Evangelista Torricelli Essay

Inventor of the barometer, as well as an Italian mathematician and physicist, Evangelista Torricelli was a great scientist in the times of the Renaissance. At a young age, Torricelli lost his father. He went to study with a Camaldolese monk and also his uncle, Benedetto Castelli. It was there when he was taught mathematics, mechanics, hydraulics, and astronomy. In return of all the gifts he received, Torricelli became Castelli’s assistant. Torricelli became increasingly more interested in astronomy, but chose to pursue mathematics as he saw how Galileo, his idol, was treated for speaking about disputed theories. He got to work with Galileo in 1641, until the famous astronomer’s death three months later. Torricelli succeeded Galileo as the …show more content…
Torricelli has a unit of measure named after him, “Torr”, which is the unit of air pressure. He was the first person to give a scientific explanation of the cause of wind, helped to develop integral calculus, made advances in geometry. He also studied the infinite number series, fluid and projectile projection, calculus, and mechanics. Lastly, he created Torricelli’s Law, which concerns the speed of a fluid flowing out of an opening. Torricelli published books about his findings, which include “De Motu Gravium” (1644), an exposition of mechanics, and “Opera Geometrica” (1644), a book on geometric works, which include findings about fluid motion and projectile motion.
The public view of vacuums in Torricelli’s time was that the did not exist. Together with Galileo, Torricelli concluded that vacuums did exist. Using mercury and a glass tube, Torricelli created the first sustained vacuum to prove everyone wrong. This led to the invention of the barometer, which rose up and down when the air pressure outside of the instrument changed. This invention became incredibly useful for meteorologists, as they could now predict the air pressure and upcoming weather. Meteorologists today still use this invention to foresee weather