The 19th century is known as the century of science, and it is also a century characterized by the technicalization and socialization of science. Science has become an important part of social life in this century. The surging great innovation has turned into a great power of technical science. Some technological giants in this century continue to be active in the 2th century. Thomas Alva Edison is one of them. Edison ranked first among the 1 most influential figures in the past 1 years, which was recently rated by American Life magazine.
Edison was born in a humble background and lived in poverty. His "education" was only three months of primary school in his life. Because the teacher was always tongue-tied by his strange questions, he even said to his mother that he was a fool and would not have any future. Mother let him drop out of school in a fit of pique, and she personally educated him. At this time, Edison's talent was fully revealed. Under the guidance of his mother, he read a lot of books and built a small laboratory at home. In order to raise the necessary expenses of the laboratory, he had to go out to work as a newsboy and run a newspaper. Finally, a small laboratory was built in the luggage compartment of the train with the accumulated money to continue the chemical experimental research. Later, chemicals caught fire and almost burned the carriage. The furious porter threw all Edison's experimental equipment out of the car and slapped him several times. It is said that Edison was deaf for life.
Edison is a legendary figure admired by the American nation-although he did not receive a good school education, he achieved great success through personal struggle and extraordinary intelligence. Self-taught, he stood up from thousands of failures with perseverance, rare enthusiasm and energy, overcame countless difficulties and became an American inventor and entrepreneur. In his early years, he developed duplex and quadruple telegraph systems and invented automatic telegraph motor. Invented the phonograph from 1877 to 1879; Experiment and improve the electric light (incandescent lamp) and telephone. Later, the lighting system was established and a lot of work was done to realize centralized power supply. He proposed and adopted the DC three-wire system. The generator with the largest capacity at that time was made, and the first large-scale power plant was built by using this generator in 1882. At the same time, the experiment of railway electrification was made. In 1883, the "Edison effect" was discovered, that is, the thermionic emission phenomenon. There are also many famous inventions in film technology, mining, architecture and chemical industry. From 1869 to 191 alone, 1,328 invention patents were obtained. In his life, there was a new invention every 15 days on average, so he was known as the "king of inventions".
Edison devoted himself to science and was indifferent to fame and fortune. When developing electric light, the reporter said to him, "If you can really make electric light instead of gas light, you will definitely make a lot of money." Edison replied, "If a person works only to save money, it will be difficult for him to get something else-not even money!" " He has always been called the father of modern movies, but at the grand banquet held by people in the film industry for his 77th birthday, he said, "I only made some technical contributions to the development of movies, and others contributed to the rest."
Edison was broad-minded and good at adversity. Pointing to the inconvenience of his deafness, he said, "Walking in the crowd on Broadway, I can be as calm as a person living in the depths of the forest." Deafness has always been my blessing, which has saved me a lot of interference and mental pain. " One night in 1914, Edison's film lab suddenly caught fire, which caused great losses. Edison comforted his heartbroken wife and said, "Never mind, although I am 67 years old, I am not old.
From tomorrow morning, everything will start all over again. I believe no one will be too old to start working again. " The next day, Edison not only started to build a new workshop, but also began to invent a new lamp-a portable searchlight to help firefighters advance in the dark. The fire was like a small episode for Edison.
Edison benefited the public and was not afraid of hardships. In order to find the filament, he tested thousands of materials; He failed 8, times to try out a new battery. Therefore, Edison often said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent diligence." At the age of 8, he still maintained the spirit of an inventor and carried on his invention and creation activities with perseverance. In 1927, he founded Edison Plant Research Company, and devoted himself to a brand-new research field, looking for new chemical materials. Edison, who is 81 years old, successfully extracted rubber from weeds and was highly praised by people.
At 3: 24 am on October 18th, 1931, Edison closed his eyes with a relieved smile and passed away at the age of 84. On his deathbed, he said frankly: "I have tried my best for the happiness of mankind;" There is nothing to regret. "
On the day of the funeral, the lights in America were turned off for one minute to show their condolences. This is the most solemn way for people to express their infinite nostalgia for Edison, and it is also a silent hymn dedicated to this great inventor.
ludwig van beethoven (177-1827) is the most famous German musician in the world since the late 18th century. Beethoven was born in Bonn on the Rhine in Germany on December 26th, 177. His grandfather was originally from Holland, and after moving to Germany, he was a local court musician. My father is a tenor and my mother is the daughter of the court chef. Beethoven grew up in the period when Joseph II practiced "enlightened autocracy", and the rulers of Bonn also implemented some improvement measures. Bonn became one of the centers of the German Enlightenment at that time. Beethoven grew up in such an environment in his childhood. However, Beethoven's childhood was unhappy, and his alcoholic father ruined his family business. He tried to turn four-year-old Beethoven into a cash cow and wanted his son to become a Mozart-style prodigy. Therefore, he not only forced his children to practice the piano, but also often dragged them out of their deep sleep to play the piano when they came home after drinking in the middle of the night. Beethoven under the age of eight was forced to perform and sell in front of Cohen's audience. At the age of eleven, Beethoven began to work in a theater band. This harsh childhood life made Beethoven embark on an independent road of making a living by music very early, and at the same time, he developed his stubborn character.
Since 1781, while working in the theater, Beethoven studied Bach's Piano Music with Equal Rhythm and composition method with the orchestra conductor Naif. Naif is a composer and conductor who is very cultivated and inclined to the Enlightenment. He has contributed to the development of German national operas and oratorios. Beethoven learned from this teacher and realized the importance of learning German folk music traditions. Under the guidance of Naive, he also accepted the influence of the Enlightenment and became interested in German progressive literature at that time.
After p>1787, Beethoven shouldered the economic burden of family life. However, Beethoven did not succumb to the hardships. He managed to attend the philosophy class at Bonn University. He was fascinated by reading and studying ancient myths, Greek and Latin classical literature, and he loved the works of Shakespeare, Schiller and Goethe. Although he didn't have Mozart's precocious talent or Mozart's excellent learning conditions, his tireless self-study made achievements that all his predecessors couldn't match.
The French bourgeois revolution in p>1789 and the progressive anti-feudal movement in the Rhine valley played a great role in Beethoven's ideological growth, and he gradually took the pursuit of "freedom, equality and fraternity" as his political ideal. In 179, his chorus "The Death of Yue Se II" praised Joseph II as the savior of the people, which showed his pursuit of * * * and ideals, and also reflected Beethoven's unrealistic fantasy of reformism in his early years. This work is also Beethoven's earliest attempt to integrate vocal music and symphony.
In p>1792, with the encouragement and support of Haydn, Beethoven came to live in Vienna. At first, he was a talented young pianist who entered and exited the noble families in Vienna, and was warmly received and protected by the nobles. He once had illusions about the upper class. However, Beethoven lived in a different era from Haydn and Mozart, which endowed Beethoven with more mature bourgeois consciousness and personal confidence and self-esteem. So he didn't want to be a slave of the noble family from the beginning, but he wanted to have an equal position with the nobles. Later, Beethoven gradually found that his bourgeois ideal was in great contradiction with the feudal society at that time. In addition, he began to face the threat of deafness in 1796, which made Beethoven quickly grow up with a kind of dissatisfaction with reality and resistance to personal destiny.
After p>1797, Beethoven suffered from deafness, and his condition deteriorated year by year. For a musician, there is nothing heavier than this blow! The devil restricted the composer's communication with the outside world and hindered his piano performance, so he had to give up his performance and live in seclusion in the countryside of Vienna for a long time.
Since 18, Beethoven naturally gradually broke away from the influence of Haydn and Mozart in his creation, striving to create his own artistic style and pursue new ideals. His Third Symphony (Hero Symphony) completed in 183 marked a new development stage-mature period in his creation. His creativity in this period was extremely strong, showing the giant's ability to work, and many outstanding works emerged. The basic ideological logic of Bedofen's mature works-"victory through struggle" was gradually established during this period, and a new style of heroic and mass symphonies was formed. The revolutionary content, dramatic symphonic development techniques and various major innovations in form were further developed during this period. Beethoven's most outstanding works were almost all created in the state of deafness in his later 3 years.
1815-1819 was a four-year crisis period for Beethoven. At that time, Europe fell into the period of reactionary feudal restoration, the revolutionary forces of the bourgeoisie were stifled, and darkness enveloped the European continent. Beethoven's thoughts in this period were complicated, and his confidence and firmness were disturbed by disappointment and vacillation. The heroic style in creation has changed to lyrical style; There are few works, and most of the time is spent collecting, exploring and adapting the folk songs of European countries. This fully shows that the * * * pacifists in the rising period of the bourgeoisie have their historical limitations. However, Beethoven finally struggled out of his silence and spent his crisis. Since 1819, Beethoven has focused his attention on the struggle against feudalism again. At this time, his five piano sonatas and five string quartets are of profound significance, even the greatest symphony No.9 (Chorus Symphony) and other works. However, Beethoven's last years were the most miserable and painful years of his life. The threat of loneliness and poverty made him poor and lonely, and he died in Vienna on March 26, 1827. It is said that at the last moment of his life, heavy rain and thunder, Beethoven raised his withered arm to make a final hard blow to the sky. This spirit of endless life and fighting is all concentrated in his immortal masterpieces.
Beethoven is one of the greatest creators in human art. On the one hand, he has outstanding music, fiery rebellious temperament and strong personality like a giant; On the other hand, his indomitable will and lofty thoughts arising from his sense of social responsibility form his special qualities as a musician. Through his own creation, especially in his nine symphonies, he reflected the great people's movement and the most progressive thoughts of that era. He wrote a series of symphonies with the theme of times and personal destiny, combining profound philosophy with touching artistic images, showing the spiritual course of the bourgeois rising period from struggle to victory, from darkness to light, from suffering to happiness. His nine symphonies are always shining like pearls.
through the research and analysis of Beethoven's nine symphonies, especially the analysis of four of them (namely, the third, fifth, sixth and ninth symphonies), we can not only understand the basic features of Beethoven's total creation and his great and pure thoughts, but also understand the major innovations in symphony creation, and see how symphonies have transitioned from Haydn and Mozart to a new development period represented by Schubert and Mendelssohn. As early as Beethoven's lifetime, he was recognized as a musician of world significance. He was both a great classical composer and a pioneer of romanticism.
Princeton
★ A great man in a small town
On October 7, 1933, Einstein boarded a ship from England to the United States, accompanied by his wife Elsa, his assistant Dr. Meyer and his secretary Alain Ducasse.
Einstein himself didn't expect that he was saying goodbye to Europe. Langevin said like a prophet, which was later proved
:
"This is a great event. It is as important as the Vatican moving from Rome to the New World. The father of contemporary physics moved to the United States, and now the United States has become the center of world physics. "
Ancient Europe was eclipsed by fascism. Roosevelt's "New Deal" brought
hope to the United States and became the rear area of European anti-fascism. To go to America, there is no choice for Ince. Love
Since Einstein first visited the United States in 1921, his impression of the United States has been complicated. American society is full of materialistic desires,
pursuit of pleasure, high crime rate, pursuit of fashion and novelty, but he also finds that American society is more energetic than
ancient Europe. When he first arrived in the United States, he was worshipped by the public. Einstein was
puzzled:
"In this era of being denounced as materialism, it should be a gratifying sign that people whose life goals are completely in the field of knowledge and morality are regarded as heroes."
What interests Einstein most in America is: "I admire the achievements of American scientific research institutions. If we
try to attribute the growing advantages of scientific research in the United States entirely to sufficient funds, it is unfair; Devotion
, perseverance, comradely friendly spirit and * * * ability to cooperate all play an important role in its scientific achievements. "
At the same time, "the social consciousness of the wealthy class is much more developed than that in Europe. A rich man thinks that it is his natural and unshirkable responsibility to hand over a large part of his property, often together with a large part of his own energy, to the society. That powerful public opinion is also eager for him to do so. "
The Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies, where Einstein was going, was established in this way.
In p>193, two American brothers and sisters with billions of assets invited Frye Kaessner, a famous American educator and school reformer, to help establish a new scientific research institute. Flexner found that there were enough practical research institutes in the United States, so he suggested setting them up.