TED-Ed
Adam Savage: How simple ideas lead to scientific discoveries
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Adam Savage walks through two spectacular examples of profound scientific discoveries that came from simple, creative methods anyone could have followed -- Eratosthenes' calculation of the Earth's circumference around 200 BC and Hippolyte Fizeau's measurement of the speed of light in 1849. Find more TED-Ed videos on our new YouTube channel: youtube.com/TEDEd.
Adam Savage - Maker, critical thinker
Adam Savage is an internationally renowned television producer, host and public speaker. Full bio
Adam Savage is an internationally renowned television producer, host and public speaker. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
(Música)
Una de las cosas más chistosas de tener un cerebro
00:14
One of the funny things
about owning a brain
about owning a brain
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es que no se tiene control de la información que recibe o la que retiene,
00:16
is that you have
no control over the things
no control over the things
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00:18
that it gathers and holds onto,
the facts and the stories.
the facts and the stories.
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los hechos y las historias. A medida que uno envejece, las cosas empeoran.
00:21
And as you get older, it only gets worse.
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Las cosas permanecen a veces durante años
00:23
Things stick around for years sometimes
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antes de que uno entienda por qué uno está interesado en ellas;
00:25
before you understand
why you're interested in them,
why you're interested in them,
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antes de que uno entienda su trascendencia.
00:28
before you understand their import to you.
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Aquí hay tres de mis cosas.
00:30
Here's three of mine.
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Cuando Richard Feynman era niño en Queens,
00:31
When Richard Feynman
was a young boy in Queens,
was a young boy in Queens,
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fue a dar un paseo con su papá, su carretilla de juguete
00:34
he went for a walk with his dad
and his wagon and a ball.
and his wagon and a ball.
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y una pelota. Se dio cuenta de que cuando
tiraba de la carretilla,
tiraba de la carretilla,
00:38
He noticed that when he pulled the wagon,
the ball went to the back of the wagon.
the ball went to the back of the wagon.
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la pelota rodaba hacia la parte de atrás.
Le preguntó a su papá, "¿por qué la pelota rueda hacia atrás?"
00:42
He asked his dad, "Why does
the ball go to the back of the wagon?"
the ball go to the back of the wagon?"
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Su padre respondió, "es por la inercia".
00:45
And his dad said, "That's inertia."
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El niño preguntó, "¿Qué es inercia?" y su padre dijo, "Ah,
00:47
He said, "What's inertia?"
And his dad said, "Ah.
And his dad said, "Ah.
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inercia es el nombre que los científicos le han dado
00:50
Inertia is the name that scientists give
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00:52
to the phenomenon of the ball
going to the back of the wagon."
going to the back of the wagon."
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al fenómeno de la pelota que rueda hacia atrás en la carretilla.
Pero en realidad, nadie lo sabe."
00:55
(Laughter)
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00:57
"But in truth, nobody really knows."
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Feynman más tarde se graduó
01:00
Feynman went on to earn degrees
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en MIT y Princeton, resolvió el desastre del Challenger,
01:02
at MIT, Princeton, he solved
the Challenger disaster,
the Challenger disaster,
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y terminó ganando el premio Nobel de Física
01:05
he ended up winning
the Nobel Prize in Physics
the Nobel Prize in Physics
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por sus diagramas de Feynman que describen el movimiento de las partículas subatómicas.
01:08
for his Feynman diagrams, describing
the movement of subatomic particles.
the movement of subatomic particles.
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Feynman sostiene que esa conversación con su padre
01:12
And he credits that conversation
with his father as giving him a sense
with his father as giving him a sense
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le hizo sentir que
las preguntas más simples lo podían llevar al límite del conocimiento humano,
01:16
that the simplest questions could carry
you out to the edge of human knowledge,
you out to the edge of human knowledge,
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y que era allí donde él quería jugar,
01:21
and that that's where he wanted to play.
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y eso fue lo que hizo.
01:23
And play he did.
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Eratóstenes fue el tercer bibliotecario en la gran Biblioteca de Alejandría,
01:25
Eratosthenes was the third librarian
at the great Library of Alexandria,
at the great Library of Alexandria,
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e hizo muchas contribuciones a la ciencia.
01:29
and he made many contributions to science.
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Pero por lo que más se le recuerda
01:32
But the one he is most remembered for
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empezó con una carta que recibió cuando era bibliotecario,
01:34
began in a letter that he received
as the librarian,
as the librarian,
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proveniente del pueblo de Swenet, al sur de Alejandría.
01:37
from the town of Swenet,
which was south of Alexandria.
which was south of Alexandria.
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La carta incluía esta información que quedó
grabada en su mente,
grabada en su mente,
01:41
The letter included this fact
that stuck in Eratosthenes' mind,
that stuck in Eratosthenes' mind,
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el escritor dijo que al mediodía
01:44
and the fact was that the writer said,
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en el solsticio, cuando miró dentro de un pozo profundo,
01:46
at noon on the solstice,
when he looked down this deep well,
when he looked down this deep well,
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pudo ver su reflejo en el fondo, y también pudo
ver que su cabeza
ver que su cabeza
01:49
he could see his reflection at the bottom,
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01:51
and he could also see
that his head was blocking the sun.
that his head was blocking the sun.
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bloqueaba el Sol.
Debería decirles, la idea de que fue Cristobal Colón el que descubrió que la Tierra era redonda
01:54
I should tell you -- the idea
that Christopher Columbus
that Christopher Columbus
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es completamente falsa. No es verdad.
01:57
discovered that the world
is spherical is total bull.
is spherical is total bull.
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De hecho, los que eran cultos sabían que la Tierra era esférica
01:59
It's not true at all.
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02:00
In fact, everyone who was educated
understood that the world was spherical
understood that the world was spherical
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desde los tiempos de Aristóteles, y Aristóteles lo
02:04
since Aristotle's time.
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comprobó con una simple observación.
02:05
Aristotle had proved it
with a simple observation.
with a simple observation.
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Él observó que cada vez que se veía la sombra de la Tierra reflejada en la Luna,
02:07
He noticed that every time you saw
the Earth's shadow on the Moon,
the Earth's shadow on the Moon,
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aquella era circular
y la única forma geométrica que siempre
crea una sombra circular
crea una sombra circular
02:11
it was circular,
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02:12
and the only shape that constantly
creates a circular shadow
creates a circular shadow
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es la esfera, Q.E.D. la Tierra es redonda.
02:15
is a sphere, Q.E.D. the Earth is round.
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Pero nadie sabía cómo era de grande
02:18
But nobody knew how big it was
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hasta que Eratóstenes recibió la carta con ese dato.
02:19
until Eratosthenes got
this letter with this fact.
this letter with this fact.
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Así que él entendió que el Sol estaba directamente sobre la ciudad de Swenet,
02:23
So he understood that the sun
was directly above the city of Swenet,
was directly above the city of Swenet,
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porque al mirar hacia abajo en un pozo,
había una línea recta que iba
había una línea recta que iba
02:26
because looking down a well,
it was a straight line
it was a straight line
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desde el fondo del pozo, pasando por la cabeza del tipo, hasta el Sol.
02:29
all the way down the well,
right past the guy's head up to the sun.
right past the guy's head up to the sun.
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Eratóstenes conocía otro dato.
02:33
Eratosthenes knew another fact.
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Sabía que una estaca clavada en el suelo en Alejandría
02:34
He knew that a stick stuck
in the ground in Alexandria
in the ground in Alexandria
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al mismo tiempo y el mismo día, al mediodía,
02:37
at the same time
and the same day, at noon,
and the same day, at noon,
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el cenit del Sol, en el solsticio,
02:40
the sun's zenith, on the solstice,
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proyectaba una sombra que mostraba una desviación del eje de 7,2 º.
02:42
the sun cast a shadow that showed
that it was 7.2 degrees off-axis.
that it was 7.2 degrees off-axis.
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Si conocen la circunferencia de un círculo,
02:49
If you know the circumference of a circle,
and you have two points on it,
and you have two points on it,
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y si tienen dos puntos en él,
todo lo que hay que saber es la distancia
entre esos dos puntos,
entre esos dos puntos,
02:53
all you need to know is the distance
between those two points,
between those two points,
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y se puede extrapolar la circunferencia.
02:56
and you can extrapolate the circumference.
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360 º divididos entre 7,2 es igual a 50.
02:58
360 degrees divided by 7.2 equals 50.
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Sé que es un número redondo y por eso no confío completamente en esta historia,
03:02
I know it's a little bit
of a round number,
of a round number,
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pero es una buena historia, así que la continuaré.
03:04
and it makes me suspicious
of this story too,
of this story too,
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03:06
but it's a good story,
so we'll continue with it.
so we'll continue with it.
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Él necesitaba conocer la distancia entre Swenet y Alejandría,
03:08
He needed to know the distance
between Swenet and Alexandria,
between Swenet and Alexandria,
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lo que era bueno pues Eratóstenes era bueno para la geografía.
03:11
which is good because Eratosthenes
was good at geography.
was good at geography.
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De hecho, él inventó la palabra "geografía".
03:15
In fact, he invented the word geography.
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El camino entre Swenet y Alejandría
03:17
(Laughter)
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03:19
The road between Swenet and Alexandria
was a road of commerce,
was a road of commerce,
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era una ruta de comercio,
y el comercio necesitaba saber en
cuánto tiempo se llegaba allí.
cuánto tiempo se llegaba allí.
03:22
and commerce needed to know
how long it took to get there.
how long it took to get there.
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Necesitaba saber la distancia exacta, así que s
abía de manera muy precisa
abía de manera muy precisa
03:25
It needed to know the exact distance,
so he knew very precisely
so he knew very precisely
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que la distancia entre las dos ciudades era de unos 800 km.
03:28
that the distance between
the two cities was 500 miles.
the two cities was 500 miles.
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Multiplique eso por 50, es igual a 40 000,
03:31
Multiply that times 50, you get 25,000,
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03:34
which is within one percent
of the actual diameter of the Earth.
of the actual diameter of the Earth.
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lo que está dentro del 1 % del diámetro real de la Tierra.
Él hizo esto hace 2200 años.
03:38
He did this 2,200 years ago.
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Ahora, vivimos en una época en la que
03:42
Now, we live in an age where
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03:44
multi-billion-dollar pieces of machinery
are looking for the Higgs boson.
are looking for the Higgs boson.
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piezas de maquinaria de muchos miles de millones de dólares buscan al bosón de Higgs.
Estamos descubriendo partículas que podrían viajar más rápido que la velocidad de la luz,
03:48
We're discovering particles
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03:50
that may travel faster
than the speed of light,
than the speed of light,
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y todos estos descubrimientos son posibles
03:52
and all of these discoveries
are made possible
are made possible
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gracias a la tecnología que se ha desarrollado
en las últimas décadas.
en las últimas décadas.
03:55
by technology that's been developed
in the last few decades.
in the last few decades.
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Sin embargo, durante la mayor parte de la historia humana,
03:58
But for most of human history,
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tuvimos que descubrir estas cosas usando los ojos, los oídos y la mente.
04:01
we had to discover these things using
our eyes and our ears and our minds.
our eyes and our ears and our minds.
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Armand Fizeau fue un físico experimental en París.
04:06
Armand Fizeau was
an experimental physicist in Paris.
an experimental physicist in Paris.
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Se especializó en el refinamiento y la confirmación de los resultados de otras personas,
04:10
His specialty was actually refining
and confirming other people's results,
and confirming other people's results,
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y esto puede sonar un poco como algo sin importancia,
04:15
and this might sound
like a bit of an also-ran,
like a bit of an also-ran,
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pero de hecho esto es el alma de la ciencia,
04:17
but in fact, this is the soul of science,
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porque no hay tal cosa como un hecho que no se pueda corroborar independientemente.
04:19
because there is no such thing as a fact
that cannot be independently corroborated.
that cannot be independently corroborated.
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Él estaba familiarizado con los experimentos de Galileo
04:23
And he was familiar
with Galileo's experiments
with Galileo's experiments
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que intentaban determinar si la luz tenía velocidad.
04:26
in trying to determine
whether or not light had a speed.
whether or not light had a speed.
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Así que Galileo ideó este experimento maravilloso
04:29
Galileo had worked out this
really wonderful experiment
really wonderful experiment
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en el cual él y su asistente tenían cada uno una lámpara,
04:32
where he and his assistant had a lamp,
each one of them was holding a lamp.
each one of them was holding a lamp.
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y Galileo encendía su lámpara y su asistente encendía la suya.
04:36
Galileo would open his lamp,
and his assistant would open his.
and his assistant would open his.
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Y lo hacían en el momento propicio.
04:39
They got the timing down really good.
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Sabían cuál era el momento propicio. Luego, se paraban sobre dos colinas
04:41
They just knew their timing.
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04:42
And then they stood at two hilltops,
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a dos millas de distancia y hacían lo mismo. Galileo suponía
04:44
two miles distant,
and they did the same thing,
and they did the same thing,
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que si la luz tenía una velocidad discernible,
04:47
on the assumption from Galileo
that if light had a discernible speed,
that if light had a discernible speed,
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él habría notado una tardanza en la luz que regresaba de la lámpara de su asistente.
04:50
he'd notice a delay in the light
coming back from his assistant's lamp.
coming back from his assistant's lamp.
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Pero la luz era muy rápida para Galileo.
04:53
But light was too fast for Galileo.
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Se equivocó por varios órdenes de magnitud al suponer
04:56
He was off by several orders
of magnitude when he assumed
of magnitude when he assumed
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que la luz era aproximadamente 10 veces más
rápida que la velocidad del sonido.
rápida que la velocidad del sonido.
04:58
that light was roughly ten times
as fast as the speed of sound.
as fast as the speed of sound.
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Fizeau conocía este experimento. Vivía en París,
05:02
Fizeau was aware of this experiment.
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05:04
He lived in Paris, and he set up
two experimental stations,
two experimental stations,
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y estableció dos estaciones experimentales,
aproximadamente a 8 Km de distancia,
05:09
roughly 5.5 miles distant, in Paris.
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en París. Fizeau resolvió el problema de Galileo.
05:12
And he solved this problem of Galileo's,
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y lo hizo con un equipo relativamente trivial.
05:14
and he did it with a really relatively
trivial piece of equipment.
trivial piece of equipment.
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Lo hizo con uno de estos.
05:19
He did it with one of these.
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Voy a dejar el mando por un momento
05:21
I'm going to put away
the clicker for a second
the clicker for a second
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porque quiero que me presten toda su atención.
05:23
because I want to engage
your brains in this.
your brains in this.
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Esta es una rueda dentada. Tiene muchas muescas
05:25
So this is a toothed wheel.
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05:27
It's got a bunch of notches
and it's got a bunch of teeth.
and it's got a bunch of teeth.
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y muchos dientes.
Esta fue la solución de Fizeau para mandar pulsaciones discretas de luz.
05:30
This was Fizeau's solution
to sending discrete pulses of light.
to sending discrete pulses of light.
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Puso un rayo de luz detrás de una de estas muescas.
05:33
He put a beam behind one of these notches.
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Si apunto este rayo de luz a través de esta
muesca hacia un espejo,
muesca hacia un espejo,
05:35
If I point a beam
through this notch at a mirror,
through this notch at a mirror,
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a 8 Km de distancia, ese rayo rebota en el espejo
05:39
five miles away, that beam
is bouncing off the mirror
is bouncing off the mirror
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y regresa a través de esta muesca.
05:41
and coming back to me through this notch.
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Pero algo interesante ocurre al hacer rodar
la rueda más rápido.
la rueda más rápido.
05:44
But something interesting happens
as he spins the wheel faster.
as he spins the wheel faster.
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Se da cuenta que es como si una puerta
comenzara a cerrarse
comenzara a cerrarse
05:47
He notices that it seems
like a door is starting to close
like a door is starting to close
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frente al rayo de luz que regresa hacia él.
05:50
on the light beam
that's coming back to his eye.
that's coming back to his eye.
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¿Por qué?
05:53
Why is that?
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Porque la pulsación de luz no regresa
05:55
It's because the pulse
of light is not coming back
of light is not coming back
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por medio de la misma muesca. Lo que hace
es que golpea un diente.
es que golpea un diente.
05:57
through the same notch.
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05:59
It's actually hitting a tooth.
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Le da vuelta a la rueda lo suficientemente rápido
06:00
And he spins the wheel fast enough
and he fully occludes the light.
and he fully occludes the light.
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y bloquea por completo la luz. Luego,
basándose en la distancia entre las dos estaciones,
06:05
And then, based on the distance
between the two stations
between the two stations
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06:08
and the speed of his wheel
and the number of notches in the wheel,
and the number of notches in the wheel,
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en la velocidad de la rueda y en el número de muescas de la rueda,
calculó la velocidad de la luz dentro de un 2 % de su valor real.
06:11
he calculates the speed of light
to within two percent of its actual value.
to within two percent of its actual value.
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Esto ocurrió en 1849.
06:16
And he does this in 1849.
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Esto es lo que realmente me apasiona de la ciencia.
06:21
This is what really gets me
going about science.
going about science.
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Cuando no logro entender un concepto, investigo sobre la gente que lo descubrió.
06:23
Whenever I'm having trouble
understanding a concept,
understanding a concept,
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06:26
I go back and I research
the people that discovered that concept.
the people that discovered that concept.
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Veo cómo llegaron a entenderlo.
06:29
I look at the story of how
they came to understand it.
they came to understand it.
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Lo que pasa al observar lo que los
descubridores pensaban
descubridores pensaban
06:31
What happens when you look
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06:33
at what the discoverers
were thinking about
were thinking about
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cuando hicieron su descubrimiento, es que entiendo
06:35
when they made their discoveries,
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06:37
is you understand that
they are not so different from us.
they are not so different from us.
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que no son tan diferentes a nosotros.
Todos somos bolsas de carne y agua. Todos empezamos con las mismas herramientas.
06:42
We are all bags of meat and water.
We all start with the same tools.
We all start with the same tools.
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Me gusta mucho la idea de que diferentes ramas de la ciencia se llamen campos de estudio.
06:46
I love the idea that different branches
of science are called fields of study.
of science are called fields of study.
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La mayoría de la gente considera la ciencia como una caja negra cerrada,
06:50
Most people think of science
as a closed, black box,
as a closed, black box,
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cuando de hecho es un campo abierto.
06:53
when in fact it is an open field.
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Todos somos exploradores.
06:56
And we are all explorers.
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La gente que hizo estos descubrimientos
solo pensó un poco más
solo pensó un poco más
06:58
The people that made these discoveries
just thought a little bit harder
just thought a little bit harder
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acerca de lo que observaban y fueron un poco más curiosos.
07:01
about what they were looking at,
and they were a little bit more curious.
and they were a little bit more curious.
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Su curiosidad cambió la manera cómo la gente pensaba sobre el mundo,
07:05
And their curiosity changed the way
people thought about the world,
people thought about the world,
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y así cambió el mundo.
07:08
and thus it changed the world.
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Ellos cambiaron el mundo y Ud. también puede hacerlo.
07:10
They changed the world, and so can you.
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Gracias.
07:14
Thank you.
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07:15
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Adam Savage - Maker, critical thinkerAdam Savage is an internationally renowned television producer, host and public speaker.
Why you should listen
Adam Savage's mother is a psychologist; his father was a celebrated artist, painter and filmmaker. From the youngest age they encouraged his flights of fancy. Savage has been a paperboy, a projectionist, juggler, unicycle rider, sculptor, graphic designer, scenic painter, robot builder, welder, carpenter, machinist, prop maker, toy designer, actor, writer, executive producer and director. He spent six years in theater and 10 years in commercial and film special effects working for clients such as Nike, Corning, Hershey's, and Coca-Cola, and films like Star Wars, The Matrix films, A.I., Space Cowboys, Terminator 3 and Galaxy Quest.
Savage has built everything from theater sets to miniature particle accelerators. From spaceships to animatronic arms. He's made Rube Goldberg machines, hand props and spacesuits. His online videos have generated over 230 million page views. He's written for Popular Mechanics, the Wall Street Journal and Wired Magazine, among others. His program "Mythbusters" produced 270 episodes that aired in over 100 countries for 14 years. Adam shares his builds, his love for movie props and costumes, and passion for the transformative power of making on his award winning website Tested.com. He lives in San Francisco with his wife Julia, his twin boys Thing1 and Thing2, and two amazing dogs.
(Photo: Michael Shindler)
Adam Savage | Speaker | TED.com