第4章 万物的尺度 The Measure of Things · 第4讲

1. 老师，讲稿里说牛顿认为地球因为自转产生的离心力会变成“oblate”（扁球体），这跟以前大家假设的“perfect sphere”（正球体）有啥具体区别呀？两极和赤道分别会咋样？
2. Richard Norwood 去百慕大本来是想捞珍珠发财的，结果为啥失败了？他后来怎么把这次失败的经历转化成测量地球大小的严谨数据的呢？
3. 讲稿里提到用“千星板”测纬度，原理是看北极星和水平面的夹角。那为什么在海上不用像陆地上那样直接量距离，非要绕弯子测角度和纬度呢？
4. 为什么牛顿的理论对当时那些假设地球是正圆球体的人来说是“not good news”？如果地球真的是扁的，对测量经线一度的长度会有什么具体影响？
5. Norwood 为了算出经度一度的长度，花了两年时间拿着链条一步步量，这种“rigor”（严谨）的方法，跟当时航海界普遍混乱、误差很大的现状相比，为什么这么重要？

1. Teacher, the script says Newton thought the Earth's centrifugal force would make it 'oblate'. How is that different from the 'perfect sphere' assumption? What exactly happens to the poles and the equator?
2. Richard Norwood went to Bermuda to捞 pearls but failed. How did he turn this failed trip into rigorous data for measuring the Earth's size?
3. The script mentions using a 'kamal' to measure latitude by looking at the angle of Polaris. Why do we measure angles and latitude instead of just measuring distance directly at sea like on land?
4. Why was Newton's theory 'not good news' for people who assumed the Earth was a perfect sphere? If the Earth is flattened, how does it specifically affect the length of a degree of longitude?
5. Norwood spent two years measuring with a chain to calculate the length of a degree. Compared to the chaotic and error-prone navigation practices of the time, why was his 'rigorous' approach so important?

1 00:00:13,580 --> 00:00:17,640 前一段课程中,牛顿出版了他的作品 2 00:00:17,980 --> 00:00:20,760 The Principia 它描述了宇宙的许多秘密, 3 00:00:21,700 --> 00:00:27,380 但一个特别的解释变得几乎立即变得不明显。 4 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:29,780 现在,这是什么解释? 5 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:35,100 这是指出地球不太圆滑。 6 00:00:35,500 --> 00:00:38,880 不太圆滑意味着不完全圆滑, 7 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:40,700 不完全圆滑。 8 00:00:40,700 --> 00:00:42,900 According to Newton's theory, 9 00:00:43,180 --> 00:00:46,300 the centrifugal force of the earth's spin should 10 00:00:46,300 --> 00:00:49,880 result in a slight flattening at the poles and a bulging 11 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:50,500 at the equator, 12 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,700 which would make the planet slightly oblate. 13 00:00:54,590 --> 00:00:59,990 Centrifugal force 理性力 When you move in a circle, 14 00:01:00,110 --> 00:01:02,270 you will feel that you are pulled outward. 15 00:01:02,590 --> 00:01:04,510 That is centrifugal force. 16 00:01:05,310 --> 00:01:08,290 The people on the chairs seem to be flying outward 17 00:01:08,290 --> 00:01:10,830 because of this centrifugal force. 18 00:01:12,070 --> 00:01:15,470 由于地球的自转,产生的离心力, 19 00:01:15,610 --> 00:01:18,530 应该会使得地球的两极, 20 00:01:18,570 --> 00:01:22,070 the poles,会稍微的扁平, 21 00:01:22,190 --> 00:01:23,970 a slight flattening at the poles, 22 00:01:24,170 --> 00:01:28,310 两极会比较扁平,and a bulging at the equator, 23 00:01:28,670 --> 00:01:31,690 而在赤道的地方就会鼓起来, 24 00:01:31,770 --> 00:01:32,470 bulging, 25 00:01:32,630 --> 00:01:35,810 which would make the planet slightly oblate, 26 00:01:35,810 --> 00:01:42,050 这样就会使得整个的星球整个的行星变成一个扁球体 27 00:01:42,050 --> 00:01:45,970 oblate 就是扁圆形的 That 28 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:51,740 meant that the length of a degree wouldn't be the same in 29 00:01:51,740 --> 00:01:58,340 Italy as it was in Scotland 这也表示经线一度的长度在 30 00:01:58,340 --> 00:02:04,140 意大利或者在苏格兰会有一些区别 Spec ifically, 31 00:02:04,380 --> 00:02:08,640 the length would shorten as you moved away from the pose 32 00:02:08,640 --> 00:02:10,640 更精确地说, 33 00:02:10,780 --> 00:02:16,700 经线一度的长度距离两级越远就会越短 This 34 00:02:17,340 --> 00:02:20,680 was not good news for those people whose measurements 35 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,680 of the Earth were based on the assumption that the Earth 36 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:26,140 was a perfect sphere, 37 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,930 which was everyone Assumption, 38 00:02:30,070 --> 00:02:35,350 我们在第一课的时候学过一个词 unassuming 当时说过 39 00:02:35,350 --> 00:02:39,210 那个 assume 但是现在的这个 assume 跟第一课的 assume 40 00:02:39,210 --> 00:02:40,210 意思是不同的 41 00:02:40,920 --> 00:02:50,900 assume 就是假定假设那 42 00:02:52,090 --> 00:02:56,150 这句话的结构是 this was not good news for those people 43 00:02:57,020 --> 00:03:02,600 那这对于那些人来说可不是一个好消息这里那些人又 44 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,940 都是哪些人呢后面有一个定语从句就是 45 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:18,200 这对于那些假设地球是个正圆形正球体来测量地球大 46 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,280 小的人来说无疑是一个坏消息 47 00:03:22,660 --> 00:03:25,200 那么这里还有一个定语从句 48 00:03:27,180 --> 00:03:31,780 这个 which 所指代的对象又是谁呢它的先行词是什么 49 00:03:31,780 --> 00:03:32,860 呢是 50 00:03:33,410 --> 00:03:39,610 those people 也就是说这些人可不是只是一两个他是 51 00:03:39,610 --> 00:03:44,980 所有人当时所有人都是这样的他们都是把地球当成一 52 00:03:44,980 --> 00:03:49,350 个完美的正球体来对地球进行测量的 For 53 00:03:50,850 --> 00:03:53,750 half a century people had been trying to work out the 54 00:03:53,750 --> 00:03:57,330 size of the earth mostly by making very exacting 55 00:03:57,330 --> 00:04:01,410 measurements Exacting means demandingdemanding a 56 00:04:01,410 --> 00:04:03,230 lot of effortcareful work 57 00:04:04,590 --> 00:04:09,250 半个世纪以来,人们不断地在企图测量地球的大小, 58 00:04:09,390 --> 00:04:11,810 大部分都量得非常仔细。 59 00:04:30,470 --> 00:04:36,530 在最早进行这项尝试的一批学者当中有一位英国的数 60 00:04:36,530 --> 00:04:41,010 学家叫 Richard Norwood 他年轻的时候曾经去过白木大 61 00:04:41,620 --> 00:04:46,320 with a diving bell 它是带着一个潜水钟去的而这个潜 62 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:50,580 水钟呢是 modeled on Harley's device 我们前面说过哈 63 00:04:50,580 --> 00:04:55,920 雷制作了一个潜水钟这个潜水钟呢成了一个 model 一 64 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:02,140 个模型 Noward 就依据哈雷的潜水钟以哈雷的潜水钟为 65 00:05:02,140 --> 00:05:04,940 模型又制造了一个新的潜水钟 66 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:10,180 model 作为动词的时候就是以什么为模型的意思 67 00:05:17,220 --> 00:05:19,660 海床就是海底 68 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:26,040 scoop 这个词在第二课的时候见过当时的意思是捷足 69 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:27,580 先登但是 70 00:05:28,060 --> 00:05:33,540 当时也跟大家说过它的原意做名词的时候就是勺 71 00:05:33,610 --> 00:05:35,170 子像面粉勺 72 00:05:35,310 --> 00:05:40,170 冰淇淋勺那样的那现在这个动词 scooping pearls 就是 73 00:05:40,170 --> 00:05:41,790 指去捞去铲 74 00:05:42,670 --> 00:05:47,660 他是怀着一个发财梦去的他以为那里有很多的珍珠可 75 00:05:47,660 --> 00:05:48,310 以采集 76 00:05:59,690 --> 00:06:06,430 但是这个发财梦这个发财的计划最像计划失败了因为 77 00:06:06,430 --> 00:06:08,830 白木大根本就没有珍珠 78 00:06:09,590 --> 00:06:12,770 而且 N orwood 制作的潜水中也不管用 79 00:06:13,390 --> 00:06:18,950 但是 N orwood 并没有浪费这一次经历也就是说这一次 80 00:06:18,950 --> 00:06:23,830 的经历虽然没有给他带来财富但是为他今后的一些工 81 00:06:23,830 --> 00:06:27,670 作还是起到了正面的作用 In 82 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:33,460 the early 17th century, 83 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:37,360 Bermuda was well known among ship's captains for being 84 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:43,810 hard to locatehard to locatelocate 意思是定位, 85 00:06:43,970 --> 00:06:48,750 很难定位,也就是很难找到它准确的位置 86 00:06:49,700 --> 00:06:53,020 Well,Bermuda is here on the map You 87 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:56,960 have probably heard of the Bermuda Triangle or the 88 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:02,240 Devil Triangle 大家可能听说过百慕大三角有称为魔 89 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:02,900 鬼三角。 90 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,960 M any airplanes and ships are said to have mysteriously 91 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:08,920 disappeared without a trace. 92 00:07:09,140 --> 00:07:12,700 They vanished into thin air or lost in deep waters. 93 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:14,960 Well,the facts,however, 94 00:07:15,180 --> 00:07:18,960 are quite far from what is generally believed to be 95 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:19,240 true. 96 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:23,180 The idea of the Devil Triangle was mostly the 97 00:07:23,180 --> 00:07:26,360 imagination of som ……（后略，完整文稿见视频页字幕）