Biography about Nicolaus Copernicus in physics. Nicolaus Copernicus and his heliocentric system. Education and wandering around the world

The world's fundamental science is based on the guesses, theories and works of scientists who were sent from above to become discoverers. The Polish canon Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 - 1543) appeared to the world as such a unique person. The thinker's guesses and predictions, formalized over more than half a century in only a few fundamental scientific works, led many talented followers and popularizers of his theories to the medieval bonfire of the Inquisition. He was born in the 15th century - too early for alchemists and pseudoscientists to recklessly recognize the correctness of his scientific conclusions.

The breadth of his scientific horizons is truly unimaginable. He made his main works and discoveries in the fields of economics, mathematics and astronomy. At the University of Krakow, where he entered in 1491, the main emphasis was, naturally, on medicine and theology. But young Nikolai immediately found a branch of science that he liked - astronomy. He failed to obtain an academic degree in Krakow, and from 1497 he continued his education at the University of Bologna. His astronomical observations were supervised by Domenico Novara. Copernicus was lucky to have a mentor in Bologna - he was lectured by the father of the European medieval mathematical school, Scipio del Ferro.

Works devoted to another field of science - economics - date back to the same period. “Treatise on Coins” (1519), “Monetae cudendae ratio” (1528).

Copernicus Fortress

Copernicus' education was completed in 1503 at the University of Padua. In those years, the worldview of a young admirer of astronomy began to take shape, which he could calmly practice by turning the northwestern tower of the Frombork fortress on the Baltic into an observatory.

Nikolai's scientific works, dating back to the beginning of the 16th century, were devoted to a new theory of the construction of the world - heliocentric. It was first presented in the monograph “Small Commentary...” (lat. Commentariolus). In 1539, Copernicus’s student Georg von Rheticus spoke in simple and understandable language in his book about the meaning of the mentor’s discovery. The main book on which Copernicus worked for more than forty years was called “On Rotation.” celestial bodies" He constantly made corrections to it, based on increasingly accurate astronomical calculations.

Having read Ptolemy’s thoughts on the structure of the world for the first time, Copernicus immediately noticed that the conclusions of the scientific ancient thinker were very controversial, and the method of presentation was very complex and difficult to understand for the common reader. Copernicus' conclusion was clear - the center of the system is the Sun, around which the Earth and all the planets known at that time revolve. Some elements of Ptolemy’s theory still had to be recognized - the Pole could not know what the orbits of the planets were.

A work on the fundamental postulates of the heliocentric system was first published by Georg Rheticus in Nuremberg in 1543 under the title “On the Rotation of the Celestial Spheres.” Fearing persecution by the Inquisition, the book's publisher, theologian Andreas Osiander, wrote a preface to it. He called the theory a special mathematical technique designed to simplify the process of astronomical calculations. Copernicus' monograph as a whole resembles Ptolemy's Almagest, only there are fewer books - six instead of thirteen. Copernicus easily proved that the planets move reciprocally, that is, in circular orbits.

The mathematical part of the book contains information about the calculations of the location of stars, the Sun and planets in the sky. The principles of the Earth's orbit around the Sun were described by Copernicus using the rule of precession of the equinoxes. Ptolemy could not explain it, but Copernicus absolutely speaks about it from the point of view of kinematics. Copernicus mentions in his work the principles and laws of motion of the Moon and planets, and examines the nature and causes of solar eclipses.

The final theory of the heliocentric theory of the world of Nicolaus Copernicus was formed in the form of seven postulates that completely rejected the geocentric system. She had a huge influence on the formation of the worldview of the descendants of Copernicus in the study of the astronomical picture of the world.

Five hundred years of recognition

Copernicus' active scientific work continued until 1531. He focused on medicine, and, as far as possible, tried to finally prepare his scientific theory for publication. Historians and biographers of Copernicus do not agree on the question of whether he managed to see the book printed. On May 24, 1543, while in a coma, he died after a severe stroke. The remains of the burial of the brilliant Pole were discovered in Frombork Cathedral in 2005, identified and reburied with grandiose honors in the same place on May 20, 2010. Only in 1854 did Jan Baranowski publish the complete works of Copernicus in Polish language and in Latin.

Nicolaus Copernicus is immortalized by his descendants in hundreds of monuments and names. The transuranium element of the Mendeleev Periodic Table No. 112 is called “copernicium”. In the vastness of the Universe lives a small planet (1322) Copernicus.

Nikolas Koppernigk, Polish Mikołaj Kopernik, lat. Nicolaus Copernicus; February 19, Torun - May 24, Frombork) - Polish astronomer, mathematician and economist. He is best known as the author of the medieval heliocentric world system, which marked the beginning of the first scientific revolution.

Biography

early years

The question of Copernicus's ethnicity still remains the subject of a (rather unpromising) debate. His mother was German (Barbara Watzelrode), he wrote in Latin and German, not a single document in Polish written by his hand has been found. Copernicus was probably ethnically German, although he himself most likely considered himself a Pole (by territorial and political affiliation); in any case, the list of students at the University of Padua shows that he listed himself among the Poles who studied there.

In the Copernicus family, besides Nicholas, there were three more children: Andrei, later a canon in Warmia, and two sisters: Barbara and Katerina. Barbara went into a convent, and Katerina married and gave birth to five children, to whom Nicolaus Copernicus was very attached and cared for them until the end of his life.

Having lost his father as a 9-year-old child and remaining in the care of his maternal uncle, Canon Luke ( Lucas) Watzelrode (Watzenrode), Copernicus entered the University of Krakow in 1491, where he studied mathematics, medicine and theology with equal zeal, but he was especially attracted to astronomy.

To continue his education, Copernicus went to Italy () and entered the University of Bologna. In addition to theology, law and ancient languages, he also has the opportunity to study astronomy there. It is interesting to note that one of the professors in Bologna was then Scipio del Ferro, with whose discoveries the revival of European mathematics began. Meanwhile, thanks to the efforts of his uncle, in Poland Copernicus was elected in absentia as a canon in the diocese of Warmia.

When necessary, Copernicus devoted his energy to practical work: according to his project, a new coin system was introduced in Poland, and in the city of Frombork he built a hydraulic machine that supplied water to all houses. Personally, as a doctor, he is involved in the fight against the plague epidemic of 1519. During the Polish-Teutonic War (-) organized the successful defense of the bishopric from the Teutons. At the end of the conflict, Copernicus took part in peace negotiations (), which ended with the creation of the first Protestant state on the order lands - the Duchy of Prussia, a vassal of the Polish crown ().

Death

The book of Copernicus remains as an outstanding monument to inquisitive human thought. From this moment dates back to the beginning of the first scientific revolution.

grave

The location of Copernicus's grave remained unknown for a long time, but in November 2008, DNA analysis confirmed the discovery of his remains.

Scientific activity

Heliocentric system

Celestial spheres in the Copernicus manuscript

Title page "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium"

In the preface to the book, Copernicus writes:

Considering how absurd this teaching must seem, I hesitated for a long time to publish my book and thought whether it would not be better to follow the example of the Pythagoreans and others, who transmitted their teaching only to friends, spreading it only through tradition.

The Nuremberg theologian Osiander, to whom Rheticus entrusted the printing of Copernicus's book, out of caution, provided it with an anonymous preface, in which he declared the new model a conventional mathematical technique invented to reduce calculations. At one time, this preface was attributed to Copernicus himself, although he, in response to Osiander’s request, resolutely refused to make such a reservation. The preface is followed by a letter of praise from Cardinal Schoenberg and a dedication to Pope Paul III.

In structure, Copernicus’s main work almost repeats the “Almagest” in a somewhat abbreviated form (6 books instead of 13). The first part talks about the spherical shape of the world and the Earth, and instead of the position about the immobility of the Earth, another axiom is placed - the Earth and other planets rotate around an axis and revolve around the Sun. This concept is argued in detail, and the “opinion of the ancients” is convincingly refuted. From a heliocentric position, he easily explains the reciprocal motion of the planets.

The second part provides information on spherical trigonometry and rules for calculating the apparent positions of stars, planets and the Sun in the firmament.

The third talks about the annual movement of the Earth and precession (precedence of the equinoxes), and Copernicus correctly explains it by the displacement of the earth’s axis, which causes the line of intersection of the equator and the ecliptic to move.

In the fourth - about the Moon, in the fifth about planets in general, and in the sixth - about the reasons for changes in the latitudes of the planets. The book also contains a star catalog, an estimate of the sizes of the Sun and Moon, the distances to them and to the planets (close to the true ones), and the theory of eclipses.

Ratings

“In depth of considerations, Copernicus was the greatest astronomer of his time, but he was not a very good practitioner; however, this is not his fault: he had few funds at his disposal and he made all the instruments with his own hands.” ESBE.
F. Engels ranked Copernicus among the titans “in strength of thought, passion and character, in versatility and learning.”

The complete works of Copernicus were published by Baranowski in Warsaw in 1854 in Latin and Polish.

In the central square of Polish Torun there is a monument to Copernicus, on which there is an inscription: “He who stopped the Sun - who moved the Earth.”

The minor planet 1322 Coppernicus is named after Copernicus. A clarification is necessary here: double p in the name corresponds to the surname of Copernicus’s father (Koppernigk, Koppernig), as well as the Latin signature of Copernicus himself at the beginning of his life: Coppernicus. In recent years, Copernicus shortened the signature to Copernicus.

Notes

Literature

N. Copernicus on stamps of Poland and Mongolia

Essays

Copernicus Nicholas. On the rotation of the celestial spheres. Per. I. N. Veselovsky. M.: Nauka, 1964.

About him

Ambartsumyan V. A. Copernicus and modern astronomy. Report at the Anniversary meeting of the General Meeting of the USSR Academy of Sciences, dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the birth of N. Copernicus, March 6, 1973. “Bulletin of the USSR Academy of Sciences,” No. 5, 1973, pp. 46-56.
Akhutin A.V. Copernican innovation and the Copernican revolution. In the book: Akhutin A.V. Litigation about existence. M.: RFO, 1997, p. 181-243.
Bely Yu. A. Copernicus, Copernicanism and the development of natural science, IAI, Vol. XII, Page 15. Read
Veselovsky I. N., Bely Yu. A. Copernicus, 1473-1543. M.: Nauka, 1974.
Gerasimenko M. P. Nicolaus Copernicus is an outstanding economist of the era of early capitalism. Kyiv: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, 1953.
Grebenikov E. A. Nicolaus Copernicus. M.: Nauka, 1982.
Idelson N. I. Sketches on the history of celestial mechanics. M.: Nauka, 1975.
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). To the four hundredth anniversary of his death. M.-L.: Publishing house. USSR Academy of Sciences, 1947.
Engelhardt M. A.

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Nicolaus Copernicus (Polish: Mikołaj Kopernik, German: Niklas Koppernigk, Latin: Nicolaus Copernicus). Born on February 19, 1473 in Torun - died on May 24, 1543 in Frombork. Polish astronomer, mathematician, mechanic, economist, canon of the Renaissance. He is best known as the author of the heliocentric system of the world, which marked the beginning of the first scientific revolution.

Born in Torun into a merchant family, he lost his parents early. Torun became part of Poland just a few years before the birth of Copernicus; before that, the city bore the name Thorn and was part of Prussia, which belonged to the Teutonic Order.

The question of Copernicus's ethnicity still remains the subject of a (rather unpromising) debate. His mother was German (Barbara Watzenrode), his father's nationality is unclear, but it is known that he was a native of Krakow. Thus, ethnically Copernicus was German or half-German, although he himself may have considered himself a Pole (by territorial and political affiliation). He wrote in Latin and German; not a single document in Polish written by his hand has been found; After the early death of his father, he was raised in the German family of his mother and uncle. Niccolo Komneno Popadopoli spread an unproven - and, according to modern historians, invented by himself - story that Copernicus allegedly enrolled at the University of Padua as a Pole. It should be noted that the concept of nationality in those years was much more blurred than it is today, and some historians suggest that Copernicus be considered a Pole and a German at the same time.

Having lost his father as a 9-year-old child and remaining in the care of his maternal uncle, Canon Lukasz Watzenrode, Copernicus entered the University of Krakow in 1491, where he studied mathematics, medicine and theology with equal zeal, but he was especially attracted to astronomy.

After graduating from the university (1494), Copernicus did not receive any academic title, and the family council decided that he would have a spiritual career. A strong argument in favor of this choice was that the patron uncle had just been elevated to the rank of bishop.

To continue his education, Copernicus went to Italy (1497) and entered the University of Bologna. In addition to theology, law and ancient languages, he had the opportunity to study astronomy there. It is interesting to note that one of the professors in Bologna was then Scipio del Ferro, with whose discoveries the revival of European mathematics began. Meanwhile, thanks to the efforts of his uncle, in Poland Copernicus was elected in absentia as a canon in the diocese of Warmia.

In 1500, Copernicus left the university, again without receiving any diploma or title, and went to Rome. Rheticus' memoirs say that Copernicus taught a number of disciplines at the Roman university, including astronomy, but other biographers question this fact. Then, after a short stay in his homeland, he went to the University of Padua and continued studying medicine.

In 1503, Copernicus finally completed his education, passed the exams in Ferrara, received a diploma and academic degree Doctor of Canon Law. He was in no hurry to return and, with the permission of his uncle-bishop, spent the next three years practicing medicine in Padua.

In 1506, Copernicus received news, perhaps far-fetched, of his uncle's illness. He left Italy and returned to his homeland. He spent the next 6 years at the episcopal castle of Heilsberg, engaged in astronomical observations and teaching in Krakow. At the same time, he is a doctor, secretary and confidant of Uncle Lukash.

In 1512, the uncle-bishop died. Copernicus moved to Frombork, a small town on the shores of the Vistula Lagoon, where he had been listed as a canon all this time, and began his spiritual duties. Scientific research he, however, did not quit. The northwestern tower of the fortress became an observatory.

Already in the 1500s, the idea of a new astronomical system was quite clear to him. He began to write a book describing a new model of the world, discussing his ideas with friends, among whom were many of his like-minded people (for example, Tiedemann Giese, Bishop of Kulm). During these years (ca. 1503-1512), Copernicus circulated a handwritten summary of his theory among friends ("Small Commentary on the Hypotheses Relating to the Celestial Motions"), and his student Rheticus published a clear exposition of the heliocentric system in 1539. Apparently, rumors of the new theory were already widespread in the 1520s. Working on the main task - "On the rotation of the celestial spheres"- lasted almost 40 years, Copernicus constantly introduced clarifications into it, prepared new astronomical calculation tables.

Rumors about a new outstanding astronomer were spreading in Europe. There is a version, not supported by documents, that Pope Leo X invited Copernicus to take part in the preparation of the calendar reform (1514, implemented only in 1582), but he politely refused.

When necessary, Copernicus devoted his energy to practical work: according to his project, a new coin system was introduced in Poland, and in the city of Frombork he built a hydraulic machine that supplied water to all houses. Personally, as a doctor, he was involved in the fight against the plague epidemic of 1519. During the Polish-Teutonic War (1519-1521) he organized the successful defense of the bishopric from the Teutons. At the end of the conflict, Copernicus took part in peace negotiations (1525), which ended with the creation of the first Protestant state on the order lands - the Duchy of Prussia, a vassal of the Polish crown.

In 1531, 58-year-old Copernicus retired and concentrated on finishing his book. At the same time, he practiced medicine (free of charge). The faithful Rheticus constantly worked for the speedy publication of Copernicus's work, but progress was slow. Fearing that the obstacles would prove insurmountable, Copernicus distributed among his friends a short summary of his work entitled “Small Commentary” (Commentariolus). In 1542, the scientist’s condition deteriorated significantly, and paralysis of the right half of the body occurred.

Copernicus died on May 24, 1543 at the age of 70 from a stroke. Some biographers (for example, Tiedemann Giese) claim that the author managed to see his work published shortly before his death. But others argue that this was impossible, since Copernicus was in a severe coma during the last months of his life.

The book of Copernicus has remained as an outstanding monument to human thought.

The location of Copernicus's grave remained unknown for a very long time, but during excavations at Frombork Cathedral in 2005, a skull and leg bones were discovered. A comparative DNA analysis of these remains and two hairs of Copernicus, found in one of his books, confirmed that the remains of Copernicus were found.

On May 20, 2010, the reburial ceremony for the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus began. On May 21, the coffin was taken to Frombork Cathedral, where Copernicus made his most important discoveries. On the way to Frombork, the coffin passed through several cities of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship - Dobre Miasto, Lidzbark Warminski, Orneta, Pienierzno and Braniewo, with which Copernicus was associated in the course of his activities. On May 22, 2010, the remains of the great scientist were buried in Frombork Cathedral. The solemn ceremony was performed by the Primate of Poland, Archbishop of Gniezno Józef Kowalczyk. The burial of the remains was also timed to coincide with the celebration of the 750th anniversary of the city.

Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473 in the Polish city of Torun, his father was a merchant who came from Germany. The future scientist was orphaned early; he was raised in the house of his uncle, bishop and famous Polish humanist Lukasz Wachenrode.

In 1490, Copernicus graduated from the University of Krakow, after which he became a canon of the cathedral in the fishing town of Frombork. In 1496 he went on a long journey through Italy. Copernicus studied at the universities of Bologna, Ferrara and Padua, studied medicine and church law, and became a Master of Arts. In Bologna, the young scientist became interested in astronomy, which determined his fate.

In 1503, Nicolaus Copernicus returned to his homeland as a fully educated man; he first settled in Lidzbark, where he served as his uncle's secretary. After the death of his uncle, Copernicus moved to Frombork, where he carried out research until the end of his life.

Social activity

Nicolaus Copernicus took an active part in governing the region in which he lived. He was in charge of economic and financial affairs and fought for its independence. Among his contemporaries, Copernicus was known as a statesman, a talented doctor and an expert in astronomy.

When the Lutheran Council organized a commission to reform the calendar, Copernicus was invited to Rome. The scientist proved the prematureness of such a reform, since at that time the length of the year was not yet known exactly.

Astronomical observations and heliocentric theory

The creation of the heliocentric system was the result of many years of work by Nicolaus Copernicus. For about one and a half millennia, there was a system of world structure proposed by the ancient Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy. It was believed that the Earth was at the center of the Universe, and the other planets and the Sun revolved around it. This theory could not explain many of the phenomena that astronomers observed, but it agreed well with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Copernicus observed the movement of celestial bodies and came to the conclusion that the Ptolemaic theory was incorrect. In order to prove that all the planets revolve around the Sun, and the Earth is only one of them, Copernicus carried out complex mathematical calculations and spent more than 30 years of hard work. Although the scientist mistakenly believed that all the stars were stationary and located on the surface of a huge sphere, he was able to explain the apparent movement of the Sun and the rotation of the firmament.

The results of the observations were summarized in the work of Nicolaus Copernicus “On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres,” published in 1543. In it he developed new philosophical ideas and focused on improving the mathematical theory that described the movement of celestial bodies. The revolutionary nature of the scientist’s views was recognized by the Catholic Church later, when in 1616 his work was included in the “Index of Prohibited Books.”