The Aristotle’s Park, a unique theme park of Halkidiki, is located at analtitude of about 500 meters, in the historical village of Stagira, beside theremains of Machalas, the capital of Mademochoria. It is worth visiting for itsinteresting instruments and the great view to the gulf of Ierissos. The park preexisted and the wonderful location was chosen in 1956 to host thestatue of Aristotle, made by sculptor Nicholas, in honor of the greatphilosopher who was born in Ancient Stagira.
The unique interactive instruments were placed there in 2003 by theMunicipal Corporation of Stagira-Akanthos. They are experimentalinstruments, operating by rules of physics that are mentioned in Aristotle’stextbooks and especially in the one called “The Naturals”. With thisaddition, the park has become a favorite destination for every visitor andschool, since it combines recreation, entertainment and education. It isestimated that has more than 15.000 visitors during the summer. The towerof Madem Agas is also located there, with the house that was theadministrative center of Sidirokafsia mines.
THE EXPERIMENTAL INSTRUMENTS
- Compass: It is placed in front of the statue of Aristotle andsymbolizes that his philosophy has reached every part of the world,and is a starting point of modern worldwide scientific thought, andbelongs to humanity. It displays the direction and distance of themost famous cities in the world, in relation to the park.
- Telescope: Using the modern telescopes placed in specific spots,the visitor can focus on and enjoy details of the fantastic view to theIerissos gulf and to the Athonite peninsula.
- Prism: The white sunlight passes through the special prism and thefamous “colors of the rainbow” are analyzed due to the differentspeeds of each individual radiation, since each differentwavelengthed radiation exits through a different angle.
- Sun clock: The large, horizontal sun clock shows the exact time ofthe place you are. There is a difference of 1 hour and 25 minutes tothe current time during summer and 25 minutes difference duringwinter. The curved lines on the plate of the clock are for theidentification of the current month.
- Lens: The sign next to the lens informs us that every photon, i.e.every minimum amount of light, has little energy by itself, but when every one is concentrated in one spot then that energy becomesgreater.
- Pentaphone: It consists of five large pieces of granite that havebeen calculated to produce a sound of different frequency, a differentnote. These five notes sound according to the pentaphone ancientscale.
- Optical discs: Experimenting with the optical discs, you will find thatwhen the images pass in front of our visual field with great speed, thehuman eye does not understand them as different, but it creates acontinuous visual whole as if we are watching a movie. This happensbecause the impression of the image lasts for 1/16 of a second onthe optical nerve due to inertia. This quality of the eye is calledpersistence of vision. Cinema actually depends on the “inability” ofthe eye to see more than 24 images per second.
- Pendulum: Older people will remember and younger will learn thatthe energy of one of the systems that initiates the oscillation istransferred to the other due to conjunction. The effect is that theoscillation width is reducing into the first system, while it is increasinginto the next.
- Water turbine: By rotating the lever we can create a swirl in theliquid that is contained in the transparent container, and understandthe physics of the phenomenon, or compare it with the rotation of thewind that creates a tornado.
- Inertia spheres: By playing with the inertia spheres, we are alwaysimpressed by the phenomenon of transfer of momentum, whenduring the first impact, the initial momentum is maintained and isconsecutively transferred from the first sphere to the last.
- Parabolic reflectors: They are placed in a straight line with a largedistance from each other. If two people stand in front of each one,they can have a conversation even if they whisper. This happensbecause the transferred through air sound waves, are reflected, theirenergy is concentrated in the center and the sound ends up amplifiedin the ears of those participating in the experiment.
PLATES WITH SUBPARAGRAPHS OFARISTOTLE
The interactive experimental instruments are accompanied by relevantsubparagraphs posted on plates, from the preserved work of the greatphilosopher.
…Τούτο δ’ η ταχύτης ποιεί της κινήσεως, ώστε δοκείν έτερον είναι το ορώνκαι το ορώμενον…
[…the result is produced by the speed of the movement, in order to showthe difference between the seen and the shown…]
ABOUT SENSES AND FEELINGS
…Περί δε της αληθείας, ως ου παν το φαινόμενον αληθές…
[…in terms of truth, not every phenomenon is real…]
AFTER THE NATURAL III
…Νους δε υπό του νοητού κινείται…
[…the movement of the mind is caused by the understandable…]
AFTER THE NATURAL I
… Τα μεν ουν είδη το νοητικόν εν τοις φαντάσμασι νοεί…
[…mental psyche comprehends the species in fantasy images…]
ABOUT SOUL III
…Πότερον δε γέγονε ποτέ κίνησης, ουκ ούσα πρότερον, και φθείρεται πάλινούτως ώστε κινείσθαι μηδέν…
[… Movement was one day born, not previously existing and wears downso that it does not exist…]
NATURAL HEARING IX
…εις άπειρον δε κινείσθαι μηδέν…
[…nothing is indefinite…]
NATURAL HEARING IX
…οίον ει εξ αέρος εστί το αισθητήριον, καθ’ έστιν ο αήρ και ψόφου καιχρόας…
[…air is the element between the senses of color and sound…]
ABOUT SOUL III
…Το πρώτως κινούν εν άπασιν είναι τοις κινουμένοις ακίνητον…
[…the primarily driven is immovable…]
NATURAL HEARING IX
…Άπαν το κινούμενον υπό τινος ανάγκη κινείσθαι…
[…everything moving is needed to be moved by something…]
NATURAL HEARING VII
…Διό και δοκεί ο χρόνος είναι της σφαίρας κίνησης ότι ταύτη μετρούνται αιάλλαι κινήσεις και ο χρόνος ταύτη τη κινήσει…
[…this is why time seems to be the movement of the sphere (of theuniverse). Other movements and time also are measured by it…]
NATURAL HEARING IV
…Αλλά τάχιστα κινείται τα εγγύτατα του κινούντος, τοιαύτη δ’ η του όλουκίνησις εκεί άρα το κινούν…
[…the things closest to the one that moves them move faster, this is themovement of the universe, in the circumference of which the thing thatmoves, exists …]
NATURAL HEARING IX
… Ηχώ δε γίνεται όταν υπό του αέρος, όστις ένεκα του αγγείου, όπερπεριώρισε και ημπόδισε αυτόν να διαχυθή, έγεινεν είς, πάλιν ο αήραπωσθή, ώσπερ σφαίρα…
[…echo does not happen when the air (sound wave) limited in the vase, notallowed to dissolve, is repelled again as a sphere…]
ABOUT SOUL II