Newton is regarded as the pioneer of modern science, and he has made great contributions to science. His three great achievements-the analysis of light, the law of gravity and calculus-laid the foundation for the development of modern science.

Why did Newton make great achievements in science? How did he become a great scientist from an ordinary person? To answer these questions, we can't help thinking of several stories about his hard study and hard work.

"I must pass him!"

When it comes to Newton, people may think that he must have been a "prodigy" and "genius" when he was a child, with extraordinary intelligence. In fact, Newton's childhood was thin and his mind was not smart. When I was studying in my hometown, I didn't study hard and got poor grades in my class. But he has a wide range of interests and his game skills are higher than those of ordinary children. Usually he likes to make mechanical models, such as windmills, waterwheels, sundials and so on. His elaborate water clock has won people's praise for its accurate timing. Sometimes, the way he plays ball is also very strange. One day, he made a lantern to hang on the tail of a kite. When night falls, the lighted lanterns rise into the air with the help of the rising power of kites. Luminous lanterns flow in the air, and people are frightened and think there is a comet. Nevertheless, he is often discriminated against because of his poor academic performance.

At that time, the hierarchy of British feudal society was very serious. Students who study well in primary and secondary schools may discriminate against those who study poorly. There was a game between classes. When everyone was in high spirits, a good student kicked Newton and called him an idiot. Newton's mind was stimulated to extreme anger. He thought, we are all students. Why should I be bullied by him? I must pass him! From then on, Newton made up his mind to study hard. He gets up early and goes to bed late. Every minute counts. He studies hard and thinks hard.

After studying hard, Newton's academic performance improved continuously, and soon surpassed the classmate who had bullied him, ranking first in the class.

Fun under the fence

Many famous scientists in the world have poor families. On the road to success, they all fought tenaciously against the difficult situation. Newton's childhood was also very sympathetic.

Newton was born in 1642 in the home of an ordinary farmer in England. Newton's father died shortly before he was born. Mother remarried when he was two years old. When Newton was fourteen, his stepfather died unfortunately and his mother returned to her hometown. Newton was forced to drop out of school and go home to help her farm. Mother wants to train him to make a living independently and let him manage agricultural products.

How reluctant a studious child is to leave his beloved school! He cried several times, but his mother never changed her mind. Finally, she had to study business against her will. Every morning, he and an old servant go to a big town more than ten miles away to do business. Newton disliked doing business very much, and entrusted all the affairs to an old servant, but he secretly went to a place to study.

As time went on, Newton became more and more disgusted with business, and all he liked was reading. Later, Newton simply stopped going to town to do business, and asked the old servant to go alone. Afraid that his family would find out, he went out with the old servant every day, stopped halfway and studied under a fence. Whenever the old servant comes back in the afternoon, we will go home together.

In this way, day after day, the reading life under the fence is also very enjoyable. One day, he was reading happily under the fence when his uncle saw him pass by. When my uncle saw this, he was very angry and shouted at him for doing nothing. Took Newton's book. My uncle was moved when he saw that he was reading a math book with various marks painted on it. My uncle hugged Newton and said excitedly, "son, just develop according to your ambition." Your right path should be learning. "

After returning home, my uncle tried to persuade Newton's mother to let Newton abandon business and go to school. With the help of his uncle, Newton returned to school as he wished.

Study and calculate the wind force in the storm

Time treats people equally and gives people the same amount, but people use time in different ways and gain different knowledge.

When Newton was sixteen years old, his understanding of mathematics was still superficial, and he didn't even understand the advanced knowledge of mathematics. "Knowledge lies in accumulation, and cleverness comes from learning". Newton was determined to climb the peak of mathematics by his own efforts. Under the unfavorable conditions of poor foundation, Newton can correctly understand himself and make progress despite difficulties. He relearned the basic knowledge and basic formulas and made solid progress step by step. After studying Euclidean geometry, he studied Cartesian geometry. In contrast, he thought Euclidean geometry was superficial, so he studied Cartesian geometry seriously until he mastered the essentials and achieved mastery. So he invented the algebraic binomial theorem. Newton's legendary story of "calculating the wind force in a big storm" can prove Newton's body mechanics. One day, there was a big storm. The wind is howling, the dust is flying, and the mystery is long, which makes people open their eyes. Newton thought it was a good opportunity to study and calculate the wind accurately. So, he took the appliance and ran back and forth in the storm. He stumbled and measured with difficulty. Several times the dust fascinated his eyes, several times the wind blew away the paper, and several times the wind forced him to suspend his work, but none of them shook his thirst for knowledge. He finally got the correct data over and over again. He was so happy that he hurried home to continue his research. Where there is a will, there is a way. After diligent study, Newton laid a solid foundation for his tower of science. Soon, Newton's math tower was built.

He invented differential calculus at the age of 22 and integral calculus at the age of 23, which made great contributions to the cause of human science.

The secrets of gravity and light

When Newton was twenty-three, there was a plague in London. In order to prevent students from being infected, Cambridge University informed students to leave school and go home to avoid the epidemic, and the school was temporarily closed. Newton returned to his hometown of Lincolnshire. In the days when he didn't go to school in the country, he never stopped studying and researching. The basic work of gravity, calculus, optical analysis and other inventions was completed during this period. At that time, children in rural areas often used slings for several rounds and then threw stones far away. They can also hold a bucket of milk over their heads without the milk falling down.

These facts made him suspicious: "What is the power to keep the stones in the slingshot and the milk in the bucket from falling?" For this question, he once thought of Kepler and Galileo's thought. He went from vast space, endless planets, cold moon to huge earth, and then thought about the interaction between these giants. At this time, Newton plunged into the calculation and verification of "gravity". Newton plans to use this principle to verify the laws of the planets in the solar system. He first deduced the distance between the moon and the earth, but the calculation result was wrong because the quoted data was incorrect. Because according to theory, the centripetal acceleration of the moon should be 16 feet per minute, but in fact it is only 13.9 feet. Newton didn't lose heart in the predicament of failure. On the contrary, he studies harder with greater efforts. After seven years of cold and heat, at the age of 30, he finally proved the world-famous "law of gravity" and laid the foundation for theoretical astronomy and celestial mechanics.

During this period, Newton also studied optics and discovered the origin of color. On one occasion, he used a homemade telescope to observe celestial bodies. No matter how he adjusted the lens, his viewpoint was always unclear. He thinks this may be related to the refraction of light. Then the experiment began. He left a small round hole in the darkroom window to transmit light, and put a prism behind the indoor window. A white screen was hung behind the prism to receive the light folded by the prism. As a result, to his great surprise, Newton was surprised to find that the refraction received on the white screen was elliptical and colorful colors appeared at both ends. Newton thought deeply about this strange phenomenon. Knowing that light is refracted, the white light of the sun is scattered into seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and purple. So white light (sunlight) is composed of seven colors of light: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and purple. It is for this reason that nature is sunny after the rain, and the sunshine is refracted and reflected by the raindrops around the sky, forming a colorful rainbow. Newton pointed out after further research that everything in the world has color, not itself. The sun shines on everything, and every object only absorbs the color it accepts and reflects the color it cannot accept. The color of this reflection is the color of various objects that people see. This theory accurately reveals the origin of color, and all kinds of color theories that have appeared in the world since ancient times have been overthrown by it.

Newton was able to make such great achievements, and the profound mathematical foundation laid by his hard work in his early years played an important role.

Enter the realm of selflessness

On a rugged mountain road, a white-haired old man is slowly climbing the mountain with a horse. People walked slowly in front, horses followed step by step, and monotonous hooves rang in the valley. Walking, the horse suddenly ran away, and the old man didn't notice it because he was immersed in extreme thinking. The old man still climbed the mountain bravely, holding the reins of the horse in his hand. When he climbed to a flat place and wanted to ride a horse, he pulled the reins, only one rope was pulled in front. Looking back, the horse was gone.

Newton spent most of his time studying except taking a little time to exercise every day. Once, in the study, he was thinking while cooking eggs. Thinking hard almost made him insane. Suddenly, the water in the pot boiled. I quickly lifted the pot and looked, "Ah!" He exclaimed, but it was a pocket watch cooked in the pot. It turned out that when he was thinking about the problem, he absently put the pocket watch as an egg in the pot.

On another occasion, Newton invited a friend to his home for lunch. He was fascinated by science and forgot it. As usual, his servant only prepared Newton's lunch for himself. Near noon, the guests were invited. The guests saw Newton immersed in calculation problems, with manuscript paper and books on the table and bed. Seeing this, the guest didn't bother Newton. Seeing the food on the table, he thought it was for him and sat down to eat. After eating, he left quietly. When Newton finished the problem and went to the dining table to prepare lunch, he saw the chicken bones on the plate and suddenly said, "I thought I didn't eat them, but I did."

It doesn't matter whether these stories are true or not, but it shows that Newton was a thoughtful man, slovenly and pretending to be quiet. He is extremely absorbed in science, always thinking about the rotation of the stars and the changes of the universe, and has entered the realm of selflessness.

Modest and prudent style of study

"The rivers are very calm, and knowledgeable people are very modest." All great men who have made great contributions to human development have the virtue of modesty. Whenever Newton made great achievements in science, he was never complacent, thought himself great, and rushed to publish his works to make himself famous all over the world.

When Newton worked hard to work out the law of gravity, he was not in a hurry to publish it. Instead, I continued to think tirelessly for several years, studied for several years, and immersed myself in digital calculation, never saying a word to anyone. Later, Newton's friend, the great astronomer Harley (the discoverer of the comet), made a special trip to ask Newton when he had difficulty in proving a law about planetary orbits. Newton gave Harley his manuscript on the calculation of gravity. Only after Harley saw it did he know that the question he wanted to ask was exactly what Newton had already worked out, and he was envious.

1684 1 1 month One day, Harley visited Newton's apartment again. When it comes to academic problems related to astronomy, Newton took out a written paper to demonstrate "gravity" and asked Harley for advice. After reading it, Harley was very surprised at this masterpiece. He said to Newton with joy, "This is really a great argument and a great book!" " "He repeatedly advised Newton to publish this great book as soon as possible for the benefit of mankind. But Newton did not listen to the good advice of his friends and published his own book easily. However, after a long period of careful and repeated verification and calculation, it was confirmed to be correct, and "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" was published in the world in July 1687.

Newton was a very modest man and never conceited. 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 see farther, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants." How meaningful these words are! It vividly reveals the secret of Newton's great achievements.

One of the stories: simple life

1895 When Madame Curie and pierre curie got married, there were only two chairs in the new house, one for each person. Pierre curie felt that there were too few chairs, so he suggested adding more chairs in case the guests had nowhere to sit. Madame Curie said, "It's good to have a chair, but the guests won't leave once they sit down. In order to have more time to do research, forget it. "

Since 19 13, Madame Curie's annual salary has increased to 40,000 francs, but she is still "stingy". Every time she comes back from abroad, she always brings back some party menus, because these menus are very thick and good pieces of paper, which are convenient to write on the back. No wonder some people say that Madame Curie was "like a poor woman in a hurry" until her death.

Once, an American journalist went to visit Madame Curie. He went to the door of a fisherman's house in the village and asked a woman sitting barefoot on the slate at the door about Madame Curie's residence. The woman looked up and the reporter was surprised: it turned out that she was Madame Curie.

Story 2: Indifferent to fame and fortune

Madame Curie is famous all over the world, but she seeks neither fame nor profit. She won 10 prize, 16 medal and 107 honorary title all her life, but she didn't care. One day, a friend of hers visited her home and suddenly saw her little daughter playing with the gold medal just awarded to her by the Royal Society, so she was pleasantly surprised and said, "Madame Curie, it is a great honor to receive the medal awarded by the Royal Society. How can you play for her children? " Madame Curie said with a smile: "I want children to know from an early age that honor, like a toy, can only be played, and must not be taken too seriously, otherwise nothing will be achieved."

Story 3: "Teach women well"

Madame Curie has two daughters. Grasping the age advantage of intellectual development is an important "trick" for Madame Curie to develop children's intelligence. As early as when her daughter was less than one year old, Madame Curie instructed her children to carry out intellectual gymnastics training for children, guided them to get in touch with strangers extensively, went to the zoo to see animals, and let them learn to swim and enjoy the beautiful scenery of nature. When the children are older, she teaches them to do an artistic intellectual gymnastics, sing children's songs and tell fairy tales. When they are older, let them have intellectual training, teach them to read, play the piano, make handicrafts and so on, and teach them to ride bicycles and horses. After Madame Curie and her husband won the Nobel Prize, two generations trained by Madame Curie also won the Nobel Prize: the eldest daughter Elena was a nuclear physicist, and her husband Aurio won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for discovering artificial radioactive substances. The second daughter Eve is a musician and biographer. Her husband won the 1956 Nobel Peace Prize as the Director-General of UNICEF.

Galileo (1564- 1642), an Italian physicist, astronomer and philosopher, was a pioneer of modern experimental science.

1590, Galileo made a famous experiment of "two iron balls landing at the same time" on the leaning tower of Pisa, which overthrew Aristotle's theory that "the falling speed of an object is proportional to its weight" and corrected this erroneous conclusion that lasted for 1900.

1609, Galileo made an astronomical telescope (later called galileo telescope) and used it to observe celestial bodies. He found the unevenness on the surface of the moon and drew the first map of the moon himself. 161065438+17 October, Galileo discovered four moons of Jupiter, which provided conclusive evidence for Copernicus' theory and marked the beginning of its victory. With the help of a telescope, Galileo also discovered Saturn's rings, sunspots, the rotation of the sun, the profit and loss phenomena of Venus and Mercury, the balance between the moon's Sunday and Zhou Yue, and the fact that the Milky Way is composed of countless stars. These discoveries ushered in a new era of astronomy.

Galileo wrote the Star Messenger, letters about sunspots, dialogues between Ptolemy and Copernicus, and dialogues and mathematical proofs about two new sciences.

To commemorate Galileo's achievements, people named Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto as Galileo satellites.

People rushed to preach: "Columbus discovered the new continent and Galileo discovered the new universe."

/kloc-in the 0/9th century, with a series of major discoveries in physics, many scientists claimed that the building of physics had been basically completed, leaving only the supplement and perfection of later generations. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, a young physicist almost single-handedly knocked down this classic physical building. He is Albert Einstein, a great theoretical physicist and the founder of the theory of relativity.

Einstein was born in March 1879 in a Jewish family in Ulm, Baden-Wü rttemberg, Germany. The next year, the whole family moved to Munich. Einstein didn't show great talent in his childhood. He attended high school in Munich, dropped out of school before graduation, and then transferred to the state middle school in Arau, Switzerland. From 65438 to 0896, Einstein entered the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich to study mathematics and physics, and became a teacher after graduation. Einstein loved teaching and educating people, but it was his dream to become a physicist.

1902, Einstein became an examiner in the Patent Office in Bern, Switzerland. The ease of work in the patent office made Einstein continue to devote himself to scientific research. From 65438 to 0905, Einstein, who was only 26 years old, published three papers and made historic achievements in three different fields of physics, especially the proposal of special relativity, which completely changed human understanding of space, time and material movement and marked the arrival of a new era of physics.

19 14, Einstein returned to Germany, entered the Prussian Academy of Sciences, engaged in scientific research, and served as a professor at the University of Berlin. 19 15 years, Einstein published his general theory of relativity. This is another great achievement of modern science after the special theory of relativity. 19 19, the total solar eclipse observed by British astronomer Eddington confirmed Einstein's prediction that light will bend after passing through the gravitational field of the sun. Einstein became famous and the theory of relativity became a household name.

192 1 year, Einstein won the nobel prize in physics for his research on photoelectric effect. 1933, Einstein was forced to immigrate to the United States because of Nazi Germany's anti-Semitism, and obtained American citizenship on 1940. 1April 1955 18, Einstein died in Princeton, USA.

Einstein has made outstanding contributions to photoelectric effect and relativity, and his research results on Brownian motion have become the most popular foundation of financial mathematics because of his regular grasp of a large number of disorderly factors. The concept of laser stimulated radiation put forward by him is widely used today after decades; The EPR paradox put forward in his argument with Bohr is still a topic of constant discussion in theoretical physics and philosophy of science. ...

Einstein was not only a great scientist but also a pacifist. He witnessed the destruction of human civilization in two world wars and thought that peace was the primary problem of mankind. 1955 In April, Einstein signed the Russell-Einstein Declaration on his deathbed, calling on people to unite and prevent the outbreak of a new world war.