Galileo Galilei. And yet it moves or albeit it does move were the astute words from Galileo Galilei

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Galileo Galilei. And yet it moves or albeit it does move were the astute words from Galileo Galilei"

Lambert Mills
5 years ago
Views:

1 Arias 1 Katherine Arias Dr. Shanyu Ji Math October 2017 Galileo Galilei And yet it moves or albeit it does move were the astute words from Galileo Galilei that reverberated across history and still today. These words were carefully said but yet, holds a lot of meaning as to how his views, that eventually became facts, were neglected by the people of that time. His words perfectly express Galileo s belief of the arrangement of the solar system. His beliefs were refuted by many and thus Galileo was punished for it. Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy and lived between the years 1564 and He was known to be a great influence in the fields of physics, astronomy, cosmology and mathematics. Many of his observations and experimentations were documented and published for the public to see. He played a grand role in the scientific revolution and in understanding the universe with mathematical proofs. For this reason, his followers branded him the name, The Father of Modern Science. One of the greatest scientific contributions that Galileo Galilei did was the development of the hydrostatic balance. Being influenced and inspired by Archimedes and his eureka moment, in 1586, Galileo Galilei constructed a hydrostatic balance that helped determine the strength of materials (Williams). This instrument was used to accurately weigh an object in air and water. This phenomenon was developed as he observed many jewelers weighing precious metals, like gold and silver, in the air to determine their gravity. His method was inscribed in his dissertation named La Bilancetta or The Little Balance (Williams). In it, he describes the hydrostatic balance as having an arm wrapped with a metal wire where the counter weight hangs.

2 Arias 2 The number of times the metal wire was wrapped around the arm determined how much the counterweight had to move to weigh an object accurately in water (Williams). Doing so, helped determine the correct proportion of precious metals directly like gold to silver. Moreover, in the mathematical and scientific world, Galileo made great contributions in the sciences of motion and astronomy which led to the progression of the scientific method (Van Helden). He wrote many unpublished studies that was abruptly stopped after his progress in the development of his telescope in However, his works were later on published in the Netherlands in 1638 under the name Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences (Van Helden). In this edition, there was a mathematical explanation of motion, including the law of falling bodies and parabolic path projections which details the mixing of two motions, constant speed and uniform acceleration (Van Helden). This finding helped understand the importance of experimentation with mathematical proofing to discover the facts of nature (Van Helden). There was a dire insistence on having the book of nature to be written in the language of mathematics as opposed to natural philosophy (Van Helden). As a result, it was of a great importance to have research and investigation to reach a final theory that can be proven to be a fact. In 1609, being taught by Dutch eyeglass makers, Galileo was able to construct a telescope that helped Venetian merchants spot ships at sea. This development led Galileo to make and sell telescopes as a way to gain revenue. These telescopes were very helpful in seeing objects a distance away. Through the telescope, people were able to see enlarged objects that were 20 times its actual size (Ji). Moreover, this development also led Galileo s curiosity to look up to the sky and gaze at the moon and stars. He was able to observe the fine details of the moon; taking awe of the moon s rough surface and mountains and valleys (Ji). Upon this

3 Arias 3 occurrence, he was able to capture the different phases of Venus, which led him to believe that Venus rotated around the sun (Galileo). Moreover, Galileo noticed that the moons around Jupiter did not revolve around Earth but instead revolved around Jupiter which was a breakthrough in the astronomical world (Ji). Because of this sighting, Galileo made assumptions that planets indeed can have moons. Thus, he supported the Copernican theory, that the sun, not the earth, was set to be the center of the solar system (Galileo). These discoveries baffled many because most believed the Aristotelian doctrine which stated that Earth was the center of the universe (Galileo). These new findings were opposed by many people of that time. Many people believed that his discovery greatly opposed and contradicted many passages in the bible. However, Galileo believed that his scientific observations were from an accurate perspective as opposed to the earthly perspective in the biblical scriptures (Galileo). As a result, Galileo was accused of heresy by the Catholic Church. He was sent to trial and plead for a lesser sentence in hopes of convincing the people that his initial book, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, was too detailed in regards to the Copernican system (Ji). To appeal to the people, he offered to contradict the Copernican system in another book. However, it was not enough to convince the people, and was then sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life (Galileo). Despite being prisoned and punished for his ideas, there was no doubt that his influence in physics and astronomy helped later scientists to further their research in that area. Galileo Galilei was a great influencer that helped mold the start of research and experimentation to prove theories and ideas. Having passed away in 1642, the Catholic Church later recognized that Galileo s observations were indeed facts and the truths in science couldn t be refuted. That is why in 1758, the church finally lifted the ban on any works describing the Copernican theory (Galileo). Despite many people s neglect in the simple facts that Galileo

4 Arias 4 proved, modern scientists and mathematicians greatly refer back to his documentation and appreciate the simple fundamentals he founded.

5 Arias 5 Works Cited Galileo. Edited by Biography.com Editors, The Biography.com Website, A&E Television Networks, 1 Aug. 2017, Ji, Shanyu. Lecture 20. The Renaissance. History of Mathematics, Van Helden, Albert. Galileo. Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 13 Jan. 2017, Williams, Matt. What Did Galileo Invent? Universe Today, 28 June 2015,

The Scientific Revolution

The Scientific Revolution What is a Revolution? A Revolution is a complete change, or an overthrow of a government, a social system, etc. The Scientific Revolution In the 1500s and 1600s the Scientific