noveltune 59. Hooke's Microscope
59. Hooke's Microscope
When Robert Hooke’s microscopic theory was presented, everyone present, whether they genuinely understood it or simply pretended to understand it to avoid appearing ignorant, all claimed to have grasped it.
Only Chief Physician Maxim Donmini did not stop there.
This veteran military doctor, who had dedicated thirty years to studying medicine, believed in seeing is believing and experience is the truth. The more he heard about such groundbreaking new knowledge, the more obsessed he became, and his inquisitive nature was completely brought out.
The enlightenment he had just received was just the beginning. Now, his mind was filled with those unseen "tiny living things," and questions came one after another like a tidal wave, impossible to stop.
"Colonel, you said there are tiny living organisms in the air, sewage, and dirty rags. What do they look like? Are they round or flat?"
Why do they specifically target festering wounds? Why can wound cleaning prevent bacterial growth?
"The reason why strong liquor, boiling water, and lime can kill bacteria is because high temperatures and strong liquids can kill living organisms, right? Then what kind of temperature and what kind of concentration are most effective?"
"If dirt causes disease, why didn't the medical community discover or record it before?"
Massimus stared intently at Dugan, his eyes burning with fervor, bombarding him with questions, each one sharp and probing, like a never-ending broken record, determined to get to the bottom of things.
Dugan is now regretting it. Why did he have to provoke such a "ten thousand whys"?
He only intended to use Hooke's paper as a perfunctory excuse, to muddle through, and then move on.
But he never expected that this old military doctor, who seemed old-fashioned and conservative, was actually an extreme academic fanatic who would not accept vague theoretical explanations and insisted on getting to the bottom of things to understand every principle and every detail.
Bacteria, microorganisms, colony reproduction, infection mechanisms... these belong to the modern medical system of later generations and were simply beyond the comprehension of people in 1803.
If I continue to elaborate, I'll inevitably reveal my secret of time travel sooner or later.
Simply giving a hard answer will only lead to more mistakes, while simply refusing will make you seem deliberate and suspicious.
Dugan's mind raced, and in an instant, he devised a perfect escape plan.
He gently raised his hand, interrupting Maximus's continuous questioning, his tone calm and composed, carrying a hint of unfathomable scholarly demeanor.
"Chief Physician, the questions you asked are all core theories of the microscopic world, but a hundred words of talk are not as good as seeing it with your own eyes."
Upon hearing this, Maximus immediately leaned forward, his eyes growing even more eager: "Then how can we see it with our own eyes?"
"The only way to truly understand these tiny living organisms is to replicate Hooke's microscope," Dugan said, feigning profundity. "Hooke's paper is merely a written record, too superficial and vague. The real core secrets are all hidden within his unique lenses."
Upon hearing this, Maximus was instantly stunned.
Everyone present knew the name Hook.
He was a once-in-a-century genius inventor and naturalist in Europe. At the end of the last century, he was the first to develop the first microscope, opening the door for mankind to explore the microscopic world.
But it is also clear to the world that Hooke's microscope was an unsolvable problem that had plagued the European academic community for decades.
At that time, although some people in European countries had already copied microscopes, the craftsmanship was crude and the magnification of the lenses was extremely low. They could only barely see the outline of insects and could not observe extremely small living microorganisms at all.
Only Hooker possessed the unique skill of mirror making.
He can hand-polish ultra-thin single lenses with a diameter of only 2 to 4 millimeters, achieving a terrifying magnification of 120 to 270 times.
Thanks to this unique lens, he was able to observe microorganisms with a scale of only one micrometer and write those groundbreaking academic papers.
What frustrated the entire European academic community most was that Hooke kept his lens-making techniques strictly confidential and never revealed them throughout his life.
He left behind an extremely arrogant yet undeniably true assertion: "There are some secret methods I must keep to myself."
And he really did it.
From the late 17th century to the early 19th century, for a full 250 years, countless master mirror makers, royal scholars, and top craftsmen in Europe devoted their efforts to studying and imitating Hooke's work. Everyone agreed that Hooke's miracles stemmed from his exceptional talent for polishing and his tireless work day after day.
For over two hundred years, everyone has been obsessed with "polishing lenses," working day and night to refine, polish, and adjust them, but no one has been able to replicate the magnification and precision of Hooke lenses, and they have never been able to find the right method.
This has long been recognized by the European scientific community as a century-old mystery.
Dugan continued slowly, "If you ask me about the principles now, even if I could answer, it would just be pure theoretical talk. Only by replicating a super-high magnification lens like Hooke's and seeing those tiny, moving living organisms with your own eyes can you truly understand what disinfection, infection, and bacteria are."
These words perfectly captured Maximus's academic obsession.
The old military doctor's eyes instantly became incredibly fervent, and all his questions about medical principles were immediately redirected to the manufacture of the endoscope.
In his view, as long as a god-level lens like Hooke's could be created, the tiny living organisms causing the disease could be seen with their own eyes, and the age-old problem of battlefield infection could be completely solved.
"So that's it! So that's the crux of the problem!" Maximus exclaimed as if waking from a dream, repeatedly expressing his感慨 (gǎnkǎi, deep feelings). "I was too impetuous, seeking only theory and not empirical evidence!"
At that moment, he completely forgot to continue questioning Dugan; his mind was filled only with polishing the lenses, replicating the microscope, and exploring the truth of the microscopic world.
Dugan watched his thoughts completely veer off course and chuckled to himself.
Now you can't keep staring at me and asking "Why?", right?
He knew better than anyone else in his time that what Hook was hiding was not the craftsmanship at all.
It wasn't until the 1850s that an American scholar completely exposed this century-old hoax that had plagued Europe for 250 years:
Ravenhook's ultra-high magnification lenses are not actually ground.
With the mechanical precision and hand-polishing techniques before the mid-19th century, it would have been impossible to produce such an ultra-thin, highly transparent, and high-magnification single lens.
Hooke's real secret lies in his glassblowing technique, not his polishing. He accidentally obtained perfectly miniature glass beads through the glassblowing process, which enabled him to achieve the terrifying magnification effect.
For over two hundred years, scholars, craftsmen, and scientists throughout Europe have been misled by Hooke, getting stuck in the dead end of "polishing lenses," wasting the efforts of generations.
Now, Dugan has gone along with the trend, successfully pushing the intellectually eager Massimus into this century-old dead end as well.
From now on, this stubborn head doctor will no longer pester him with questions about the principles of bacteria and disinfection.
He poured all his energy and all his obsession into grinding lenses day and night.
This not only perfectly covered up all the flaws and completely blocked any further questions, but also promoted the innovative thinking of British army field medicine, achieving three goals at once.
"How clever I am!" Dugan felt a great sense of accomplishment.
Bystanders, of course, had no idea that Dugan was digging a hole for Maximus, and a huge one at that.
In their view, the senior military doctor humbly seeking advice and the young colonel sharing his knowledge without reservation was truly a remarkable story in the history of science!