Who's Shen Kuo?

Shen Kuo (103 1- 1095), born in Qiantang, Hangzhou (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang), was a scientist and reformer in the Northern Song Dynasty. In his later years, he wrote a notebook masterpiece Meng Qian Bi Tan in Zhenjiang Meng Xi Park. A very knowledgeable scientist, one of the most outstanding scientists in Chinese history. Be proficient in astronomy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, geology, meteorology, geography, agriculture and medicine; He is also an outstanding engineer and an outstanding diplomat.

Shen Kuo's scientific achievements are manifold. He devoted himself to astronomy and advocated a new calendar similar to today's solar calendar. In physics, he recorded the principle of compass and various production methods; The existence of magnetic declination was discovered more than 400 years before Europe. The principle of concave mirror imaging is expounded. The law of * * * vibration is also studied. In mathematics, he founded "gap product" (second-order arithmetic progression summation method) and "meeting circle" (knowing the diameter of the circle and the height of the bow, and finding the chord length and arc length of the bow). In geology, he studied the formation of alluvial plain and water erosion, and put forward the name of oil for the first time. In medicine, there are many records of effective prescriptions and many medical works. In addition, he also recorded the scientific development and production technology at that time, such as movable type printing and metal smelting methods invented by Sheng.

Shen Kuo was interested in astronomy and geography since he was a child. He is curious and eager to learn. When he was a teenager, he lived in Quanzhou, Fujian for many years with his father, who was a state official in Quanzhou. Some of his experiences at that time were included in Meng Qian's Bi Tan. In astronomy, Shen Kuo has also made great achievements. He once made the armillary sphere, which was the main instrument for observing astronomy in ancient China. Represents the shadow of the sun

Landscape, etc. In order to measure the exact position of Polaris, he used an armillary sphere to observe the position of Polaris every day for three months, and drew the directions of Polaris on the map on the first night, midnight and last night respectively. After careful study, he finally came to the conclusion that Polaris is three degrees away from the North Pole. This scientific basis is recorded in detail in Meng Qian Bi Tan. Shen Kuo's contribution to mathematics is also recorded in Meng Qian's Bi Tan. He developed arithmetic progression since nine chapters of arithmetic, and created a new summation method of advanced numbers-difference product number. In geometry, he invented the rounding method, that is, the method of finding the bottom and arc of the bow from the diameter and height of the known circle. Because of this, Japanese mathematician Kazuo Sanshi once gave Shen Kuo a very high evaluation.

Shen Kuo Biography of the History of Song Dynasty said that he was "well-read, good at writing articles, and talked about astronomy, local chronicles, music, medicine and divination". Needham, a British historian of science, commented on Shen Kuo's Coordinates in the History of Science in China and Milestones in the History of Science and Technology in China.

1 July 9791In memory of him, the Purple Mountain Observatory of China Academy of Sciences named an asteroid 2027 discovered by the Observatory in 1964 as Shen Kuo.

He is the first person in the encyclopedia Meng Qian Bi Tan to name the stone paint, petroleum water, kerosene and fierce fire oil used in history as petroleum, and has made a very detailed discussion on petroleum.

British scientist Joseph Needham once called China the most outstanding figure in the history of science.