The emergence of Zhang Heng's seismoscope has a profound historical background. This paper intends to explore the formation and material basis of Zhang Heng's scientific thought. It appears that the simple int...The emergence of Zhang Heng's seismoscope has a profound historical background. This paper intends to explore the formation and material basis of Zhang Heng's scientific thought. It appears that the simple intention of "observing visions and distinguishing good fortune or misfortune"was his motivation to develop the seismoscope. Tracing its historical background,the authors proposed in this paper that the development of this seismoscope started around 128 A. D., and based on perceptual knowledge, two ideas about earthquakes came into being,i. e.,earthquake location could be judged according to the instrument shaking direction, and the earthquake and earth split were essentially different. In the instrument manufacture,Zhang Heng advocated a principle of "making utensils to imitate cosmos". By this principle,the following three problems were readily solved: the seismoscope imitated the response of the suspension system to earthquakes( i. e. natural seismoscope). Technically,the trigger mechanism of the latch was used for reference,and it recorded the physical evidence of earthquake occurrence by an ingenious way of a ball dropping from a dragon's mouth. The solution of these three key problems lead to the emergence of the seismoscope in 132 A. D. and the successful detection of an earthquake in 134 A. D. His invention deepened humanity's knowledge of natural laws, and promoted the development of science and technology in that time and later.展开更多
The ancient idea of Heavenly Punishment confused natural phenomena with social issues,which resulted in Zhang Heng’s tragedy in his later years and seismoscope. The instrument might have been lost in the end of the E...The ancient idea of Heavenly Punishment confused natural phenomena with social issues,which resulted in Zhang Heng’s tragedy in his later years and seismoscope. The instrument might have been lost in the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. A series of extremely serious chaotic social events caused by war took place,such as a fire in Luoyang,forging coins by destroying copper wares,relocation of the capital,sharp population decrease,and the destruction of the Ling Observatory. Zhang’s scientific thought and successful practice had played an important role in ideological enlightenments at the primary stage of modern seismology at the end of the nineteenth century. There is a glorious course of"innovation—inheritance—re-innovation"of scientific and technical development from the inception Zhang Heng’s seismoscope to the modern seismograph invented by Milne,et al.展开更多
基金sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(40644019)the Special Found of Scientific Research Program for "The Optimization and Design for Reconstruction Models of Seismoscope",China Earthquake Administration
文摘The emergence of Zhang Heng's seismoscope has a profound historical background. This paper intends to explore the formation and material basis of Zhang Heng's scientific thought. It appears that the simple intention of "observing visions and distinguishing good fortune or misfortune"was his motivation to develop the seismoscope. Tracing its historical background,the authors proposed in this paper that the development of this seismoscope started around 128 A. D., and based on perceptual knowledge, two ideas about earthquakes came into being,i. e.,earthquake location could be judged according to the instrument shaking direction, and the earthquake and earth split were essentially different. In the instrument manufacture,Zhang Heng advocated a principle of "making utensils to imitate cosmos". By this principle,the following three problems were readily solved: the seismoscope imitated the response of the suspension system to earthquakes( i. e. natural seismoscope). Technically,the trigger mechanism of the latch was used for reference,and it recorded the physical evidence of earthquake occurrence by an ingenious way of a ball dropping from a dragon's mouth. The solution of these three key problems lead to the emergence of the seismoscope in 132 A. D. and the successful detection of an earthquake in 134 A. D. His invention deepened humanity's knowledge of natural laws, and promoted the development of science and technology in that time and later.
基金sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(40644019)the Special Found of Scientific Research Program for "the Optimization and Design for Reconstruction Models of Seismoscope",China Earthquake Administration
文摘The ancient idea of Heavenly Punishment confused natural phenomena with social issues,which resulted in Zhang Heng’s tragedy in his later years and seismoscope. The instrument might have been lost in the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. A series of extremely serious chaotic social events caused by war took place,such as a fire in Luoyang,forging coins by destroying copper wares,relocation of the capital,sharp population decrease,and the destruction of the Ling Observatory. Zhang’s scientific thought and successful practice had played an important role in ideological enlightenments at the primary stage of modern seismology at the end of the nineteenth century. There is a glorious course of"innovation—inheritance—re-innovation"of scientific and technical development from the inception Zhang Heng’s seismoscope to the modern seismograph invented by Milne,et al.
