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The Story of Galileo
From: Anonymous*** 2915 readers have read this article Release time: 2005-12-6
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Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy in 1564, next to the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. His father was a bankrupt nobleman when he was 17 years old. , Galileo was admitted to the University of Pisa. In college, Galileo not only studied hard, but also liked to ask questions to the teacher, even if it was some phenomena that people were familiar with and accustomed to, he would break the censorship and ask questions to find out everything. .
Staring at the ceiling
Once, he was standing in the Catholic Church in Pisa, staring at the ceiling, motionless. What was he doing? He pressed the pulse of his left hand with his right hand and looked at the lamp swinging back and forth on the ceiling. He found that although the swing of the lamp became weaker and weaker, and the distance of each swing gradually shortened, the time required for each swing was the same. So Galileo made a pendulum of appropriate length and measured the speed and uniformity of the pulse. From here, he found the law of the pendulum.
Study hard on your own after dropping out of school
The poverty of his family forced Galileo to leave college early. After dropping out of school, Galileo continued to study mathematics at home. Due to his continuous efforts, he made great achievements in the study of mathematics. He achieved excellent results. At the same time, he also invented a specific gravity scale and wrote a paper titled "The Center of Gravity of Solids". At this time, the 21-year-old Galileo was already famous throughout the country, and people called him the "contemporary Galileo." "Chimedes". When he was 25 years old, the University of Pisa hired him as a professor of mathematics as an exception.
The world-famous falling body experiment
Before Galileo, Aristotle of ancient Greece Stottle believed that objects fall at different speeds. Its falling speed is proportional to its weight. The heavier the object, the faster it falls. For example, a 10-kilogram object falls faster than 1. Objects weighing one kilogram are 10 times faster.
Since more than 1,700 years ago, people have regarded this theory that violates the laws of nature as an undoubted truth. Based on his own empirical reasoning, the young Galileo boldly challenged Aris. Dodd's theory raised questions. After careful consideration, he decided to do an experiment himself. On this day, he brought two iron balls of the same size but different weights. The pound is solid; the other weighs 1 pound and is hollow. Galileo stood on the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and looked down at the tower. People came to watch. Some people said sarcastically: "This young man." His nerves must be sick! Aristotle’s theory cannot be wrong! "The experiment began. Galileo held an iron ball in each hand and shouted: "People below, please see clearly, the iron ball is about to fall. "After saying that, he opened both hands at the same time. People saw that the two iron balls fell in parallel and landed on the ground almost at the same time. Everyone was stunned. Gajenillo's experiment revealed the secret of falling motion. , overturned Aristotle's theory. This experiment was of epoch-making significance in the history of physics.
Copernicus made the first telescope. An outstanding Polish astronomer, he proposed the "heliocentric theory" after 40 years of astronomical observations. He believed that the center of the universe is the sun, not the earth. The earth is an ordinary planet that revolves around the sun while rotating. Galileo believed in Copernicus' "heliocentric theory" for a long time. One day in June 1608, Galileo found a piece of empty tube and embedded a convex mirror on one end and a concave mirror on the other end, making the world's first tube. A small astronomical telescope. Experiments proved that it could magnify the original object 3 times. Galileo was not satisfied, so he further improved it and made another one. He took this telescope to the beach and saw the rolling waves of the sea. a boat.
However, when he picked up the telescope and looked into the distance, a ship was approaching the shore from a distance. Practice has proven that it can magnify 8 times. Galileo continued to improve and build, and finally, his telescope could magnify the original object 32 times.
Confirming Copernicus' "heliocentric theory"
Every night, Galileo used his telescope to watch the moon. He saw mountains, deep valleys, and volcanic fissures on the moon. Later, I started watching space and exploring the mysteries of the universe. He discovered that the Milky Way is made up of many small stars. He also discovered that there are dark spots in the sun, and the positions of these dark spots are constantly changing. Therefore, he concluded that the sun itself was rotating. Galileo immersed himself in observation and proved with irrefutable facts that the earth revolves around the sun, and the sun is just an ordinary star, thereby proving the correctness of Copernicus' theory. In 1610, Galileo published the famous "The Starry Messenger". People said with admiration: "Columbus discovered the New World, and Galileo discovered the new universe."
Source: Encyclopedia 2004-01-07 Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy in 1564, right next to the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. beside. His father was a bankrupt nobleman. When Galileo came to this world, his family was already very poor. At the age of 17, Galileo was admitted to the University of Pisa. In college, Galileo not only studied hard, but also liked to ask questions to his teachers. Even if it is some phenomena that people are familiar with and accustomed to, he will break the casserole and ask (grain) to the end to find out everything.
Staring at the ceiling
Once, he stood in the Catholic Church in Pisa, staring at the ceiling, motionless. What is he doing? It turned out that he was pressing the pulse of his left hand with his right hand and looking at the lamp swinging back and forth on the ceiling. He found that although the swing of the lamp became weaker and weaker, so that the distance of each swing gradually shortened, the time required for each swing was the same. So Galileo made a pendulum of appropriate length and measured the speed and uniformity of the pulse. From here, he found the law of the pendulum. The clock was made based on this law he discovered.
Study hard on your own after falling out of school
The poverty of family life forced Galileo to leave university early. After dropping out of school, Galileo continued to study mathematics diligently at home. Due to his continuous efforts, he achieved excellent results in mathematics research. At the same time, he also invented a specific gravity scale and wrote a paper titled "The Center of Gravity of Solids." At this time, the 21-year-old Galileo was already famous throughout the country, and people called him the "Contemporary Archimedes". When he was 25 years old, the University of Pisa made an exception and hired him as a professor of mathematics.
The world-famous falling body experiment
Before Galileo, Aristotle of ancient Greece believed that objects fall at different speeds. Its falling speed is proportional to its weight. The heavier the object, the faster it falls. For example, an object weighing 10 kilograms falls 10 times faster than an object weighing 1 kilogram.
Since more than 1,700 years ago, people have regarded this theory that violates the laws of nature as an undoubted truth. The young Galileo boldly questioned Aristotle's theory based on his own empirical reasoning. After careful consideration, he decided to conduct an experiment himself. He chose the Leaning Tower of Pisa as his experimental site. On this day, he brought two iron balls of the same size but different weights. One weighed 100 pounds and was solid; the other weighed 1 pound and was hollow. Galileo stood on top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, looking down. The bottom of the tower was full of people who came to watch, and everyone was talking about it. Someone sarcastically said: "This young man must be mentally ill! Aristotle's theory can't be wrong!" The experiment began. Galileo took an iron ball in each hand and shouted: "People below, You see clearly, the iron ball is about to fall." After saying that, he opened his hands at the same time. People saw that the two iron balls fell in parallel and landed on the ground almost at the same time. Everyone was stunned. Gajsenileo's experiment revealed the secret of falling body motion and overturned Aristotle's theory. This experiment has epoch-making significance in the history of the development of physics.
The first telescope was made
Copernicus was an outstanding Polish astronomer. After 40 years of astronomical observations, he proposed the theory of "heliocentrism". He believed that the center of the universe was the sun, not the earth. The earth is an ordinary planet that rotates on its axis and also orbits the sun. Galileo had long believed in Copernicus' heliocentric theory. One day in June 1608, Galileo found an empty tube and embedded a convex mirror on one end and a concave mirror on the other end, making the world's first small astronomical telescope. Experiments have proven that it can magnify the original object 3 times. Galileo was not satisfied, so he improved further and made another one. He took the telescope and ran to the beach. He saw only rolling waves in the vast sea and no ship in sight. However, when he picked up the telescope and looked into the distance, a ship was approaching the shore from a distance. Practice has proven that it can magnify 8 times. Galileo continued to improve and build, and finally, his telescope could magnify the original object 32 times.
Confirming Copernicus' "heliocentric theory"
Every night, Galileo used his telescope to watch the moon. He saw mountains, deep valleys, and volcanic fissures on the moon. Later, I started watching space and exploring the mysteries of the universe. He discovered that the Milky Way is made up of many small stars. He also discovered that there are dark spots in the sun, and the positions of these dark spots are constantly changing. Therefore, he concluded that the sun itself was rotating. Galileo immersed himself in observation and proved with irrefutable facts that the earth revolves around the sun, and the sun is just an ordinary star, thereby proving the correctness of Copernicus' theory. In 1610, Galileo published the famous "The Starry Messenger". People said with admiration: "Columbus discovered the New World, and Galileo discovered the new universe."
"Thinking"
Newton's Story
From: Anonymous** *6051 readers have read this article. Date of publication: 2005-12-3
Newton
Newton is known as the founder of modern science and has made great contributions to science. His three major achievements - the analysis of light, the law of universal gravitation and calculus - laid the foundation for the development of modern science.
Why was Newton able to achieve great achievements in science? How did he become a great scientist from an ordinary person? To answer these questions, we can't help but think of several stories about his hard study and hard work.
"I must surpass him!"
When it comes to Newton, people may think that he must have been a "child prodigy" or "genius" with extraordinary intelligence when he was a child. In fact, this was not the case. Newton was thin in body and not very bright in his childhood. When I was studying in my hometown, I didn't study very hard, and my academic performance in the class was second-rate. But his interests are wide-ranging, and his game skills are higher than those of ordinary children. He usually likes to make mechanical models, such as windmills, waterwheels, sundials, etc. The water clock he carefully made was more accurate in timekeeping and was praised by people.
Sometimes, the way he plays is also very strange. One day, he made a lantern and hung it on the tail of the kite. When night falls, the lit lanterns are lifted into the sky by the power of the kites. Glowing lanterns flowed in the sky, and people were startled, thinking that a comet had appeared. Despite this, he was often discriminated against because of his poor academic performance.
At that time, the British feudal society had a very serious hierarchical system. Students who studied well in primary and secondary schools could discriminate against their classmates who did not study well. There was a recess game, when everyone was having fun, a student who was studying well kicked Newton on the pretext and called him a fool. Newton's mind was so stimulated that he was extremely angry. He thought, we are both students, why should I be bullied by him? I must surpass him! From then on, Newton made up his mind to study hard. He gets up early and goes to bed late, seizes every moment, studies and thinks hard.
After hard study, Newton's academic performance continued to improve, and soon he surpassed the classmate who had bullied him and ranked at the top of the class.
Fun under the fence
There are many famous scientists in the world who come from poor families.
They have all fought tenaciously against difficult circumstances on their way to success. Newton's situation in his boyhood was also very sympathetic.
Newton was born in the family of an ordinary farmer in England in 1642. Shortly before Newton was born, his father died. His mother remarried when he was two years old. When Newton was fourteen years old, his stepfather unfortunately passed away and his mother returned to his hometown. Newton was forced to drop out of school and go home to help his mother farm. His mother wanted to train him to make an independent living and asked him to engage in the business of agricultural products.
How reluctant a diligent and studious child is to leave his beloved school! He cried sadly several times, but his mother never changed her mind. In the end, he had to study business according to his mother's wishes. Every morning, he and an old servant went to a big town more than ten miles away to do business. Newton didn't like doing business very much. He entrusted all matters to his old servants, while he secretly went to a place to study.
As time went by, Newton became more and more disgusted with doing business, and all he liked in his heart was reading. Later, Newton simply stopped going to the town to do business and only asked the old servant to go alone. Afraid that his family would find out, he went out with his old servant every day, stopping halfway and reading under a fence. Whenever the old servant comes back in the afternoon, we go home together.
In this way, day after day, the reading life under the fence is endlessly enjoyable. One day, he was reading happily under the fence, and he happened to be seen by his uncle who was passing by. When his uncle saw this scene, he was very angry and scolded him loudly for not doing his job properly. He snatched Newton's book away. When his uncle saw that what he was reading was a mathematics book with various marks drawn on it, he was deeply moved. The uncle hugged Newton and said excitedly: "Son, just develop according to your ambition. Your right path should be to study."
After returning home, the uncle tried his best to persuade Newton's mother to let Newton Newton gave up business and went to school. With the help of his uncle, Newton returned to school as he wished.
Studying and calculating wind power in storms
Time treats people equally and gives people the same amount, but people use time differently and the knowledge gained is also very different. Same.
When Newton was sixteen years old, his mathematical knowledge was very superficial, and he could even be said not to understand advanced mathematical knowledge. "Knowledge lies in accumulation, and wisdom comes from learning." Newton was determined to reach the peak of mathematics through his own efforts. Under the unfavorable conditions of poor foundation, Newton was able to understand himself correctly and advance despite difficulties. He started over from basic knowledge and basic formulas, and advanced step by step. After studying Euclidean geometry, he then studied Descartes' geometry. In comparison, he felt that Euclidean geometry was superficial, so he studied Descartes' geometry carefully until he mastered the essentials. Integrate everything. Then he invented the algebraic binomial theorem. The legendary story of Newton "calculating the force of the wind in a big storm" can be evidence of Newton's body mechanics. One day, there was a big storm. The wind is howling in the wild, the dust is flying, and it is so confusing that it is difficult to open one's eyes. Newton saw this as an opportunity to accurately study and calculate the force of the wind. So, he took the tools and ran back and forth alone in the storm. He stumbled and measured with difficulty. Several times the sand and dust blinded his eyes, several times the wind blew away the calculation paper, and several times the wind forced him to suspend his work, but they did not shake his desire for knowledge. He repeated it again and again, and finally obtained the correct data. He was so happy that he hurried home and continued his research. Where there's a will, there's a way. Through diligent study, Newton laid a solid foundation for his scientific tower. Soon, Newton's mathematical tower was built. He invented differential calculus at the age of 22 and integral calculus at the age of 23, making great contributions to human science.
The Secret of Gravity and Light
When Newton was twenty-three years old, the plague was prevalent in London. In order to prevent students from being infected, the University of Cambridge notified students to suspend classes and go home to avoid the epidemic, and the school was temporarily closed. Newton returned to his native Lincolnshire countryside. During his vacation days in the countryside, he never stopped studying and researching. The basic work of inventions such as gravity, calculus, and light analysis were all completed during this period.
At that time, children in the countryside often used the sling to throw the stone far away after several rounds.
They can also forcefully turn a bucket of milk over their heads without the milk falling out.
These facts made him doubt: "What force keeps the stone in the sling and the milk in the bucket from falling? For this question, he once thought of the thoughts of Kepler and Galileo. He From the vast universe, the endlessly moving planets, the vast and cold moon, to the huge earth, and then thinking about the interaction of forces between these behemoths, Newton plunged into the calculation and verification of "gravity". Newton planned to use this principle to verify the motion patterns of the planets in the solar system. He first calculated the distance of the moon from the earth. Due to incorrect data, the calculation result was wrong because the moon orbited the earth. The centripetal acceleration should be 16 feet per minute, but it was estimated to be only 13.9 feet. In the dilemma of failure, Newton did not lose heart and was discouraged, but worked hard with greater efforts. After seven springs and autumns, he finally fully proved the world-famous "Law of Universal Gravity" at the age of thirty, laying the foundation for theoretical astronomy and celestial mechanics.
During this period, Newton also conducted research on optics. After research, he discovered the origin of the color. Once, when he was observing celestial objects with his homemade telescope, the angle of view was always unclear. He thought that this might be related to the refraction of light, and then he started experimenting in the darkroom. A small round hole was left in the window to transmit light, and a prism was placed behind the indoor window. A white screen was hung behind the prism to receive the light refracted through the prism. As a result, unexpectedly, Newton was surprised to see a white screen. The refraction received by the sun was oval, and colorful colors appeared at both ends. Newton thought deeply about this strange phenomenon and learned that after the light is refracted, the white light of the sun is dispersed. There are seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Therefore, white light (sunlight) is formed by the combination of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. In nature, the sky is sunny after rain. After further research, Newton pointed out that the reason why everything in the world has color is not that the sun itself has color. All things and objects only absorb the colors they accept, and reflect the colors they cannot accept. This reflected color is the color of various objects that people see. This theory accurately tells the origin of color and the world. Various color theories that have appeared since ancient times have been overturned by it.
The profound mathematical foundation laid by Newton in his early years played an important role.
Entering the realm of selflessness
On a rugged mountain road, a white-haired old man led a horse slowly up the mountain. The man walked slowly in front, and the horse followed step by step. On the ground, there was a monotonous sound of horse hooves in the valley. Walking, walking, the horse suddenly ran away. The old man was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice. He was still holding the horse's reins. When he climbed to a flatter place and wanted to ride on the horse, he pulled the reins. What he pulled in front of him was only a rope. When he looked back, he saw that the horse was gone.
Except for taking a small amount of time to exercise every day, Newton spent most of his time in his study. Once, in his study, he was boiling eggs while thinking about the problem. Thinking hard made him crazy. Suddenly, the water in the pot boiled. He quickly lifted the pot and took a look. "Ah!" he exclaimed, but what was boiling in the pot was a pocket watch. It turned out that when he was thinking about the problem, he absent-mindedly put the pocket watch into the pot like an egg.
Another time, Newton invited a friend to his home for lunch. He was so fascinated by science that he forgot about it. As usual, his servant only prepared lunch for Newton to eat alone. Near noon, guests were invited. The guest saw Newton immersed in calculation problems. There were manuscript papers and books on the table and bed. Seeing this situation, the guest did not disturb Newton. When he saw the food on the table, he thought it was prepared for him, so he sat down and started eating. After eating, he left quietly.
When Newton finished calculating the problem and walked to the dining table to have lunch, he saw the eaten chicken bones on the plate and suddenly said, "I thought I didn't eat, but I still ate."
Whether these stories are true or false is not important, but they show how Newton was a meditative, unkempt, self-effacing person. He was extremely dedicated to science and always thinking about the stars. The rotation, the changes of the universe, and entered the state of selflessness.
Modest, prudent, and meticulous style of study
“A broad river is calm, and a knowledgeable person is humble.” All great figures who have made great contributions to human development have the virtue of humility. Whenever Newton achieved great achievements in science, he was never complacent. He thought he was great and hurriedly published works to become famous in the world.
When Newton worked hard to calculate the "law of universal gravitation", he was not in a hurry to publish it. Instead, he continued to ponder and study tirelessly for several years, immersed himself in numerical calculations, and never said a word to anyone. Later, Newton's friend, the great astronomer Halley (the discoverer of comets), encountered difficulties in proving a law about planetary orbits, and made a special trip to Newton to consult him. Newton gave Halley his manuscript on the calculation of "gravity". After reading it, Halley realized that the problem he wanted to ask for advice was exactly a problem that Newton had already solved and calculated long ago, and he was filled with envy.
One day in November 1684, Halley visited Newton's apartment again. When talking about academic issues related to astronomy, Newton took out the paper he had written on demonstrating "gravity" and asked Halley for his opinions. After reading it, Harley was very surprised by this masterpiece. He happily said to Newton: "This is really a great argument and a great work!" He repeatedly advised Newton to publish this great work as soon as possible to benefit mankind. But Newton did not listen to his friend's well-intentioned advice and published his work easily. It was only after
a long period of meticulous and repeated verification and calculation that it was confirmed to be correct, "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" was published to the world in July 1687.
Newton was a very humble man and never arrogant. Someone once asked Newton: "What is the secret of your success?" Newton replied: "If I have a little success, there is no other secret but diligence." He added: "If I look further, That’s because I stand on the shoulders of giants.” How meaningful these words are! It vividly tells the secret of Newton's great achievements, which is to create a new world of science with dedication and diligence based on the research results of predecessors.
"Observation"
Li Ka-shing
He won the 2000 International Outstanding Entrepreneur Award;
He is a world-famous business tycoon;
He is the pride of fashionistas
The name Li Ka-shing has been shaking the world since the 1970s, especially the real estate and financial circles. The name Li Ka-shing means wealth to Hong Kong people. Li Ka-shing's hard-working, honest and tireless personal struggle spirit, unique judgment, bold decision-making ability and good use of people constitute the factors of success. As a result, he also has titles such as "Superman Lee", "Big Brother Cheng", "Plastic Flower King", "Real Estate Raptor", and "Real Estate King".
Li Ka-shing was born in a scholarly family in Mianxian Lane, Chaozhou City. He was smart, detached and diligent in study since childhood. In 1939, the Japanese invaded Chaoshan and fled to Hong Kong with his parents. They suffered from war, poverty, and famine, and developed a spirit of hard work and hard work. In 1950, at the age of 22, Mr. Li Ka-shing founded the "Yangtze Plastic Factory" named after the mother river of the Chinese nation to express his innocence. After decades of hard work, in 1988 he owned five major companies including "Cheung Kong", "Hutchison Whampoa" and "HK Electric", more than 100 subsidiaries and more than 50 associated companies, forming a well-funded and powerful Li company. "Economic Kingdom". In 2000, he himself became one of the five richest people in the world.
Mr. Li has moved from Mee Sui Alley to the world. He has such a prominent position, but he has not been arrogant or bossy because of it. He is still so humble and peaceful. Once, Mr. Li attended the foundation laying ceremony of Shantou University. Originally, as the founder of Shantou University, he should have written his name on the front page of the VIP signature book. However, Mr. Li did not do this and signed his name on the first page of the VIP signature book. on page three. In this banquet, regardless of his status, he toasted, shook hands, and talked with every guest. Indeed, there was no "sense of isolation" in people. Mr. Li Ka-shing is already one of the few millionaires in the world, but he is not arrogant or extravagant. He still insists on cultivating virtue, integrity, and health through frugality, and is indifferent, quiet, and unpretentious.
What is even more admirable is that although Mr. Li Ka-shing has become famous, he still does not forget his motherland and hometown. He once said with emotion: "I have been living in Hong Kong for decades, and I miss my country and my hometown every day." "As descendants of the Yan and Huang Dynasties, we must strive for self-improvement, develop and develop without forgetting our homeland, and serve our ancestors in the future." Mr. Li knows very well: "The importance of education is actually related to the strength of the country, the rise and fall of society, and the advancement and retreat of the times." However, the Chaoshan area, with an area of ??more than 10,000 square kilometers and a population of tens of millions, did not have any education before the 1980s. It is a pity to have an institution of higher learning. To this end, he began to invest in the establishment of Shantou University in 1980. As of the end of last year, *** had donated more than 1.2 billion yuan and had built a 360,000-square-meter school building with institutions for liberal arts, science, engineering, medicine, and law. Its 9 colleges and 16 departments, including Business and Business, have provided batches of talents to the country and the Chaoshan region. At the fifth board meeting of Shantou University held last year, Mr. Li humbly expressed his heartfelt respect and gratitude to every colleague who grew up at Shantou University. Here, I can’t help but think of what Mr. Li once said at Shantou University: “Achievement combined with humility is the most valuable thing.”
Li Ka-shing’s personality saving power is sublime, and his achievements are beyond the reach of anyone. In June 2000, he won the 2000 International Outstanding Entrepreneur Award. Mr. Li Ka-shing was the first Chinese entrepreneur to win this honor. Mr. Fraser, chairman of the Grand Prize Nomination Committee, said when awarding the award: Mr. Li Ka-shing has a prominent global business status and is one of the most famous entrepreneurs in the world. He is well-deserved for receiving this award.
Although this great entrepreneur has received numerous awards, he still regards himself as an ordinary person, a citizen and a businessman, and does everything he can to serve the society. For decades, he has provided services to all walks of life. Donated more than HK$3.8 billion. In his words: "If we just pursue money and power blindly and ignore the noble sentiments of mankind, then all progress and wealth creation will become meaningless."
Swedish chemist Scheler experimentally produced pure oxygen before 1773. However, as a loyal believer in the "phlogiston theory", he mistakenly called this gas "fire gas" and believed that combustion is the process of combining fire gas with the phlogiston in the burning object, and that fire and heat are the products of the combination of fire gas and phlogiston. Failure to correctly explain combustion phenomena.
At almost the same time, the British chemist Priestley also produced this gas experimentally. He placed a candle in this gas and found that the flame was hotter and brighter than in air. He also put a mouse in and found that it lived about four times longer than in an equal volume of ordinary air. He tried it himself, and as soon as he breathed it in, he "felt that this air made breathing much lighter and made people feel particularly comfortable." But instead of continuing his research, he embarked on a holiday trip across the European continent.
When the pearl of science appeared in front of Scheler and Priestley, they did not identify it, but regarded it as a fish eye, thus missing the goddess of opportunity.
So the goddess of opportunity turned her favor to Lavoisier. He found that there were many flaws in the "phlogiston theory". For example, since the metal releases phlogiston during calcination, why does the weight increase? As for the candle, after burning, nothing is left, and everything seems to disappear.
In order to find out the truth, Lavoisier began rigorous experiments.
He first carefully weighed airtight containers of air and solid matter, and then used magnifying lenses to focus sunlight on the matter, or heated it with fire. After the substance has burned, reweigh the container containing the reactants. He repeatedly conducted experiments with various different substances, and the results showed that the weight of the sealed container did not change before and after burning.
What is the reason for this? Lavoisier's brain began to think intensely. Later, he finally came to the conclusion: It turned out that during unsealed combustion, a new material element in the air participated in the reaction, causing the material to have different weights before and after burning. For this reason, he named this gas acid, which is what we know as oxygen today.
In this way, the secret of metal rusting and weight gain was also revealed.
Finally, Lavoisier overturned the "phlogiston theory" that had been circulated for many years, pointing out: "Since artificial or natural operations cannot create anything out of nothing, so in every operation, the substances that exist before and after the operation are The total amount is equal, and the quality and quantity of its elements remain unchanged, but they are replaced and deformed. This can be regarded as an axiom. "This statement embodies the basic spirit of the "Law of Immortality of Matter." Lavoisier's thinking surpassed that of his contemporaries because he noticed not only the changes in the properties of substances in chemical reactions, but also the changes in quantity, thus allowing chemical science to sever its last ties with ancient alchemy. , flourishing with a new look.