Galileo Galilei: Man of Science Essay

Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist born on February 15, 1564. He lived in a time when people perceived the earth as the center of the cosmea and when people interpreted the scriptures literally. He originally pursued the force field of medicine, only later gained an inclination towards mathematics. He worked to develop the scientific mode and to rationalize the world in mathematical equip handst casualty. Today, his inventions and discoveries contributed to the establishment of the scientific worlds openation. Galileo Galilei Man of ScienceGalileo Galilei is one of the virtually revolutionary figures in memorial who transcended twain phantasmal and scientific conventions. The expanse of his accomplishments cover physical science, astronomy, and mathematics, all to which his contributions consecrate resulted in significant advances. He lived in a time when legality was persecuted and religion dictates facts of society. besides he refused to remain in stagnation an d to presume without question. His works reflected both genius and ingenuity, as his biography mirrored the depths that sympathetic intelligence can reach.Being a extremely celebrated scientist, Galileo has turn out himself a man who would of all time exercise the freedom to think, discover, and create. smell and belles-lettres An Italian scientist born on the 15th of February 1564 in the city of Pisa, Galileo Galilei lived in a time when Europeans have only recently discovered the Americas. He was born towards the end of the Renaissance period. His birth was three days antecedent Michael Angelos death, 72 geezerhood after the discovery of the Americas, 43 years in the lead the landing of the Mayflower, and two months before the birth of Shakespeare (Fermi and Bernardini, 1961, p. 11).Galileo, as he is much popularly called, was the son of Vincenzo Galilei and Giulia Ammannati. Although originally from Pisa, Italy and lived there for 10 years, Galileo travel to Florence, his Fathers birthplace, to join his family. He was then sent to the Camaldolese Monastery at Vallombrosa in order to be educated by the Benedictine monks. This apparitional order became attractive to the young Galileo, as he incorporated the monastic look with solitude and hermitage. He entered the order and became a noviciate, but his religious life was put to a halt as he approach a strong opposition from his father.Vincenzo Galilei had already intended that his eldest tiddler would practice medicine (OConnor and Robertson, 2002). Galileo pursued his medical degree at the University of Pisa, as he was urged by his father. But being a physician was neer appealing for Galileo, and he only took posts on course subjects concerning mathematics and vivid philosophy. This diverted his attention from medicine to his destined field, mathematics and natural sciences. In 1589 at the University of Pisa, he became the chair of mathematics.However, after the death of his father, which compelled him to search for more lucrative means to support his family, Galileo took the position of professor of mathematics at the University of Padua in 1592. Until 1610, he taught geometry, mechanics, and astronomy in this university. This period was very consequential as Galileo made outstanding discoveries during this time in both arrant(a) and applied sciences. He argued against the Aristotelian doctrines on the universe and even believed that Keplers Supernova of 1604 occurred far from the Earth.He already silently believed in the Copernican lead of heliocentrism (OConnor and Robertson, 2002). Galileo had three children with Marina Gamba. But he fathered his son and two daughters out of wedlock. The childrens illegitimate status made Galileo decide that his daughters are not suit adequate to(p) for marriage and therefore must enter a religious order. They became nuns of the convent of San Matteo Arceteri where they ever remained. His son, on the other hand, later gained a legitimate status and was fitting to later marry (Life, 2000).Due to his support for the heliocentric system of Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo face the inquisition of the Catholic Church in 1633. The leaders of the Roman Catholic religion convicted Galileo with the crime of heresy. As part of his punishment, the church ordered that he withdraw his support for Copernicus publicly. He was also given the sentence of life imprisonment, but only served house arrest due to his advanced age. By his age of 72, Galileo suffered from blindness due to cataracts and glaucoma. And in 1642, Galileo Galilei died at Arcetri.This was the very same(p) birth year of another physicist, Isaac north (Chew, 1996). One of the most arouse characteristics of his writings is that they are all, except for one, written in the Italian manner of speaking instead of Latin. Although Italian was his native tongue, the more conventional medium of scientific writing was Latin. ii of his most renowned works a re empower Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Ptolemaic and Copernican and Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences (Kolatkar, 2001, p. 3). He presented these works in a considerably striking and lively manner.Here, he t hoary of the story of a conversation among three characters, Simplicio (representation of Aristotle), Salviati (representation of Galileo), and Sagredo (intelligent layperson). His superior scientific contributions were contained in these literatures. These highly influenced the modern scientific thought its method of enquiry and its criterion of truth (Kolatkar, 2001, p. 3). He was the responsible for the current scientific method that scientists are employing, and which would last for generations to come.His other famous writings hold The Little Balance, The Starry Messenger, Letters on Sunspots, Letter to Grand Duchess Christina, Discoros Delle Comete, and The Assayer (Chew, 1996). Contributions in Astronomy, Physics, Mathematics, and Technology Given the title of Father of recent Science (Finocchiaro, 1989, p. 1), Galileo Galilei has highly contributed to the advancement of science especially in the field of astronomy, physics, and mathematics. He essential the scientific method, which is very instrumental in the methodology employed by many of the scientists after him.This scientific method allowed scientists to conduct experimentations that are numeric as opposed to qualitative, repeatable, and unbiased (Finocchiaro, 1989, p. 1). In the field of physics, Galileo notably took interest on fall bodies. At the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Galileo dropped a cannonball and a feather. Through this simple experiment, he discovered that the falling bearings had the same acceleration despite their differences in mass. He found that the speed up is dependent on air resistance and not on the objects mass, which is now one of the most well known laws of physics (PBS, 2002, p.1). Galileos mathematical inclinations led him to developing a certain method in solving problems. He reduced these problems into ordinary lay terms and adapted them into a common-sense logic level. He used this in formulating analyses and in resolving the problems into simplified mathematical terms. This proved to be successful as he was able to describe and experiment on motion, which at last helped Isaac Newton in mathematically describing his Law of Inertia (Chew, 1996). Galileo is also known for his technical contributions. Galileo was naturally observant and very curious with his surroundings.He enjoyed exploring and experimenting on mechanistic objects. This interest led him to invent a simply designed thermometer, a geometric military compass, and a modified telescope. It is with the latter invention that Galileo was able to explore the celestial bodies. Galileo observed the moons surface and found that it has great similarities with the Earth. He also made the very interesting astronomic observation on Jupiter and it s four moons and on Venus and its contrastive phases. employ his self constructed telescope, Galileo viewed distant planets and stars, their behaviour and their surfaces.Still in contribution to the field of Astronomy, Galileo described and illustrated the altering pattern of the Suns spots. His proposed explanation for this phenomenon is that these changes in the sunspots pattern were due to the rotation of the sun. Of all Galileos scientific theories, his most controversial was his support for the Copernican opposition against the classic Aristotelian doctrines. The antiquated Greeks belief of geocentrism and geostasis were taught in all universities and other academic institutions at his time. But Galileo opposed these views as he believed in the Copernican geokinetic and heliocentric theories.This is a highly controversial stand for Galileo as it led to his encounter with the church, which eventually sentenced him to life imprisonment (Finocchiaro, 1989, p. 7). After being se ntenced into life imprisonment, Galileo served his punishment under(a) house arrest until his death. But this did not prevent him from continuing his scientific experiments. When he returned to his studies in physics, particularly motion, he analyzed falling bodies, projectiles, addicted planes, and other important areas that are considered as the foundations of modern physics (PBS, 2002, p. 1). The InquisitionAs one of the most popular and accomplished scientists in his time, Galileo was not only under the scrutiny of the public but most basically by the church. It was however unfortunate that the Father of Modern Science did not escape the fury of religious officials against his beliefs. He greatly suffered from his encounters with the Roman Catholic religion, and paid until the rest of his life (Wudka, 1998). At the University of Pisa, Galileo taught astronomy with the required curriculum. He was compelled to teach the geocentric and geostatic theories that scholars of his tim e accepted.But due to his exposure to a novel theory by Nicolaus Copernicus when he taught at the University of Padua, he became positive(p) that the earth and the other planets revolve around sun. This is otherwise known as the heliocentric theory that is currently accepted as a scientific fact. His support for Copernicus meant that he was against the doctrines taught by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1633, he faced the historically renowned Inquisition (Chew, 1996). It was in 1611 that Galileo first experience religious encounters for his Copernican beliefs.Four years prior the inquisition, the Dominican mendicant named Niccolo Lorini had criticized his views and even filed a complaint against him. In his defence, Galileo argued to the officials in Vatican and to the Grand Duchess Christina that he be given liberty to inquire and defend his ideas in Rome. By the year 1616, scholars proclaimed that heliocentrism is both philosophically absurd and theologically erroneous. Those wh o advocated this theory were considered heretics. He was ordered by pontiff Paul V to forbear from defending the Copernican view and to discuss his beliefs neither in speech nor in writing (Wudka, 1998).The Roman Catholic Church was already experiencing oppositions from different sectors of the society. It was facing battles against armies of Protestants and therefore needed to establish and to demonstrate enough say-so against their enemies. With his authority at stake, then churchs leader Pope Urban VIII accused Galileo of mockery against him. This placed the renowned scientist before an inquisition which later convicted him guilty of heresy. He was 69 years old during the incident, and therefore was very physically vulnerable. The church threatened him of serious twisting if he did not withdraw his support for Copernicus.Therefore, he recanted his theory and was sentenced into life imprisonment, but instead placed under house arrest. He died component part his sentence and i t was not until 1992 that the church apologized for its maltreatment towards this man of science (Life, 2000). bequest Three hundred years after the inquisition, the church recanted its verdict against the men of science that they persecuted. Galileo Galilei, together with Copernicus and other men, was absolved of the crimes they were accused of. But more than his sufferings from the hands of the church, Galileo has left his legacy in the world of science.He would forever be remembered for his contributions in the laws of physics and his astronomical findings. And most of all, his improvement of the microscope would always be regarded as a revolutionary tool in pass on our knowledge of the universe. Generations after ours would never cease to know his name, as it epitomizes both genius and greatness. Galileo Galilei has carved his niche and would forever be remembered as a man who shaped the modern world of science (Hughes and Shaw, 1999). I do not feel obliged to believe that the same god who has gift us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. -Galileo Galilei References Chew, R. (1996). Galileo Galilei. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from http//www. lucidcafe. com/depository library/96feb/galileo. html. Finocchiaro, M. A. (1989). The Galileo Affair A Documentary. Los Angeles University of California Press. Hughes, E. And Shaw, L. (1999). Galileos Legacy. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from http//www. cogs. susx. ac. uk/users/desw/galileo/life/legacy. html. Kolatkar, M. (2001). Galileo Galilei Father of Modern Science. Journal of Science Education, 63. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from www. iisc. ernet. in/academy/resonance/Aug2001/pdf/Aug2001p3-5.pdf Life (2000). Galileo Sees the Moons of Jupiter and the Earth Moves. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from http//www. life. com/Life/millennium/events/05. html. OConnor, J. J. , and Robertson, E. F. (2002). Galileo Galilei. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from http//www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ Biographies/Galileo. html. PBS (2002). Who Was Galileo Galiei? Retrieved January 31, 2008 from www. pbs. org/wgbh/nova/galileo/media/lrk_handout. pdf. Wudka, J. (1998). Galileo and the Inquisition. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from http//phyun5. ucr. edu/wudka/Physics7/Notes_www/node52. html.