论文部分内容阅读
当代物理学把库仑定律作为自然科学的基石之一。18世纪80年代,作为工程师和自然哲学家的库仑用他的扭秤进行了一系列实验,为一条自然科学定律提供了经验证据。其后,历史学家和物理学家们重复了这个实验,但发现几乎不可能得到可靠的实验结果作为证据来证明这条平方反比律。为什么在18世纪晚期的法国,这个实验可以作为证据?在对该事件证据语境的进一步历史考察中可以发现,在证据概念和有能力提供证据的人之间,存在着某种重要的历史关联。在为需证明的事实提供必要的证据语境方面,库仑在其实验中用到的扭秤装置扮演了尤其重要的角色,因为这个实验工具起到了一种传导宏观的法国启蒙理性文化的作用。
Contemporary physics regards Coulomb’s law as one of the cornerstones of the natural sciences. In the 1880s, Coulomb, an engineer and natural philosopher, conducted a series of experiments with his torsion balance, providing empirical evidence for a law of natural science. Later, historians and physicists repeated the experiment, but found that it was almost impossible to get reliable experimental results as evidence to prove the square inverse law. Why was this experiment evidenceable in France in the late 18th century? A further historical examination of the context of the evidence of this event shows that there is some important historical correlation between the concept of evidence and the ability to provide evidence . In the context of the evidence necessary to prove the fact necessary, Coulomb’s torsion-balance device, which was used in his experiments, played an especially important role as the experimental instrument played a role in conveying a macrocosm of French enlightenment rationality.