Galileo and the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Alexius Sparkman
Physical Science
February 21, 2018
Abstract Galileo Galilei, an Italian astronomer, natural philosopher, and mathematician that made fundamental contributions to the sciences of motion, and astronomy. One of his greatest contributions to science was emphasis on experimentation, basic part of the scientific method (Chapter 1.2). His formulation of inertia and the law of falling bodies marked the beginning of a fundamental change in the study of motion. Galileo questioned Aristotle’s view that objects fell because of their “earthiness” and that the heavier, or more earthy, an object, the faster it would fall in seeking its “natural” place towards the earth.
Galileo and the Leaning Tower of Pisa
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During the early 1570s, when Galileo was eight years old, his family moved to Florence and he began his formal education in Vallombrosa Abbey at the Camaldolese Monastery. His father, Vincenzo Galilei, a well known musician, was determined that Galileo would become a doctor and sent him to the University of Pisa in 1581, despite Galileo considering priesthood. There Galileo studied medicine and the philosophy of Aristotle for the next four years. He never seemed to have taken medical studies seriously, attending courses on his true interests which were in mathematics and natural
Nicolaus Copernicus was an extremely famous and important scientist, astronomer, mathematician, religious figure, and scholar during the 1500’s. He helped shape many of the theories and ideas about the universe that are prevalent in society today. His accomplishments were and still are considered infamous, and although not commonly accepted by people during his lifetime, his development of the heliocentric model of the universe is what we all currently believe to be true. Without his hard work and perseverance on his research, our views of our universe would be very different, and possibly quite incorrect, today. Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19th, 1473 in Torun, West Prussia.
Autumn Stern Galileo Trial Summary + Copernicus Write Up In the early 17th century, there was no doubt that the Catholic church held extreme power throughout Europe. They also held to the geocentric theory (all planets, heavenly bodies and the sun revolving around the earth) put forth by Ptolemy and Aristotle because of how neatly it could fit into the current teachings. Unlike this theory, however, Galileo enforced Copernicus’ heliocentric theory with inductive reasoning rather than deductive. Galileo made observations about the moons of Jupiter and their orbit around Jupiter, which he likened to a smaller version of their solar system.
In Steven Shapin’s book, The Scientific Revolution, he described the massive scientific changes that occurred from the late 16th to the early 18th centuries. Shapin utilizes the scientists and their findings to demonstrate the changes that affected Western civilization. He describes his theory of the Scientific Revolution as he proves that the world has always had scientific advances. Steven Shapin states his thesis which influenced the modern world, that the Scientific Revolution did not happen during a single time period through the use of the three essential questions: What was known, How was it known, and What was the Knowledge for.
Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer who disagreed with the Roman Catholic theory of geocentrism. He was not a heretic because he was a Christian and had similar beliefs to the Roman Catholics, but he did not agree with the Church’s theory of the position and movement of Earth in the Solar System. Document A is an excerpt of a letter to Duchess Christina of Tuscany written by Galilei, counter-arguing the heresy claims. In the letter, Galileo wrote, “Can an opinion be heretical and yet have no concern with the salvation of souls?” Although he did not believe in the astronomical theory of the Church, he believed that his scientific thoughts should not interfere with his religious beliefs.
I chose to write about the building of Brunelleschi 's Dome. In the 1400 's Brunelleschi was commissioned to construct a dome for the Florence cathedral. I thought that one of the most interesting things about this article was that Brunelleschi essentially invented tools and lifting technology that would be in use until the industrial revolution. One of the more pressing concerns in regards to the dome being built was how the dome would be lifted onto the cathedral.
Analysis of Galileo’s Letter to Grand-Duchess Christina During the time that Galileo wrote the letter to Grand-Duchess Christina, there was much debate about the orientation of the universe. There were two different theories of thought at this time. One was the Heliocentric Universe, which believed the sun was the center of the universe and the Earth orbits it.
According to the world history book from Bob Jones University, Galileo was a heretic, when it states “When Galileo published his findings, however, he also came into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, which tried him for heresy.” I think the textbook was accurate in its belief that Galileo was a heretic because the definition of heresy is a “belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious doctrine.” Galileo was an iconoclast because his theory that stated the earth revolved around the sun disagreed with the Roman Catholic Church’s belief of a geocentric galaxy. Galileo was opposed by cardinals, the Roman Catholic Church, philosophers, scholars, and, according to the holy Fathers, the Bible itself. Galileo was a heretic because his discoveries
Today virtually every child grows up learning that the Earth orbits the Sun, but four centuries ago the heliocentric solar system, where the Earth orbits the Sun, was so controversial that the Catholic Church classified it as a crime of heresy (UCLA). In the age of early philosophy, Socrates’ is well known. Between the Socratic method and his line of successful students, Socrates’ makes the history books. Galileo Galilei turned astronomers on their heads when he discovered moons around Jupiter. Giordano Bruno didn’t back down from any of his brilliant and different ideas.
One of the most well known astronomers of all time is Nicolaus Copernicus. He was known to think outside of the box and dreamt of bigger things in life. Copernicus did not see the world and its surroundings like everyone else did. Having such a brilliant mind helped him discover an important theory. Many scientists and astronomers would never see our solar system the same.
In a letter to Cristina of Lorraine, the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Galileo gives a perfectly sound and rational argument as to why the church should not be charging him as a heretic for his belief in the heliocentric model when the bible is going against what they see with their own eyes. Furthermore, Galileo argues that, contrary to popular belief at the time, the bible should only be used to help us understand abstruse concepts and what is needed for salvation, not to explain the natural world. In a lot of ways, Galileo’s argument paves the way for separation between church and state, as well as the age-old conflict between science and religion that is still discussed even till today. However, what I found interesting here is that Galileo actually believed that his beliefs went hand in hand with the bible. He tries to justify his beliefs according to the bible by arguing that God gave us a brain in order
The open-minded Galileo advocated that the earth revolves around the sun, with which few agreed during his lifetime,
Copernicus developed the heliocentric theory which claimed that the earth revolved around the sun. This immediately challenged the authorities who believed the opposite. Galileo furthered Copernicus’ argument and promoted that the Bible, that God
Because Galileo was the first to point the telescope to the sky, many new discoveries were made (Cox). Finding something new about Earth’s Moon was one discovery significant to science of the Renaissance. In late November of
Sir Issac Newton and Galileo Galilei were two of the most leading scientist of 17th century. Unfortunately, the two were never able to work together as Issac Newton was born the same year Galileo died, 1642. One thing is for sure, between the two there was a storm of scientific revolution under way. I will begin with the earlier revelations of Galileo. Considered the father of modern science, Galileo made major contributions to the fields of physics, astronomy, cosmology, mathematics and philosophy.
Catherine Leonhart, IDS 1013 Informative Speech Outline PG 1 Introduction • Attention-getter: "My powers are ordinary. Only my application brings me success.” Isaac Newton • Thesis Statement: Throughout his life, Isaac Newton studied, binomial theorem, light, telescopes, theology, natural forces, and optics. • From birth to early childhood, Isaac Newton overcame many personal, social, and mental hardships including Asperger’s Syndrome.