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The seventeenth century marked the beginning of spectacular changes in science that to this day flourish. However, during these times, science and faith would clash, and in their terrible conflict, the two were severed, to continue in divergent directions and to lose their common ground that continues at the present. The Aristotelian point of view that the Earth was the center of the universe was a universal, Biblical belief that no one dared to question. However, one mans discoveries within the universe brought much controversy that challenged the Aristotelian belief to the highest degree. The life of Galileo Galilei is a remarkable contribution to history, not only because of the complex discoveries and inventions he made during such simplistic times, but the outcome of his life brought the Roman Catholic Church to its knees over three hundred years later. Galileo Galilei's contributions to science have proven to be among the most substantial to mankind, and proof of this is the fact that scientists use Galileo's principals to this day.
In science, he is regarded as one of the most influential individuals of all times. Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy on February 15, 1564. His family would move to Florence, and it is here that he would attend medical school at the age of fifteen. "During his first year at the university, theory was stressed while getting heavy doses of Aristotle's natural philosophy, Galens physiology, and Avicennas theory of recovery, and all of this while further grounding in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew" (Reston, 13). The fact that he was more interested in mathematics, arrogant, and quick to speak, left him struggling to get along with most of the professors. "He felt that in certain disquisitions, the Greeks were not only irrelevant, but wrong.
He also confronted his professors with the absurdity behind the Aristotelian system that larger objects fell faster than smaller ones due to acceleration from a higher plane, and thus, the smaller objects came from a lower heaven" (Reston, 13). All of these conflicting interests and his desire to study mathematics drew him away from the medical field. His passion was mathematics and mechanics, and because of this, Galileo would make his first contribution to mankind. "Sitting in church one day, Galileo became mesmerized with an oil lamp that was swinging from a wire while a breeze was causing the flame to flicker. The regularity of the two made him think of the human pulse" (Reston, 16). He soon went to work on the idea of the pendulum that could measure pulse rate. It was not long before he successfully completed his idea.
However, "The University's professors stole his idea and with a few changes created the doctors tool called a pulsilogia" (Reston, 14). Because of this, in 1585 Galileo would leave the college before completing his degree. It is written in Galileo's biography that, "He has done as much as anyone to persuade historians that the university was an obstacle to scientific progress at this period" (Sharratt, 26). After he left the college, Galileo studied Aristotelian physics and cosmology on his own, while tutoring mathematics to make ends meet. During the next few years, Galileo would further his knowledge of physics and mathematics. When he could, he would give public lectures, but the turnout was far from impressive.
He sought to become a professor at a one of the universities, but since he was young with little recognition, there was little hope of achieving his goal. Galileo knew that in order to become successful, he would have to impress people with his brilliance, even at the expense of past discoverers. His first target was Archimedes principal, "That a body of water is buoyed by a force equal to the weight of the displaced fluid. Galileo said, those who read his works realize only too clearly how inferior all other minds are to Archimedes" (Reston, 18).
Instead of discarding Archimedes work, he improved it. Thus, Galileo's next invention called the La Bilanchetta, or little balance, enabled scientists to measure the density of metals. Along with this, he wrote one of his first pamphlets that accompanied the new device. Soon after, he wrote two discourses that would begin his recognition into the scientific community. The first was on the principals of balancing, and the second was on the center of gravity of different solid objects. It was not long before his success would bring him recognition into the scientific community.
Galileo was looking for full time employment and thinking of leaving the country. An old colleague from the University of Pisa named Marquis Guidobaldo Del Monte, read Galileo's theory of the center of gravity and was impressed. He wrote Galileo a letter in 1589 stating, "I heard that you wish to publish your thoughts on the center of gravity, which confer much honor upon you. As well as you know if I can serve you, I am yours to command" (Reston, 27). Galileo took advantage of his friends gesture and soon found himself in a three-year contract teaching for the university that once applauded his departure. While at the university, he wrote the De Monte, a study of dynamics that covered motion with acceleration.
Although he refused to publish at this time, the document paved the way of later revolutionary discoveries in modern physics: the law of inertial motion, and the basic laws of falling bodies. "The equivalence principal that started with Galileo, evolved with Isaac Newton, was perfected by Albert Einstein, and is now tested in space" (Reston, 32). Galileo continued to teach and study mathematics while speaking openly of his beliefs to his students. He dressed out of the norm, which made other professors uncomfortable. Because of this and the fact that he was arrogant and quick to debunk other professors teachings, the university would not renew his contract. Galileo would again find himself searching for work.
Eventually, he won the University of Padua's Chair of Mathematics and given a four-year contract. During those days, an individual had to compete for such a high position, and Galileo's brilliance prevailed. It is here that his teaching and attitude would be widely accepted. Galileo began working hard on many projects including a tract on mechanics, a treatise on military fortification, and an awarded contract from Venice to redesign and build a hundred galleons. Individuals went out of their way to get answers from Galileo on complex problems, and soon, he would rub elbows and make friends with some of the most influential people of his time.
To his surprise, many of the individuals that he now considered his friends criticized Rome and the Vatican's Biblical views of the universe. During these times if an individual spoke such absurdities, he could be arrested, imprisoned, and some times executed. However, the discussions were intriguing to Galileo, but not new to his thoughts. He had always been a believer in the Copernicus theory about the diurnal motion of the Earth, and this would be the first time he would openly discuss the issue.
Soon after, he received a book in the mail from a 26 -year-old Protestant teacher in Germany known as Johannes Kepler. He found Kepler's views on planetary motion to be fascinating and enticing. They became friends and shared many ideas through the mail. Although Kepler supported Galileo's publishing the beliefs of a more complex universe with the sun at the center, Galileo chose to remain discreet.
As much as Galileo wanted to speak openly on the issue surrounding the universe, he knew the consequences would be severe, so he decided against it. Galileo would turn his attention to less complex problems for the time being. Galileo's next invention came, when a general by the name of Marquis Del Monte, confronted him with a problem concerning a type of compass that mounted on cannons. The general wished for a less complex devise. Galileo would invent the lightweight geometric compass and landed a rich contract with the military. It not only proved to be excellent during combat but to land surveyors as well.
His contract at the university was coming to an end, but with all the success he was having, they asked him to stay for seven more years with a doubling of his salary. Galileo gladly accepted, and these were Galileo's happiest years. Galileo would soon learn that an inventor in Holland, known as Hans Lippershey, developed an object that could, when looked through, bring objects closer to the eye. Galileo once again saw an opportunity to improve upon a discovery and impress upon his military friends the importance of having such a devise. His idea proved to be a success. Because Galileo's friends were so impressed with the eye piece, which later was named the telescope, they decided to offer him a lifetime contract to the university, double his salary once again, and give him an immediate bonus.
He gladly accepted the offer without thought, and soon began to improve the device that brought him all this glory. However, it was not long before Galileo felt trapped. In a letter to his brother-in-law, he wrote, "I find myself here, held for life. I shall have to be satisfied to enjoy my native land sometime during the vacation months" (Reston, 91). He continuously observed the stars, and his study of the universe marked the beginning of what would be one of the most controversial topics in the history of mankind. Galileo became fascinated with space and its content.
He improved his telescope to 400 x normal viewing and began his study of the moon. What he saw was not a smooth shiny surface that everyone believed it to be. Rather, it was a mountainous terrain with many valleys that resembled the contours of earth. His mathematical capabilities would play an essential role in his quest for the unknown. He began collecting evidence and formulating laws by deductive reasoning. Soon he was measuring the height of the mountains on the moon using mathematical models and the laws of light and shadow.
He believed the highest mountains reached four miles, and later this would prove to be correct. It was here that he began to document his findings. However, he was still interested in moving back to Florence, and soon he got his opportunity. There was a mix up on when his new salary would begin. Where he thought it to be immediately, they told him that it was not to start until the beginning of the next year.
This was an opportunity for him to renege on his deal, so he left for Florence at once. Venice would never forgive him for such an act, and this would come back to haunt him later. Once in Florence, Galileo improved his telescope to 1000 x, and began to see things in space that he felt no other human had before. On January 7, 1610 at the age of 46, Galileo discovered the rotation of three satellites around Jupiter, which further supported Copernican theory of microcosm.
Galileo went to work on his first book related to his discoveries in space, known as The Starry Messenger. His publication became the most important book of the seventeenth century. However, Galileo did not stop here, for he made even more discoveries. He became fascinated with the unexplainable sunspots. Further, he was intrigued with Saturn, "He found that Saturn appeared non-circular, as if it were a globe with two handles. He wrote, I observed the planet to be a triple" (North, 335).
However, upon further analysis the handles disappeared, thus rendering him very uncertain of what had happened. This baffled him, so he left it alone. Galileo continued to view the unknown, seeing countless stars, but most intriguing to him still, were those unexplainable sunspots. From 1610 into 1611, Galileo intensified his study of the weird, moving, and perhaps scary spots. He kept track of the spots positions from day to day, and in a preliminary conclusion, he felt that the Sun had a tilted axis, which might also apply to...
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Research essay sample on Center Of Gravity Galileo Galilei
