preview

Galileo Research Paper

Good Essays
Open Document

Galileo was an Italian scientist and scholar whose discoveries in the fields of astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, and physics inspired generations of scientists to come. Galileo was an influential and key figure during the Scientific Revolution, and is often referred to as the “Father of Modern Science”. He is also referred to as the "Father of Observational Astronomy", and the "Father of Modern Physics”. Besides being an accomplished scientist, Galileo was a talented musician. Galileo was never married. However, he fathered two children with Marina Gamba. His two daughters, Virginia and Livia, were both put in convents because Galileo deemed them “unmarriageable”, since they were both born out of wedlock. He attended the University of Pisa, …show more content…

Galileo discovered that anything thrown or fired on Earth, such as a rock, flies along a curved path called a parabola. Galileo also stated the principle of inertia, which became the basis for Newton’s First Law of Motion. He also observed that two objects of different masses, disregarding air resistance, will both accelerate at the same rate. Galileo’s principle of relativity stated that the laws of physics are the same for all observers moving in a straight line at a constant speed. Einstein extended this principle so that it accounted for the constant speed of light. One of Galileo’s discoveries in the field of mathematics is known as Galileo’s Paradox. Galileo also invented the first thermoscope in 1593, which is like a thermometer but without a scale. His thermoscope indicated temperature differences, and led to the discovery of the thermometer. Galileo also improved the telescope. He improved upon the invention of Hans Lippershey and created a telescope that could magnify objects twenty times. Other telescopes at the time magnified objects three times. Galileo used his improvement to study the sky. He also invented the pump and the hydrostatic balance. Galileo, with the help of his personal instrument maker, created and distributed more than one hundred copies of his military compass design. He also trained students to use his improved military compass between 1595 and 1598. Another of his incredible feats …show more content…

In late 1632, after publishing Dialogues on the Two Chief World Systems, Galileo was examined by the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Rome. He had been charged with teaching and defending the Copernican doctrine, which argued that that the Sun is at the center of the universe. This doctrine went against the teachings of the Catholic Church, and Copernicus' book was a prohibited book. Galileo was called four times for a hearing. He was declared a “vehemently suspect of heresy”, and was placed on house arrest. His work Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems was also banned. Even those this went against the rules of his house arrest, Galileo had visitors and had his works printed outside of Italy. Under house arrest he was able to write one of his most influential works, Two New Sciences. As the years passed, the Catholic Church gradually began to allow Galileo’s books to be read, or allowed for edited versions to be published. In 1835, almost two-hundred years after his death, the Catholic Church stopped opposing

Get Access