Not so long ago, in December 2000, the world scientific community celebrated the centenary of the emergence of new science– quantum physics and the discovery of a new fundamental physical constant – Planck’s constant.

The credit for this goes to the outstanding German physicist Max Planck. This event went virtually unnoticed. Meanwhile, the historical date of December 14, 1900, when Max Planck first uttered the word “quantum” at a meeting of the Berlin Physical Society, has every reason to become one of the most significant events in the history of mankind. From this day begins the countdown of that cardinal revolution in scientific thought, which has now led to qualitatively new fundamental scientific achievements quantum theory. As a result, the foundation has now been laid for the upcoming large-scale and profound changes in all spheres of society that await us in the near future.

Planck managed to solve the problem of the spectral distribution of light emitted by heated bodies, a problem that classical physics was powerless to solve. Planck was the first to put forward a hypothesis about the quantization of oscillator energy, incompatible with the principles classical physics. It was this hypothesis, subsequently developed by the works of many outstanding physicists, that gave impetus to the process of revising and breaking old concepts, which culminated in the creation of quantum physics, which determined relevance our research.

Target work - analyze the quantum theory of light.

In accordance with the set goals, the following were resolved main goals :

Consider the development of ideas about the nature of light;

Study the quantum properties of light: the photoelectric effect and the Compton effect;

Analyze Planck's quantum theory.

Research methods:

Processing, analysis scientific sources;

Analysis of scientific literature, textbooks and manuals on the problem under study.

Object of study - quantum theory of light

1. Development of ideas about light

The first ideas about the nature of light arose among the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. With the invention and improvement of various optical instruments(parabolic mirrors, microscope, telescope) these ideas developed and transformed. IN late XVII century, two theories of light arose: corpuscular (I. Newton) and wave (R. Hooke and H. Huygens).

According to the corpuscular theory, light is a stream of particles (corpuscles) emitted by luminous bodies. Newton believed that the movement of light corpuscles obeys the laws of mechanics. Thus, the reflection of light was understood as similar to the reflection of an elastic ball from a plane. The refraction of light was explained by a change in the speed of corpuscles when moving from one medium to another. For the case of refraction of light at the vacuum-medium boundary, the corpuscular theory led to the following form of the law of refraction:

where c is the speed of light in vacuum, υ is the speed of light propagation in the medium. Since n > 1, it followed from the corpuscular theory that the speed of light in media should be greater than the speed of light in vacuum. Newton also tried to explain the appearance of interference fringes by assuming a certain periodicity of light processes. Thus, Newton's corpuscular theory contained elements of wave concepts.

The wave theory, in contrast to the corpuscular theory, considered light as wave process, similar to mechanical waves. The basis wave theory Huygens' principle was established, according to which each point to which a wave reaches becomes the center of secondary waves, and the envelope of these waves gives the position of the wave front at the next moment in time. Using Huygens' principle, the laws of reflection and refraction were explained. Rice. 1 gives an idea of ​​Huygens' constructions for determining the direction of propagation of a wave refracted at the boundary of two transparent media.

Rice. 1. Huygens’ constructions to determine the direction of the refracted wave.

For the case of light refraction at the vacuum–medium boundary, the wave theory leads to to the following conclusion:

The law of refraction, derived from the wave theory, turned out to be in conflict with Newton's formula. Wave theory leads to the conclusion: υ< c, тогда как согласно корпускулярной теории υ >c.

Thus, to early XVIII centuries, there were two opposing approaches to explaining the nature of light: Newton's corpuscular theory and Huygens' wave theory. Both theories explained the linear propagation of light, the laws of reflection and refraction. The entire 18th century became a century of struggle between these theories. However, at the beginning XIX century the situation has changed radically. The corpuscular theory was rejected and the wave theory triumphed. Great credit belongs in this English physicist T. Young and the French physicist O. Fresnel, who studied the phenomena of interference and diffraction. A comprehensive explanation of these phenomena could only be given on the basis of the wave theory. An important experimental confirmation of the validity of the wave theory was obtained in 1851, when J. Foucault (and independently of him A. Fizeau) measured the speed of light in water and obtained the value υ< c.

Although by the middle of the 19th century the wave theory was generally accepted, the question of the nature of light waves remained unresolved.

In the 60s years XIX centuries were established by Maxwell general laws electromagnetic field, which led him to the conclusion that light is electromagnetic waves. An important confirmation of this point of view was the coincidence of the speed of light in vacuum with the electrodynamic constant Electromagnetic nature light gained recognition after the experiments of G. Hertz (1887–1888) in the study of electromagnetic waves. At the beginning of the 20th century, after P. N. Lebedev’s experiments on measuring light pressure (1901) electromagnetic theory light has become a firmly established fact.

The most important role in clarifying the nature of light was played by the experimental determination of its speed. Since the end of the 17th century, repeated attempts have been made to measure the speed of light. various methods(astronomical method of A. Fizeau, method of A. Michelson). Modern laser technology makes it possible to measure the speed of light with very high accuracy based on independent measurements of the wavelength λ and the frequency of light ν (c = λ · ν). In this way the value was found

exceeding in accuracy all previously obtained values ​​by more than two orders of magnitude.

The light plays extremely important role in our life. A person receives the overwhelming amount of information about the world around him with the help of light. However, in optics as a branch of physics, light refers not only to visible light, but also to the wide ranges of the spectrum adjacent to it. electromagnetic radiation– infrared IR and ultraviolet UV. According to their own physical property light is fundamentally indistinguishable from electromagnetic radiation in other ranges - different parts of the spectrum differ from each other only in wavelength λ and frequency ν. Rice. 2. gives an idea of ​​the scale of electromagnetic waves.

Rice. 2. Electromagnetic wave scale. The boundaries between different ranges are arbitrary

To measure wavelengths in the optical range, length units of 1 nanometer (nm) and 1 micrometer (µm) are used:

1 nm = 10 –9 m = 10 –7 cm = 10 –3 µm.

Visible light occupies the range from approximately 400 nm to 780 nm or from 0.40 µm to 0.78 µm.

The electromagnetic theory of light made it possible to explain many optical phenomena, such as interference, diffraction, polarization, etc. However, this theory did not complete the understanding of the nature of light. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, it became clear that this theory was insufficient to interpret atomic-scale phenomena that arise during the interaction of light with matter. To explain phenomena such as black body radiation, the photoelectric effect, the Compton effect, etc., it was necessary to introduce quantum concepts

2. Quantum properties light: photoelectric effect. Compton effect

The photoelectric effect was discovered in 1887 German physicist G. Hertz and in 1888–1890 experimentally studied by A. G. Stoletov. Most full research The phenomenon of the photoelectric effect was carried out by F. Lenard in 1900. By this time, the electron had already been discovered (D. Thomson, 1897), and it became clear that the photoelectric effect (or more precisely - external photoelectric effect) consists of the ejection of electrons from a substance under the influence of light incident on it.

Scheme experimental setup to study the photoelectric effect is shown in Fig. 3.

Rice. 3. Diagram of the experimental setup for studying the photoelectric effect

The experiments used a glass vacuum bottle with two metal electrodes, the surface of which was thoroughly cleaned. A certain voltage U was applied to the electrodes, the polarity of which could be changed using a double switch. One of the electrodes (cathode K) was illuminated through a quartz window with monochromatic light of a certain wavelength λ, and at a constant light flux the dependence of the photocurrent strength I on the applied voltage was measured. In Fig. Figure 4 shows typical curves of such a dependence obtained at two intensity values luminous flux, incident on the cathode.

Rice. 4. Dependence of the photocurrent strength on the applied voltage. Curve 2 corresponds to a higher light intensity. In1 and In2 are saturation currents, Uз is the blocking potential.

The curves show that at sufficiently large positive voltages at anode A, the photocurrent reaches saturation, since all the electrons ejected from the cathode by light reach the anode. Careful measurements showed that the saturation current In is directly proportional to the intensity of the incident light. When the voltage at the anode is negative, the electric field between the cathode and anode inhibits the electrons. Only those electrons can reach the anode kinetic energy which exceeds |eU|. If the voltage at the anode is less than –Uз, the photocurrent stops. By measuring Uz, you can determine the maximum kinetic energy of photoelectrons:

To the surprise of scientists, the value of Uz turned out to be independent of the intensity of the incident light flux. Careful measurements showed that the blocking potential increases linearly with increasing frequency ν of light (Fig. 5).

Rice. 5. Dependence of the blocking potential Uз on the frequency ν of the incident light.

Numerous experimenters have established the following basic principles of the photoelectric effect:

4) The photoelectric effect is practically inertia-free, the photocurrent arises instantly after the start of illumination of the cathode, provided that the light frequency ν > νmin.

All these laws of the photoelectric effect fundamentally contradicted the ideas of classical physics about the interaction of light with matter. According to wave concepts, an electron interacting with an electromagnetic light wave would gradually accumulate energy, and it would take a significant amount of time, depending on the intensity of the light, for the electron to accumulate enough energy to fly out of the cathode. As calculations show, this time should be calculated in minutes or hours. However, experience shows that photoelectrons appear immediately after the start of illumination of the cathode. In this model it was also impossible to understand the existence of the red boundary of the photoelectric effect. The wave theory of light could not explain the independence of the energy of photoelectrons from the intensity of the light flux, the proportionality of the maximum kinetic energy to the frequency of light.

Thus, the electromagnetic theory of light was unable to explain these patterns.

The solution was found by A. Einstein in 1905. A theoretical explanation of the observed laws of the photoelectric effect was given by Einstein on the basis of M. Planck’s hypothesis that light is emitted and absorbed in certain portions, and the energy of each such portion is determined by the formula E = hν, where h is Planck's constant Einstein took the next step in the development of quantum concepts. He came to the conclusion that light also has an intermittent, discrete structure. An electromagnetic wave consists of separate portions - quanta, later called photons. When interacting with matter, a photon completely transfers all its energy hν to one electron. The electron can dissipate part of this energy during collisions with atoms of matter. In addition, part of the electron energy is spent on overcoming the potential barrier at the metal-vacuum interface. To do this, the electron must perform a work function A, which depends on the properties of the cathode material. The maximum kinetic energy that a photoelectron emitted from the cathode can have is determined by the law of conservation of energy:

This formula is usually called the Einstein equation for the photoelectric effect.

Using Einstein's equation, all the laws of the external photoelectric effect can be explained. From Einstein's equation it follows linear dependence maximum kinetic energy on frequency and independence from light intensity, the existence of a red boundary, the inertia-free photoelectric effect. Total number photoelectrons leaving the cathode surface in 1 s must be proportional to the number of photons incident on the surface during the same time. It follows from this that the saturation current must be directly proportional to the intensity of the light flux.

As follows from Einstein’s equation, the tangent of the angle of inclination of the straight line expressing the dependence of the blocking potential Uз on frequency ν (Fig. 5) is equal to the ratio of Planck’s constant h to the electron charge e:

This allows us to experimentally determine the value of Planck's constant. Such measurements were made by R. Millikan (1914) and gave good agreement with the value found by Planck. These measurements also made it possible to determine the work function of output A:

where c is the speed of light, λcr is the wavelength corresponding to the red boundary of the photoelectric effect. For most metals, the work function A is several electron volts (1 eV = 1.602·10–19 J). In quantum physics, electron volts are often used as energy unit measurements. The value of Planck's constant, expressed in electron volts per second, is

h = 4.136·10 –15 eV·s

Among the metals least amount of work alkali metals have yields. For example, for sodium A = 1.9 eV, which corresponds to the red limit of the photoelectric effect λcr ≈ 680 nm. Therefore connections alkali metals used to create cathodes in photocells designed to detect visible light.

So, the laws of the photoelectric effect indicate that light, when emitted and absorbed, behaves like a stream of particles called photons or light quanta.

The photon energy is

A photon moves in a vacuum with speed c. The photon has no mass, m = 0. From the general relation of the special theory of relativity, connecting the energy, momentum and mass of any particle,

E 2 = m 2 c 4 + p 2 c 2,

it follows that the photon has momentum

Thus, the doctrine of light, having completed a revolution lasting two centuries, again returned to the ideas of light particles - corpuscles.

But this was not a mechanical return to Newton's corpuscular theory. At the beginning of the 20th century, it became clear that light has a dual nature. As light spreads, it appears wave properties(interference, diffraction, polarization), and when interacting with matter - corpuscular (photoelectric effect). This dual nature of light is called wave-particle duality. Later the dual nature was discovered in electrons and other elementary particles. Classical physics cannot provide a visual model of the combination of wave and corpuscular properties at microobjects. The movement of microobjects is not governed by laws classical mechanics Newton, and the laws of quantum mechanics. The theory of black body radiation developed by M. Planck and Einstein's quantum theory of the photoelectric effect lie at the basis of this modern science.

Compton effect

The concept of photons, proposed by A. Einstein in 1905 to explain the photoelectric effect, received experimental confirmation in experiments American physicist A. Compton (1922). Compton studied the elastic scattering of short-wave X-rays on free (or weakly bound to atoms) electrons of matter. The effect he discovered of increasing the wavelength of scattered radiation, later called the Compton effect, does not fit into the framework of the wave theory, according to which the wavelength of radiation should not change during scattering. According to the wave theory, an electron, under the influence of a periodic field of a light wave, performs forced oscillations at the frequency of the wave and therefore emits scattered waves of the same frequency.

The Compton circuit is shown in Fig. 6. Monochromatic x-ray radiation with wavelength λ0, emanating from the X-ray tube R, passes through lead diaphragms and in the form narrow beam is directed to the scattering target substance P (graphite, aluminum). Radiation scattered at a certain angle θ is analyzed using a spectrograph x-rays S, in which the role diffraction grating plays a K crystal mounted on a turntable. Experience has shown that in scattered radiation there is an increase in wavelength Δλ, depending on the scattering angle θ:

Δλ = λ - λ 0 = 2Λ sin 2 θ / 2,

where Λ = 2.43·10–3 nm is the so-called Compton wavelength, independent of the properties of the scattering substance. In scattered radiation, along with spectral line with wavelength λ, an unshifted line with wavelength λ0 is observed. The ratio of the intensities of the shifted and unshifted lines depends on the type of scattering substance.

Fig.6. Compton experiment design

Figure 7 shows intensity distribution curves in the spectrum of radiation scattered at certain angles.

Rice. 7. Spectra of scattered radiation

An explanation of the Compton effect was given in 1923 by A. Compton and P. Debye (independently) on the basis of quantum concepts about the nature of radiation. If we assume that radiation is a stream of photons, then the Compton effect is the result of elastic collisions of X-ray photons with free electrons of matter. In light atoms of scattering substances, electrons are weakly bound to the atomic nuclei, so they can be considered free. During the collision, the photon transfers part of its energy and momentum to the electron in accordance with conservation laws.

Let's consider elastic collision two particles - an incident photon, having energy E0 = hν0 and momentum p0 = hν0 / c, with a resting electron, whose rest energy is equal to The photon, colliding with the electron, changes the direction of movement (scatters). The photon momentum after scattering becomes equal to p = hν / c, and its energy E = hν< E0. Уменьшение энергии фотона означает увеличение длины волны. Энергия электрона после столкновения в соответствии с релятивистской формулой (см. § 7.5) становится равной where pe is the acquired momentum of the electron. The conservation law is written in the form

Law of conservation of momentum

can be rewritten in scalar form using the cosine theorem (see momentum diagram, Fig. 8):

Rice. 8.Pulse diagram for elastic scattering of a photon by a stationary electron.

From two relations expressing the laws of conservation of energy and momentum, after simple transformations and eliminating the value of pe, one can obtain

mc 2 (ν 0 – ν) = hν 0 ν(1 – cos θ).

The transition from frequencies to wavelengths leads to an expression that coincides with the Compton formula obtained from experiment:

Thus, a theoretical calculation performed on the basis of quantum concepts provided a comprehensive explanation of the Compton effect and made it possible to express the Compton wavelength Λ in terms of the fundamental constants h, c and m:

As experience shows, in scattered radiation, along with a shifted line with wavelength λ, an unshifted line with the original wavelength λ0 is also observed. This is explained by the interaction of some photons with electrons that are strongly bound to the atoms. In this case, the photon exchanges energy and momentum with the atom as a whole. Because of large mass of an atom, compared to the mass of an electron, only an insignificant part of the photon energy is transferred to the atom, therefore the wavelength λ of the scattered radiation practically does not differ from the wavelength λ0 of the incident radiation.

3. Quantum theory Plank

Planck came to the conclusion that the processes of radiation and absorption of electromagnetic energy by a heated body do not occur continuously, as classical physics accepted, but in finite portions - quanta. A quantum is the minimum portion of energy emitted or absorbed by a body. According to Planck's theory, the energy of a quantum E is directly proportional to the frequency of light:

where h is the so-called Planck constant, equal to h = 6.626·10–34 J·s. Planck's constant is a universal constant that plays the same role in quantum physics as the speed of light in SRT.

Based on the hypothesis about the intermittent nature of the processes of emission and absorption of electromagnetic radiation by bodies, Planck obtained a formula for spectral luminosity absolutely black body. It is convenient to write Planck’s formula in a form that expresses the energy distribution in the radiation spectrum of a black body over frequencies ν, and not over wavelengths λ.

Here c is the speed of light, h is Planck’s constant, k is Boltzmann constant, T – absolute temperature.

The solution to the problem of black body radiation marked the beginning new era in physics. It was not easy to come to terms with the abandonment of classical concepts, and Planck himself, having made a great discovery, spent several years unsuccessfully trying to understand the quantization of energy from the position of classical physics

CONCLUSION

Thus, the first ideas about the nature of light arose among the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. As various optical instruments were invented and improved, these ideas developed and transformed. At the end of the 17th century, two theories of light arose: the corpuscular theory of I. Newton and the wave theory of R. Hooke and H. Huygens.

The photoelectric effect was discovered in 1887 by the German physicist G. Hertz and experimentally studied by A. G. Stoletov in 1888–1890. The most complete study of the phenomenon of the photoelectric effect was carried out by F. Lenard in 1900. By this time, the electron had already been discovered, and it became clear that the photoeffect (or more precisely, the external photoeffect) consists of the ejection of electrons from a substance under the influence of light incident on it.

As a result, numerous experimenters have established the following basic principles of the photoelectric effect:

1) The maximum kinetic energy of photoelectrons increases linearly with increasing light frequency ν and does not depend on its intensity.

2) For each substance there is a so-called red limit of the photoelectric effect, i.e. the lowest frequency νmin at which the external photoelectric effect is still possible.

3) The number of photoelectrons emitted by light from the cathode in 1 s is directly proportional to the light intensity.

4) The photoelectric effect is practically inertia-free, the photocurrent arises instantly after the start of illumination of the cathode, provided that the light frequency ν > νmin.

The concept of photons, proposed by A. Einstein in 1905 to explain the photoelectric effect, received experimental confirmation in the experiments of the American physicist A. Compton (1922). Compton studied the elastic scattering of short-wave X-rays on free (or weakly bound to atoms) electrons of matter. The effect he discovered of increasing the wavelength of scattered radiation, later called the Compton effect, does not fit into the framework of the wave theory, according to which the wavelength of radiation should not change during scattering.

In 1900, Planck put forward a hypothesis about the quantization of emitted energy.

Planck's formula describes well the spectral distribution of black body radiation at any frequency. It is in excellent agreement with experimental data.

The idea of ​​quantization is one of the greatest ideas in physics. It turned out that many quantities considered continuous have discrete series values. On the basis of this idea, quantum mechanics arose, describing the laws of behavior of microparticles

LIST OF REFERENCES USED

1. Guseikhanov, M.K. Concepts of modern natural science: - M.: Dashkov i K, 2005. - 692 p.

2. Dubnischeva, T.Ya. Concepts of modern natural science. Basic course in questions and answers: Proc. manual for universities / T.Ya. Dubnischeva. - Novosibirsk: Siberian Univ. publishing house, 2003. - 407 p.

3. Concepts of modern natural science: textbook. for universities / Ed. V.N. Lavrinenko, V.P. Ratnikova. - 3rd ed., revised. and additional - M.: UNITY-DANA, 2003. - 317 p.

4. Lebedev S.A. Concepts of modern natural science. – M.: 2007

5. Pokrovsky, A.K. Concepts of modern natural science: Textbook. for universities / A.K. Pokrovsky, L.B. Mirotin; edited by L.B. Mirotina. - M.: Exam, 2005. - 480 s.

6. Ruzavin, G.I. Concepts of modern natural science: Textbook. for universities / G.I. Ruzavin. - M.: Unity, 2005. - 287 p.

7. Sukhanov A.D., Golubeva O.N. Concepts of modern natural science. M., 2004

8. Torosyan, V.G. Concepts of modern natural science: textbook. manual for universities / V.G. Torosyan. - M.: Higher. school, 2003. - 208 p.

Concepts of modern natural science: textbook. for universities / Ed. V.N. Lavrinenko, V.P. Ratnikova. - 3rd ed., revised. and additional - M.: UNITY-DANA, 2003. - 317 p.

Ruzavin, G.I. Concepts of modern natural science: Textbook. for universities / G.I. Ruzavin. - M.: Unity, 2005. - 287 p.

Dubnischeva, T.Ya. Concepts of modern natural science. Basic course in questions and answers: Proc. manual for universities / T.Ya. Dubnischeva. - Novosibirsk: Siberian Univ. publishing house, 2003. - 407 p.

Lebedev S.A. Concepts of modern natural science. – M.: 2007

Guseikhanov, M.K. Concepts of modern natural science: - M.: Dashkov i K, 2005. - 692 p.

Sukhanov A.D., Golubeva O.N. Concepts of modern natural science. M., 2004

Torosyan, V.G. Concepts of modern natural science: textbook. manual for universities / V.G. Torosyan. - M.: Higher. school, 2003. - 208 p.

Libmonster ID: RU-8780

The first information about the New World without using, however, the term “America” was preserved in Russian in the manuscript “Monk Maxim the Greek, a tale of somewhat perplexed certain sayings in the Word of Gregory the Theologian,” dating back to approximately 1530 1 .

Commenting on one of the sermons of this Patriarch of Constantinople (329 - 389), dedicated to the superiority of Christianity over paganism in various parts known world at that time, Maxim the Greek, without any connection with the text of the sermon or any transition whatsoever, recalls the following “perplexed speech” of Gregory the Theologian: “Even though through Gadir there is no end” 2 . “The Hellenic sages believed that it was impossible to sail further than Gadir, since there is the southwestern end of the earth, the sea is very narrow, its current is faster than the river, and on both sides the highest coastal mountains approached it, called the “Pillars of Hercules,” since it reached this place strongest and most glorious greek hero Hercules everywhere cleared the universe of all kinds of wild animals, robbers and villains. The ancient peoples did not know how to swim further than Gadir, and most importantly, they did not dare to do so; the current Portuguese and Spaniards, having taken all precautions, recently, about 40 or 50 years ago (after the seventh thousand years from the creation of the world), began to swim across big ships and they discovered many islands, some of which are inhabited by people, and others uninhabited; and the land of Cuba, so large in size that even its inhabitants do not know where it is ends. They also discovered, going around the entire southern side and heading to the northeast, on the way to India, seven islands called Molluk. On these islands grow cinnamon, cloves, and other aromatic and fragrant plants, which until then were unknown to any person, but are now known to everyone, thanks to the kings of Spain and Portugal. The rulers of these people there, who did not know the true God until now and worshiped the creature rather than the Creator, will now convert them to their faith, that is, to the Latin, sending to them “bishops, teachers and priests and also various artisans and all kinds of local seeds, and now opened there new world and a new assembly of men" 3.

Gadir - Agadir, or Gaddir of the Carthaginians - was known to the Greeks as Gadeira, and to the Romans as Hades. This sea ​​port Cadiz (or more correctly - "Cadiz"), the base of the Spanish fleets that delivered the wealth of the New World. Maximus the Greek in this case mixed Cadiz with the Strait of Gibraltar - the "Pillars of Hercules" of the ancients.

"Southern Tradition" ( southern country) Maxim the Greek - modern Africa. From the context it is obvious that Maximus the Greek knew in general terms the voyages of Vasco de Gama (1497 - 1499) and other Portuguese around the Cape of Good Hope to west coast India, the Malay Peninsula (1509 - 1511), the Molluk Islands (1512).

“However, the mention of the “villagers” of the Molluk Islands does not yet prove that Maxim the Greek received even vague information -

1 Maximus the Greek, whose secular name was Macarius, was born in Arta (Epirus) around 1470. He was educated in Paris, Florence and Venice. In Venice, Macarius met the famous humanist and publisher Aldus Manutius. Upon his return to Greece in 1507, Maxim became a monk. In 1518, he was sent to Moscow by the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos to translate the holy scriptures from Greek into Russian, at the suggestion of Vasily III. Maxim the Greek died in 1556 in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery.

2 This expression is found in Gregory the Theologian in his “Funeral Homily to Basil, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia” (Part IV, word 43). However, Maxim the Greek comments on it in Gregory’s word “On the Holy Lights of the Apparitions of the Lord” (Creations. Publ. of the Moscow Theological Academy. Part III, word 39, pp. 253 - 256. 1844).

3 Works of St. Maxim the Greek in Russian translation. Part II. Trinity-Sergius Lavra. 2911. “Explanation of some somewhat incomprehensible sayings in the Word of Gregory the Theologian.” The quoted passage is on pp. 28 - 29. The Russian translation, in our opinion, is not always accurate: for example, instead of " South side"should have been translated "southern country"; instead of "craftsmen" - "tools" (in the original "all crafts").

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information about the voyage of Magellan and Del Cano (1519 - 1522). How insufficient were Maxim the Greek's ideas about swimming in modern India, shows his message that the Mollucan Islands lie on the way to India, if you go northeast from Africa 1.

In the presentation of Maximus the Greek there is no clear differentiation between the geographical discoveries of the Spaniards in the West Indies and the discoveries of the Portuguese in the East Indies. But Maxim the Greek knows other important cultural and geographical facts, such as the transfer by Europeans to New World“crafts,” that is, their means of production, and “all kinds of local seeds,” as well as receiving spices from the Mollucan Islands.

Finally, it is not without interest that Maxim the Greek calls “the greatest land of the verb, Cuba.” This is the first geographical term in Russian, referring to the New World. “Land of Cuba” represents, according to Maxim the Greek, a part of the continent, “which lives there without end.” As you know, Columbus, who discovered the island of Cuba on October 28, 1492, also considered it part of Eastern Azot.

From the quoted passage from “The Proofs of the Monk Maximus the Greek” it is obvious that he did not know the name of the new continent - America - although he already used the term “New World”.

There is no need to guess how this news about the discovery of the New World, as well as the route around Africa to India and the receipt of spices from the Mollucan Islands, reached Maxim the Greek. At the end of the 15th - first decade of the 16th century. Maxim the Greek studied in France and Italy and was a contemporary of great events. Muscovite Rus' at the beginning of the 16th century. was not at all completely isolated from connections with the West: it is enough to recall the two-time embassy of S. Herberstein - in 1517 and 1526. - to Moscow and Gerasimov’s embassy to Rome in 1525. The Hellenized transcription of the Mollucan Islands also points to Greek channels through which the Russians received the first information about the great geographical discoveries Spaniards and Portuguese. It is more important to establish that in the conditions of Muscovite Rus', Maxim the Greek was able to obtain generally correct ideas about the great geographical discoveries of the Spaniards and Portuguese of the late 15th - early 16th centuries and used the term “New World”.

Regarding the date of the "Legend" of Maxim the Greek, there are direct instructions from him. Maxim the Greek dates the voyages of the Spaniards and Portuguese “for Hades” to the moment that occurred forty or fifty years after the seventh millennium from the “creation of the world,” that is, precisely to 1492, according to modern chronology. This gives grounds to assign the date of writing the “Tale” of the monk Maxim the Greek, apparently the earliest surviving document relating to the first Russian information about the New World, to approximately 1530, i.e. forty years after Columbus’s voyage to west and thirty years after the third expedition of Amerigo Vespucci (1501 - 1502).

The wide dissemination of the works of Maxim the Greek in Muscovite Rus' ensured penetration into various layers of Russian society in the 16th century. information about the great geographical discoveries of the Spaniards and Portuguese, in particular about the discovery of the New World 2.

After the Englishman Chancellor's visit to Moscow in 1554, Jenkinson's travels through Muscovy to Persia in Central Asia (1557 and 1562) and a number of Dutch expeditions, of which the most remarkable was the Barents expedition of 1596 - 1597, created new opportunities for trade and cultural relations between Russians and Europeans.

During this period, both the British and the Dutch were looking for a northeastern passage to the markets of Japan, China, and India. As is known, they did not achieve this goal. Instead of China and India, the northern route to Muscovy was opened. Expedition of Willoughby and Chancellor 1553 - 1554, equipped with "The Company and Fellowship of Merchant Adventurers for the Discovery of Regions, Dominions, Islands and Unknown Places" (The Company and Fellowship of Merchant Adventurers for the discovery of unknown lands, etc.), began to be called the “Moscow, or Russian, company.” One of Chancellor's former satellites, Barrow, reached Fr. in 1556. Vaygach entered the Kara Sea. The British competitors - the Dutch - in turn, by 1577 had established strong trade relations with Muscovy. In 1584, the Dutchman (from Enkhuisen) Olaver Brunel, who was captured by the Stroganovs and, on their instructions, traveled beyond the Urals to the Ob and other areas in the north, reported detailed information about the “land of the Samoyeds” 3. The task of the expedition

1 Maxim the Greek follows in this case the medieval ideas about “Upper India,” which was believed to lie north of China. These ideas were maintained at the beginning of modern times (see the world map of Munster in 1540, reproduced in L. Bagrov’s book “History geographical map", p. 22. Petrograd. 1917). In this regard, it is obvious that the expression of Maxim the Greek “to the east of the winter sun towards India” is deciphered as to the northeast in the direction of Upper India (India Superior).

2 Belokurov S. “On the library of the Moscow sovereigns in the 16th century,” pp. CCXX-CCCCXIV. M. 1899. The prevalence of the works of Maxim the Greek is evidenced, for example, by those preserved end of the 19th century V. about 250 manuscript copies in 50 different libraries and private collections.

3 Gomel I. "The British in Russia", pp. 211 - 213, 219. St. Petersburg. 1869.

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Linehoten and Barents (1594) directly included “sailing to Northern Seas for the discovery of the kingdoms of Cathay and China to the north of Norway, Muscovy and around Tartary" 1.

However geographical representations in Muscovite Rus' developed not only as a result of increased contact with foreigners, but also as a result of the strengthening of the state in the center and the growth of colonization of the outskirts, especially in the north and east, “Astonished Europe, at the beginning of the reign of Ivan III, hardly even suspected the existence of Muscovy, sandwiched between Lithuania and the Tatars, was stunned by the appearance huge empire on its eastern outskirts" 2.

And yet, in relation to the great discoveries in the New World and in other parts of the world, the introduction of Russians in the 16th century. continued to be fragmentary. Only half a century after the "Tale of the Monk Maxim the Greek", which mentions the New World, and Moscow, the translation of the Polish "Chronicle of the Whole World" by M. Belsky was completed. In this "Chronicle" new continent for the first time in Russian it is called America.

The Polish original of Wielski's Chronicle was published in its first edition in 1560. Russian translations were made from the second edition of this Chronicle, 1554, and the third edition, 1564. The first surviving translation of Velsky's Chronicle into Russian dates back to 1584 and was made not from Polish, but from Western Russian. There are a number of other translations of Velsky’s “Chronicle” into Russian.

A handwritten copy of the Russian translation of Velsky's Chronicle, kept in the Leningradskaya Public library, represents a tome consisting of 1347 numbered sheets measuring 29x38 centimeters. The beginning of making copies is dated 1671. The illustrations present in the Polish original are not included in this copy. Empty places, left for their stickers, indicate that the illustrations were taken from the printed texts of the Chronicle. The Russian copy is written in cursive.

Six chapters are devoted to the study of America, occupying sheets 1213 - 1245. On sheet 1304 a description of the New World is given. The section on America is entitled “About the islands of the New Sea” which are nicknamed “Novo” “Light to the East of the Sun and to the West of the Sun and at noon and midnight, which islands and the wise philosophers of old could not know.”

The Russian translation, as a rule, closely follows the original, although there are abbreviations, inaccuracies, typos (“flounders” instead of “cannibals”), unacceptable simplifications (for example, “ounces” instead of “pounds”, instead of miles - versts).

In the spirit of the times great place devoted to the story of cannibals. There is a lot of fabulous information about the New World in Velsky's Chronicle and in its Russian translation. For example, it is said that Christopher Columbus’s brother, Bartholomew, discovered gold deposits on Hispaniola (Haiti), which were developed by King Solomon.

In the section on America, Velsky's Chronicles outlined brief information about those who first discovered and explored it, about the geography and natives of the newly discovered lands. At the same time, the Chronicle does not yet make a sufficiently clear distinction between discoveries in the West and East Indies.

The section on the New World begins with a description of Christopher Columbus's first voyage. Apparently, this is the earliest mention of Columbus from the surviving monuments of Russian literature 3. The Chronicle provides a number of general information about Columbus: that he is an Italian, originally from Enova (Genoa); that, having received judgment from Spanish king, Columbus sailed on September 1, 1498, from Spain and after thirty-two days of sailing he discovered two islands: o. John, supposedly named in honor of the Queen of Spain (in reality - in honor of the heir Juan), and Fr. Ispaina, or Ishpanna, is a modern o. Hispaniola" or Haiti 4. Further, the island of Cuba is mentioned as having nothing in common with the island of John (Juan). The island of John, i.e. modern Cuba, is characterized as having no population; on the contrary, the population of the island of Ispanna (about . Haiti) provides quite substantial information.

The chronological information about Columbus's first expedition in Velsky's Chronicle is far from accurate. As is known, the ships of this expedition left the port of Paloe de la Frontera in Spain on August 3, 1491; on September 2 they united at the island. Ho-

1 Baker G. A history of geographical Discovery and Exploration, p. 122 - 123. 4930. Tartaria, illus Tataria, in the 16th-18th centuries called Siberia, or the northern and northeastern parts of Asia.

2 K. Marx. "Secret diplomacy of the 18th century."

3 Yarmolinsky A. Studies in Russian Americana: I. "The Translation of Bielski Chronicle (1584). - Bulletin of the New York Public Library. Vol. 43. 1939, N 12 p. 899.

4 As is known, Columbus sailed from the port of Paloe de la Frontera in Islam "on August 2, 1492. After 33 incomplete days of sailing, counting from the moment the calm ceased off the Canary Islands, the lights of the new land were first noticed on the ships of Columbus's expedition. October 12, 1492 Columbus landed on Guanahani Island, in the Bermuda group of islands. Guanahana Island, named San Salvador Island by Columbus, is apparently modern Watling Island.

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measure, in the group of the Canary Islands, and on September 6, 1492, sailed from here to the west. On the night of October 12, 1492, the first lights were seen on the ships of Columbus's expedition, and on October 12, Columbus first set foot on a small island, which he named San Salvador (Savior). This islet in the Bahamas group is apparently a modern island. Watling - had nothing in common with Fr. John (Kuba), nor with Fr. Hispaniola (Hispaniola, or Haiti), which Columbus's first expedition discovered later.

The Russian translation of Velsky's Chronicle also provides information about the second and third expeditions of Columbus. When describing the second voyage, the islands of Dominica, Santa Cruz, etc., as well as Fort Tomaso on Hispaniola, are mentioned.

In contrast to the confusing and far from precise chronology of events associated with Columbus's previous voyages, the date of his third voyage is indicated correctly; but geographical information related to Columbus’s third voyage sometimes takes on a fantastic connotation: for example, instead of the Gulf of Paria between the island. Trinidad and the South American continent appeared the "Island of Paria". Wherein, Following the Polish original, in the Russian translation the Spanish names of Columbus's companions are Latinized or greatly distorted: instead of "Roland" there is "Orlandus", instead of "Pedro Alonso Niño" - "Petrus Alontzus", instead of "Pinzon" - "Pinzonus".

The rest of the section on America is devoted to Vespucci's voyages. It begins with an account of the third voyage, which was made in 1501 by "Albericus Vespusius Ispan". Then there is an account of the discoveries of the Portuguese in the East Indies, including the voyage of Magellan. This is followed by four chapters describing the respective actual and doubtful voyages of Vespucci. These chapters are preceded by a general introduction-heading (sheet 1238) “About the campaign of Americus Vespuzya; Ammericus is nicknamed after the great island of America, this island can be called a quarter of the world: and Ammericus Vespuzya found that island” 1 .

Sources of Velsky's "Chronicles" about America show a new channel for receiving geographical information in Moscow Rus' XVI centuries. This is no longer religious sources, and books published in Basel and compiled by humanists. Through Poland and Lithuania, having gone through the stage of preliminary translation into Western Russian or by directly translating the Polish “Chronicle” of Wielski into Russian. Muscovite Rus' received more detailed and additional information about great geographical discoveries, including the voyages of Amerigo Vespucci and Magellan del Cano (1519 - 1522).

A new rise in Russian colonization of Siberia in the 17th century, the strengthening of the Moscow state after the crisis of 1598 - 1613, the expansion of economic and cultural relations with the West aroused great interest among Russians in foreign geographical and cartographic publications. "What was translated in Moscow in the 17th century? They were most interested in geography. All the best works on this science of a general nature that appeared in Western Europe at the end of the 16th and 17th centuries were translated here. These are the works of Botero, Ortelius, Mercator de Linda, the huge Amsterdam atlas of Bleu, several more works, the originals (and together with the authors) of which are unknown to us" 2. At the end of the 17th century. were translated and used widespread in Muscovite Rus' other Dutch atlases: (eg - P. Goos u Da Wit.). Thus, educated Russians in the 17th century. They already knew about the New World everything that was known about it to Europeans in that era. https://site/Sechin

Search for materials from the publisher in the systems: Libmonster (the whole world). Google. Yandex

Light is just a small visible part of a huge electromagnetic spectrum radiation. This spectrum includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays. Only visible light can be seen by a person in the form of colors that it forms on the surface of objects. Different colors are produced by different frequencies of light waves traveling through space. How closer friend to each other the tops of the waves, the higher their frequency. Radio waves have the lowest frequency and longest wavelength among all light waves, while gamma radiation, on the contrary, has the highest frequency.

In order to see all the beauty of the colors that the visible spectrum of radiation can form, all you need is a flashlight, a TV screen, or just sunny day. In addition, it is necessary to find a flat surface that can reflect the light, and, of course, an observer is necessary. It is difficult to underestimate the importance of color in Everyday life. Without it, we would not be able to distinguish many things from each other.

Light itself is a beam of invisible energy traveling through space. For us to be able to see it, the light must pass through dense clouds of dust or fog. We can also observe the interaction of light with the surrounding world when it is reflected from oncoming objects. Our eyes capture its reflected waves and convert them into colors. Sir Isaac Newton discovered that when a ray of light is passed through a prism, it is refracted and splits into colors in the same order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

Our retina contains two types of light-sensitive cells: rods and cones. Rods determine the intensity of light and its brightness, while cones are responsible for color perception. There are three types of cones in our eyes, which distinguish between red, blue and green colors respectively. It is the combinations of these three primary colors that form all the other secondary colors. If you need clear example, then imagine that the entire spectrum of electromagnetic radiation covers the distance from New York to Los Angeles (which is approximately about 2500 miles), then the visible spectrum would be approximately one inch in length.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe noticed that when looking through a prism at dark objects placed against a light background, a colored halo appears around them. This effect usually occurs during the transition from white to black, when the color changes in stages to yellow, then red, and from black to purple, blue and turquoise. While watching the sunset, you've probably noticed how the colors change in the evening sky. As it approaches the horizon, the sun becomes redder and redder, this phenomenon is due to the fact that due to the change in the angle of the sun, its light passes through lower and denser layers of the atmosphere. The red color results from light having to travel through a denser medium.

If we look in the opposite direction, we will see how the evening sky changes from dark blue to blue and purple. How more light is in the atmosphere, the brighter the sky will be, and what we see at night is nothing more than the darkness and emptiness of space above us.

If you look at the window for a few seconds and then close your eyes, you can see its negative - a light frame surrounding dark glass. This trick works with any colored objects. This is because each color has a complementary color. Red has cyan, green has magenta, and blue has yellow.

If you shine light on a vase with two different sources light located at some distance from each other, then the vase will have two shadows. If one of the light sources shines red, then the shadow opposite it will also become red, and the main one will become blue. In fact, all the shadows are gray, and what you see is just an optical illusion.

It all depends on the lighting. Multi-colored lights are only the visible part of the spectrum, but the objects themselves are not made of light. For example, you have a green shirt, and while you are walking down the street, everything is fine, it is still green, but what do you think about it when you enter a room with red lighting? Usually red mixing with green creates yellow, but the shirt is pigment dyed, where the green was made by mixing blue and yellow dyes, which will not reflect the red. This will make your shirt appear black. In an unlit room, the shirt will also appear black, as will the rest of the items.

Let's take a banana as another example. What makes it yellow? When white light hits a banana, all of its components except yellow are absorbed. Yellow, meanwhile, is reflected in our eyes. In a sense, bananas could be any color other than yellow, since we only see the color they reflect. So what color is a banana really? The answer is simple: it's blue. Theoretically, of course. Blue is the complementary color to yellow. Thus, we can come to the conclusion that color is not a property of an object, it is just an interpretation of invisible waves of different frequencies generated by our brain.

If you look at the color wheel, you can see the primary and secondary colors in an alternate order. Each secondary color is produced by combining adjacent primary colors. By combining red and green we get yellow, by combining green and blue we get cyan, and by combining red and blue we get pink. Have you ever wondered why pink isn't in the rainbow? The answer is simple: this color does not exist in nature. There are yellow and blue, but not pink. This is due to the fact that red and Blue colour and are at opposite ends of the visible spectrum. Pink color, in its essence, personifies everything in the world that is invisible to the human eye.

Everyone knows that black gives a special mystery to the image and is slimming, but have you heard about the new black - the so-called Vantablack? This color is similar to a real black hole. It cannot be seen, it becomes visible only because of its background. You can see its boundaries, but if you look directly at a spot of this color, it will be like looking into emptiness. Yes, it's not even black, it's nothing. It absorbs the entire visible spectrum of light except 0.035% of the radiation. For comparison, this figure for black coal never falls below 0.5%.

Vantablack was recently invented by British scientists and will be used in the design of stealth interceptors and modern weapons. Today, the main area of ​​its application remains astronomy, where space research requires ultra-sensitive telescopes that can detect the most distant stars and galaxies.

Watching someone in a red dress, do you remember that one of your friends sees him not as red at all, but, for example, as blue or green? We are all taught the names of colors from childhood, so we take it for granted that that particular color is red. But we should not forget that there are thousands of people in the world suffering from different types color blindness. It prevents them from distinguishing red, green and blue colors, so they see the world differently than we see it.

Using red, yellow, green and blue colors All other colors of the visible spectrum can be described in various combinations. Purple, for example, can be described as red-blue, lime as yellow-green, orange as reddish-yellow, and turquoise as bluish-green. But what would you call something orange-green? What about bluish-yellow? You don’t know, and all this is because in fact these colors do not exist in theory, they are called forbidden. It all comes down to how we perceive color. The cones in our eyes detect red, green and blue colors at different wavelengths. When their lengths intersect, we see new colors. The idea of ​​forbidden flowers was so ingrained in the minds of Hewitt Crane and Thomas Piantanida that in 1983 they managed to accomplish the impossible. Carrying out a series of experiments, they were able to recreate colors that had no name. This effect was achieved by placing red and green stripes (and yellow and blue) next to each other. Having made sure that the light reflected from each color activated only certain cones, they began to mix the colors in such a way that they were able to form completely new colors, previously unseen by anyone.

Surely everyone has heard that dogs are color blind, and that bats are actually completely blind. But this is not entirely true. The bats are able to see, they just don’t have the best good vision, and dogs, in turn, do not distinguish colors the way we do. Humans have three color receptors while dogs have only two, so they are deprived of the pleasure of seeing the color red. But everything is relative. Would a dog be considered color blind to a squid that can only see the color blue? At the same time, snakes poorly distinguish the usual spectrum of colors, while they cope with this task perfectly in infrared range. Bees, in turn, distinguish between blue, yellow and ultraviolet light. You remember how small the spectrum of light visible to us is, in comparison with the general spectrum of electromagnetic radiation? You won't be able to imagine any new color, just as you cannot explain to a person blind from birth what the color red looks like. We simply don't have the words to convey true meaning to a person who has never seen this or that color in his life. If you need examples, some butterflies have three color receptors, just like humans, and two additional ones that distinguish unknown to man colors.

You've probably heard phrases like this: "Oh, you have a beautiful purple aura!" or “You’re just glowing!” It turns out that there is some truth in these phrases. Scientists at Kyoto University have discovered that humans do indeed emit visible light, but this light is 1,000 times less powerful than that visible to the naked eye. They also discovered that our aura reaches its maximum brightness around 4 pm. They attribute this phenomenon to byproducts of our metabolism - free radicals.

How longer distance between the light source and the observer, the dimmer the light becomes. This is not because it loses its power along the way or is absorbed by various objects, but because the energy of light is dissipated along larger area before it gets to you. The sun shines equally brightly in all directions because its light spreads in all directions in equal quantities. The further the distance, the more scattered the light becomes, a process that can continue until it disperses into billions of individual photons flying in all directions. Light also carries information. We learn about the location of other stars and galaxies, their composition and direction of motion from the light they reflect.

Light is amazing phenomenon, he literally and figuratively illuminates our lives in many ways. UN announced 2015 International Year light to demonstrate to "the inhabitants of the Earth the importance of light and optical technologies in life, for the future and for the development of society."Here are some interesting facts about light that you may not know.

sunlight

1. The sun is actually white, when viewed from space, since its light is not scattered by our atmosphere. From Venus you will not see the Sun at all, since the atmosphere there is too dense.

2. Humans are bioluminescent thanks to metabolic reactions, but our glow is 1000 times weaker than can be seen with the naked eye.

3. Sunlight can penetrate deep ocean for about80 meters. If you go 2000 meters deeper, you can find a bioluminescent monkfish that lures its victims with glowing flesh.

4. Plants are green because they are reflect green light and absorb other colors for photosynthesis. If you place a plant under green light, it will most likely die.

5. North and South Polar Lights occurs when the "wind" from solar flares interacts with particles earth's atmosphere. According to Eskimo legends, the aurora is the souls of the dead playing football with the head of a walrus.

6. In 1 second, the Sun emits enough energy to provide it to the whole world for a million years.

7. The longest burning lamp in the world is a hundred-year-old lamp at the California Fire Department. It has been continuously burning since 1901.

8. Light sneeze reflex which causes uncontrollable sneezing attacks in the presence of bright light, occurs in 18-35 percent of people, although no one can explain why it occurs. One way to deal with it is to wear sunglasses.

9. When double rainbow, light is reflected twice inside each drop of water, and the colors in the outer rainbow are in reverse order.

10. Some animals see light that we cannot see. Bees see ultraviolet light, while rattlesnakes see infrared light.

11. Niagara Falls was first electrically lit in 1879, with the illumination equivalent of 32,000 candles. Today, the illumination of Niagara Falls is equivalent to the illumination of 250 million candles.

12. When light passes through different substances, it slows down and refracts. Thus, the lens focuses the rays at one point and can set the paper on fire.

Laws of light

13. Light has impulse. Scientists are developing ways to harness this energy for long-distance space travel.

14. Frog eyes are so sensitive to light that researchers in Singapore are using them to develop incredibly accurate photon detectors.

15. Visible light is only part of the electromagnetic spectrum that our eyes see. This is why LED lamps are so economical. Unlike incandescent lamps, LED lamps emit only visible light.

16. fireflies emit a cold glow through a chemical reaction with 100% efficiency. Scientists are working to imitate fireflies to create more energy-efficient LEDs.

17. To study how our eyes perceive light, Isaac Newton inserted needles into the eye socket. He tried to understand whether light is the result of something coming from outside or from within. (Answer: both assumptions are correct, since the rods in the eyes react to certain frequencies).

18. If only The sun suddenly came to an end, no one on Earth would have noticed this for another 8 minutes and 17 seconds. This is the time it takes sunlight to reach Earth. But don't worry, the Sun has another 5 billion years of fuel left.

19. Despite their name, black holes are actually the brightest objects in the Universe. Even though we cannot see beyond the event horizon, they can generate more energy than the galaxies in which they are located.

20. A rainbow occurs when light encounters water droplets in the air, is refracted and reflected within the droplet, and is refracted again, leaving it behind.