Galileo affair

Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer, philosopher, and mathematician, who made a great impact in modern science. He was born in Pisa on February 15, 1564 during the Renaissance era. Many mark the era of the Renaissance, as a time where modern science truly came to it’s peaking point. The Renaissance and Scientific Revolution were responsible for the introduction to some to science’s greatest modern theories. Galileo Galilei was known as the “father of modern science”…

Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian diplomat, said, “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” Galileo Galilei’s life was a battle against the Catholic church because he was seeking to prove an idea that was against their teachings. After years of research, Galileo came to the conclusion that the Earth revolved around the Sun. To the church, the Earth and the Pope were the center of the universe because they were made by God…

Introduction In 1686, in the book, Principia Mathematica Philosophiae Naturalis, Sir Isaac Newton penned his three laws of motion. In the first law he states that, “Every body perseveres in its state of rest… unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed thereon.” (p. 83) His second law builds upon this principle, “The alteration of motion is ever proportional to the motive forces impressed.” (p. 83) Newton’s third law, perhaps the most famous, serves to tie the three…

Science: Known as both writer and poet, Shakespeare not only influenced the ways of Literature, but also the ways of Science. In his writings we can see the Science and logic behind his words, which is to be expected for he did live during the First Stage of the Scientific Revolution. There is a book called The Science of Shakespeare by Dan Falk, that explains how much he was connected to the world and its new discoveries. In it Falk discusses how Shakespeare “observed human nature just as…

on to mentor an assistant named Johannes Kepler, who came up with the three laws of planetary motion. Theses laws would establish a concrete explanation behind the harmony amongst the stars. One of the most groundbreaking Copernican astronomers, Galileo Galilei was the first stargazer to observe the heavens with a telescope. This was a monumental happening – craters and rocky terrain on the surface of the Moon; the moons of Jupiter; spots on the surface of the sun; the phases of Venus. These…

Newton’s Laws of Motion Have you ever wondered a soccer ball continues to move long after your foot has lost contact? Or why you can coast downhill on a bicycle but going uphill you have to pedal to get to the top? Or maybe you’ve asked, why do we use seatbelts and airbags in cars? All of these seemingly complex questions can be explained by three simple rules called Newton’s Laws. For most, Newton’s Laws call up some hazy memory from childhood. You may have instantly remembered “An object in…

Astronomy and Astrology: A Battle of Two Ancestral Brothers Astronomy, being an actual natural science, and not just predictions and magic, is a much more useful practice than its ancestral brother, astrology. Though, long ago, astronomy and astrology were once thought to be the one and the same, in the modern era, these two "sciences" are different in both the way they are practiced, and the tools with which you practice them. Astronomy, considered to be the more "real", respected science out…

Maya contributions to astronomy influenced life in colonial America. The Maya were extremely talented astronomers who believed manifestations of the gods came in visible form through celestial bodies and their movements. Priests and other Maya astronomers studied the motion of these celestial bodies, believing they could see the gods walk across the sky. They observed and recorded the movements of the stars and planets to collect these celestial signs that foreshadowed disasters, destinies of…

Picture to yourself, if you can, a universe in which everything makes sense. A “serene order presides over the Earth around you,” and the “heavens above revolve in magnificent harmony.” Everything you can see, hear, and know is a particular aspect of the ultimate truth: the simplicity of a geometric theorem, the predictability of the movements of heavenly bodies, the harmonious beauty of a “well-proportioned fugue”- all are reflections of the essential perfection of the universe. These are, in…

arrest towards the end of his life. Galileo is responsible for developing modern astronomy. He enlightened many people during the Renaissance in Italy, and he continues to enlighten all of us today. He caused major advancements in science during the Renaissance and created an easier way of thinking. Although the task was very hard and nobody believed him at first, he really did change our history and the way humans think. The Renaissance was a time Galileo proved his theory was right and the…