在科学研究活动中,真正运用实验方法是近代自然科学发展的起点和主要标志。在古希腊时期,科学研究活动的主要工作只是凭借理性的头脑,整理人们存观察中所获得的资料,因此古希腊的科学思想大多是一些天才的猜测。他们认为知识是理性逻辑的结果,所以他们想凭逻辑解决一切科学问题,而不太重视感性经验知识,更不要说有目的地进行科学实验了。当然,我们说实验方法的运用是近代自然科学发展的起点,并不是说在古代就根本没有进行过什么实验。例如众所周知的阿基米德(Archimedes)判定王冠中是否掺入了银子这一疑难问题的解 In scientific research activities, the real use of experimental methods is the starting point and main symbol of the development of modern natural sciences. During the ancient Greek period, the main work of scientific research activity was merely by rational mind, finishing the information obtained by people observation, so the ancient Greek scientific ideas are mostly some gifted speculation. They think that knowledge is the result of rational logic, so they want to solve all scientific problems by logic, rather than attaching importance to the knowledge of perceptual experience, let alone carrying out scientific experiments purposely. Of course, we say that the application of experimental methods is the starting point for the development of modern natural science. It does not mean that we have never conducted any experiments in ancient times. For example, Archimedes’ well-known solution to the knotty problem of determining whether or not silver is incorporated into the crown