Who is Galileo Galilei? Biography & Discoveries

Galileo Galilei, a scientist who was interested in astronomy. He was born in Pisa, Italy on February 15, 1564, and died on January 8, 1642, in the city of Arcetri in Florence. The Italian scientist, astronomer, physicist, and engineer, made a name for himself with the works he contributed to astronomy. During his education in the monastery, he studied theology and Latin. He discovered that all substances fall at the same speed in the face of the gravitational rule and then he created the free fall law. Galileo, who wanted to settle in Pisa University and study medicine, could not complete his education due to a lack of financial situation. While studying here, he also started training students.

It devotes itself to the fields of mathematics and physics. Galileo also discovered the hydrostatic balance. The man of science, who made all the developments in 1604, always revealed his experiences in the light of scientific data. Galileo, who made the invention described as the Dutch binoculars, was able to magnify the celestial bodies 32 times in this way and made many detailed studies about the Sun and the Moon.

Who is Galileo Galilei?

Galileo was born on February 15, 1564, in the city of Pisa in Tuscany, Italy, one of the six children of Vincenzo Galilei, one of the well-known musicians of the period. He completed his primary education in Florence. He started his medical education at Pisa University in 1581 and had to leave the school due to financial difficulties. Then he turned to mathematics and became a professor at Pisa University in 1589 with his studies on this subject.

In addition to his physicist and astronomer identity, Galileo, who is also known as a philosopher, is among the important names of history with his discoveries in the branches of science he carried out and many works he left behind. By closely examining the structures and moons of the planets, Galileo obtained important information about planets such as Venus and Saturn. Although he explained his interest in the Copernican System after his studies, he accepted his adoption on this issue much later. It is one of the first names that come to mind when scientific physics is mentioned. With this feature, he adopted the way of explaining many studies in physics-based on mathematical data.

SEE ALSO: Alexander Graham Bell – Life, Inventions, Biography & Telephone

The Life of Galileo Galilei

Galileo, who defended his interest in science and freedom in scientific thoughts, closely examined the properties of the Moon in 1637. The scientist, who preferred to carry out his studies in many fields of science at the same time, turned to his studies in the field of mechanics after the astronomer and came up with new laws for his studies in the field of pendulum movements and inclined plane movements.

While examining the states of matter, he realized the invention of the thermoscope. Another area mentioned in Galileo’s inventions is the telescope. He developed the primitive telescope, which was invented in 1608, and led to the invention of the first telescope used in astronomy in 1609. In 1636, by collecting his important works in a book, his book called Talks on New Science was started to be read as a textbook. Galileo, who had to continue his last years before his death blindly, has also prohibited works.

Galileo’s life, who opened his eyes in Pisa in 1564, passed with financial difficulties for a long time. However, he did not see this situation as an obstacle in the name of progress in science and achieved significant successes by carrying out his studies with determination. He started to earn a high income during his stay in Florence in 1610. During this period, it still did not lose its loyalty to the Copernican System and received a reaction from the church due to the contradictions with the Bible. The scientist, who was imprisoned as a result of some studies he carried out in 1642, lost his sense of sight in the prison on January 8 of the same year.

Inventions of Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei; believed in a mathematical approach to the pendulum, floating bodies, and kinetics, with a different idea from Aristotle’s physics. Galileo, who showed that all falling objects have the same acceleration by shedding weight from the Pisa Tower, proved that the Aristotelian logic was wrong. He showed that free fall is a constant acceleration movement and the distance traveled during fall is inversely proportional to the square of time. With this experiment, he came across old professors. Accordingly, he left Pisa in 1592 and took the chair of mathematics at Padova University.

Hydrostatic Balance

One of Galileo’s first inventions was hydrostatic balance. Based on Archimedes principles, it is possible to estimate their purity by weighing precious metals in air and then in water. At the age of 22, Galileo developed an alternative to this method used by European goldsmiths. Galileo, who named his new invention La Bilancetta (Little Balance), had classical weights on one side of the Hydrostatic Libra he invented, while the object to be weighed was immersed in water with the help of a wire on the other. Thus, the net weights of precious metals such as gold and silver could be measured practically without going through several different stages.

SEE ALSO: Who is Nikola Tesla? What are His Life and Inventions?

Compass

In 1597, it introduced the compass, which can also be used for military purposes, to the market commercially. This new discovery has driven many military and scientific developments. First of all, it ensured that the cannons used in the military were targeted at the correct coordinates. At the same time, it was calculated how much gunpowder a cannonball of what size required. Thanks to the military compass, which is a geometric tool, polygons, and circular slices have been started to be calculated. This invention of Galileo was used as a basic measuring scale from the 16th to the 19th century.

Primitive Thermometer

Immediately after 1600, he invented the primitive thermometer and a pendulum to measure the heartbeat of humans. The primitive thermometer he invented with the name thermoscope placed a long test tube with an empty sphere on top of a vase filled with water. Galileo observed how much water rose inside the tube with the pressure created by the temperature change in the sphere. The principle of the modern thermometer is 100 percent based on Galileo’s invention.

Synchronicity Feature of Pendulums

Galileo was the first to study the pendulums in detail. In 1602, Galileo noticed that the pendulums were swinging at the same time, regardless of their size. In this way, it was understood that the pendulums were swinging simultaneously regardless of the direction. The synchronicity feature has made pendulums an excellent tool for measuring time. For this reason, pendulums became the standard part of clocks until the 1930s. In addition, they have become the most reliable time measuring instrument.

Telescope

Learning that the telescope was invented in the Netherlands in 1609, Galileo produced a more advanced version and used it in astronomical observations. Galileo, the first scientist to use the telescope for astronomical purposes, made important observations with the telescope he produced. Later, he wrote these observations in his book named Star Messenger (Siderius Nuntius) in 1610.

Jupiter’s Moons and Sunspots

Galileo succeeded in attracting great attention with his book, which he published on the moon surface, star clusters, and the Milky Way, and mentions the existence of four moons of Jupiter. In this way, he became a court mathematician in Florence. Giving information about the phases of the planet Venus and the shape of Saturn, Galileo discussed the Ptolemy System in astronomy. He observed the sun and proved that the shadows on it were spots. He revealed that these do not belong to the shadow of Mercury as it passes in front of the sun, nor to small celestial bodies located between the Sun and the Earth.

The Return of the Earth around the Sun

Galileo went to Rome in 1611 where he became a member of the science academy. During this period, his work on sunspots caused him to return to Florence. Because of this work, which openly defends the Copernican System, it was subjected to heavy pressure from the priests. The commission established by Pope Paul V to study his books did not ban Galileo’s books; but they wanted him to give up his claim that the world was spinning

Microscope

Drawing attention with his claims, Galileo returned to the practical aspect of science for a while, and developed the microscope. Galileo made it possible to see small items by placing lenses on the cylindrical part of the telescope. Between 1619 and 1624 he produced a large number of microscopes.

Galileo’s Law of Immutability

With the discovery of the three comets in 1618, the church again came across. VIII of a friend. Galileo, who was encouraged to be elected as pope as Urban, published his work titled “Conversations on Two Universe Systems” in 1632. In this book, Galileo argued that the laws of physics were the same for objects moving at the same speed. This law was accepted as Galileo’s Immutability. It is also a simple version of Newton’s Laws and Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity. The scientist, who was called to Rome because of this book, was brought to the inquisition court. As a result, his book was banned in 1633 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Imprisoned at the age of seventy, Galileo went blind in 1636. He died on January 8, 1642 in Arcetri.

Works of Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei, one of the names who devoted himself to many branches of science throughout his life, has many useful works that have survived until today. Throughout his life, he did not neglect to sign many works in order to continue his works in written sources and carefully carried out his studies on this subject. Among his important works are Little Libra, which belongs to 1586, On Motion in 1590, Mechanics in 1600, Herald of the Stars in 1610, Dialogues on the Two Fundamental Systems of the World in 1632, and Laws of Motion and Mechanics in 1638 are among the most important works of the famous scientist. Between 1890 and 1910, which was the recent history, many of his works were collected under the name of Works of Galileo Galilei.