Galileo Galilei Essay Example for Free

Galileo Galilei EssayGalileo Galilei is an Italian lotus-eater, physicist, philosopher, and mathematician. He ranks with Archimedes, Newton, and Einstein as one of the greatest scientists of all time. His discoveries, do with the crudest of equipment, were brilliant examples of scientific deduction. Galileos studies of natural laws laid the groundwork for the experimental scientists who followed him. Galileo was born at Pisa, the son of a musician who think a medical career for him. He began studying medicine at the University of Pisa. According to leg wind up, Galileo made his setoff major discovery at this time.He is said to have used his pulse to time the scintillation of a suspended lamp in a cathedral he found that, no matter how removed the lamp swung, the timing has always the same (Drake, 2002). In later life Galileo established the fact that a free-swinging object, or pendulum, moves in uniform time intervals. Pendulum clocks are a common application of this prin ciple. Thesis arguing This paper scrutinizes the life and contributions of Galileo Galilei. II. Discussion Galileo constructed the first telescope used for astronomical observations the observations he made support Copernicus surmisal that the cheer is the center of the solar system.In physics, Galileo discovered the principles of motion followed by swinging pendulums, locomote bodies, and flying projectiles. Galileo used his heartbeat to time the period of a pendulum. He realized that a pendulum could be used as a standard of time for a clock (Rose 2004). Pendulum clocks are smooth sold today, more than three hundred years after their invention. Moreover, changing from the study of medicine to that mathematics and natural science, Galileo conducted experiments on gravity that brought him to public attention.In 1589, he became a lecturer on mathematics at the University of Pisa, and began his studies of bechanceing bodies. According to legend, as mentioned earlier, he dropped objects from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to prove his theory that bodies fall at the same speed and with the same acceleration regardless of their weight and size. He also demonstrate that projectiles follow a parabolic path. These discoveries were contrary to the teachings of the ancient Greek scientist and philosopher Aristotle, many of whose ideas had for centuries been accepted without question.Galileo aroused such(prenominal) opposition that in 1951 he was forced to resign from the university (Rose 2004). The next year Galileo obtained a professorship in mathematics at the University of Padua, where he remained for 18 years. This was a period of successful research, acclaim, and prosperity for Galileo. In 1609, Galileo receive news of the invention, in Flanders, of a device that made a distant objects appear larger. He at once set out to build such a device for himself. The final result was a 32-power refracting telescope, with which he made series of major discoveries (Poupar d 2005).He found by observation that the moon shone only from reflected light that the Milky Way was formed of a multitude of stars and that the planet Jupiter was circled by several moons. His discoveries caused great ardor among astronomers he was besieged with orders for telescopes. In 1610, Galileo left Padua for Florence to become official mathematician and philosopher to Grand Duke Cosimo II de Medici. By the end of the year his telescopic discoveries included the rings of Saturn, the phases of Venus, and sun spots.His observations clearly confirmed the theory of the Polish astronomer Copernicus that the earth and planets revolved around the sun. The church, however, had accepted as conforming the Bible the earlier idea of the planets and sun revolving around the stationary earth. When Galileo visited Rome in 1611 he was given a welcome by church building officials befitting one of the greatest astronomers of all time, as he was then acknowledged to be. This gave him the cour age to proclaim his support of the Copernican theory of the solar system. Controversy flared.Although warned by the Church to avoid religious adaptation of his theory, Galileo attempted to prove it by quoting the Bible. He was told by the Church in 1616 to abandon the Copernican theory because it contradicted the Bible. In 1632, however, he published conference on the Two Chief Systems of the World, in which he bring to his argument in favor of the Copernican system. Galileo was then summoned to appear before the Inquisition and forced to part with the view that the earth moves around the sun (Poupard, 2005). Although sentenced to imprisonment, he was permitted to retire to his home, where he continued his studies.III. Conclusion As a conclusion, Galileo Galilei made great contributions to our society through his invention and discoveries. His works are highly acclaimed and made significant impact in the fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy, and in sciences. Reference Drak e, Stillman (2003). Cause, Experiment, and Science a Galilean Dialogue (University of Chicago) Poupard, Paul (2005. Galileo at work Toward a Resolution of 350 Years of Debate, 1633-1983 (Duquesne University). Rose, Sidney (2004). Galileo and the Magic Numbers (Little, Brown).