Chinese name: Nicholas? Copernicus
Mbth: MikolajKopernik
Nationality: Poland
Place of birth: Torun-sur-Vistula, Poland
Date of birth:1Feb. 47319th.
Date of death:1May 24, 543
Occupation: astronomer, founder of modern astronomy
Graduate school: university of ferrara.
Faith: Christianity
Major achievements: Heliocentrism was founded and astronomy became a science.
Masterpiece: On the Operation of Celestial Bodies
Founder of modern astronomy, founder of Heliocentrism, a famous Polish astronomer.
Nicholas? Copernicus1February 473 19 was born in a wealthy family in Toulouse, on the Vistula River. 18 years old, studying at Krakow University, 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. Denovala (1454- 1540) had a great influence on Copernicus, where he learned astronomical observation technology and Greek astronomical theory. Later, he received a doctorate in religious law from Flara University. 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 accuracy of the numerical values he observed and calculated in DerevolutionibusboriumColestium 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 that the church would object, even after his book was finished.
Pictures related to scientific discoveries (6 pictures)
It's too late to publish. 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 make more accurate observations on planetary motion, the most famous of which was Tycho? Bra and Kepler finally deduced the correct law of star motion based on the observation data accumulated by Tycho.
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.
anecdote
Story 1
Wardka was one of the most respected teachers of Copernicus when he was young. One day, Copernicus went to Wardka's house, but the teacher was not there. He conveniently took out a book from the shelf and opened it. The teacher wrote a note in the corner: "On Christmas Eve, Mars and Saturn lined up at a special angle, indicating that the Hungarian emperor had a great disaster in carving."
Just then, Wardka pushed the door and came in. He saw Copernicus reading at home and said happily, "Son, what are you reading?"
Copernicus respectfully handed the book, and the teacher asked with concern, "Can you understand it?"
Copernicus seriously replied: "Teacher, I don't understand. Mars or Saturn are both stars in the sky. They have nothing to do with sculpture. How can they predict his fate? "
"Why not?" Vodka asks, "Fate decides everything!"
Copernicus tried his best and retorted loudly, "If so,
Photos (20 photos)
Does that man still have a will? If so, what is the relationship between human will and the stars in the sky? "
Wardka was not angry with Copernicus' sharp retort. He clearly believes that fate is a major issue related to the fate of astronomy. On this issue, he has doubts about the traditional prejudice, but he can't figure it out. He hesitated and said affectionately to Copernicus, "Son, fate decides everything. This has been an old rule for thousands of years. I just picked up the wisdom of my predecessors. " As for your question, it's really interesting. But I have no ability to answer you. If you have perseverance, study it later! "
The teacher's hope soon came true. Decades later, Copernicus founded the great theory of "sun-centered theory" and declared the complete extinction of "the theory of destiny".
Story 2
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. When he was a teenager, his father died unfortunately. So he lives at his uncle's house. 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. "
The Development of Heliocentrism and Its Significance
Before Copernicus' Heliocentrism was published, geocentric theory had been dominant in medieval Europe. Since ancient times
Schematic diagram of Copernicus universe system
In recent years, 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: all celestial orbits or celestial bodies have no common center; 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. But his book immediately attracted great attention, prompting other astronomers to make more accurate observations on planetary motion, the most famous of which was the great Danish astronomer Taishou? According to the observation data accumulated by the satrap, Brejo and Kepler finally deduced the correct law of star motion. 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.
Earth revolution
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. "
Engels commented on Copernicus's theory of celestial movement.
The declaration of natural science's independence seems to be repeating Luther's revolutionary act of burning the Oracle, that is,
Copernicus
With the publication of Copernicus' immortal works, he used it (though timid, and only at his deathbed) to challenge the authority of the church in natural affairs, and since then natural science has been liberated from theology.
W Heisenberg's comments on Copernicus's celestial theory.
Today, we can even use a more extreme form to say that the word "static" is defined by the saying that the earth is static. We describe every object that is static relative to the earth as static. If the word "stillness" is understood in this way-this is a generally accepted meaning-then Ptolemy was right, but Copernicus was wrong.
Nie Wentao's comment on Copernicus's theory of celestial movement.
This is a complete study of celestial mathematics, or pure logical operation. Copernicus said at the beginning of "On the Operation of Celestial Bodies": "Those who don't know geometry are forbidden to enter." Every time the most revolutionary progress of mankind depends on the profound thinking and logical operation of scientists, and the so-called observation is mostly just a test of logic. So the persuasiveness of the survey statistics is very limited. People should restore their confidence in intelligence, not just their eyes.
Historical background
Copernicus' scientific achievements are the product of his time, which in turn promoted the development of the times.
/kloc-Europe in the 5th and 6th centuries was a crucial period for the transition from feudal society to capitalist society. In these 200-200 years,
Commemorative images (banknotes, statues, stamps, etc.) ) (14 sheets)
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.
Czech patriot and president of Prague University Jan? Hus (1369 ~ 14 15) publicly condemned the oppression and exploitation of the Czech Republic by the 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 in Vistula on February 1473.