Galileo Galilei: a short research on the academic, philosopher and mathematician who laid the foundations for the scientific revolution of the 17th century.
Galileo Galilei: Short Research
Galileo Galilei , mathematician, physicist, philosopher and astronomer, is famous for introducing the scientific method , for his numerous discoveries and scientific theories. Here is all the useful material for the realization of a short research on this important historical figure.
Galileo Galilei: Life Summary
Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa in 1564 to a wealthy family and in 1580 he enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine, which he soon abandoned to devote himself to the study of mathematics and physics.
In 1592 Galileo accepted the chair of mathematics at the University of Padua, where he taught until 1610. During these years the brilliant mathematician discovered the telescopic telescope, the 4 satellites of Jupiter and sunspots.
Subsequently, the scholar returned to Pisa and then moved to Florence, where the Inquisition was powerful and where he hoped to convince the ecclesiastical authorities about his theories, in order to avoid the conflict between the Church and science. In 1616, however, Galileo was summoned and tried in Rome at the Holy Office for adhering to the Copernican theory considered heretical. The trial ended with a warning and the mathematician returned to Florence.
In 1632, however, following the publication of the Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, he was tried again, found guilty, and sentenced to life imprisonment, a sentence that was changed to solitary confinement in his home in Florence. The Church did not allow a layman, however well-known and illustrious as Galileo, to interfere in a discussion concerning the exegesis of the Scriptures.
Galileo Galilei spent his last years in isolation, but never stopped working on his scientific research until his death in 1642.
Galileo’s experimental method
Galileo Galilei is known for introducing the scientific method , a new way to analyze and describe natural phenomena. This method involves 4 phases:
1) observation of the phenomenon , as it freely manifests itself in nature, and search for data useful for the investigation, that is, the physical quantities on which it depends;
2) interpretative hypothesis , obtained from a careful examination of the phenomenon which, through mathematics, leads to the analytical formulation of the hypothesis of law, not yet considered valid;
3) deductions drawn from the hypotheses ; that is, the search for the consequences of the law, through the use of mathematics;
4) experiment , that is, the artificial reproduction of the phenomenon in the laboratory.
Only if experience totally confirms the hypotheses, then the law, already formulated, is considered valid and, with it, all the logical consequences.
Galileo Galilei: an emblematic character
Galileo Galilei is one of the most fascinating and well-known historical figures in history, the protagonist of films, plays and much more. Certainly, the most famous work linked to the mathematician is Life of Galileo , a play by Bertolt Brecht , a great German poet, playwright and essayist. In the play, the author retraces the history and life of Galileo, his discoveries and scientific research starting from the period of teaching in Padua until the famous abjuration and the period immediately following.
