was popular at that time. Thunder is angry with heaven? Nonsense. Wang chong clearly pointed out in his article that lightning is just? One breath? That's all.
What is that? Gas? And then what? Where did the sound come from?
Wang Chong cited five evidences that lightning is essentially fire. What do you mean? Ray, fire? , that is? The excitement of the sun? . Wang Chong described the role of Yin and Yang in summer, saying that Yang was dominant at that time, and Yin contended with it, resulting in collision, friction, explosion and lashing, thus forming lightning.
Wang Chong also used the process of throwing water on the fire to vividly illustrate lightning. He pointed out: in the fire of smelting, if you suddenly pour a bucket of water, it will explode and roar; Heaven and earth can be regarded as a melting pot, sun be the spirit is fire, clouds and rain are a lot of water, and the interaction between water and fire causes roar, which is thunder. People who are hit by this kind of explosion will undoubtedly be hurt. This passage shows that the role of yin and yang is very specific and the explanation of the cause of lightning is very unique.
In the Tang Dynasty, people further explained the relationship between thunder and electricity. Kong wrote in Zuo Zhuan? Sparse? , say? Is electricity Lei Guang? . Later, someone said, Thunder and lightning, yang also, have the name of thunder, and silence is the name of electricity? . At this point, Lu Dian of the Song Dynasty made it most clear. In his book Ya Ya, he said that electricity, yin and yang are exciting, and those who are similar are also light? . And say that yin and yang stimulate. Its light is electricity, and its sound is thunder? . He also compared the sparks and sounds produced by the collision of electricity and thunder with iron and stones.
The History of Dong Qiye, which was carefully compiled in the Song Dynasty, is even more vivid. He thought that Yin Qi had solidified and Yang Qi was trapped inside, and suddenly it exploded. And the result? Light and sound follow? . Zhu has an explanation for the great power of lightning. He said lightning was? Extremely closed qi of Yin and Yang suddenly broke out? . Focus on tying the knot here? Extreme? Is there a discrepancy? Suddenly? .
From today's point of view, that is to say, it is worth noting that a huge amount of energy broke out in a very short time. Liu Ji of the Ming Dynasty has a saying that lightning is the most comprehensive and vivid explanation. He said:
When it thunders, the weather is gloomy and intense, and when the sun is in the shade, it will be forced, then the sound is thunder and the light is electricity. Fire comes from a gun, but the right thing is soft to wear and will just break. The Emperor of Heaven used this thing to shock people, and the death of people coincided with it. ?
His explanation of the cause of lightning basically inherited the previous statement, but his metaphor of the shell leaving the chamber is very vivid; Point out that someone was killed, but? Coincidence This is not an act of God's punishment, but a scientific attitude.
It should be pointed out that yin and yang in these explanations are not positive and negative charges. The concept of electricity in modern science could not have happened in ancient times. All these explanations can only let us see some scientific factors and vitality of Yin-Yang theory.
Third, because the lightning protection facilities in ancient China will cause disasters, superstitious people are helpless and helpless except fear; People with scientific minds have to try to deal with it. Today, lightning rods are well-known and effective preventive facilities.
According to the cause of lightning strike, it can be known that particularly towering objects on the ground are more vulnerable to lightning strike. Therefore, the lightning rod is made by installing a metal tip at the top of a tall building or chimney, leading it underground with thick wires and connecting it with the earth. It is based on the principle of tip discharge. In other words, a charged body, the charge is always concentrated at the tip, so it is easier to escape. When the charged cloud gradually approaches the ground, due to electrostatic induction, heterogeneous charges will appear on the ground, which will mainly concentrate on the metal tip of the roof and gradually escape into space to neutralize the charges in the cloud. In this way, a large amount of charge accumulation is avoided, resulting in sudden concentrated discharge, thus reducing the possibility of lightning strike.
At the same time, because the metal tip is connected with the earth, when lightning strikes, a strong current flows through the thick conductor grounded by the lightning rod, thus avoiding the damage of lightning current to the building.
Of course, we can't understand the tip discharge in ancient China, but we have found and paid attention to the tip discharge phenomenon in the atmosphere. Is it in Hanshu? Spear end fire? Record. Spear is a kind of weapon, about 35 meters long, with a metal tip. When it stands outdoors with charged clouds above it, it may discharge and produce faint light.
According to the Jin Dynasty's Searching for the Gods, in 304 AD, King Chengdu launched a rebellion, and Yecheng, Chen Bing was said to be visible at night? There is fire on the halberd front, and it looks like a candle from a distance. ? In fact, it is the phenomenon of tip discharge. As for saying? Look forward like a candle? This may be a bit exaggerated.
Lightning protection measures in ancient China appeared in books of the Three Kingdoms and the Southern and Northern Dynasties? Lightning protection room? The name of. Unfortunately, the structure and lightning protection principle of this house cannot be verified.
Cabrios, French traveler. No? After visiting China, Dai Maganlan wrote a book called "New Things in China" at 1688, which recorded:? At that time, at both ends of the roof of China House, there was an upturned faucet. Longkou spit out a twisted metal tongue and stretched out into the sky. The root of the tongue is connected with a very thin wire, which goes straight to the ground. This wonderful device worked miracles at the moment of lightning. If lightning strikes the house, the current will drop from agave to the ground without causing any harm. ? It seems that this faucet is not only an ornament, but also a lightning protection device.
Here, architectural art and lightning protection measures are skillfully combined. When did this lightning protection device originate in China?
According to Wang Rui's "Stewed Hub" in the Tang Dynasty, the Bailiang Hall, an ancient building in the Han Dynasty, caught fire. So, a magician made a suggestion, making tiles into fishtail shapes (called? Tail? Or? Kissing? ) and put it on the roof to prevent skyfire caused by lightning. As if this is what "New Things in China" said? An upward faucet? Things like that.
It is also recorded in ancient books that someone saw a fire two or three feet long in the first mouth of the tile beast on the roof. Probably a discharge phenomenon. In this way, since the Tang Dynasty at the latest, some animal-shaped tiles on the roofs of our country have actually been used as lightning protection. Some noteworthy parts have also been found in ancient buildings, such as the spire of the tower, which is often coated with a layer of non-ferrous metal film. As a conductor, the wood used in the tower core column that goes directly underground is often easy to conduct electricity. Is there energy storage metal at the lower end of the tower core column? Dragon cave? . This actually constitutes a lightning protection device.
No wonder it was recorded in Ming Dynasty that Jiaxing East Tower was at night? Gold, if meteors are scattered? . A lot of halls. Why? Princess ray? And so on, also belong to lightning protection measures. These are the accumulation of long-term practical experience of ancient architects. In this way, although it is impossible to discover the ancient lightning rod principle in China, it was already applied in practice as early as 1000 years ago. Now people think of Franklin, an American scientist in the eighteenth century, when they talk about lightning rods, but the contribution of our ancestors is undeniable.