TED-Ed
Adam Savage: How simple ideas lead to scientific discoveries
Filmed:
Readability: 3.6
2,830,544 views
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.
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.
(Hudba)
Vtipnejšou stránkou vlastnenia mozgu je,
00:14
One of the funny things
about owning a brain
about owning a brain
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že vôbec neovládate jeho zber a uchovávanie
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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faktov či príbehov. A čím ste straší, tým je to horšie.
00:21
And as you get older, it only gets worse.
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Niektoré veci ním niekedy roky poletujú,
00:23
Things stick around for years sometimes
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kým pochopíte, prečo vás vlastne zaujímajú,
00:25
before you understand
why you're interested in them,
why you're interested in them,
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kým pochopíte ich význam pre vás.
00:28
before you understand their import to you.
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Tieto tri sa týkajú mňa.
00:30
Here's three of mine.
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Keď Richard Feynman ešte vyrastal v Queense,
00:31
When Richard Feynman
was a young boy in Queens,
was a young boy in Queens,
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išiel na prechádzku spolu s otcom, káričkou
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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a loptou. Všimol si, že keď káričku potiahol,
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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lopta sa presunula na jej koniec.
Preto sa otca opýtal: „Prečo sa lopta presunie na koniec?“
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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On mu odpovedal: „To je zotrvačnosť.“
00:45
And his dad said, "That's inertia."
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Spýtal sa: „Čo je to zotrvačnosť?“ Otec na to: „No,
00:47
He said, "What's inertia?"
And his dad said, "Ah.
And his dad said, "Ah.
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zotrvačnosť je názov, ktorým vedci
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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pomenovali úkaz presunu lopty na koniec káričky.
No popravde, nik naozaj nevie.“
00:55
(Laughter)
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00:57
"But in truth, nobody really knows."
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Feyman neskôr získal diplomy
01:00
Feynman went on to earn degrees
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na MIT a Princetone, vyriešil výbuch raketoplánu Challenger
01:02
at MIT, Princeton, he solved
the Challenger disaster,
the Challenger disaster,
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a nakoniec získal Nobelovu cenu za fyziku
01:05
he ended up winning
the Nobel Prize in Physics
the Nobel Prize in Physics
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vďaka Feynmanovu diagramu, ktorý opisuje pohyb subatomárnych častíc.
01:08
for his Feynman diagrams, describing
the movement of subatomic particles.
the movement of subatomic particles.
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Všetko to prisudzuje rozhovoru s otcom,
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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ktorý mu dal pocit,
že tie najjednoduchšie otázky vás môžu posunúť na okraj ľudských vedomostí,
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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kde to chcel prebádať.
01:21
and that that's where he wanted to play.
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I tak sa stalo.
01:23
And play he did.
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Eratosthenes bol tretím knihovníkom vo veľkej Alexandrijskej knižnici
01:25
Eratosthenes was the third librarian
at the great Library of Alexandria,
at the great Library of Alexandria,
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a tiež v mnohom prispel vede.
01:29
and he made many contributions to science.
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No najznámejší je vďaka listu,
01:32
But the one he is most remembered for
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ktorý ako knihovník dostal
01:34
began in a letter that he received
as the librarian,
as the librarian,
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z mesta Swenet, ktoré je na juh od Alexandrie.
01:37
from the town of Swenet,
which was south of Alexandria.
which was south of Alexandria.
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Bola v ňom jedna vec, ktorá mu vŕtala v hlave.
01:41
The letter included this fact
that stuck in Eratosthenes' mind,
that stuck in Eratosthenes' mind,
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Pisateľ tvrdil, že keď sa napoludnie
01:44
and the fact was that the writer said,
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počas slnovratu pozrel do studne,
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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videl na jej dne svoj odraz a tiež to, že jeho hlava
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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zatienila slnko.
Musím vám povedať, že myšlienka o tom, že Kolumbus zistil, že zem je guľatá,
01:54
I should tell you -- the idea
that Christopher Columbus
that Christopher Columbus
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je úplná blbosť. Nie je to pravda.
01:57
discovered that the world
is spherical is total bull.
is spherical is total bull.
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Vlastne každý, kto mal vzdelanie vedel, ze svet je guľatý,
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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už od čias Aristotela. Ten to dokázal
02:04
since Aristotle's time.
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jednoduchým pozorovaním.
02:05
Aristotle had proved it
with a simple observation.
with a simple observation.
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Všimol si, že tieň Zeme na Mesiaci,
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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je vždy okrúhly
a jediný tvar, ktorý stále vytvára okrúhly tieň,
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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je guľa. Dôkaz - Zem je guľa.
02:15
is a sphere, Q.E.D. the Earth is round.
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Ale nik nevedel, aká je veľká,
02:18
But nobody knew how big it was
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až pokým Eratosthenes nedostal tento list.
02:19
until Eratosthenes got
this letter with this fact.
this letter with this fact.
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Pochopil, že Slnko bolo presne nad mestom 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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pretože pri pohľade do studne viedla priamka
02:26
because looking down a well,
it was a straight line
it was a straight line
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z úplného dna studne popri mužovej hlave až k Slnku.
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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Eratosthenes vedel aj inú vec.
02:33
Eratosthenes knew another fact.
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Vďaka palici zapichnutej v alexandrijskej zemi
02:34
He knew that a stick stuck
in the ground in Alexandria
in the ground in Alexandria
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v rovnakom čase, v rovnaký deň, napoludnie,
02:37
at the same time
and the same day, at noon,
and the same day, at noon,
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počas slnovratu vo svojom zenite
02:40
the sun's zenith, on the solstice,
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slnko vrhalo tieň, ktorý bol 7,2° mimo osi.
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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Ak viete obvod kruhu
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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a máte na ňom dva body,
jediné, čo potrebujete vedieť, je ich vzdialenosť
02:53
all you need to know is the distance
between those two points,
between those two points,
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a dokážete určiť priemer.
02:56
and you can extrapolate the circumference.
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360° delené 7,2 = 50.
02:58
360 degrees divided by 7.2 equals 50.
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Viem, že je to trochu okrúhle číslo a tiež sa mi to veľmi nezdá,
03:02
I know it's a little bit
of a round number,
of a round number,
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ale je to dobrý príbeh, takže budeme pokračovať.
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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Potreboval vedieť vzdialenosť medzi Swenetom a Alexandriou,
03:08
He needed to know the distance
between Swenet and Alexandria,
between Swenet and Alexandria,
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čo je dobré, pretože Eratosthenes bol dobrý v geografii.
03:11
which is good because Eratosthenes
was good at geography.
was good at geography.
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Vlastne, slovo geografia vymyslel.
03:15
In fact, he invented the word geography.
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Cesta medzi Swenetom a Alexandriou
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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bola obchodnou cestou
a pre obchod bolo potrebné poznať vzdialenosti.
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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Potreboval presné vzdialenosti, takže veľmi presne vedel,
03:25
It needed to know the exact distance,
so he knew very precisely
so he knew very precisely
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že vzdialenosť medzi mestami bola 500 míľ (805 km).
03:28
that the distance between
the two cities was 500 miles.
the two cities was 500 miles.
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Keď to vynásobíte 50, dostanete 25 000,
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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čo je jedno percento skutočného priemeru Zeme.
Prišiel na to už pred 2 200 rokmi.
03:38
He did this 2,200 years ago.
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Teraz žijeme vo veku,
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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kedy prístroje za miliardy dolárov hľadajú Higgsov bozón.
Objavujeme častice, ktoré sa dokážu pohybovať rýchlejšie ako svetlo
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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a všetky tieto objavy umožňuje technológia,
03:52
and all of these discoveries
are made possible
are made possible
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ktorá bola vyvinutá len pred pár desiatkami rokov.
03:55
by technology that's been developed
in the last few decades.
in the last few decades.
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Počas takmer celej histórie ľudstva
03:58
But for most of human history,
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sme museli tieto veci objavovať pomocou našich očí, uší a nášho rozumu.
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 bol parížsky experimentálny fyzik.
04:06
Armand Fizeau was
an experimental physicist in Paris.
an experimental physicist in Paris.
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Jeho zameraním bolo vylepšovanie a potvrdzovanie výsledkov iných.
04:10
His specialty was actually refining
and confirming other people's results,
and confirming other people's results,
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Môže tak trochu vyzerať ako neschopák,
04:15
and this might sound
like a bit of an also-ran,
like a bit of an also-ran,
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ale v skutočnosti je to dušou vedy,
04:17
but in fact, this is the soul of science,
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pretože neexistuje nič také ako fakt, ktorý nemôže byť nezávisle potvrdený.
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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Boli mu známe Galileove pokusy,
04:23
And he was familiar
with Galileo's experiments
with Galileo's experiments
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keď sa snažil zistiť, či svetlo má alebo nemá rýchlosť.
04:26
in trying to determine
whether or not light had a speed.
whether or not light had a speed.
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Takže Galileo pracoval na tomto úžasnom pokuse.
04:29
Galileo had worked out this
really wonderful experiment
really wonderful experiment
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Spolu s asistentom mali lampy,
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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ktoré držali. Raz otvoril lampu Galileo a raz asistent.
04:36
Galileo would open his lamp,
and his assistant would open his.
and his assistant would open his.
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Celé načasovanie si dobre poznačili.
04:39
They got the timing down really good.
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Keď poznali načasovanie, postavili sa na dva kopce,
04:41
They just knew their timing.
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04:42
And then they stood at two hilltops,
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3 km vzdialené, a obaja robili to isté, na základe
04:44
two miles distant,
and they did the same thing,
and they did the same thing,
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Galileovho predpokladu, že ak má svetlo znateľnú rýchlosť,
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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všimne si oneskorenie svetla z lampy asistenta.
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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Ale svetlo bolo pre Galilea príliš rýchle.
04:53
But light was too fast for Galileo.
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Keď sa už rádovo mýlil, začal predpokladať,
04:56
He was off by several orders
of magnitude when he assumed
of magnitude when he assumed
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že svetlo bolo asi 10-krát rýchlejšie ako zvuk.
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 si bol vedomý tohto pokusu. Žil v Paríži,
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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kde zriadil dve pokusné stanice,
zhruba 8,5 km od seba.
05:09
roughly 5.5 miles distant, in Paris.
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Vyriešil tento Galileov problém
05:12
And he solved this problem of Galileo's,
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pomocou relatívne jednoduchého zariadenia.
05:14
and he did it with a really relatively
trivial piece of equipment.
trivial piece of equipment.
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Pomocou tohto.
05:19
He did it with one of these.
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Nachvíľu odložím ovládač,
05:21
I'm going to put away
the clicker for a second
the clicker for a second
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pretože chcem, aby ste sa sústredili na toto.
05:23
because I want to engage
your brains in this.
your brains in this.
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Toto je ozubené koleso. Má kopu zárezov
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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a kopu zubov.
Je to Fizeauove riešenie vysielania nespojitých zábleskov svetla.
05:30
This was Fizeau's solution
to sending discrete pulses of light.
to sending discrete pulses of light.
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Lúč umiestnil za jeden zo zárezov.
05:33
He put a beam behind one of these notches.
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Keď namierim cez zárez lúč na zrkadlo
05:35
If I point a beam
through this notch at a mirror,
through this notch at a mirror,
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vzdialené 9 km, tak sa lúč od zrkadla odrazí
05:39
five miles away, that beam
is bouncing off the mirror
is bouncing off the mirror
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a vracia sa späť cez zárez.
05:41
and coming back to me through this notch.
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Ale keď roztočil koleso, stalo sa niečo zaujímavé.
05:44
But something interesting happens
as he spins the wheel faster.
as he spins the wheel faster.
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Všimol si, že to vyzeralo, akoby sa na vracajúcom sa
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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lúči začali zatvárať dvere.
05:50
on the light beam
that's coming back to his eye.
that's coming back to his eye.
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Prečo?
05:53
Why is that?
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Pretože svetelný impulz sa nevracia
05:55
It's because the pulse
of light is not coming back
of light is not coming back
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cez rovnaký zárez. A vlastne naráža aj do zuba.
05:57
through the same notch.
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05:59
It's actually hitting a tooth.
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Kolesom točil dostatočne rýchlo
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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a úplne zabránil svetlu v priechode.
Na základe vzdialenosti medzi dvomi miestami,
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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rýchlosti kolesa a počtu zárezov v kolese
vypočítal rýchlosť svetla s odchýlkou 2% jej skutočnej hodnoty.
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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Dokázal to už v roku 1849.
06:16
And he does this in 1849.
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Práve kvôli tomu sa zaoberám vedou.
06:21
This is what really gets me
going about science.
going about science.
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Kedykoľvek mám problém pochopiť nejakú myšlienku, spätne skúmam ľudí, ktorí s ňou prišli.
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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Sledujem príbeh, ako ju pochopili.
06:29
I look at the story of how
they came to understand it.
they came to understand it.
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A potom, keď budete skúmať, ako vedci rozmýšľali,
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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keď prišli so svojimi objavmi, pochopíte,
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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že nie sú až takí iní ako my.
Všetci sme z mäsa a kostí. Začíname s rovnakými nástrojmi.
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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Páči sa mi myšlienka nazývať rozličné odvetvia vedy ako „polia".
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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Mnoho ľudí si predstavuje vedu ako uzavretú čiernu skrinku,
06:50
Most people think of science
as a closed, black box,
as a closed, black box,
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avšak v skutočnosti je to otvorené pole.
06:53
when in fact it is an open field.
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Všetci sme bádatelia.
06:56
And we are all explorers.
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Ľudia, ktorí niečo objavili, len viac premýšľali o tom,
06:58
The people that made these discoveries
just thought a little bit harder
just thought a little bit harder
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čo skúmali a boli zvedavejší.
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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A ich zvedavosť zmenila zmýšľanie ľudí o svete,
07:05
And their curiosity changed the way
people thought about the world,
people thought about the world,
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a teda zmenili aj svet.
07:08
and thus it changed the world.
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Zmenili svet a vy môžete tiež.
07:10
They changed the world, and so can you.
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Ďakujem.
07:14
Thank you.
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07:15
(Applause)
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(Potlesk)
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