Smithsonian博物馆收藏有下面这枚距今2500年前的螺纹玉环。哈佛大学的Peter Lu发现这些纹饰与阿基米德螺旋线惊人地吻合。他在《科学》上发表了自己的观点:“these grooves follow the exact mathematical form of the Archimedes spiral, demonstrating the ability of ancient craftsmen to interconvert two types of motion precisely, in order to fashion the jade rings. The close conformity to this mathematical form confirmed that these craftsmen must have had a precision compound machine (as opposed to a simple machine) in 550 BC, predating Archimedes by several centuries.”
他还做出了一个实物原型机(见下面的视频)。尽管这不是直接证据,但Lu的这个旁证还是非常强的。没有这样的精密复式机械,我是无法想象,古人如何仅仅凭目测和手工做出如此完美的一组数学曲线。考虑到这件实物早了阿基米德几个世纪,不由得对春秋战国时期的工匠肃然起敬。
Nature 也报导了这个有趣的发现。称古中国的美学鉴赏家也是技术发烧友,”Chinese aesthetes may have been technophiles too.”