Research On Hero's Mechanics Thought

The discussion of the history of mechanics thought is the key link to understand the integration of mechanics and physics in the early modern times or the rise of modern science.It is also the necessary condition to understand the emergence of the natural view of mechanics.It is more conducive to a deeper understanding of the relationship between man and nature,the rise of mathematical physics,and even the process of the emergence of modernity.However,the historiography tradition formed by Scientific Revolutionary historians represented by Alexandre Koyré holds that modern mechanics was born from the law of inertia.Most of the traditional history of mechanics focuses on the law of inertia and its preconditions and subsequent effects,instead of paying attention to some more specific things,that is,emphasizing modern mechanics theory and neglecting the detailed analysis of mechanical practice.More importantly,this tradition of mechanics historiography pays little attention to or even neglects the mechanics thought of ancient Greece,because it can be seen from some contents discussed by mechanics experts in the 17 th century that modern mechanics still continues to some extent in ancient Greek mechanics.If we do not understand the mechanics of ancient Greece,we can not understand the development of modern mechanics in depth.Therefore,in order to draw a more comprehensive mechanical picture,we should not only pay attention to the abstract laws and principles of mechanics,but also to the physical mechanics practice,and trace back to the origin of mechanics in ancient Greece.The ancient Greek mechanical tradition can be roughly divided into four types: Aristotle tradition,Archimedes tradition,Alexandria's theoretical tradition and Alexandria's technical tradition.The mechanics in the sense of Aristotle are not about the theory of natural objects,but about the artificial objects such as construction and operation machinery,to accomplish things that nature itself cannot accomplish,and thus serve the purpose of human beings.In this sense,mechanics does not discuss natural movements,but discusses movements that violate nature.Various mechanical practices are also considered to be beyond the scope of physics about natural knowledge,thus forming the opposition between mechanics and natural philosophy(or physics).So that the rational ancient Greeks have always been skeptical about mechanics,and placed mechanics and artificial structures under metaphysics.After Aristotle,mechanics developed in two major directions,one being more mathematical and theoretical,and the other being more practical and technical.The former is represented by Archimedes,the latter is represented by the Alexandria school,and Heron is the core figure of the school.The research field of Heron of Alexandria(about 10-70 A.D.)involves many fields such as mechanics,mathematics,optics,and mechanics.The books that have been handed down include eleven books,such as Mechanics and Pneumatics.It is now compiled in the Heronis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt omnia edited and translated by L.Nix and W.Schmidt.On the basis of previous work,this paper analyzes the research data of Heron mechanics at home and abroad,and combines the research on the original literature of Heron,completes the historical development,content range and characteristics of Heron mechanics.The system organizes and summarizes,and tries to outline a picture that can fully demonstrate the ideas of Heron mechanics.This article specifically discusses from five aspects:Firstly,Heron believes that the mechanics science includes both theoretical and practical parts.The former includes geometry,arithmetic,astronomy,and physics,incorporating relationships between abstract concepts such as force and weight,while the latter includes metal processing,architecture,woodworking,painting and handicraft activities related to these techniques,which are mainly related to the professional activities of practitioners.His texts of mechanics present a two-way interaction between these two kinds of knowledge.The practice of mechanics is developed through the application of the knowledge of mechanical theory,and the explanations required for a series of problems brought about by this development stimulate the development of the theory of mechanics.In Mechanics,Heron describes five simple machines,namely wheels and shafts,levers,wedges,pulleys and spirals,and takes balance as an interpretation model of all machines to explain all mechanical phenomena.In Pneumatics,Heron not only describes many surprisingly pneumatic devices based on the nature of the air,but also uses balance to explain the siphon devices.Heron regards balance as a model for explaining mechanical mechanics.On the one hand,it achieves an effective combination of theory and practice;on the other hand,it eliminates the opposition between mechanics or mechanics and nature,because the results of mechanics seem to be fantastic or paradoxical and are considered beyond the scope of physics about natural knowledge.The model of balances traces the operation of machinery back to natural principles,integrating mechanical and other mechanical phenomena into the framework of interpretation of natural philosophy.As mechanical phenomena are explained,they become part of physics rather than a challenge to it.Secondly,the mainstream of mathematics in the age of Heron's life is Euclidean-Arcimede geometry,which presents a complex and precise mathematical form and fully developed deductive argumentation practice.The methods used by practitioners in such fields as land survey,trade,construction or management are often based on numerical calculations and approximations and are often considered as applications or even lower forms of mathematics.In this extremely polarized picture of mathematics practice,Heron added some descriptions,using Euclidean-Archimedian proofs and methods to develop more mechanical and practical geometry,which incorporates mechanics,calculations,and measurements into geometry,reflecting the integration of the middle part of this polarization.Heron's geometric mechanics demonstrates the transition from geometric tools to mechanical tools,from geometric objects to mechanical objects.On the one hand,by applying geometry to mechanics,the concept of proof is extended to include tool(or instrument)proof,which creates an authoritative foundation for geometry;on the other hand,by linking mechanical proof with Archimedean proof,mechanics is regarded as a theoretical subject based on proof,but his mechanical geometry has a wider range of validity than the traditional Euclidean-Archimedean geometry.In addition,Heron greatly expands the power of geometry in social and practical contexts,blurring the boundaries between professional mathematics and geometry,which are often used to devalue practical skills related to theory.In the application of geometric mechanics,Heron not only uses mechanics as a research method and expression tool,but also breaks through the purely logical role of mathematics(mainly geometry),and closely combines mathematics and mechanics to make the two complement each other.Thirdly,the most involved in the Heron' mechanics is the automaton.By tracing the etymology of automata,we find that its essence is not only automation as defined in modern times,but also the spontaneous production of goods,that is,the emergence of things that should not appear in the current picture.Actually,automata do not attempt to imitate life perfectly,but to transcend life,to produce miracles and awe through their status as potential structures,and then to apply them to religious passion.The use of automata in ancient Greek religious festival parades and temples is not only a part of the interaction between human beings and gods in many aspects of religious experience in ancient Greece,but also highlights its religious or political functions,and links mechanical expertise with sacred skills.As far as Heron is concerned,his automata description can be used to explore the characteristics of a large number of religious and secular powers behind the grand parade,applying inspiration from religious practice to other inventions,clearly indicating that some inventions are used for temples.To some extent,the connection between Heron's automata and God and myth is the core of his mechanical practice.He believes that technology and the power of God are closely related.On the one hand,myth has become the origin of practical mechanics technology,which helps to improve the status of practical technology at the level of knowledge.On the other hand,wonders in religious contexts are developed into wonders caused by the display of mechanical skills and professional knowledge,which shows that more people are engaged in mechanics outside the context.Through the analysis of the contextualization of Heron' mechanics,a reliable picture of the automata in ancient Greek thought was constructed.Fourthly,Heron responded to Aristotle's critique of practical knowledge by using the concept of wonder,adding intelligence to the utility of mechanics,eliminating the difference between wonder and practicality,and eliminating the negative part of actual utility from mechanics;Heron believes that the method of argumentation through perception,which is directly demonstrated by the wonderful scenes produced by mechanical devices,is superior to philosophical argumentation,suggesting that mechanics as a form of knowledge can be epistemologically philosophical on the same page,but it still maintains strong practical consequences.On this basis,Heron constructed a mechanical picture as a powerful and independent form of knowledge.In this picture,Heron does not focus on describing the technological progress of mechanical practice,but philosophically intentionally thinking about the safety involved in mechanical devices,arguing that mechanics and philosophy are consistent in the ultimate pursuit: tranquility.In the debate between mathematicians and philosophers,he took mechanics as a tool of argument against philosophers,trying to disparage philosophers' arguments and put the two methods in a competitive position.It is considered that the philosopher's method is plausible and uncertain,and the mathematician is ultimately unsuccessful because of the geometric argument.Philosophy in Heron's sense roughly presents two meanings.Firstly,it is depicted as a comprehensive field of inquiry,that is,"love wisdom" in the general sense.Secondly,philosophy is divided into two categories: the fields of philosophers and mathematicians,which are overlapping in content but different in practitioners.Fifth,the early spread of Mechanics benefited from an excerpt from Volume 8 of Mathematical Collection and an Arabic translation of Qusta ibn Luqa.After the completion of the Latin translation of Federico Commandino,the mechanical thoughts including Heron's theoretical treatment of five simple machines were adopted by Guidobaldo Marchese del Monte and Galileo as the organizational principles of theoretical mechanics in the sixteenth century.Based on this,an attempt was made to construct a modern mechanics system.By contrast,Pneumatics may be classified as "the operation of magic" because of the described pneumatic devices.Although it contributed little to the theoretical mechanics of the time,it also aroused the interest of humanists,mathematicians,engineers and craftsmen in the European world in mechanics,and a suitable fit for the connection and communication between these people.Bernardo Buontalenti and others practiced the pneumatics of Heron,and the Pratolino Garden was designed and built.It can be regarded as a realistic version of Pneumatics.The comments and annotations on Pneumatics by Vannocci Biringuccio and Giovanni Battista Aleotti have realized the transformation of ancient pneumatics into modern science.In addition,Heron's understanding of air had an important impact on Galileo and Boyle,and promoted the birth of modern scientific material theory.The dissemination and influence of Heron's works on mechanics not only reflects the continuity of scientific development,but also reflects the role of Heron and his texts in the establishment of modern science.In a word,through the overall study of Heron's mechanical thoughts,it enriches the ancient Greek mechanics thought,reveals the flow and change in its development process,and clarifies the "mechanics" of ancient Greece and its related concepts,which not only helps to re-evaluate Heron and ancient Greek mechanics,but also helps to understand the mechanization process of the world picture,and it is also beneficial to the study of the history of mechanics.