中国古代杠杆原理的应用讨论——以湖北省博物馆馆藏玉佩的平衡效果为例

A Discussion on the Application of the Principle of Leverage in Ancient China-Taking Balancing Effect of the Jade Pendant in the Collection of Hubei Provincial Museum as an Example

从文字考究上来看,表示佩玉的“璜”和“珩”字与表示平衡的“衡”字有着密切的联系,体现了古人对于玉器佩饰佩戴效果的追求。为进一步研究玉佩的平衡效果,本文采用纸板进行实验模拟,复制玉佩,对湖北省博物馆馆藏战国时期35件玉佩的悬挂效果进行分析,发现相当数量的样品都能够水平悬挂,这既说明了玉佩在设计之时打孔位置的讲究,也体现了中华民族古代科技水平的高超,特别是对杠杆原理的实际应用能力。同时,本文模拟了古人寻找玉佩水平悬挂打孔点位的方法。玉佩作为一种实物证据,可以明确反映在西方国家提出杠杆原理之前,我国古代早已了解并能熟练运用杠杆原理。

From the textual point of view,the Chinese characters“Huang”(璜)and“Heng”(珩),which represent jade ornaments,are closely related to the Chinese character“Heng”(衡),which represents balance,reflecting the ancients’pursuit of the effect of wearing jade ornaments.In order to further study the balancing effect of the jade ornaments,this study uses cardboard to conduct experimental simulations,replicates the jade ornaments,and analyzes the hanging effects of 35 jade ornaments from the Warring States Period in the Hubei Provincial Museum collection.It is found that a considerable number of samples can be hung horizontally,which not only indicates that the jade ornament was designed with the punching position in mind,but also reflects the superiority of the ancient scientific and technological level of the Chinese nation,especially the practical application of the principle of leverage.At the same time,this study simulates the ancient method of finding the horizontal hanging punching points of the jade ornaments.As a kind of physical evidence,jade ornaments clearly reflect that before the principle of leverage was proposed by the western countries,the ancient Chinese people had long understood and skilfully applied the principle of leverage.