Zhang Shou always asks a lot of whys, and students at Jiuzhang Hall and Banshan Hall have experienced this. Sometimes when you are listening to difficult content and are already confused, he will suddenly throw out a bunch of whys, leaving you unprepared and confused for a long time. And the most annoying thing is that after asking whys, Zhang Shou usually does not answer them, but asks you to go back and think about it yourself!
Sometimes, Zhang Shou would mercifully answer their questions in class after they had been thinking for days but still could not get the point, but more often, he would just continue to guide and instruct them, asking them to continue thinking and pondering. As Zhang Shou often said, the magic and mystery of the world cannot be solved by others, but by asking why when you have nothing to do, and then pondering and understanding.
But, in an occasion like today, Zhang Shou wouldn't play tricks on us in such a bad way, right
Lu Sanlang was in a state of uncertainty, and could only hope that the Third and Fourth Princes would be more helpful and not let the people below continue to think about it. Sure enough, the Third Prince, as a diligent and studious prince, was really trying to figure out why, but the Fourth Prince, this naughty kid, asked directly without any scruples.
"Then teacher, do you know why this is happening?"
Seeing that the audience had completely lost interest and many of the scholars looked either dumbfounded or confused, Principal Yue had intended to start the conversation himself, but he did not expect the Fourth Prince to take the lead again, so he sat down leisurely. You know, as the Principal of Zhaoming Academy, he had dabbled in a lot of subjects, but although he had noticed many phenomena, he was still unable to explain the reasons.
If Zhang Shou really had many teachers as he said, then he would have dared to start with such a topic in front of so many talented astronomical figures and candidates from all over the country, and he would definitely be able to give a reasonable answer. Otherwise, wouldn't that be a joke
Zhang Shou did not answer the Fourth Prince's question immediately, but continued to ask: "Why do gold, iron and stone sink to the bottom of the water? Why do some wood float on the water surface, but some wood sinks to the bottom? Why is the same substance, oil floats on the water surface, but mercury sinks to the bottom?"
After asking three more whys, he saw that the people below were already getting excited, as if someone was saying that this was all common sense and there was nothing to explore. He said calmly, "Don't think that these phenomena that can be seen everywhere and have always been considered commonplace are nothing surprising. The truth of the world is actually all hidden in what we see in daily life."
"You know, when I solved the Nine Chapter Hall plaque that contained the Emperor Taizu's scroll in public, the principle behind it was similar to this one."
"Whether an object sinks or floats in water or other liquids depends on the density of the object and liquid. Liquids such as pure water, salt water, and oil also have their own densities. Therefore, objects with high density will sink to the bottom in liquids with low density, while objects or liquids with low density will float on the surface in liquids with high density."
"And if the density of the object and the ** is almost the same, then it is very likely that it will be completely submerged in the water, but will not sink to the bottom, but will float in the middle of the water. Of course, if there are still people who think this is a sorcery, then you can verify it after you go back. Just add salt little by little and dissolve it, and it should be possible to verify not only suspension but also floating."