An interesting aspect of fireworks is that their history tells us a lot about the changing roles of scientists and technicians in Europe.
关于烟花，有一点非常有趣：烟花的历史为我们在欧洲科学家和技术员的角色演变提供了很多信息。
Fireworks were introduced from China in the 13th century.
烟花是在十三世纪从中国引入欧洲的。
Up to the 16th century, they were generally used for military purposes, with rockets and fire tubes being thrown at the enemy, but they were also sometimes a feature of plays and festivals where their chief purpose was related to religion.
直到十六世纪，烟花一般都是用于军事，和火箭与火管一起投向敌方；但有些时候，烟花也是表演和庆典的标志，此时放烟花的主要目的与宗教有关。
By the 17th century, the rulers of Europe had started using fireworks as a way of marking royal occasions.
直到十七世纪，欧洲统治者开始把烟花当作皇家活动的标志。
Technicians were employed to stage spectacular shows which displayed aspects of nature, with representations of the sun, snow and rain.
统治者聘请了技术员来筹备壮观的表演，展示的内容与自然有关，有太阳、雪花和雨水的代表物。
These shows were designed for the enjoyment of the nobility and to impress ordinary people.
设计这些表演是为了娱乐贵族，震慑普通民众。
But fireworks also aroused the interest of scientists, who started to think of new uses for them.
但烟花也引起了科学家的兴趣，他们开始思考新的用途。
After seeing one firework display where a model of a dragon was propelled along a rope by rockets, scientists thought that in a similar way, humans might be able to achieve flight - a dream of many scientists at the time.
一场烟花表演中，一串火箭拉动了绳子系着的龙模型。在观看了演出后，科学家想，以同样的方式，人类也许可以实现飞行—这是当时许多科学家的梦想。
Other scientists, such as the chemist Robert Boyle, noticed how in displays one firework might actually light another, and it occurred to him that fireworks might provide an effective way of demonstrating how stars were formed.
其他科学家（例如化学家罗伯特·波义耳）则发现，在表演中，一支烟花也许能点燃另一支。他突然想到，也许利用烟花来证明星星形成过程是一个有效的方法。
Scientists at the time often depended on the royal courts for patronage.
那时候的科学家基本上都依靠宫廷提供财力支持。
But there was considerable variation in the relationships between the courts and scientists in different countries.
但在不同的国家，宫廷和科学家的关系有极大差异。
This was reflected in attitudes towards fireworks and the purposes for which they were used.
这反映在人们对烟花的态度，和烟花的作用。
In London, in the middle of the 17th century there was general distrust of fireworks among scientists.
在十七世纪中期的伦敦，科学家普遍不信任烟花。
However, later in the century, scientists and technicians started to look at the practical purposes for which fireworks might be employed, such as using rockets to help sailors establish their position at sea.
但同一世纪晚些时候，科学家和技术员开始着眼于烟花的实用目的，比如用火箭来帮助水手在海上定位。
It was a different story in Russia, where the St. Petersburg Academy of Science played a key role in creating fireworks displays for the court.
在俄罗斯这是完全不同的情况，圣彼得堡科学院在为宫廷设计烟花表演中起了重要作用。
Here, those in power regarded fireworks as being an important element in the education of the masses, and the displays often included a scientific message.
在科学院，掌权者认为烟花是教育民众的重要元素，烟花表演也经常带有科学信息。
Members of the Academy hoped that this might encourage the Royal Family to keep the Academy open at a time when many in the government were considering closing it.
在那时候政府内很多人都在考虑关闭科学院，科学院成员希望这有助于让皇族保留学院。
In Paris, the situation was different again.
在巴黎，情况又有所不同。
The Paris Academy of Sciences played no role in staging fireworks displays.
巴黎科学院在设计烟花表演中不起任何作用。
Instead, the task fell to members of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture.
这些任务落到了皇家绘画与雕塑学院的成员头上。
As in Russia, the work of the technicians who created the fireworks was given little attention.
和俄罗斯一样，技术员（烟花制造者）的工作不受重视。
Instead, the fireworks and the spectacle they created were all designed to encourage the public to believe in the supreme authority of the king.
烟花和表演的壮观场景都是为黄泉了鼓动群众相信皇权至高无上而设计的。
However, science was also enormously popular among the French nobility, and fashionable society flocked to demonstrations such as Nicola Lemery's display representing an erupting volcano.
不论如何，在法国贵族中，科学仍然非常流行，潮流人士们都会涌去观看科学展示，如尼古拉·莱美瑞展示火山爆发。
The purpose of scientists was basically to offer entertainment to fashionable society, and academicians delighted in amazing audiences with demonstrations of the universal laws of nature.
科学家这么做是为了娱乐追潮流的贵族人士，知识分子们也很乐意以展示自然普遍规律来让观众啧啧称奇。