Galileo Galilei

Introduction

Galileo Galilei or simply Galileo was born on 15th February in the year 1564 in Pisa, today Italy and he died or left this world on 8th January in the year 1642 in Arcetri which is near Florence. He was a mathematician, astronomer, and natural philosopher of Italian origin. He has contributed to or formulated various laws in the field of Science of motion, astronomical things, and also the strength of materials. Furthermore, he was discovering the facts of nature through various experimentation and mathematical formulations. And his discovery through the telescope was also a major revolution in the field of astronomy.

Early Life and Family

Galileo was born on 15th February, in the year 1564 in Pisa (Italy). He was the oldest son of his parents. His Father named, Vincenzo Galilei was a great musician of his time and also made various known contributions to the practice and theory (written work) of music he also worked with Galileo in some of his experiments. The family of Galileo shifted to Florence in the early 1570s, where the entire family stayed or lived for many years, or we can say for generations. During his teenage, Galileo schooled in Vallombrosa which is near Florence, and then in the year 1581 he passed secondary from the University of Pisa. Further, he started to study mathematics and decided to pursue his profession in mathematical subjects and philosophy.

Career as Scientist

Galileo was one of the most well-known and greatest scientists of his time. Apart from Scientist, he was also a natural philosopher, a great mathematician, and also an astronomer. He has given fundamental contributions to the sciences of the study of motions, the strength of materials, and also in the development of scientific methods. He has formulated the law of falling bodies, circular inertia, parabolic trajectories, etc. And these formulations marked the starting of a fundamental (significant) change in the study or way of study of motion. Then his discoveries with the help of a telescope paced the astronomical field and also provided the way for the acceptance or approval of the Copernican heliocentric system.

Death

Galileo Galilei, an Italian scientist, and astronomer, died on 8th January in the year 1642 in Arcetri, Italy, at the age of 77. Galileo was also sentenced or forced to live in prison. And he spent his last or final years at his home, which is in Arcetri, near Florence.

Tomb of Galileo Galilei, Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence, Italy

Scientific Contributions

Following are some Scientific Contributions of Galileo which we are going to discuss in brief-

• Experiments in moving Bodies − Galileo discovered the law of falling bodies, which states that objects with the same or different weight and shape have the same speed at the time of falling.

• Geometric and Military Compass − Galileo’s compass also known as the sector had various or multiple functions. His compass was used by the soldiers in the military to measure the elevation (upper angle) of a cannon’s barrel.

• An Improved Telescope − Although he doesn’t discover the telescope, he made several enhancements to the original one and increased the power of magnifying objects by 30x.

Legacy

With the improved telescope, Galileo who made the improvements were able to look at or observe the surface of the moon, he discovered the four major or four existing satellites of Jupiter. His discoveries also provided or gave observational proof of the Copernican system, which states that the Earth and the other planets (in the solar system) revolve or rotate around the sun. Earlier, during his time, it was considered that the sun revolved (rotates) around the earth. And, following are the various instruments designed or developed by Galileo, the are-Polyhedral dial, Navicula dial (around the 15th century), measuring instrument (in the year 1568), Graphometer (around the 17th century), Armillary sphere (in the year 1578), etc.

Writings

Galileo Galilei was an author who also he has written several books some main works are as follows-

• Mechanics (in the year 1600, Le Meccaniche in Italy).

• The Little Balance (in the year 1586, La Bilancetta in Italy.

• The Starry Messenger (in the year 1610, Sidereus Nuncius in Latin).

• On Motion (in the year 1590, De Motu Antiquiora in Latin).

He was so passionate about the books that he kept a Personal library consisting of 598 volumes at Villa II Gioiello which lies on the outskirts of Florence. His books, unedited manuscripts, and personal papers were collected by one of his former assistants and student named Vincenzo Viviani.

Conclusion

Galileo Galilei was one of the greatest scientists, astronomers, mathematicians, and philosophers of his time. He was born on 15th February in the year 1564 in Pisa (Italy) and died on 8th January in the year 1642 in Arcetri. He has contributed to or formulated various laws in the field of Science of motion, astronomical things, and also the strength of materials. Furthermore, he was discovering the facts of nature through various experimentation and mathematical formulations. And his discovery through the telescope was also a major revolution in the field of astronomy. He has written several books and also published several papers, for which he was prisoned also.

FAQs

Q1. What do you mean by the Copernican heliocentric system?

Ans. The Copernican heliocentric system is the system proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus, which states that the Earth and the other planets revolve around the sun. This is the heliocentric theory of the solar system.

Q2. Give the law of a simple pendulum.

Ans. The Simple Pendulum is based on the law that the time period (T) of a simple pendulum is directly (varies) proportional ($\mathrm{\propto }$) to the square root ($\mathrm{\sqrt{}}$) of its length.

Q3. What are the space discoveries of Galileo?

Ans. With the help of a telescope, Galileo discovered the moon, Jupiter’s moon, and the Sunspots.