The real story behind Archimedes’ Eureka! - Armand D'Angour

翻译人员: Yang Zhou 校对人员: Gabriella Hu

When you think of Archimedes' "Eureka!" moment,

当提起阿基米德定律的发现时，

you probably think of this.

你想象的画面可能是这样的。

As it turns out, it may have been more like this.

但真实的故事可能是另外一个样子。

In the third century BC, Hieron, king of the Sicilian city of Syracuse,

公元前三世纪，西西里城市叙拉古的国王希伦，

任命阿基米德监督一项前无古人的巨大工程。

chose Archimedes to supervise

an engineering project of unprecedented scale.

Hieron commissioned a sailing vessel

希伦 下令建造一艘巨大的帆船

50 times bigger than a standard ancient warship,

比当时标准大小的帆船要大上50倍

named the Syracusia after his city.

并以他统治的城市叙拉古命名。

Hieron wanted to construct the largest ship ever,

希伦的目标是建造有史以来最大的帆船。

which was destined to be given as a present

并将这艘船作为礼物送给埃及法老托勒密

for Egypt's ruler, Ptolemy.

But could a boat the size of a palace possibly float?

但这艘巨大的海上宫殿能浮起来吗？

In Archimedes's day, no one had attempted anything like this.

在阿基米德的时代，还没有人解决过类似的问题。

It was like asking, "Can a mountain fly?"

这就好比问“ 山能飞吗？”

King Hieron had a lot riding on that question.

希伦国王对此深表疑虑。

Hundreds of workmen were to labor for years on constructing the Syracusia

成百的工人将花好多年的时间建造叙拉古号

out of beams of pine and fir from Mount Etna,

砍伐埃特纳火山上的松木和杉木作为船梁

ropes from hemp grown in Spain,

采用西班牙生长的大麻搓成麻绳

and pitch from France.

并使用法国生产的树脂

The top deck, on which eight watchtowers were to stand,

甲板上将矗立八座瞭望塔

was to be supported not by columns,

支撑它们的不是柱子

but by vast wooden images of Atlas holding the world on his shoulders.

而是传说中背负整个世界的阿特拉斯像

On the ship's bow,

在船首，

a massive catapult would be able to fire 180 pound stone missiles.

巨大的投石机可以投射180磅的石块。

For the enjoyment of its passengers,

为了乘客能享受美好的旅途，

the ship was to feature a flower-lined promenade,

船上会有装饰着美丽花纹的走廊

a sheltered swimming pool,

有遮阳的游泳池

and bathhouse with heated water,

有热水的浴池

a library filled with books and statues,

有摆满了图书和雕塑的图书室

a temple to the goddess Aphrodite,

还有供奉阿芙罗狄蒂的神庙

and a gymnasium.

以及一个体操馆。

And just to make things more difficult for Archimedes,

最后，好像这些还不够阿基米德忙活的，

Hieron intended to pack the vessel full of cargo:

希伦还要给船装满货物：

400 tons of grain,

400吨的谷物

10,000 jars of pickled fish,

10000坛子的腌鱼，

74 tons of drinking water,

74吨的饮用水，

and 600 tons of wool.

600吨的羊毛。

It would have carried well over a thousand people on board,

并且还有1000名乘客

including 600 soldiers.

其中包括600名士兵。

And it housed 20 horses in separate stalls.

还要装载20匹马，各自有单独的马厩。

To build something of this scale,

建造一艘如此庞大的巨物，

only for that to sink on its maiden voyage?

然后在第一次航行时就沉到水底？

Well, let's just say that failure

嗯，对阿基米德来说

wouldn't have been a pleasant option for Archimedes.

这应该不会是一个愉快的选择。

So he took on the problem: will it sink?

那么问题就来了：这艘船会沉吗？

Perhaps he was sitting in the bathhouse one day,

可能有那么一天，阿基米德坐在浴缸里洗澡，

wondering how a heavy bathtub can float,

一个问题浮现在他的脑海：这么重的浴缸为什么能浮起来呢？

when inspiration came to him.

然后灵感乍现了！

An object partially immersed in a fluid is buoyed up by a force

部分浸入水中的物体受到向上的浮力

equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.

等于它排开水的体积。

In other words, if a 2,000 ton Syracusia displaced exactly 2,000 tons of water,

也就是说，如果2000吨重的叙拉古号能排开2000吨重的水

it would just barely float.

它就刚刚能浮起来。

If it displaced 4,000 tons of water, it would float with no problem.

如果能排开4000吨重的水，那就更没有问题了。

Of course, if it only displaced 1,000 tons of water,

当然，如果只能排开1000吨的水，

well, Hieron wouldn't be too happy.

那么希伦国王显然就不高兴了。

This is the law of buoyancy,

这就是浮力定理。

and engineers still call it Archimedes' Principle.

而工程师们仍然习惯称其为阿基米德定理。

It explains why a steel supertanker can float as easily as a wooden rowboat

这个定理解释了为什么万吨巨轮能和小木船一样轻而易举的浮起来。

or a bathtub.

对浴缸也是同一个道理。

If the weight of water displaced by the vessel below the keel

如果船龙骨线以下船身排开的水的重量

is equivalent to the vessel's weight,

等于船的重量，

whatever is above the keel will remain afloat above the waterline.

那么无论在龙骨线以上的是什么，都能浮在水面上。

This sounds a lot like another story involving Archimedes and a bathtub,

这跟另一个阿基米德和浴缸的故事版本很像。

and it's possible that's because they're actually the same story,

而这很可能由于这两个故事本身就是同一回事。

twisted by the vagaries of history.

只是被历史流传的变换莫测弄得摸棱两可了。

The classical story of Archimedes' Eureka! and subsequent streak through the streets

在广为流传的故事里，阿基米德大叫着“我找到了!" 飞奔过街道。

centers around a crown, or corona in Latin.

故事的核心是一顶皇冠，皇冠在拉丁文中是corona。

At the core of the Syracusia story is a keel, or korone in Greek.

而叙拉古这个版本的核心是龙骨，在拉丁文中是korone。

Could one have been mixed up for the other?

可能是将corona与korone混淆了吗？

We may never know.

我们永远无法知道了。

On the day the Syracusia arrived in Egypt on its first and only voyage,

当叙拉古号在完成它第一次也是唯一一次的航程抵达埃及时，

we can only imagine how residents of Alexandria thronged the harbor

我们可以想象，

亚历山大城当地的居民成群结队的去港口观瞻这艘非凡的浮动的城堡，

to marvel at the arrival of this majestic, floating castle.

定会惊叹不已的。

This extraordinary vessel was the Titanic of the ancient world,

这艘巨船就好比古代的泰坦尼克号一样，

except without the sinking, thanks to our pal, Archimedes.

不同的只是它没有沉没。而这，要感谢我们的阿基米德！