《艾萨克•牛顿：最后的魔术师》（Isaac Newton: The Last Magician）

giga97

与世隔绝，固执，异教徒，这就是牛顿。无论何时何地他都被誉为最伟大的天才。他是个伟大的唯理论者，为许多科学和数学的突破奠定了基础，震惊了整个现代世界。
Recluse. Obsessive. Heretic. Isaac Newton is now considered to be the greatest genius of all-time, a great rationalist who laid the foundations for many of the scientific and mathematical breakthroughs that shape the modern world.

通过访问专家，查阅牛顿和其他一些同时代人的作品，这个60分钟的传记展现了一个更加复杂的人物形象（BBC《发明天才》的一部分）。牛顿性格分裂，多数时间都是一个人隐居。在他秘密的学习和实验场所，我们发现了他还钻研异端教术，炼金术，神秘学。
But this 60-minute biography, part of the BBC’s Genius Of Invention season, reveals a much more complex figure by interviewing experts and delving into his own writings and those of his contemporaries. Newton emerges as an often divisive figure, one who lived a largely solitary life. In the secrecy of his study and laboratory, we find that he also delved into heretical religion, alchemy and the occult.

艾萨克•牛顿爵士改变了我们对宇宙的认知。在21岁那年，他反对有着2000历史的正统科学，建立了自己独特的视角——历经了无情的压迫，危险以及一系列的其他经历。牛顿对光、重力、炼金术和圣经文本的着迷，让他对一切事物都能抱有质疑的态度，不相信有绝对的事物。他的工作让他在一群科学家中显得尤为怪诞，因此迎来了生命中的一个黑暗时期——被隔离孤立。
Sir Isaac Newton transformed how we understand the universe. By the age of 21, he had rejected 2,000 years of scientific orthodoxy to develop his own insights through a relentless - and often dangerous – series of experiments. From his obsessions with light and gravity, to alchemy and biblical texts, Newton held no truth – or text – so sacred that it could not be questioned. His work put him at odds with fellow scientists and led to dark periods of isolation throughout his life.

但他的天才是毋庸置疑的：他从科学家中脱颖而出，成为皇家学会会长，更是世界上最有影响力的科学家之一。他异端的宗教观和对炼金术的着迷依旧是个不解之谜。他死后，为了维护他的名誉，那些未曾发表的炼金术调查研究和跟异端教术有关的文件都被埋葬。直到1936年，它们被经济学家John Maynard Keynes购买，才得以重见天日。Keynes揭示了牛顿远比历史描述的要复杂的多。这个节目总结如下：牛顿对炼金术的着迷帮助他获取了一些伟大的科学见识。
But his genius could not be denied: he rose through the scientific ranks to become the President of the Royal Society and one of the most influential scientists in the world. His heretical religious views and his obsession with alchemy remained a closely guarded secret in his lifetime. After his death, his unpublished alchemical research and documents relating to his heretical views were buried to protect his reputation. They remained largely hidden until 1936 when they were purchased by the economist John Maynard Keynes. Keynes revealed that Newtown was a much more complex man than history had allowed. The programme concludes that Newton’s secret obsession with alchemy helped him to achieve some of his greatest scientific insights.

转载自冰冰新闻组制作 http://www.plsub.com/thread-17563-1-1.html
翻译：乖乖
校对：方方
采稿：方方
采稿来源：BBC

ecoeco

炼金术还有吗？被CHEMISTRY 取代了吧？？如是，CHEMISTRY 不也可以炼金吗？？求解～

giga97

炼金术还有吗？ 这问题很难回答。

我最近还在playstore 看到它的存在。
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=alchemy&c=apps
是很让人沉迷的元素合成游戏。

元素合成目前是属于核子物理的领域。下文出处wiki 人工合成元素

人工合成元素通常具有放射性，从而快速衰变为其他较轻的元素。由于它们的半衰期与地球的寿命相比过短，即使在地球形成初期曾经存在过这些元素，到现今也已经全部衰变为其他元素了。目前，只有在核武器或是在核反应堆、粒子加速器中进行的核试验中才能发现人工合成元素的原子。人工合成元素的产生方式有核聚变和中子俘获。

对于自然存在的元素来说，其原子量由地壳和大气层中天然同位素的丰度来决定。但是由于人工合成元素的同位素完全由人工合成产生，天然同位素的丰度没有任何意义，因此，在元素周期表中，人工合成元素的原子量使用其最稳定（即半衰期最长）的同位素之质量数来表示。

并不是所有的放射性元素都是人工合成元素，比如铀和钍都没有稳定同位素，但是它们在地壳和大气层中均有分布，同时，它们的衰变产物——钋、镭和氡等元素，尽管半衰期很短，也能在自然界中找到。