a history of science-2-第42章

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d　haggard　countenance；　bad…tempered　and　irritable；　penurious　and　dishonest；　at　least　in　his　claims　for　priority　in　discoveriesthis　is　the　picture　usually　drawn；　alike　by　friends　and　enemies；　of　Robert　Hooke　（1635…1703）；　a　man　with　an　almost　unparalleled　genius　for　scientific　discoveries　in　almost　all　branches　of　science。　History　gives　few　examples　so　striking　of　a　man　whose　really　great　achievements　in　science　would　alone　have　made　his　name　immortal；　and　yet　who　had　the　pusillanimous　spirit　of　a　charlatanan　almost　insane　mania；　as　it　seemsfor　claiming　the　credit　of　discoveries　made　by　others。　This　attitude　of　mind　can　hardly　be　explained　except　as　a　mania：　it　is　certainly　more　charitable　so　to　regard　it。　For　his　own　discoveries　and　inventions　were　so　numerous　that　a　few　more　or　less　would　hardly　have　added　to　his　fame；　as　his　reputation　as　a　philosopher　was　well　established。　Admiration　for　his　ability　and　his　philosophical　knowledge　must　always　be　marred　by　the　recollection　of　his　arrogant　claims　to　the　discoveries　of　other　philosophers。　It　seems　pretty　definitely　determined　that　Hooke　should　be　credited　with　the　invention　of　the　balance…spring　for　regulating　watches；　but　for　a　long　time　a　heated　controversy　was　waged　between　Hooke　and　Huygens　as　to　who　was　the　real　inventor。　It　appears　that　Hooke　conceived　the　idea　of　the　balance…spring；　while　to　Huygens　belongs　the　credit　of　having　adapted　the　COILED　spring　in　a　working　model。　He　thus　made　practical　Hooke's　conception；　which　is　without　value　except　as　applied　by　the　coiled　spring；　but；　nevertheless；　the　inventor；　as　well　as　the　perfector；　should　receive　credit。　In　this　controversy；　unlike　many　others；　the　blame　cannot　be　laid　at　Hooke's　door。　Hooke　was　the　first　curator　of　the　Royal　Society；　and　when　anything　was　to　be　investigated；　usually　invented　the　mechanical　devices　for　doing　so。　Astronomical　apparatus；　instruments　for　measuring　specific　weights；　clocks　and　chronometers；　methods　of　measuring　the　velocity　of　falling　bodies；　freezing　and　boiling　points；　strength　of　gunpowder；　magnetic　instrumentsin　short；　all　kinds　of　ingenious　mechanical　devices　in　all　branches　of　science　and　mechanics。　It　was　he　who　made　the　famous　air…pump　of　Robert　Boyle；　based　on　Boyle's　plans。　Incidentally；　Hooke　claimed　to　be　the　inventor　of　the　first　air…pump　himself；　although　this　claim　is　now　entirely　discredited。　Within　a　period　of　two　years　he　devised　no　less　than　thirty　different　methods　of　flying；　all　of　which；　of　course；　came　to　nothing；　but　go　to　show　the　fertile　imagination　of　the　man；　and　his　tireless　energy。　He　experimented　with　electricity　and　made　some　novel　suggestions　upon　the　difference　between　the　electric　spark　and　the　glow；　although　on　the　whole　his　contributions　in　this　field　are　unimportant。　He　also　first　pointed　out　that　the　motions　of　the　heavenly　bodies　must　be　looked　upon　as　a　mechanical　problem；　and　was　almost　within　grasping　distance　of　the　exact　theory　of　gravitation；　himself　originating　the　idea　of　making　use　of　the　pendulum　in　measuring　gravity。　Likewise；　he　first　proposed　the　wave　theory　of　light；　although　it　was　Huygens　who　established　it　on　its　present　foundation。　Hooke　published；　among　other　things；　a　book　of　plates　and　descriptions　of　his　Microscopical　Observations；　which　gives　an　idea　of　the　advance　that　had　already　been　made　in　microscopy　in　his　time。　Two　of　these　plates　are　given　here；　which；　even　in　this　age　of　microscopy；　are　both　interesting　and　instructive。　These　plates　are　made　from　prints　of　Hooke's　original　copper　plates；　and　show　that　excellent　lenses　were　made　even　at　that　time。　They　illustrate；　also；　how　much　might　have　been　accomplished　in　the　field　of　medicine　if　more　attention　had　been　given　to　microscopy　by　physicians。　Even　a　century　later；　had　physicians　made　better　use　of　their　microscopes；　they　could　hardly　have　overlooked　such　an　easily　found　parasite　as　the　itch　mite；　which　is　quite　as　easily　detected　as　the　cheese　mite；　pictured　in　Hooke's　book。　In　justice　to　Hooke；　and　in　extenuation　of　his　otherwise　inexcusable　peculiarities　of　mind；　it　should　be　remembered　that　for　many　years　he　suffered　from　a　painful　and　wasting　disease。　This　may　have　affected　his　mental　equilibrium；　without　appreciably　affecting　his　ingenuity。　In　his　own　time　this　condition　would　hardly　have　been　considered　a　disease；　but　to…day；　with　our　advanced　ideas　as　to　mental　diseases；　we　should　be　more　inclined　to　ascribe　his　unfortunate　attitude　of　mind　to　a　pathological　condition；　rather　than　to　any　manifestation　of　normal　mentality。　From　this　point　of　view　his　mental　deformity　seems　not　unlike　that　of　Cavendish's；　later；　except　that　in　the　case　of　Cavendish　it　manifested　itself　as　an　abnormal　sensitiveness　instead　of　an　abnormal　irritability。

CHRISTIAN　HUYGENS　If　for　nothing　else；　the　world　is　indebted　to　the　man　who　invented　the　pendulum　clock；　Christian　Huygens　（1629…1695）；　of　the　Hague；　inventor；　mathematician；　mechanician；　astronomer；　and　physicist。　Huygens　was　the　descendant　of　a　noble　and　distinguished　family；　his　father；　Sir　Constantine　Huygens；　being　a　well…known　poet　and　diplomatist。　Early　in　life　young　Huygens　began　his　career　in　the　legal　profession；　completing　his　education　in　the　juridical　school　at　Breda；　but　his　taste　for　mathematics　soon　led　him　to　neglect　his　legal　studies；　and　his　aptitude　for　scientific　researches　was　so　marked　that　Descartes　predicted　great　things　of　him　even　while　he　was　a　mere　tyro　in　the　field　of　scientific　investigation。　One　of　his　first　endeavors　in　science　was　to　attempt　an　improvement　of　the　telescope。　Reflecting　upon　the　process　of　making　lenses　then　in　vogue；　young　Huygens　and　his　brother　Constantine　attempted　a　new　method　of　grinding　and　polishing；　whereby　they　overcame　a　great　deal　of　the　spherical　and　chromatic　aberration。　With　this　new　telescope　a　much　clearer　field　of　vision　was　obtained；　so　much　so　that　Huygens　was　able　to　detect；　among　other　things；　a　hitherto　unknown　satellite　of　Saturn。　It　was　these　astronomical　researches　that　led　him　to　apply　the　pendulum　to　regulate　the　movements　of　clocks。　The　need　for　some　more　exact　method　of　measuring　time　in　his　observations　of　the　stars　was　keenly　felt　by　the　young　astronomer；　and　after　several　experiments　along　different　lines；　Huygens　hit　upon　the　use　of　a　swinging　weight；　and　in　1656　made　his　invention　of　the　pendulum　clock。　The　year　following；　his　clock　was　presented　to　the　states…general。　Accuracy　as　to　time　is　absolutely　essential　in　astronomy；　but　until　the　invention　of　Huygens's　clock　there　was　no　precise；　nor　even　approximately　precise；　means　of　measuring　short　intervals。　Huygens　was　one　of　the　first　to　adapt　the　micrometer　to　the　telescopea　mechanical　device　on　which　all　the　nice　determination　of　minute　distances　depends。　He　also　took　up　the　controversy　against　Hooke　as　to　the　superiority　of　telescopic　over　plain　sights　to　quadrants；　Hooke　contending　in　favor　of　the　plain。　In　this　controversy；　the　subject　of　which　attracted　wide　attention；　Huygens　was　completely　victorious；　and　Hooke；　being　unable　to　refute　Huygens's　arguments；　exhibited　such　irritability　that　he　increased　his　already　general　unpopularity。　All　of　the　arguments　for　and　against　the　telescope　sight　are　too　numerous　to　be　given　here。　In　contending　in　its　favor　Huygens　pointed　out　that　the　unaided　eye　is　unable　to　appreciate　an　angular　space　in　the　sky　less　than　about　thirty　seconds。　Even　in　the　best　quadrant　with　a　plain　sight；　therefore；　the　altitude　must　be　uncertain　by　that　quantity。　If　in　place　of　the　plain　sight　a　telescope　is　substituted；　even　if　it　magnify　only　thirty　times；　it　will　enable　the　observer　to　fix　the　position　to　one　second；　with　progressively　increased　accuracy　as　the　magnifying　power　of　the　telescope　is　increased。　This　was　only　one　of　the　many　telling　arguments　advanced　by　Huygens。　In　the　field　of　optics；　also；　Huygens　has　added　considerably　to　science；　and　his　work；　Dioptrics；　is　said　to　have　been　a　favorite　book　with　Newton。　During　the　later　part　of　his　life；　however；　Huygens　again　devoted　himself　to　inventing　and　constructing　telescopes；　grinding　the　lenses；　and　devising；　if　not　actually　making；　the　frame　for　holding　them。　These　telescopes　were　of　enormous　lengths；　three　of　his　object…