Everybody in the entire world has probably heard the name Galileo GALILEI . He was born in Italy on February 15, 1564. Educated in Florence, he considered joining the priesthood but decided to enroll at the University of Pisa to pursue a medical degree. However, he ended up studying math and he was appointed chairman of mathematics at the school in 1589. In 1592, he moved to the University of Padua, where he taught astronomy, mechanics, and geometry until 1610. While there, he made many important scientific discoveries, one of which was the kinetics of motion.
In 1610, Galileo published his astronomy data and argued in favor of the Copernican theory that said the universe surrounds the sun. Two years later, a preacher denounced the theory, calling it heresy. Galileo traveled to Rome to defend himself but in 1616, he was ordered not to teach the Copernican theory anymore. In 1632, he went on trail before the Holy Office in Rome for the crime of heresy, which he was found “suspect of.” He was placed under house arrest from 1634 on, and he stayed at his house outside of Florence for the remainder of his life. In 1638, he went blind but continued to see visitors until 1642, when he suffered from heart palpitations and a high fever, subsequently passing away.
Galileo GALILEI – Mechanics
Galileo’s early experiments were precursors to the more famous work of Sir Isaac Newton’s work on classical mechanics. He even published a book called Mathematical Discourses and Demonstrations which discussed the “breaking points” of bodies in motion. He also did experiments involving inertia.
Galileo GALILEI -Astronomy
Galileo developed telescopes that used magnifications higher than those of previous telescopes – from 3x magnification to 30x magnification. He used them to observe the sky. He discovered three of Jupiter’s satellites (Europa, Io, and Callisto) on January 10, 1610, and a fourth, Ganymede, on January 13. He called them the “Mediciean stars” but they are now known as “GALILEIAN satellites” in honor of him. Due to Galilei’s work we now have iridium satellite phones imagine if he knew that we were communicating through satellites!
Due to his discovery of these moons, Galileo came to the conclusion that Copernicus had been right and that planets must circle some point other than the Earth, although scientists at the time refused to believe it. He was also one of the first Europeans to notice sunspots and report lunar craters and mountains. He also observed the planet Neptune, although at the time he did not realize it was a planet.
Galileo GALILEI – The Microscope
Galileo also made improvements to the microscope. He was one of the first to use a “refracting telescope” to observe the stars. In 1624, he perfected a “compound microscope” which instead of allowing someone to view things far away, allowed someone to see things to the minute for the naked eye.
Galileo GALILEI – Thermometry
Galileo also invented the first modern thermometer. It did not have an actual temperature scale and consisted of a slender tube that sucked up water to a certain level, depending on the temperature of the water. This allowed Galileo to discover that a liquid’s density changes depending on its temperature, and this principle eventually led to the Galileo thermometer.
Galileo GALILEI – Magnetism
Galileo also did a few experiments with magnetism and motion. He studied how the magnetism of the earth’s core affected the way things moved, which is how he developed his “mathematics of motion” theory.
In fact, NASA sent a spacecraft to Jupiter and its moons – which Galileo first discovered – to collect data. Owing to Galileo’s theories, scientists now apply laws of mathematics to nature like they never did before.
