Wang Lei, Yang Jian
Institute of Science Technology and Society, Mingzhai, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Institute of Science Technology and Society, Mingzhai, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Endeavour. 2017 Mar;41(1):12-22. doi: 10.1016/j.endeavour.2016.10.006. Epub 2016 Nov 21.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Japan and China, each for its own reasons, invited the famous physicist Niels Bohr to visit and give lectures. Bohr accepted their invitations and made the trip in 1937; however, the topics of his lectures in the two countries differed. In Japan, he mainly discussed quantum mechanics and philosophy, whereas in China, he focused more on atomic physics. This paper begins with a detailed review of Bohr's trip to Japan and China in 1937, followed by a discussion of the impact of each trip from the perspective of the social context. We conclude that the actual effect of Bohr's visit to China and Japan involved not only the spreading of Bohr's knowledge but also clearly hinged on the current status and social background of the recipients. Moreover, the impact of Bohr's trip to East Asia demonstrates that, as is the case for scientific exchanges at the international level, the international exchange of knowledge at the individual level is also powerful, and such individual exchange can even promote exchange on the international level.
二十世纪初，日本和中国出于各自的原因，邀请著名物理学家尼尔斯·玻尔前来访问并讲学。玻尔接受了他们的邀请，并于1937年成行；然而，他在两国讲学的主题有所不同。在日本，他主要讨论量子力学和哲学，而在中国，他更侧重于原子物理学。本文首先详细回顾了1937年玻尔访问日本和中国的行程，随后从社会背景的角度讨论了每次访问的影响。我们得出结论，玻尔访华和访日的实际效果不仅涉及玻尔知识的传播，还明显取决于接受者的现状和社会背景。此外，玻尔东亚之行的影响表明，如同国际层面的科学交流一样，个人层面的国际知识交流也很有影响力，这种个人交流甚至可以促进国际层面的交流。
