万物简史英文版_比尔·布莱森-第9章

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sea　diving　bell。　hewrote　authoritatively　on　magnetism；　tides；　and　the　motions　of　the　planets；　and　fondly　on　theeffects　of　opium。　he　invented　the　weather　map　and　actuarial　table；　proposed　methods　forworking　out　the　age　of　the　earth　and　its　distance　from　the　sun；　even　devised　a　practicalmethod　for　keeping　fish　fresh　out　of　season。　the　one　thing　he　didn鈥檛　do；　interestingly　enough；was　discover　the　et　that　bears　his　name。　he　merely　recognized　that　the　et　he　saw　in1682　was　the　same　one　that　had　been　seen　by　others　in　1456；　1531；　and　1607。　it　didn鈥檛bee　halley鈥檚　et　until　1758；　some　sixteen　years　after　his　death。

for　all　his　achievements；　however；　halley鈥檚　greatest　contribution　to　human　knowledge　maysimply　have　been　to　take　part　in　a　modest　scientific　wager　with　two　other　worthies　of　his　day：

robert　hooke；　who　is　perhaps　best　remembered　now　as　the　first　person　to　describe　a　cell；　andthe　great　and　stately　sir　christopher　wren；　who　was　actually　an　astronomer　first　and　architectsecond；　though　that　is　not　often　generally　remembered　now。　in　1683；　halley；　hooke；　andwren　were　dining　in　london　when　the　conversation　turned　to　the　motions　of　celestial　objects。

it　was　known　that　planets　were　inclined　to　orbit　in　a　particular　kind　of　oval　known　as　anellipse鈥斺�渁　very　specific　and　precise　curve；鈥潯�to　quote　richard　feynman鈥攂ut　it　wasn鈥檛understood　why。　wren　generously　offered　a　prize　worth　forty　shillings　（equivalent　to　a　coupleof　weeks鈥櫋�pay）　to　whichever　of　the　men　could　provide　a　solution。

hooke；　who　was　well　known　for　taking　credit　for　ideas　that　weren鈥檛　necessarily　his　own；claimed　that　he　had　solved　the　problem　already　but　declined　now　to　share　it　on　the　interestingand　inventive　grounds　that　it　would　rob　others　of　the　satisfaction　of　discovering　the　answer　forthemselves。　he　would　instead　鈥渃onceal　it　for　some　time；　that　others　might　know　how　to　valueit。鈥潯�if　he　thought　any　more　on　the　matter；　he　left　no　evidence　of　it。　halley；　however；　becameconsumed　with　finding　the　answer；　to　the　point　that　the　following　year　he　traveled　tocambridge　and　boldly　called　upon　the　university鈥檚　lucasian　professor　of　mathematics；　isaacnewton；　in　the　hope　that　he　could　help。

newton　was　a　decidedly　odd　figure鈥攂rilliant　beyond　measure；　but　solitary；　joyless；　pricklyto　the　point　of　paranoia；　famously　distracted　（upon　swinging　his　feet　out　of　bed　in　the　morninghe　would　reportedly　sometimes　sit　for　hours；　immobilized　by　the　sudden　rush　of　thoughts　tohis　head）；　and　capable　of　the　most　riveting　strangeness。　he　built　his　own　laboratory；　the　firstat　cambridge；　but　then　engaged　in　the　most　bizarre　experiments。　once　he　inserted　a　bodkin鈥攁　long　needle　of　the　sort　used　for　sewing　leather鈥攊nto　his　eye　socket　and　rubbed　it　around鈥渂etwixt　my　eye　and　the　bone　as　near　to　＇the＇　backside　of　my　eye　as　i　could鈥潯�just　to　see　whatwould　happen。　what　happened；　miraculously；　was　nothing鈥攁t　least　nothing　lasting。　onanother　occasion；　he　stared　at　the　sun　for　as　long　as　he　could　bear；　to　determine　what　effect　itwould　have　upon　his　vision。　again　he　escaped　lasting　damage；　though　he　had　to　spend　somedays　in　a　darkened　room　before　his　eyes　forgave　him。

set　atop　these　odd　beliefs　and　quirky　traits；　however；　was　the　mind　of　a　supreme　genius鈥攖hough　even　when　working　in　conventional　channels　he　often　showed　a　tendency　topeculiarity。　as　a　student；　frustrated　by　the　limitations　of　conventional　mathematics；　heinvented　an　entirely　new　form；　the　calculus；　but　then　told　no　one　about　it　for　twenty…sevenyears。　in　like　manner；　he　did　work　in　optics　that　transformed　our　understanding　of　light　andlaid　the　foundation　for　the　science　of　spectroscopy；　and　again　chose　not　to　share　the　results　forthree　decades。

for　all　his　brilliance；　real　science　accounted　for　only　a　part　of　his　interests。　at　least　half　hisworking　life　was　given　over　to　alchemy　and　wayward　religious　pursuits。　these　were　not　meredabblings　but　wholehearted　devotions。　he　was　a　secret　adherent　of　a　dangerously　hereticalsect　called　arianism；　whose　principal　tenet　was　the　belief　that　there　had　been　no　holy　trinity（slightly　ironic　since　newton鈥檚　college　at　cambridge　was　trinity）。　he　spent　endless　hoursstudying　the　floor　plan　of　the　lost　temple　of　king　solomon　in　jerusalem　（teaching　himselfhebrew　in　the　process；　the　better　to　scan　original　texts）　in　the　belief　that　it　held　mathematicalclues　to　the　dates　of　the　second　ing　of　christ　and　the　end　of　the　world。　his　attachment　toalchemy　was　no　less　ardent。　in　1936；　the　economist　john　maynard　keynes　bought　a　trunk　ofnewton鈥檚　papers　at　auction　and　discovered　with　astonishment　that　they　were　overwhelminglypreoccupied　not　with　optics　or　planetary　motions；　but　with　a　single…minded　quest　to　turn　basemetals　into　precious　ones。　an　analysis　of　a　strand　of　newton鈥檚　hair　in　the　1970s　found　itcontained　mercury鈥攁n　element　of　interest　to　alchemists；　hatters；　and　thermometer…makersbut　almost　no　one　else鈥攁t　a　concentration　some　forty　times　the　natural　level。　it　is　perhapslittle　wonder　that　he　had　trouble　remembering　to　rise　in　the　morning。

quite　what　halley　expected　to　get　from　him　when　he　made　his　unannounced　visit　in　august1684　we　can　only　guess。　but　thanks　to　the　later　account　of　a　newton　confidant；　abrahamdemoivre；　we　do　have　a　record　of　one　of　science鈥檚　most　historic　encounters：

in　1684　drhalley　came　to　visit　at　cambridge　＇and＇　after　they　had　some　timetogether　the　drasked　him　what　he　thought　the　curve　would　be　that　would　bedescribed　by　the　planets　supposing　the　force　of　attraction　toward　the　sun　to　bereciprocal　to　the　square　of　their　distance　from　it。

this　was　a　reference　to　a　piece　of　mathematics　known　as　the　inverse　square　law；　which　halleywas　convinced　lay　at　the　heart　of　the　explanation；　though　he　wasn鈥檛　sure　exactly　how。

srisaac　replied　immediately　that　it　would　be　an　＇ellipse＇。　the　doctor；　struck　withjoy　&　amazement；　asked　him　how　he　knew　it。　鈥榳hy；鈥櫋�saith　he；　鈥榠　have　calculatedit；鈥櫋�whereupon　drhalley　asked　him　for　his　calculation　without　farther　delay；srisaac　looked　among　his　papers　but　could　not　find　it。

this　was　astounding鈥攍ike　someone　saying　he　had　found　a　cure　for　cancer　but　couldn鈥檛remember　where　he　had　put　the　formula。　pressed　by　halley；　newton　agreed　to　redo　thecalculations　and　produce　a　paper。　he　did　as　promised；　but　then　did　much　more。　he　retired　fortwo　years　of　intensive　reflection　and　scribbling；　and　at　length　produced　his　masterwork：　thephilosophiae　naturalis　principia　mathematica　or　mathematical　principles　of　naturalphilosophy；　better　known　as　the　principia　。

once　in　a　great　while；　a　few　times　in　history；　a　human　mind　produces　an　observation　soacute　and　unexpected　that　people　can鈥檛　quite　decide　which　is　the　more　amazing鈥攖he　fact　orthe　thinking　of　it。　principia　was　one　of　those　moments。　it　made　newton　instantly　famous。　forthe　rest　of　his　life　he　would　be　draped　with　plaudits　and　honors；　being；　among　much　else；the　first　person　in　britain　knighted　for　scientific　achievement。　even　the　great　germanmathematician　gottfried　von　leibniz；　with　whom　newton　had　a　long；　bitter　fight　over　priorityfor　the　invention　of　the　calculus；　thought　his　contributions　to　mathematics　equal　to　all　theaccumulated　work　that　had　preceded　him。　鈥渘earer　the　gods　no　mortal　may　approach；鈥潯�wrotehalley　in　a　sentiment　that　was　endlessly　echoed　by　his　contemporaries　and　by　many　otherssince。

although　the　principia　has　been　called　鈥渙ne　of　the　most　inaccessible　books　ever　written鈥�

（newton　intentionally　made　it　difficult　so　that　he　wouldn鈥檛　be　pestered　by　mathematical鈥渟matterers；鈥潯�as　he　called　them）；　it　was　a　beacon　to　those　who　could　follow　it。　it　not　onlyexplained　mathematically　the　orbits　of　heavenly　bodies；　but　also　identified　the　attractive　forcethat　got　them　moving　in　the　first　place鈥攇ravity。　suddenly　every　motion　in　the　universe　madesense。

at　principia　鈥檚　heart　were　newton鈥檚　three　laws　of　motion　（which　state；　very　baldly；　that　athing　moves　in　the　direction　in　which　it　is　pushed；　that　it　will　keep　moving　in　a　straight　lineuntil　some　other　force　acts　to　slow　or　deflect　it；　and　that　every　action　has　an　opposite　andequal　reaction）　and　his　universal　law　of　gravitation。　this　states　that　every　object　in　theuniverse　exerts　a　tug　on　every　other。　it　may　not　seem　like　it；　but　as　you　sit　here　now　you　arepulling　everything　around　you鈥攚alls；　ceiling；　lamp；　pet　cat鈥攖oward　you　with　your　own　little（indeed；　very　little）　gravitational　field。　and　these　things　are　also　pulling　on　you。　it　wasnewton　who　realized　that　the　pull　of　any　two　objects　is；　to　quote　feynman　again；鈥減roportional　to　the　mass　of　each　and　varies　inversely　as　the　square　of　the　distance　betweenthem。鈥潯�put　another　way；　if　you　double　the　distance　between　two　objects；　the　attractionbetween　them　bees　four　times　weaker。　this　can　be　expressed　with　the　formulaf　=　gmmr2which　is　of　course　way　beyond　anything　that　most　of　us　could　make　practical　use　of；　but　atleast　we　can　appreciate　that　it　is　elegantly　pact。　a　couple　of　brief　multiplications；　a　simpledivision；　and；　bingo；　you　know　your　gravitational　position　wherever　you　go。　it　was　the　firstreally　universal　law　of　nature　ever　propounded　by　a　human　mind；　which　is　why　newton　isregarded　with　such　universal　esteem。

principia鈥檚　production　was　not　without　drama。　to　halley鈥檚　horror；　just　as　work　wasnearing　pletion　newton　and　hooke　fell　into　dispute　over　the　priority　for　the　inversesquare　law　and　newton　refused　to　release　the　crucial　third　volume；　without　which　the　firsttwo　made　little　sense。　only　with　some　frantic　shuttle　diplomacy　and　the　most　liberalapplications　of　flattery　did　halley　manage　finally　to　extract　the　concluding　volume　from　theerratic　professor。

halley鈥檚　traumas　were　not　yet　quite　over。　the　royal　society　had　promised　to　publish　thework；　but　now　pulled　out；　citing　financial　embarrassment。　the　year　before　the　society　hadbacked　a　costly　flop　called　the　history　of　fishes　；　and　they　now　suspected　that　the　market　fora　book　on　mathematical　principles　would　be　less　than　clamorous。　halley；　whose　means　werenot　great；　paid　for　the　book鈥檚　publication　out　of　his　own　pocket。　newton；　as　was　his　custom；contributed　nothing。　to　make　matters　worse；　halley　at　this　time　had　just　accepted　a　positionas　the　society鈥檚　clerk；　and　he　was　informed　that　the　society　could　no　longer　afford　to　providehim　with　a　promised　salary　of　锟�50　per　annum。　he　was　to　be　paid　instead　in　copies　of　thehistory　of　fishes　。

newton鈥檚　laws　explained　so　many　things鈥攖he　slosh　and　roll　of　ocean　tides；　the　motions　ofplanets；　why　cannonballs　trace　a　particular　trajectory　before　thudding　back　to　earth；　why　wearen鈥檛　flung　into　space　as　the　planet　spins　beneath　us　at　hundreds　of　miles　an　hour2鈥攖hat　ittook　a　while　for　all　their　implications　to　seep　in。　but　one　revelation　became　almostimmediately　controversial。

this　was　the　suggestion　that　the　earth　is　not　quite　round。　according　to　newton鈥檚　theory；the　centrifugal　force　of　the　earth鈥檚　spin　should　result　in　a　slight　flattening　at　the　poles　and　abulging　at　the　equator；　which　would　make　the　planet　slightly　oblate。　that　meant　that　thelength　of　a　degree　wouldn鈥檛　be　the　same　in　italy　as　it　was　in　scotland。　specifically；　the　lengthwould　shorten　as　you　moved　away　from　the　poles。　this　was　not　good　news　for　those　pe