Ancient mechanics and things still know

Imagine the ragged, rowing slave slaves, chained to a row of hard wooden chairs attached to a long paddle like a flagpole. A muscular man with a whip in his hand went back and forth loudly urging. You must have seen this scene in the movie.

The boating slaves knew that the positions in the middle of the boat were the best although they could not explain why. Scholars had to find the answer to that. Professor Mark Schiefsky of Harvard Business School said: 'Think of a paddle as a lever, a paddle is a fulcrum and the ocean is a heavy object.' The longer the handle from the rowing pad towards the longer the boatman, the easier it is to lift heavy objects. In the middle of the boat as the slaves knew, the distance from their hands to the rowing pad was the longest.

On an ancient three-story paddle ship, the last rowers were the ones who contributed the most.(Photo: Stefano Bianchetti / Corbis)

This explanation is included in Issue 4 of the classic Greek treatise called 'Mechanical problems' from the third century BC - this is the first known treatise, scientific explanation. mechanics at the same time explain the mechanism of action of leverage. This treatise is even at least a generation ahead of the 'Balance of flat shapes' theory of Acmos, providing the first evidence of the principle of operation of levers.

Dr. Schiefsky is currently a teacher of Greek and Latin. He also read the works of historian Thucydides and dramatist Sophocles in ancient Greece. He also has astronomy expertise as a student. Nine years ago, feeling that he needed to learn more about science, he participated in a multinational study called the Acropolis Project which was conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Berlin Science in history. .

The Acropolis met the study of the history of mechanics, the way people think about simple tools like levers, wheels - axles, balance, pulleys, wedges, nails snail and group also learn how people turn their thoughts into theory and rules.

The first recorded material called 'Mechanical problems' traveled from Rome, through the medieval world of the medieval period to the Renaissance. Eventually it stopped on the spot of Newton - who introduced many basic mechanical laws in the 18th century.

Surprisingly, there are still many scientific documents in this form or another form since ancient times that can withstand the devastation of time. The Acropolis website has listed more than 100 such texts; which includes the Eucalyptus figure, the hand-held technique with Roman slingshot and slingshot by Alexandria hero, medieval essays on Jordanus de Nemore's algebra and mechanics and the counter The theory that the Sun occupies the center of Galileo's solar system in the 17th century.

What's interesting to Dr. Schiefsky is that almost no one reads these theories. Often scientists who are not passionate about Greek or La believing in ancient times are Arabic. Most of Schiefsky's colleagues work in literature, philosophy, literature and archeology.

According to historical records, the Acropolis study team discovered the evolution of physics or at least mechanics based on the reciprocal relationship between theory and practice. Practice first, and the theory follows. Craftsmen make tools and then use them but they don't think about why they work like that. Theorists explain the mechanism of action of the device and then formulate the principles upon which to create more complex devices and machines.

Researchers in the Acupuncture group say by understanding dialectics they can better understand what people learn from the natural world at a certain time, and understand that knowledge. How can they affect their lives.

Dr. Schiefsky asked the question: 'What would you do if you wanted to weigh a 100-pound piece of meat and you didn't have that weight? You will have to use a scale with two unequal arms. The weight is lighter on the long arm side and the meat is placed on the short arm ' .

This irregular weight is also called a vertical scale, which is also a form of leverage. Dr. Schiefsky emphasized that this vertical balance also appeared in Aristophanes ' 'Peace' comedy about the end of the Peloponnesian war. There was a merchant who did not know how to handle the trumpets used in the war left, Tryganeus - the main character of the work - gave the idea of ​​pouring lead into the bell to create standing scales. Pointing at the tube, Trygaeus suggested: 'Attached to this head is a small rope hanging plate, and so he has a tool to weigh clothes for his servants'.

One reason why Acrobat group scholars find interesting mechanics is that devices such as standing scales or levers have a very long history. Dr Schiefsky said: 'People have known the lever long before the theory of science was formed, almost at the time of the civilization'. Some theorists believe that from a certain point of view this phenomenon needs to be explained. Jurgen Renn - the main survey of the Acropolis project - said when interviewed by phone from Berlin: 'It was a period of ups and downs. In China and Greece there have been a lot of intense debates in urban centers. Tradition in China has lost with Confucianism and the formation of the empire. But in the west it was legalized by A-ris.

The 'Mechanical problems' document comes to the modern world along with the works of A-ris. In fact, for centuries people have assumed that it was A riser who wrote the work. Dr. Schiefsky said: 'Currently most scholars deny that'. A-ris-til often refers to a vast theoretical network and ' Mechanical problems ' are much more focused.

According to Dr. Schiefsky, the author of 'Mechanics' knows very well about A-ris-t and accepts the reality of A-ris-a to describe situations that seem very difficult to define by neat practice term. Problem 3 describes the characteristics of leverage.

The author wrote: 'It is strange to be able to lift a large mass with only a small force. Without leverage, a man cannot lift heavy objects. But when there is a lever, he can lift it quickly and easily even with the addition of the lever '.

Problem 4 refers to boatmen and describes the same law but in a different situation. Rowing slaves sit in rows from the stern to the bow. The paddles are the same length, but the distance between the handle and the paddle - also known as the handle - in the middle of the ship is longer because the ship is wider in the middle. The boatmen in the middle of the ship had to use a smaller force than those on the stern or bow to lift the same amount of water. As a result, if the middle rowers use an equal force with others, they will move a larger volume of water and contribute more to the ship's movement.

Acrobat: 'Give me a fulcrum, I will raise the whole Earth' (Photo: Bettmann / Corbis)

Although the author of the treatise 'Mechanics problems' is very knowledgeable about the principles of leverage, it is Acosomist who accurately describes the relationship between the weight and distance of It is calculated from the fulcrum.

Dr. Schiefsky said: 'Acme-met has turned what you understand into a basic theoretical mechanics principle applied by everyone' . Acropolis has had a classic saying: 'Give me a fulcrum, I will raise the whole Earth'. According to Dr. Schiefsky, 'the main principle is that between force and weight there is a proportional proportion no matter how heavy the object is. And we just need to make a transformation in the head. '

In medieval times, Arab was the world of new scientific knowledge that was translated from Greek into Arabic from the 9th century; This is also the world for those who look after the massive treasure of that classic. In the 13th century, Western scholars translated A-ris-works from Arabic into Latin.

The 'mechanical problems' have been handed down to the Renaissance, along with Greek copies of A-ris's works found from libraries, monasteries and warehouses in the Central region. East. It inspired many scholars to make comments and was also studied by Galileo and other theorists. In fact, in many ways 'Mechanical problems' are very useful to society 2,500 years ago and so are today.

Try an example with the New York club's sailing instructor - Vincent Ventura. Although he had never read the issue 4 of 'Mechanical problems' , he had a close understanding of it. In the telephone interview, he said: 'It is not the same as our situation, since the paddle length from the rowing pad is the same even if you sit in any position on the boat. Everyone pushes the same amount of water. Sometimes we shorten the paddle if the paddle is not as strong as the other members. '