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Galileo Galilei Encyclopedia Article

Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist born in 1564 who made many important contributions to physics and astronomy. He improved the telescope and used it to make several discoveries, including that the moon has mountains and craters and Jupiter has moons. He supported Copernicus' theory that the Earth and planets revolve around the sun, which the Catholic Church opposed. Galileo was placed under house arrest for defending this theory and publishing his findings. He is considered a founder of modern science for his use of experimentation and evidence to support theories over ancient authorities.

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214 views3 pages

Galileo Galilei Encyclopedia Article

Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist born in 1564 who made many important contributions to physics and astronomy. He improved the telescope and used it to make several discoveries, including that the moon has mountains and craters and Jupiter has moons. He supported Copernicus' theory that the Earth and planets revolve around the sun, which the Catholic Church opposed. Galileo was placed under house arrest for defending this theory and publishing his findings. He is considered a founder of modern science for his use of experimentation and evidence to support theories over ancient authorities.

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Galileo Galilei

Dialogues Concerning the Two Great World


Systems, and it was published in Florence.
Then, the inquisition called him for a trial in
Rome, and he got under house arrest. Galileo
wrote
Discourses
and
Mathematical
Demonstrations Concerning Two New Sciences.
Finally, he died early from suffering fever and
heart palpitations in January 8, 1642.

Main Contributions
Physics
Galileo Galilei, painting by Justus Sustermans

In questions of science the authority of a thousand is


not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.
Galileo Galilei

Galileo was a man that laid a very strong


foundation for future scientists, like Isaac Newton
or Christiaan Huygens. He broke with the
tradition of following ancient science and
believing its true. He went out to find thing by
himself, only with the wish of seeking the truth of
the natural world.

Biography
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei was born
in February 15, 1564 in Pisa, Italy. He developed
a great aptitude for mathematics and mechanics.
His parents wanted him to get a degree in
medicine, so he studied for his degree at the
University of Pisa. He didnt finish completing his
degree; Galileo left university and studied
mathematics with Ostilio Ricci. Thats how he
began to teach privately mathematics and
philosophy at the University of Pisa in 1589. In
1592, Galileo was appointed with a better salary
at the University of Padua, where he met Marina
Gamba, and they both had three children. At that
time, he began working with the telescope, which
led to many discoveries in astronomy. After he
published The Starry Messenger in 1610, in
which he explained the discoveries he had with
the telescope, he got a position with to work as a
Mathematician and Philosopher to the Grand
Duke of Tuscany, Galileo became a very known
and famous person at that time. In 1613, he
wrote Letters on the Sunspots, in which he
explained how he was in favor with the theory of
Copernicus. Then, he moved to Florence.
Galileo supported the heliocentric theory even
though it was considered heretical to the Church.
According to that, he was called to an audience
with Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, and they told
him to not teach or defend this theory. No matter
what, he felt empowered to write a book called

Among Galileo's contributions to physics is the


law of falling bodies, which states that objects fall
at the same speed regardless of weight or shape,
he calculated that the distance traveled, is
proportional to the square of the time it took the
object to reach the ground. Through experiments,
he countered the pervasive Aristotelian view,
which held that heavier objects fall faster
Perhaps Galileo's greatest contribution to physics
was his formulation of the concept of inertia (the
idea that an object remains in rest or in motion
until acted on by another force), which became
the basis for one of Isaac Newton's laws of
motion.
Most objects in a state of motion do not remain in
that state of motion. For example, a block of
wood pushed at constant speed across a table
quickly comes to rest when we stop pushing.
Thus, Aristotle held that objects at rest remained
at rest unless a force acted on them, but that
objects in motion did not remain in motion unless
a force acted constantly on them. Galileo, by
virtue of a series of experiments (many with
objects sliding down inclined planes), realized
that the analysis of Aristotle was incorrect
because it failed to account properly for a hidden
force: the frictional force between the surface and
the object.

Astronomy
Galileo Galilei is thought to be the inventor of the
telescope. He didnt conceive the idea, but he
used earlier similar models to improve them and
use them for his passions. Thats how we got the
modern telescopes we use in these days.
He made the first complete astronomical
telescope. After some time of using his telescope
he discovered that the moon shines with a
reflected light and that it has an uneven and
mountainous surface. When he continued
investigating the solar system he discovered that
the Milky Way was composed of millions of stars,
if not infinite. Also with all his investigation and
research
he
confirmed
the
Copernican

hypothesis regarding the solar system, which


resulted in the Church being challenged.

Final Thoughts
His investigations on the laws of nature and
improvements on the telescope helped for further
understanding of the world and universe around
him. The strength he showed by believing in his
evidence and refusing what the Church told him,
tells us that he was very brave. His bravery was
just one more factor for the weakening of the
Church that brought us to where we are today.
Many scientists began to see that they could
change the world, leave a mark behind, and
prove to themselves that they were passionate
about the natural world. A scientist needs to be a
philosopher first to manage to get a hypothesis of
what happens in natural phenomena. Then he
can prove his ideas using the scientific method.
Bibliography:
Galileo Galilei (2005, March 4). Machamer, P. Retrieved September
4, 2015, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/galileo/
Galileo Galilei. (n.d.). Retrieved September 4, 2015, from
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Galileo Galilei. (n.d.). Retrieved September 4, 2015, from
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06342b.htm
Galileo Galilei. (n.d.). Retrieved September 4, 2015, from
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Galileo_Galilei

Galileos Telescope

Galileo (15641642). (n.d.). Retrieved September 4, 2015, from


http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/G/GalileoG.html
A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF GALILEO Galilei. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 4, 2015, from http://www.localhistories.org/galileo.html

Inventions and Engineering


The Geometric Compass was introduced in 1597
as geometric and military compass while Galileo
lived in Padua, Italy. This compass had 2 legs,
each with 7 proportional lines, including a
quadrant mark with four separate scales. This
invention helped out designers to make arithmetic
and geometric calculations such as square roots
and cubic roots.
Due to his intrigue to the periodic motion of
pendulums, Galilei began to make serious
studies on 1602. Later, he discovered that the
amplitude of the pendulums swing didnt
contribute to the period of time it took to finish
each cycle, which really was a property called:
isochronism. Being 77 years old, he had an
epiphany where he realized that the pendulum
could be hanging on a special mechanism to
create an accurate clock. Then he joined with his
son to create the first ever design of the
pendulum clock. The first working version was
made until 1657, years after his death.

Galileo Galilei Contributions to Astronomy. (n.d.). Retrieved


September 4, 2015, from
http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/people/galileocontributions-to-astronomy.html
Bank, E. (n.d.). List of Galileo's Inventions. Retrieved September 4,
2015, from
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5491727_list-galileos-inventions.html
Galileo: The Telescope & The Laws of Dynamics. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 4, 2015, from
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/galileo.html
Galileo Galilei's Invention & Contributions | The Classroom |
Synonym. (n.d.). Retrieved September 4, 2015, from
http://classroom.synonym.com/galileo-galileis-inventioncontributions-23437.html
Gold Cool Border Clip Art [Picture] Retrieved September 4, 2015
from:
http://www.clker.com/clipart-gold-cool-border.html
Portrait of Galileo (1638) [Picture] Retrieved September 4, 2015
from:
https://kimrendfeld.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/justus_sustermans
_-_portrait_of_galileo_galilei_1636.jpg
Galileos Telescope [Picture] Retrieved September 4, 2015 from:
http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzfy6pH2V71qj3uxyo1_1280.jpg

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