走進劍橋大學(xué) 第8期:牛頓的蘋果樹
牛頓的蘋果樹
Newton was an English physicist and mathmatician,and was the greatest scientist in his era.
牛頓是一位英國物理學(xué)家和數(shù)學(xué)家，也是他那個時代最卓越的科學(xué)家之一。
Isaac Newton was born on 4 January 1643 in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire. His father was a prosperous farmer, who died three months before Newton was born. His mother remarried and Newton was left in the care of his grandparents. In 1661，he went to Cambridge
1643年1月4號，艾薩克牛頓出生于林肯郡伍爾索坡。牛頓的父親是一個富裕的農(nóng)民，在牛頓出生前3個月就過世了。他的媽媽改嫁，而他則由祖父母養(yǎng)大成人。1661年，他進入劍橋大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)，對數(shù)學(xué)、光學(xué)、物理學(xué)和天文學(xué)產(chǎn)生了興趣。1665年10月，一場大瘟疫迫使劍橋大學(xué)暫時關(guān)閉，牛頓回到了伍爾索坡。在那兩年中他收獲頗豐，他開始思考重力問題，還致力于光學(xué)和數(shù)學(xué)研究，提出了“微積分”的概念。
University where he became interested in mathematics, optics，physics and astronomy. In October 1665, a plague epidemic forced the university to close and Newton returned to Woolsthorpe. The two years he spent there were an extremely fruitful time during which he began to think about gravity. He also devoted time to optics and mathematics, working out his ideas about calculus. In 1667, Newton returned to Cambridge, where he became a fellow of Trinity College. Two years later he was appointed second Lucasian professor of mathematics. It was Newton’s reflecting telescope, made in 1668，that finally brought him to the attention of the scientific community and in 1672 he was made a fellow of the Royal Society. From the mid-1660s, Newton conducted a series of experiments on the composition of light, discovering that white light is composed of the same system of colours that can be seen in a rainbow and establishing the modern study of optics. In 1704，Newton published The Opticks which dealt with light and colour.He also studied and published works on history, theology and alchemy.
1667年，牛頓回到劍橋大學(xué)，成為三一學(xué)院的研究員。兩年后他被任命為第二任盧卡斯數(shù)學(xué)教授。1668年牛頓發(fā)明的反射望遠鏡終于使他受到科學(xué)界的關(guān)注。1672年，牛頓成為了英國皇家學(xué)會的會員。從17世紀(jì)60年代中期起，牛頓做了一系列關(guān)于光的構(gòu)成的實驗，發(fā)現(xiàn)了白光是由同一體系的不用顏色構(gòu)成的，那些不同的顏色可以在彩虹中看到。他由此創(chuàng)立了現(xiàn)代光學(xué)。1704年，牛頓出版了《光學(xué)》一書，闡述了光和顏色的有關(guān)原理。他還研宄歷史、神學(xué)和煉金術(shù)，并出版了相關(guān)著作。
In 1687，with the support of his friend the astronomer Edmond Hailey, Newton published his single greatest work, the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy). This showed how gravity, applied to all objects in all parts of the universe.
1687年，在他的朋友，天文學(xué)家埃德蒙哈雷的幫助下，牛頓出版了他最偉大的專著《自然哲學(xué)的數(shù)學(xué)原理》。這本著作展示了萬有引力是如何適用于宇宙中的萬事萬物的。
In 1689, Newton was elected member of parliament for Cambridge University, In 1696, Newton was appointed warden of the Royal Mint, settling in London. He took his duties at the Mint very seriously and campaigned against corruption and inefficiency within the organization. In 1703，he was elected president of the Royal Society, an office he held until his death. He was knighted in 1705.
1689年，牛頓當(dāng)選為劍橋大學(xué)校委會委員。1696年，他被任命為位于倫敦的皇家鑄幣廠的監(jiān)管人。他在鑄幣廠盡心盡力工作，并在鑄幣廠內(nèi)部發(fā)起反腐敗和反低效率工作的運動。1703年，牛頓被評選為英國皇家學(xué)會主席，并一直擔(dān)任這個職務(wù)直到去世。1705年，他被封為爵士。
Newton was a difficult man, prone to depression and often involved in bitter arguments with other scientists, but by the early 1700s he was the dominant figure in British and European science. He died on 31 March 1727 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
牛頓不是個容易相處的人，他有抑郁傾向，經(jīng)常陷入和其他科學(xué)家的激烈爭論中。 但是一直到18世紀(jì)早期,牛頓仍是英國乃至歐洲科學(xué)界的領(lǐng)軍人物。1727年3月31日，牛頓逝世，葬于威斯敏斯特教堂。
