Galileo Galilei: 1564-1642
Galileo Galilei was a physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations, and support for Copernicanism.
Galileo has been called the "father of modern observational astronomy", the "father of modern physics",the "father of science",and "the Father of Modern Science."
The motion of uniformly accelerated objects, taught in nearly all high school and introductory college physics courses, was studied by Galileo as the subject of kinematics. His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter, named the Galilean moons in his honor, and the observation and analysis of sunspots. Galileo also worked in applied science and technology, improving compass design.
Galileo's championing of Copernicanism was controversial within his
lifetime. The
geocentric view had been dominant since the time of
Aristotle, and the controversy engendered by Galileo's
presentation of
heliocentrism as proven fact resulted in
the
Catholic Church's
prohibiting its advocacy as empirically proven fact, because it was
not empirically proven at the time and was contrary to the literal
meaning of Scripture.
Galileo was eventually forced
to recant his heliocentrism and spent the last years of his life
under house arrest on orders of the
Roman Inquisition. |
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