Galileo’s Contributions To Modern Scientific Revolution
Galileo Galilei is an ancient Italian whose life and times makes one of the most valued scientific legends of the times (Arthur& Herbert, 25). As such, Galileo is historically remembered for his contributions to scientific discoveries, ideas and suggestions as well as his war with the church that led to his death in 1564. Having existed for more that a century (in the period between 1564 until his death on 8th February 1642) (Ahlfinger, para1), his work and contributions to modern science, and which are still applied modern days are typically unmatched. Among the most important contribution and for what Galileo is vividly remembered for included the improvements of telescope, the resulting advancement in astronomy and the support for copernicanism (Ahlfinger, para2). Furthermore, the Italian is reported to have made other major contributions in the fields of physics mathematics and geography (Field, 327). This paper therefore explores the life of Galileo Galilee as well as how his life’s work influenced the relationship between science and religion. Furthermore, the paper looks at how relationship between science and religion is viewed in the present days.
The life of Galileo Galilei 15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642)
According to Ahlfinger (para1), Galileo Galilei was an Italian who was born in Pisa; eastern Italy on the 15th of February 1564 Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy on February 15, 1564. As such, Galileo was a son to a renowned Italian musician of the time, Vincenzo Galilei and Giulia Degli Ammannati. Being the first born in a family of six siblings although rumors indicated that he had seven siblings, the Vincenzo’s Galileo was believed to have been brought up in a middle class family which was described as noble though not explicitly rich family. In the preceding years of 1570’s however, the Vincenzo’s family including young Galileo relocated to the city of Florence where Galileo went through his early school life (Machamer, Para 3). In early 1581 however, Galileo returned to Pisa to commence are university studies. Although his father, Vincenzo had hoped that his son would study medicine at the University of Pisa, Galileo went ahead to study the pendulum
It was during his time in the University of Pisa where Galileo started his study of the pendulum. For this study, Galileo’s curiosity and need to understand the physics behind the operations of a pendulum is reported to have been intrigued by a suspended lamp at Pisa’s church that he is reported to have observed swing forth and back for a long time(Machamer, Para 3). As a result, Galileo made his most famous innovation concerning the pendulum in 1602, in which concerning the time spent by the pendulum to make a complete oscillation. Concerning this Galileo’s initial discovery, Galileo found out that the time of one oscillation by a pendulum was not determined by the arc that it made which he termed as the isochronisms (Ahlfinger, Para 5). It is this particular discovery that formed the foundation of Galileo’s future scientific discoveries more so the innovation of the pendulum clock (Magruder, Marilyn, Duane, Para 7).
Galileo’s inherent interests in mathematics and mechanical devices was handed a big boost when he was appointed the professor of mathematics at the University of Padua. During his work as professor, Galileo is reported to have consistently visited a place renowned as arsenal which was a typical Venetian ship’s harbor. It is during these visits that Galileo naturally developed deep interest in nautical technologies including ship building. This move formed a basis of mechanical discoveries (Zik, 259). Consequently, Galileo was handed a problem that involved placing of oars in the colonnades. To solve the problem, Galileo developed a model in which he treated the oars as levers and succeed in turning the water into a fulcrum. In 1594, Galileo patented this discovery as a pump; the latter of which could raise water using a solitary stallion (Feyerabend, 129)
Although reports indicated that Galileo lived a single life (Zik,259), he is reported to have had a relationship with a Marina Gamba a lady he is believed to have come into contact with during one of his many excursions to Venice(Machamer, Para 6). The latter reveals that Galileo and Marina had cohabited in Galileo’s house in Padua where they sired three children: two daughters (Virginia and Livia and a son who he named after his father Vincenzo. Both daughter were however dedicated their life to the Roman Catholic Church where entered into nun hood becoming Sister Maria Celeste and Sister Arcangela respectively. However in 1910, Galileo left Padua to Florence leaving his son with the mother. Nevertheless his son Vincenzo was forced to link up with him in Florence after his mother married a Giovanni Bartoluzzi (Ahlfinger, Para 11).
Galileo’s contributions to modern scientific revolution
Galileo Galilei’s contributions in mathematic, physics, astronomy, philosophies as well as the ancient scientific revolution during his time are unmatched. In fact, most of his early contributions are either being used in modern science, have been used as a basis of modern scientific study and development or have been developed via further research to culminate to scientific magnificence that characterized the world today. Galileo was a renowned genius and exceptional in character. According to Geymonat (21) Galileo Galilei was an established physicist and a mathematician whose concepts and ideologies formed the basis of the ancient scientific revolution. Furthermore, Galileo was an established astronomer, renowned by his contribution via development of the telescope the latter of which revolutionaries the field and a factor that made him get the title of the father of modern astronomical observations. It is due to Galileo’s immense contributions in the field of science and mathematics that earned him the titles ranging from the father of modern physics, the father of science, the father of modern science to the father of mathematics. In fact, Stephen Hawkins (Ahlfinger, para1) admitted that Galileo’s contributions to the birth and evolution of modern science could not be equaled to any other worldly known scientist.
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