玻恩与牛顿之对比研究

The Comparing Research on Max Born and Isaac Newton

本文提出了界定科学大家的"四点论"。以牛顿为例,他建立了经典牛顿力学;牛顿第二定律是量子力学出现前人们解释自然现象的核心工具;牛顿在光学、微积分等其它领域仍有重要贡献;基于牛顿力学的决定论成为几百年人们信奉的思想信条。按照"四点论"来分析,玻恩带领弟子们建立了矩阵力学;玻恩最早写出的量子力学对易关系式是量子力学的核心;除量子力学外,玻恩在晶格动力学、场论、相对论、液体理论等方面也都有重要贡献;玻恩的波函数几率解释彻底粉碎了决定论思想放之四海而皆准的合法性。因此,如同难以比较牛顿与爱因斯坦谁更伟大一样,将玻恩与牛顿作对比研究,重点不在于比较二人科学形象之高矮,而在于肯定:玻恩与牛顿、爱因斯坦等人一样,堪称物理学大家。

All adepts think Isaac Newton is a grandmaster of physics or science. He was also the leading scientist that was in the mind of the people who know little about science. Many theoretical physicists know Max Born was a great physicist. But physicists who know little about the history of physics may not know how great Max Born as a physicist was. The paper presents the four-point theory to define the grandmaster of physics. As to Newton, he developed the theory of mechanics; Newton＇s Second Law is the core tool to explain the natural phenomena before quantum mechanics; Newton also made many contributions in other fields, such as calculus and optics etc; the determinism which based on Newton＇s mechanics was believed in for centuries. As well as Newton, Max Born leaded his students established the quantum mechanics; Max Born was the man who first got the center formula of quantum mechanics; Born also did many good works in lattice dynamics, in field theory, in relativity, and in general kinetic theory of liquids, etc; the probability interpretation of Max Born totally smashed the faith to determinism. It is hard to say that who was greater between Newton and Einstein. What we want to get is the conclusion that Max Born was a grandmaster of physics, just like Newton and Einstein.