Edison was a great electrician and inventor. He was born in Mylan, Ohio, USA. He has worked in his father's timber factory since he was a child. Because of his poor family, he only studied at school for three months in his life. But he loved science since he was a child, taught himself hard and was addicted to invention and creation. The number of officially registered inventions reached 1328, and he was called the king of inventions in the world. His invention depends not only on intelligence, but also on hard scientific practice. For example, when he invented the electric light, he used 200 notebooks to collect information alone; In order to find a suitable filament, we used copper wire, platinum wire and other materials 1600, as well as hair and various bamboo wires. Finally, we selected a kind of bamboo filament from Japan, which became the original filament after burning and carbonization. As he himself said, "Invention is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."

-This article is taken from Xiyuan Publishing House's New Teaching Plan for Quality Education.

Edison's disgraceful page

1888, American electrical engineers Tesla and Westin decided to develop communication business. Edison strongly opposed the use of alternating current for his DC career, which almost killed the use of alternating current in the cradle and delayed the progress of human civilization.

He specially set up a huge laboratory, hired primary school students to catch cats, dogs and other livestock in the street for experiments, and electrocuted them cruelly under alternating current. He also persuaded officials in New York State Prison to promise to change hanging to electrocution, that is, electrocution with alternating current. Because of inexperience, the charges used by the authorities were too weak, and the prisoners were just electrocuted. According to media reports at that time, this horrible sight was much more terrible than hanging. Since then, alternating current has become notorious. The popularization and application of alternating current has fallen into a serious dilemma.

Tesla and Westin are not discouraged by the constant slander and attack of Edison, the giant of scientific invention. They insisted on experiments and proved that alternating current has the advantages of safety and reliability with a large number of facts. 1893, at the Chicago World Expo, alternating current was recognized by people for its obvious advantages.

Scientist Einstein

( 1879- 1955)

Einstein was the greatest natural scientist in the 20th century and the standard-bearer of the physics revolution. 1March, 879 14 was born in Ulm, Germany, a small business owner's family. A year later, my family and I moved to Munich. My father and uncle jointly set up an electrician company there to produce motors, arc lamps and electrical instruments for power stations and lighting systems. Under the influence of engineer He's uncle and others, Einstein was enlightened by science and philosophy earlier. 1894, his family moved to Milan, Italy, and Einstein, who continued to attend middle school in Munich, gave up his student status and German nationality and went to Milan alone because he hated the militaristic education that German schools stifled free thinking. 1895 transferred to the state middle school in Arau, Switzerland; 1896 studied physics at Zurich Normal University of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, 1900 graduated. Because of his unruly personality and habit of independent thinking, he is dissatisfied with his professors. He lost his job as soon as he graduated from college and found a regular job two years later. 190 1 acquired Swiss nationality. 1902 was hired as a technician by the Berne patent office in Switzerland, engaged in the technical appraisal of invention patent applications. He used his spare time to do scientific research, and made historic achievements in three different fields of physics in 1905, especially the establishment of special relativity and the proposal of light quantum theory, which promoted the revolution of physics theory. In the same year, he received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Zurich with his thesis "A New Method for Determining Molecular Size". From 65438 to 0908, he was a part-time lecturer at Berne University, and since then he was destined to work in academic institutions. 1909 left the patent office and became an associate professor of theoretical physics at the University of Zurich. 191/kloc-0 was a professor of theoretical physics at the Deutschland University in Prague, and 19 12 was a professor at his alma mater, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. 19 14 years, at the invitation of M. Planck and W. Nernst, he returned to Germany and served as the director of the Institute of Physics of Emperor William and a professor at Berlin University until 1933. 1920, at the invitation of H. A. Lorenz and P. Ellenffest (that is, P. Errenfest), distinguished professor of Leiden University in the Netherlands. Less than four months after returning to Germany, World War I broke out and he devoted himself to public and underground anti-war activities. After eight years of hard exploration, he finally established the general theory of relativity in 19 15. His prediction that light will bend after passing through the gravitational field of the sun was confirmed by the observation results of the total solar eclipse in 19 19 by the British astronomer A.S. Eddington and others, which caused a sensation all over the world. Einstein and the theory of relativity are well-known in the west, and they have also attracted vicious attacks from chauvinists, militarists and anti-Semitists in Germany and other countries. 1933+ 10 After the Nazis seized the German regime in October, Einstein was the primary object of persecution in the scientific community. Fortunately, he was lecturing in America and was not killed. Returning to Europe in March, he took refuge in Belgium. On September 9, he found himself being followed by the Gestapo who planned to assassinate him. He crossed the ocean in the starry night, moved to Princeton in the United States in June 5438+10, and served as a professor at the newly-built Institute for Advanced Studies until his retirement in June 5438 +0945. 1940 Obtaining American citizenship.

1939, he was told that uranium nuclear fission and its chain reaction were discovered. Under the impetus of Hungarian physicist L. szilard, he wrote to President Roosevelt and suggested developing an atomic bomb to prevent the Germans from taking the lead. On the eve of the end of World War II, the United States dropped atomic bombs over two Japanese cities, and Einstein was strongly dissatisfied with this. After the war, the United States waged unremitting struggles and launched a peaceful movement against the dangers of nuclear war and fascism.

1955 April 18 died in Princeton due to ruptured aortic aneurysm. According to his will, there will be no funeral, no grave, no monument, and the ashes will be scattered in a place that will always be kept secret, and no place will be sacred.

-This article is selected from Popular Science and Scientific Figures in China.

Apples and gravity

-Newton's story

Wang Shuanghong

Isaac newton (1642- 1727) is a British scientist. He discovered the law of universal gravitation, established the basic system of classical mechanics, made creative contributions in optics, heat and astronomy, and was one of the founders of calculus in mathematics. This article is selected from Stories and Inventions of Chinese and Foreign Celebrities (China Book Publishing House, 200 1 edition).

One night more than 300 years ago, a young man sat in the garden and watched the moon. He looked up at the starry sky and wondered why the moon went around the earth without falling.

Suddenly, something hit him on the head, not a heavy blow, which woke him up from his meditation. He looked down and found a big and ripe apple falling from the tree. He picked up the apple and lost in thought again: why did the apple fall vertically to the ground instead of flying into the sky? There must be some kind of gravity on the earth that leads everything to the earth. The young man's eyes lit up: the apple is like this, so is the moon. The moon must be moving at a high speed under the attraction of the earth's gravity. Because of gravity, it can't stay away from the earth; Because of the speed, it won't fall like an apple ... The night is getting deeper and deeper, and the young man smiled happily with an apple in his hand. He is the British scientist Newton who discovered gravity. This year, he was only 24 years old.

Newton, 1642, was born in England on February 25th. His father was a yeoman and died two months before he was born. Since he was two years old, he has lived a poor and lonely life with his elderly grandmother.

Newton 12 years old entered the grand town primary school. He loved science very much since he was a child, and often made clever little machines. He made a small water clock by himself, which was modeled after an hourglass. With a small pool, the water in the pool flows out slowly, the water surface drops gradually, and the buoy on the water surface drops gradually, thus driving the pointer to rotate and indicating the time.

Flying kites is children's favorite game. Smart little Newton played a new trick: one night, he tied a paper lantern to a kite and put it in the sky. Many people who saw the kite in the air cried, "Comet!" "When people know that the lanterns on kites are shining in the sky, they suddenly realize.

Newton is a strong-willed child. At school, when he was insulted by his big classmates, he always fought back desperately. He often said: "No matter what you do, as long as you are willing to work hard, you will not fail." It is this tenacious spirit that led Newton to climb one scientific peak after another.

When Newton was engaged in scientific research, he often forgot the existence of himself and others and fell into a state of "obsession".

Once, he invited friends to his home. When he went out to get wine, he suddenly remembered the calculation of the moon's orbit, so he forgot to treat him and was busy calculating. Knowing Newton's temper, my friend had to eat the chicken on the plate and spit the bones on the table. Newton finally finished the calculation, and then remembered to treat. When I walked back to the dining table, I saw that the chicken was only bones. He suddenly realized, "I thought I haven't eaten yet, but I have already eaten."

Although Newton made great achievements in science, he was still modest. He once said, "If I see a little farther than Descartes (17th century famous French mathematician, physicist and philosopher), it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants."

The apple trees in Newton's hometown Ursop Garden in England have been carefully protected. 1820, this tree was divided into several sections after its death and preserved in the Royal Society and other places. This apple tree attached to science not only bears the imprint of Newton's rigorous style of study, but also spreads Newton's virtue of modesty.

Comments and exercises

Newton grew from a lonely poor boy to a great scientist in the17th century and the early18th century. First of all, he is curious about objective things, curious about why, diligent in thinking and committed to seeking answers. He loves science, dares to create, and climbs one scientific peak after another with tenacious perseverance.

Please think about it: Newton has made great achievements in science, why is he still modest? What does he mean by "standing on the shoulders of giants"? Scientific research should have a foundation. Where does this foundation come from?

(Selected Commentary by Xia Feng)

-This article is selected from "New Chinese Extracurricular Reader" by Hebei People's Publishing House.

A gifted boy-Bill Gates

With his wisdom and hard work, American Bill Gates magically turned $900 into $654.38+039 billion in 20 years, which amazed the world. Some people say that Gates and his Microsoft company will change the whole world.

1On the evening of October 28th, 1955, the lovely little Gates was born. Although no one could have foreseen that the child would become a great man at that time, everyone liked him. Gates likes reading very much. When other children are addicted to TV cartoons, he has learned to sit alone in his room and read his father's books like a scholar. He is immersed in books all day, and sometimes he can read the thick World Book Encyclopedia for hours without moving.

Gates Jr. was born energetic and very active. As a baby, he likes to shake the cradle for a long time, which seems very interesting. To this day, he still likes to keep shaking, which has almost become a well-known Gates feature of American women and children. When he was seven or eight years old, his mother worked as a community service worker and often took him to school to explain the history of Seattle to the students. Gates always sits in the front row, listening attentively, but at this time he can't find his active habit at all.

Gates was ambitious since he was a child. When he was in the fourth grade, he said to his good friend, "I would rather be an oak tree on a bare mountain than a grass in an oasis."

Like many children, he dreams of becoming a hero in people's hearts. For the homework assigned by the teacher, whether it is playing musical instruments or writing a composition, we should finish it carefully, even if it takes a long time, we should try our best to be the first. Once, the teacher asked everyone to write a story, not exceeding 20 pages, but he wrote 100 pages. Gates is good at thinking and likes innovation. He thinks that everyone should have his own invention.

Like many American children, he is a boy scout. During the Long March, other children complained bitterly. Gates wore out his feet and was bleeding, but he endured pain and fatigue and persisted in the end.

Gates was born into a noble family, but his parents were not extravagant. Under the arrangement of the mother, the family's meals and outings, including the children's clothes, are in good order. This rigorous and meticulous family style naturally influenced Bill Gates and formed his frugal habit.

"Time" and "concept" are the two conditions that Gates values most. In his reading notes, he clearly wrote such a motto: "Opportunity plus time equals money." Since he began to study in middle school, he has been fascinated by computers, and since then Gates has forged an indissoluble bond with computers.