《A Short History of Nearly Everything》第122章

e　law。　hookeachieved　many　things　in　his　sixty…eight　years—he　was　both　an　acplished　theoretician　anda　dab　hand　at　making　ingenious　and　useful　instruments—but　nothing　he　did　brought　himgreater　admiration　than　his　popular　book　microphagia：　or　some　physiological　descriptions　ofminiature　bodies　made　by　magnifying　glasses；　produced　in　1665。　it　revealed　to　an　enchantedpublic　a　universe　of　the　very　small　that　was　far　more　diverse；　crowded；　and　finely　structuredthan　anyone　had　ever　e　close　to　imagining。
among　the　microscopic　features　first　identified　by　hooke　were　little　chambers　in　plantsthat　he　called　“cells”　because　they　reminded　him　of　monks’　cells。　hooke　calculated　that　aone…inch　square　of　cork　would　contain　1；259；712；000　of　these　tiny　chambers—the　firstappearance　of　such　a　very　large　number　anywhere　in　science。　microscopes　by　this　time　hadbeen　around　for　a　generation　or　so；　but　what　set　hooke’s　apart　were　their　technicalsupremacy。　they　achieved　magnifications　of　thirty　times；　making　them　the　last　word　inseventeenth…century　optical　technology。
so　it　came　as　something　of　a　shock　when　just　a　decade　later　hooke　and　the　other　membersof　london’s　royal　society　began　to　receive　drawings　and　reports　from　an　unlettered　linendraper　in　holland　employing　magnifications　of　up　to　275　times。　the　draper’s　name　wasantoni　van　leeuwenhoek。　though　he　had　little　formal　education　and　no　background　inscience；　he　was　a　perceptive　and　dedicated　observer　and　a　technical　genius。
to　this　day　it　is　not　known　how　he　got　such　magnificent　magnifications　from　simplehandheld　devices；　which　were　little　more　than　modest　wooden　dowels　with　a　tiny　bubble　ofglass　embedded　in　them；　far　more　like　magnifying　glasses　than　what　most　of　us　think　of　asmicroscopes；　but　really　not　much　like　either。　leeuwenhoek　made　a　new　instrument　for　everyexperiment　he　performed　and　was　extremely　secretive　about　his　techniques；　though　he　didsometimes　offer　tips　to　the　british　on　how　they　might　improve　their　resolutions。
2over　a　period　of　fifty　years—beginning；　remarkably　enough；　when　he　was　already　pastforty—he　made　almost　two　hundred　reports　to　the　royal　society；　all　written　in　low　dutch；the　only　tongue　of　which　he　was　master。　leeuwenhoek　offered　no　interpretations；　but　simplythe　facts　of　what　he　had　found；　acpanied　by　exquisite　drawings。　he　sent　reports　on　almosteverything　that　could　be　usefully　examined—bread　mold；　a　bee’s　stinger；　blood　cells；　teeth；hair；　his　own　saliva；　excrement；　and　semen　（these　last　with　fretful　apologies　for　their　unsavorynature）—nearly　all　of　which　had　never　been　seen　microscopically　before。
after　he　reported　finding　“animalcules”　in　a　sample　of　pepper　water　in　1676；　the　membersof　the　royal　society　spent　a　year　with　the　best　devices　english　technology　could　producesearching　for　the　“little　animals”　before　finally　getting　the　magnification　right。　whatleeuwenhoek　had　found　were　protozoa。　he　calculated　that　there　were　8；280；000　of　these　tinybeings　in　a　single　drop　of　water—more　than　the　number　of　people　in　holland。　the　worldteemed　with　life　in　ways　and　numbers　that　no　one　had　previously　suspected。
inspired　by　leeuwenhoek’s　fantastic　findings；　others　began　to　peer　into　microscopes　withsuch　keenness　that　they　sometimes　found　things　that　weren’t　in　fact　there。　one　respecteddutch　observer；　nicolaus　hartsoecker；　was　convinced　he　saw　“tiny　preformed　men”　in　spermcells。　he　called　the　little　beings　“homunculi”　and　for　some　time　many　people　believed　that　allhumans—indeed；　all　creatures—were　simply　vastly　inflated　versions　of　tiny　but　pleteprecursor　beings。　leeuwenhoek　himself　occasionally　got　carried　away　with　his　enthusiasms。
in　one　of　his　least　successful　experiments　he　tried　to　study　the　explosive　properties　ofgunpowder　by　observing　a　small　blast　at　close　range；　he　nearly　blinded　himself　in　the　process。
2leeuwenhoek　was　close　friends　with　another　delft　notable；　the　artist　jan　vermeer。　in　the　mid…1660s；　vermeer；who　previously　had　been　a　petent　but　not　outstanding　artist；　suddenly　developed　the　mastery　of　light　andperspective　for　which　he　has　been　celebrated　ever　since。　though　it　has　never　been　proved；　it　has　long　beensuspected　that　he　used　a　camera　obscura；　a　device　for　projecting　images　onto　a　flat　surface　through　a　lens。　nosuch　device　was　listed　among　vermeers　personal　effects　after　his　death；　but　it　happens　that　the　executor　ofvermeers　estate　was　none　other　than　antoni　van　leeuwenhoek；　the　most　secretive　lens…maker　of　his　day。
in　1683　leeuwenhoek　discovered　bacteria；　but　that　was　about　as　far　as　progress　could　getfor　the　next　century　and　a　half　because　of　the　limitations　of　microscope　technology。　not　until1831　would　anyone　first　see　the　nucleus　of　a　cell—it　was　found　by　the　scottish　botanistrobert　brown；　that　frequent　but　always　shadowy　visitor　to　the　history　of　science。　brown；　wholived　from　1773　to　1858；　called　it　nucleus　from　the　latin　nucula；　meaning　little　nut　or　kernel。
not　until　1839；　however；　did　anyone　realize　that　all　living　matter　is　cellular。　it　was　theodorschwann；　a　german；　who　had　this　insight；　and　it　was　not　only　paratively　late；　as　scientificinsights　go；　but　not　widely　embraced　at　first。　it　wasn’t　until　the　1860s；　and　some　landmarkwork　by　louis　pasteur　in　france；　that　it　was　shown　conclusively　that　life　cannot　arisespontaneously　but　must　e　from　preexisting　cells。　the　belief　became　known　as　the　“celltheory；”　and　it　is　the　basis　of　all　modern　biology。
the　cell　has　been　pared　to　many　things；　from　“a　plex　chemical　refinery”　（by　thephysicist　james　trefil）　to　“a　vast；　teeming　metropolis”　（the　biochemist　guy　brown）。　a　cell　isboth　of　those　things　and　neither。　it　is　like　a　refinery　in　that　it　is　devoted　to　chemical　activityon　a　grand　scale；　and　like　a　metropolis　in　that　it　is　crowded　and　busy　and　filled　withinteractions　that　seem　confused　and　random　but　clearly　have　some　system　to　them。　but　it　is　amuch　more　nightmarish　place　than　any　city　or　factory　that　you　have　ever　seen。　to　begin　withthere　is　no　up　or　down　inside　the　cell　（gravity　doesn’t　meaningfully　apply　at　the　cellularscale）；　and　not　an　atom’s　width　of　space　is　unused。　there　is　activity　every　where　and　aceaseless　thrum　of　electrical　energy。