As the theoretical basis of aesthetic education, aesthetics and physics, as two independent disciplines, have their own boundaries, but they intersect and penetrate each other. Figure 1 shows the discipline generation structure between physics and aesthetics, pedagogy and psychology. Region I in the figure is physical pedagogy; ⅱ is physiological psychology; ⅲ physical (scientific) aesthetics; Ⅳ is physics education psychology; ⅴ is physiological aesthetic psychology; ⅵ is the art of physics education. At present, many achievements have been made in the research of these interdisciplinary subjects (or marginal subjects). Although the model of this subject only chooses a certain air intake angle, we can see the position of aesthetics in physics or reflect the relationship between them from a certain angle.
So, what is the relationship between physics education and aesthetic education? We might as well discuss it in a comparative way.
The mission of physics education can be expressed as: to cultivate students' understanding of the universe and learn to sort out the unified and concise order and laws from the complex disorder of material structure and movement.
The mission of aesthetic education can be expressed as: to cultivate students' correct aesthetic appreciation and the ability to appreciate and create beauty, and to sort out fascinating order and laws from the disorderly artistic philosophy.
The so-called "order" here is truth and harmony. However, both physical education and aesthetic education are for the sake of order and the pursuit of "regularity", but the disciplines are different and the corresponding educational methods and methods have their own characteristics.
In fact, the knowledge of the world is intertwined and permeated with each other. People mechanically divide learning into mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, oceanography, geology, economics, philosophy, law, aesthetics and so on. This is just a cultural phenomenon when human civilization has developed to a certain period.
With the progress of human society and the further development of civilization, various disciplines have infiltrated each other, and their influence is more extensive and in-depth. Nowadays, the increasing unification of knowledge and the deepening of disciplines' specialization have become the general trend of human civilization development. The continuous infiltration of aesthetic education in physics education and its increasingly comprehensive nature conform to the tide of great unity of human understanding, and exploring the relationship between physics teaching and aesthetic education is a wave in this tide.
Physics has its own scientific beauty, which embodies the aesthetic principle. We can't equate physics with aesthetics, nor can we confuse them. In fact, as an independent discipline, they all have irreplaceable independence.
Second, the task of physical aesthetic education
Aesthetic education in physics education should be based on the objective of subject education, combined with the aesthetic psychological characteristics and physiological characteristics of middle school students, so that the majority of middle school students can broaden their horizons, cultivate their minds, develop their intelligence, activate the atmosphere and improve their interest by revealing the truth, goodness and beauty of physics.
(A) to cultivate students' correct aesthetic view and stimulate their enthusiasm for creating beauty.
Physical knowledge is the foundation of beauty. Without truth, there is no beauty. Beauty is not an abstract, empty and mysterious thing, it cannot be separated from the structure and movement of matter. All beautiful things always conform to the law of development and represent the development trend of things. Therefore, beauty in physics embodies truth and contains truth. Physics teaching activities have never been one-way abstract thinking activities, but bilateral activities between teachers and students; In teaching activities, the communication between teachers and students is not only the communication of knowledge and concepts, but also the communication of hearts and emotions. Therefore, both educational content and educational methods should embody the unity of truth, goodness and beauty. After middle school students enter adolescence, their awareness of beauty is gradually strengthened, from simply paying attention to appearance to advocating internal spiritual values; The aesthetic scope gradually expands from the narrow life circle around to the broad social life and natural phenomena; Aesthetic thinking gradually moves from image to abstraction and from sensibility to rationality. Therefore, it is completely in line with the law of talent growth to guide them to establish their aesthetic interest in natural phenomena and natural law thinking art in time, so as to improve their ability to feel, identify and understand beauty, which cannot be underestimated.
Facts show that once students who pursue natural beauty and artistic beauty analyze the scientific beauty of physics, they will often improve their enthusiasm for learning physics in admiration of the beauty of physics, and gradually realize that physics is as simple, symmetrical and harmonious as poetry, and their interest in learning physics will be stronger and their learning potential will be deeper. From the taste of learning results, they will be encouraged to study actively and hard, which constitutes the relationship between motivation and effect. To achieve this goal, the key lies in how teachers create a beautiful atmosphere in teaching activities and how to induce students' aesthetic passion, so that students with aesthetic subjects can discover, appreciate and enjoy beauty to the maximum extent.
The cognition of physical beauty can stimulate physicists' strong passion and inspiration to decipher the cosmic code, and also give students the passion and creative power to explore physics, so that students can arouse emotional reactions on the basis of perceiving aesthetic objects, produce positive associations and profound understanding, and thus generate can think creatively in the process of generation. In recent years, many middle school students in China have published a large number of innovative scientific papers, scientific experiments, scientific achievements, and even experimental projects and programs adopted by NASA in space flight. In recent years, most international physics Olympic gold medals have been won by middle school students in China. From these creative thinking results, we can find traces of aesthetic education.
It can be said for sure that the understanding of scientific beauty is a bridge to induce students to learn physics well. With it, what is presented to students is no longer a pile of dead formulas, but a string of admirable pearls. But there is a premise that these laws and formulas can bring students the enjoyment of beauty, that is, this feeling of physical beauty is not only analyzed by the naked eye, but also experienced by the soul. This requires physics teachers to pay attention to cultivating students' keen discrimination and rich imagination as scientists.
In fact, the understanding of scientific beauty itself is also helpful to improve and promote students' observation ability, thinking ability, imagination ability, memory ability and operation ability, especially to cultivate students' imagination ability of divergent thinking. The imagination of art has given wings to the idea that human beings like to study. No wonder Einstein always emphasized that "imagination is more important than knowledge". Artistic imagination will stimulate scientific imagination, which are all manifestations of the pursuit of beauty.
(2) Cultivate students' noble sentiments and make them healthy, all-round and moral. Aesthetic education cultivates students' excellent moral character by cultivating the mind, pleasing the mind in form, attracting people with emotion, attracting goodness with beauty, educating people with aesthetics. This function is rooted in the dialectical unity of beauty and goodness. Aesthetic education is consistent with moral goodness. Beauty is based on goodness, which is the origin of beauty and the destination of truth, goodness and beauty. Beauty and virtue are sisters, and beautiful emotion and kind behavior are the basis of morality.
No matter which set of middle school physics textbooks, nearly 100 Chinese and foreign physicists participate. Although these physicists have different nationalities, ages and experiences, they all fully embody the virtue of unremitting efforts for the pursuit of scientific truth. A large number of touching stories in their lives, especially the spirit of hard struggle, patriotic dedication and mutual cooperation, are excellent aesthetic education teaching materials, which can arouse the vibration of students' hearts. In the teaching process, if we can put physicists' scientific spirit of being brave in exploration and seeking truth from facts; The tenacious spirit of taking pleasure in suffering and tenacious struggle; Only seek contribution, not ask for dedication; Vivid examples such as sticking to the truth and the dedication of professors who are not afraid to sacrifice to defend the truth will certainly make students deeply infected, and then learn and imitate the lofty spirit and virtue of physicists. This is undoubtedly the most ideal and successful emotional education.
Physics education is to stimulate students' love of beauty. Like scientists, they regard following the truth, goodness and beauty as the ideal of facing life, raise the sail of life, pursue beauty, express beauty and create beauty. Through the content and educational methods of physical beauty, we can cultivate students' sentiment of loving beauty, gradually purify their hearts, and guide them to become virtuous people with healthy and all-round development of body and mind.
Third, the aesthetic characteristics of physics
Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb", believes that physics "is a discipline that studies the laws and order of nature, and it explores the root of the harmonious existence and movement of matter".
The truth, goodness and beauty of the material world have always been unified. Physicists often use beauty to understand the truth and sort out the facts in order to draw universal laws or conclusions. As Sullivan, a writer who wrote for Newton, said; "Because the main purpose of scientific theories is to discover the harmony of nature, we can immediately see that these theories must have aesthetic value." And asserted: "The achievement of a scientific theory is actually its value." Aesthetic factors not only exist in the motive force of material theory, but also penetrate into the conception and expression of its theoretical system.
Yang Zhenning proposed in the article Beauty and Theoretical Physics that physical science has the beauty of physical phenomena, theoretical description and theoretical structure. There are also many physicists who believe that the aesthetic characteristics of physics are mainly manifested in the beauty of diversity and unity, the beauty of harmony and strangeness, and the beauty of simplicity and lightness. All kinds of aesthetic evaluation of physics are only different in intake angle or formulation, which essentially reveals the dialectical relationship between scientific truth and scientific beauty. Scientific beauty is the unity of scientific object beauty and scientific expression beauty. Next, simply analyze the simplicity, symmetry and harmony embodied in physics.
simplicity
The composition and movement of the material world objectively presents a "simple" style: all matter is composed of the simplest particles; Light travels along the simplest straight line; Planets move along simple geometric curves-circles, ellipses, parabolas or hyperbolas; Wait a minute.
Physicists have a strong belief in the simplicity of the universe, and they use the logic and techniques of "preferring simplicity" to study the material world. From celestial bodies to elementary particles, the movement of matter is complex, but physicists skillfully separate the research objects from the complex real world one by one and abstract the simplest physical models, such as particles, ideal spring oscillators, ideal simple pendulums, ideal gases, point charges, power lines, ideal transformers, light and thin lenses. These beautiful ideal models summarize the basic laws of material movement, which are simple, concise and reasonable, abstract and vivid.
The expression of physical theoretical system, laws and formulas is embodied in the simple beauty of logic, which is even more amazing. Newton's law of motion, which supports the classical physics building, truly shows its simplicity and perfection in the macro low-speed field; Relativity and quantum mechanics, as the pillars of modern physics building, have painted us an extremely simple and vivid picture of material fabric and motion from a wider field.
As for the use of mathematical tools, using extremely concise and rigorous functional relationships or bright and intuitive mathematical graphics to describe complex physical phenomena can be seen everywhere in the whole physics research.
(2) Symmetry
In aesthetics, "symmetry" is the expression of formal beauty, which refers to the proportion or corresponding relationship between the whole components, such as harmonious layout in space and harmonious rhythm in time.
In physics, physicists pursue the symmetry of the structure of the universe and the symmetry of the motion of matter. They also often regard the pursuit of the beauty of theoretical symmetry as an effective research method.
Exploring the space-time mirror symmetry of the material world has always been one of the hot topics in physics, and the most vivid one is mirror symmetry. For example, the rising and falling processes of vertical throwing and italic motion of objects are time-space symmetric; Spatial symmetry often appears in optics and solid state physics; Time symmetry in the study of alternating current and electromagnetic oscillation. The easiest example of time symmetry for students is the cycle and rhythm of day, night and year after year brought by the autobiography "The Revolution of the Earth". In fact, Galileo's relativity principle that "the laws of mechanics are the same in all inertial systems" profoundly reveals the symmetry of space-time images based on intuitive experience.
There are countless symmetries reflected in physical formulas, laws and theoretical structures. For example, the formula expression of electrostatic force in inverse square law's electromagnetism is obtained by using gravitational inverse square law to pursue symmetry. Rutherford's idea of atomic nucleation model benefited from Nagaoka's idea, as he admitted in his paper: "The Saturn atom considered by Nagaoka in mathematics is worthy of attention." Japanese physicist Oka Kantaro's "Saturn Atomic Model" is completely based on the symmetry between macroscopic celestial bodies and microscopic particles. For another example, Maxwell boldly added a vector term of "displacement current" to Ampere's law according to the symmetry of electricity and magnetism and the symmetry of magnetic line images without any experimental support, which enabled Maxwell to establish his equations with symmetrical beauty, four of which were compatible with each other, and became a self-consistent and complete theoretical system about electromagnetic fields, which was called a poem of natural beauty.
In addition to image symmetry, physics also embodies abstract symmetry, that is, symmetry reflected from a concept, a proposition or a theory. A typical example is that when Einstein founded the special theory of relativity in 1905, he took Galileo's principle of mechanical relativity as the basic assumption, while when he founded the general theory of relativity in 19 16, he took the Lorentz invariance in electromagnetic theory as the symmetry assumption. It is these abstract symmetrical ideas that help unlock the cosmic code and promote the progress of physics.
In theoretical physics, symmetry often shows that the equation of motion or function describing the state of a material system remains unchanged after some mathematical transformation.
Exploring the symmetry of the universe has become a breakthrough in the development of contemporary physics. No wonder Weinberg thinks that there is indeed hidden symmetry in our daily life. In my opinion, nothing in physics is more promising than this idea.
(3) Harmony
"Harmony" is an important law of aesthetics. The Pythagorean school in ancient Greece believed that the beauty between the universe and numbers was because they were harmonious. Physicists believe that the "unity" and "correspondence" between the physical world itself and the physical theory is a reflection of the harmony of the universe.
The huge knowledge system of physics not only follows their own internal laws, but also connects with each other to form a unity. Newtonian mechanics, for example, is expressed in the concise form of the law of motion and the law of universal gravitation, which unifies the mechanics on the ground with the mechanics in the sky; Excellent Maxwell equation unifies electricity, magnetism and light into electromagnetic field theory; As the pillar of modern physics, Einstein's theory of relativity unifies Newtonian mechanics and Maxwell's electromagnetic field theory. The three conservation laws (matter, energy and momentum) are the most perfect embodiment of the harmony of the material world.
The beauty of "diversity and unity" is the eternal theme pursued by human beings. The whole history of physics, to some extent, can also be said to be the struggle history of physics masters to establish a unified physical theory. The "unified field theory" that only uses one theory to explain the four forces in the universe-gravity, electromagnetic force, weak force and strong force-has been Einstein's goal for more than 30 years. Although it is a pity to the end, his forward-looking thought has a far-reaching impact on the progress of modern physics. Seeking a unified field theory is still one of the frontier topics in physics today.
Correspondence is another manifestation of harmonious beauty in physics. Electrons, protons, neutrons and positrons, antiprotons and antineutrons reflect the correspondence of material components; The mass-energy formula of e = mc2 reflects the corresponding relationship between mass and energy. In addition to these analogies, there are also theoretical inheritance correspondences. At the beginning of thermodynamic theory, physicists firmly believe that there is a corresponding relationship between macroscopic physical quantities such as temperature, pressure and heat capacity of an object and microscopic physical quantities such as size, mass, speed and energy of molecules and atoms. Later, with the development of statistical physics, physicists can successfully reveal the micro-nature of macro-thermal phenomena with molecular dynamics theory and statistical methods, which reflects the inheritance and correspondence between the old and new theories.
Strange and harmonious configuration is also the embodiment of beauty. Disharmony gives people a sense of beauty under the background of harmony. The ancients thought that the circle was the most harmonious, so Toler and Copernicus constructed a harmonious picture of the universe with circular orbit, and Kepler discovered the elliptical orbit theory of planetary motion through experimental observation. Obviously, an ellipse is a singularity of a circle, and a circle is just a special case of an ellipse. Kepler's law of planetary motion embodies the beauty of harmony and strangeness, and Einstein's theory of relativity explains that the elliptical orbit of the planet will still move. The ellipse of motion is round and strange, but it vividly embodies the dynamic beauty of physical laws. No wonder modern physics regards "symmetry breaking" as an important aesthetic principle, which embodies the idea of harmonious and strange beauty.
From the above analysis, we can clearly see that physics shows its amazing simplicity, mysterious symmetry and wonderful harmony while deciphering the cosmic code.
Fourthly, aesthetic education should be implemented in physics education.
(A) aesthetic methods in physics education
Aesthetic education in physics education does not require physics teachers to turn physics classes into aesthetic education classes, but to pay attention to the infiltration of aesthetic education, that is, teachers should create a beautiful atmosphere everywhere in the whole process of physics education according to students' aesthetic psychological characteristics. For example, in classrooms, laboratories and corridors of schools, there are wall charts reflecting physical beauty, or wall charts with physicists' heads with philosophical words on them; Show excellent physics experiments in the school science and technology window, and report the latest progress and frontier of physics. Campus culture and campus aesthetic atmosphere have a subtle influence on the guidance and cultivation of students' aesthetic taste. Through the analysis of the success of many celebrities, it is revealed that campus culture plays a profound and firm role in the formation of lofty aesthetic quality in the student era and has influenced their lives. In addition, an open laboratory can be established to cultivate students' creative thinking in physics; In extracurricular activities, lectures on physical aesthetics were held. Of course, physics classroom teaching activities are the most important place to infiltrate aesthetic education.
In all aspects of physics education, teachers should show the beauty of research objects and physical phenomena in time, and explore the beauty of physical thought, theoretical framework, physical laws and expression methods. We should not only pursue the beauty of educational form, but also deliberately pursue the inner beauty of educational thought. Really achieve aesthetic education in knowledge education.
(B) the art of physics teaching
Every physics class should be an exquisite work created by teachers, and it is required to fully embody the aesthetic laws of physics itself in teaching art and produce aesthetic effects.
Generally speaking, the beauty of teaching art lies in the beauty of teaching design, teaching process, teaching language, teaching attitude and blackboard writing. Among them, the beauty of teaching design is often reflected in the unique teaching plan and teaching scheme, which is novel, feasible and fruitful. The beauty of the teaching process can first arouse students' interest and make them concentrate; Cohesion can be closely linked and unique; Transformation can be natural and smooth, ups and downs, and fascinating; The ending can make students have an epiphany, endless aftertaste and thought-provoking. Whether written or oral, the subject of teaching language should be vivid, concise, accurate, lively, emotional and humorous. Physics teachers' language is the display of thinking art, and the organizational design of classroom language also reflects the profound degree of teaching thinking. Subtle language can make the laws of physics interesting. In particular, intuitive and inspiring metaphor can stimulate students' imagination. For example, when the teacher talks about atomic structure, he can compare the atom to a gymnasium, and the nucleus is like a glass ball hanging in the center of the gymnasium. This kind of image description vividly shows the picture of the relationship between nucleus and atom, which makes it easier for students to understand and remember. Of course, the teaching language also requires harmonious rhythm, cadence, highlighting key points and making every effort to be colorful. In a word, the beauty of language in physics teaching needs teachers to cultivate their own language. As for the beauty of teaching attitude, it should be reflected in teachers' elegant dress, dignified manners, sincere treatment and natural manners. The body of blackboard writing is now coordinated in layout, focused, standardized in writing and beautiful in font. But these teaching arts should also be closely combined with the simple, symmetrical and harmonious aesthetic characteristics of physics itself, and aesthetic education should be infiltrated to the extreme in subject education.
In short, from the point of view that physics teachers should be "engineers and artists who shape a new generation of scientific talents with beautiful hearts", aesthetic education in physics education can never be ignored. If students are the mythical Alibaba and physics is a treasure house, then the aesthetics in physics education is "Sesame, open sesame!" A mysterious spell. Mobilize students' aesthetic thinking, inspire students' aesthetic association, and let students establish a belief that there is a simple, symmetrical and harmonious ultimate beauty in the universe, and they need to discover and reveal its secrets, so as to "achieve the truth of everything from the beauty of heaven and earth."