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Galileo Galilei and his contribution to the world of science
Galileo Galilei and his contribution to the world of science
Contribution of Isaac Newton to scientific knowledge in Europe
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Historical Development of Models from Aristotle to Newton
There were 6 models of the universe from Aristotle to Newton.
Aristotle
Aristotle was the first to publish a model of the universe (approximately 300 BC) that was accepted. His model was Geocentric (Earth at the centre), the sun and the other planets were orbiting the Earth and the stars were fixed on the Celestial Sphere. Planets needed constant application of force to be able to stay in the perfect orbit around Earth that was stationary. He believed that the Earth was the centre as even water on it was moving towards one point, the Earths centre and the centre of the Universe.
Claudis Ptolemy
Ptolemy was the second person to try and come up with a model of the Universe. He enhanced Aristotles model around 140 AD, by adding epicycles to the orbits of the planets and the sun to account for the retrograde motion of the planets in the sky. Sometimes those epicycles were placed on top of others as just one epicycle was not enough to explain the motions of some planets. His model was kept until around 1514 AD.
Nicholas Copernicus
Copernicus overthrew the way of thinking of our universe for almost 1500 years with the publishing of his Heliocentric (Sun at centre) model of the universe. Although the orbits were perfect circles, and the stars were fixed on the Celestial Sphere, his way of thinking revolutionised the way people thought of our universe. Although his model was accurate, that was only up to some extent. Placing the Sun in the centre of the Universe still did not abolish the idea that the planets were not on epicycles and so they were used.
Jonannes Kepler
Although Kepler did not publish his own model of the universe, he perfected Copernicus' model using 'Tyco Broche'...
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...y, allowing further development of the Model of the Universe. Nicholas Copernicus, introduced a new way of thinking about our Universe, by placing the Sun at the centre of the Universe. Jonannes Kepler, using Tyco Brahe's data, was able to prove Copernicus correct, although, Tyco stated that the Universe was Geocentric, his data proved to be extremely useful. Galileo Galilei, by using the new technological advancement, the 'telescope', was able to provide more solid proof for the Heliocentric model. Sir Isaac Newton, By using much more complex telescopes, was able to discover that your Solar System was just a part of our Galaxy was not alone, But part of hundreds of thousands of others that make up the Universe. Using calculus, and the light spectrum shifting, was able to determine that our Universe was expanding, later to be proven by Einstein's equation; E=mc^2.
This includes the introduction of the heliocentric model and the debate about pluto being a planet, that ended up changing view points on many topics.
In 1543 Nicholas Copernicus, a Polish Canon, published “On the Revolution of the Celestial Orbs”. The popular view is that Copernicus discovered that the earth revolves around the sun. The notion is as old as the ancient Greeks however. This work was entrusted by Copernicus to Osiander, a staunch Protestant who though the book would most likely be condemned and, as a result, the book would be condemned. Osiander therefore wrote a preface to the book, in which heliocentrism was presented only as a theory which would account for the movements of the planets more simply than geocentrism did, one that was not meant to be a definitive description of the heavens--something Copernicus did not intend. The preface was unsigned, and everyone took it to be the author’s. That Copernicus believed the helioocentric theory to be a true description of reality went largely unnoticed. In addition to the preface, this was partly because he still made reassuring use of Ptolemy's cycles and epicycles; he also borrowed from Aristotle the notion that the planets must move in circles because that is the only perfect form of motion.
The first record of the movement of the planets was produced by Nicolaus Copernicus. He proposed that the earth was the center of everything, which the term is called geocentric. Kepler challenged the theory that the sun was the center of the earth and proposed that the sun was the center of everything; this term is referred to as heliocentric. Kepler’s heliocentric theory was accepted by most people and is accepted in today’s society. One of Kepler’s friends was a famous person named Galileo. Galileo is known for improving the design and the magnification of the telescope. With improvement of the telescope Galileo could describe the craters of the moon and the moons of Jupiter. Galileo also created the number for acceleration of all free falling objects as 9.8 meters per second. Galileo’s and Kepler’s theories were not approved by all people. Their theories contradicted verses in the bible, so the protestant church was extremely skeptical of both Galileo and Kepler’s
Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer and mathematician ho discovered that planetary motion is elliptical. Early in his life, Kepler wanted to prove that the universe obeyed Platonistic mathematical relationships, such as the planetary orbits were circular and at distances from the sun proportional to the Platonic solids (see paragraph below). However, when his friend the astronomer Tycho Brahe died, he gave Kepler his immense collection of astronomical observations. After years of studying these observations, Kepler realized that his previous thought about planetary motion were wrong, and he came up with his three laws of planetary motion. Unfortunately, he did not have a unifying theory for these laws. This had to until Newton formulated his laws of gravity and motion.
1 - Concentric theory - 15th century - taught that sun, planets revolved around the earth.
Copernicus was a scientist and philosopher whose theory proposed that the sun was stationary, and the heavens orbit around the sun. Galileo tried to convince the Church not to abolish the Copernican theory but was told that he was not to entertain such thoughts with others.... ... middle of paper ... ...(n.d.).
Later after Copernicus came Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei, who confirmed some of Copernicus’ observations. Kepler provided concise evidence of planetary motion regarding their path around the s...
Aristarchus lived from about the year 310 B.C. to about 230 B.C. Aristarchus was the first Greek philosopher and mathematician to make sense of the solar system. Others before him thought that the Earth is a sphere and that it moves, but he was the first to understand the heliocentric theory, which states that the sun is in the middle. In 288 or 287 B.C. he followed Theophrastus as the head of the Peripatetic School established by Aristotle.
The topic I have chosen as the basis of my essay is that of how humans fit into the scale of nature according to Aristotle. To answer this question, we must first ask ourselves several other questions in order to better understand Aristotle’s thinking. First we must ask, “What is nature according to Aristotle?” then we must ask, “What is the scale of nature?” and finally, we answer the main question at hand and that is how humans fit into the scale of nature according to Aristotle. We will also touch base on several other principles of Aristotelian thinking that pertain to this subject matter.
Another important individual who drove history was the Italian astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei. Galileo discovered something so important that it changed the selfish perspective that humans were the center of the universe and led to the growth of human knowledge. Utilizing mathematics and a telescope he had developed, Galileo observed that the planets revolved around the sun and not the Earth. This was a significant discovery because not only did it contradict what the church had taught, it also showed that the universe was not what it seemed. With this truth uncovered, many people began to fascinate over the universe. This triggered people to begin studying space extensively and eventually lead to present day space exploration. Galileo also left a lasting impression upon many great minds, such as Sir Isaac Newton, who used Galileo's research and theories to further his own studies such as the physical laws, and their properties.
To the modern reader, Aristotle's views on astronomy, as presented in Metaphysics, Physics, De Caelo (On the Heavens) and Simplicius' Commentary, will most likely seem very bizarre, as they are based more on a priori philosophical speculation than empirical observation. Although Aristotle acknowledged the importance of "scientific" astronomy - the study of the positions, distances and motions of the stars - he nevertheless treated astronomy in the abstract, linking it to his overall philosophical world picture. As a result, the modern distinction between physics and metaphysics is not present in Aristotle, and in order to fully appreciate him we must try to abandon this pre-conception. Aristotle argued that the universe is spherical and finite. Spherical, because that is the most perfect shape; finite, because it has a center, viz. the center of the earth, and a body with a center cannot be infinite. He believed that the earth, too, is a sphere. It is relatively small compared to the stars, and in contrast to the celestial bodies, always at rest. For one of his proofs of this latter point, he referred to an empirically testable fact: if the earth were in motion, an observer on it would see the fixed stars as moving, just as he now observes the planets as moving, that is from a stationary earth. However, since this is not the case, the earth must be at rest. To prove that the earth is a sphere, he produced the argument that all earthly substances move towards the center, and thus would eventually have to form a sphere.
In 1513, Nicholas Copernicus, composed a brief theory that stated that the sun is at rest and the earth is in rotation around the sun. In 1543, just days before his death, Copernicus published this theory in On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. This theory was meant to dissolve the long lived belief in Ptolemyís theory which stated, "The earth was at the center because it was the heaviest of objects(Kagan331)." This was a common belief at that time, which supported the religious beliefs that the earth was the center of the universe and God in the heavens were surrounding the earth. Copernicusís theory was shocking, but he published such a controversial theory without sufficient evidence, it had to be considered invalid.
Aristotle, a name well known even now like the gods of ancient Greece such as Zeus and Poseidon, his name is well known because of the questions he asked and the way he viewed the world that would make those of a simple mind scratch their heads. People whom do not question anything think he is insane and by right he may have been a little mad, but we as humans are all a little off kilt. As this you can look at the views of Aristotle and if you are not one of a simple mind and can look at it in a critical thinking way, you can analyze his views to see if you agree or disagree that in fact he thinks that all things in this world are physical, and that everything has a purpose. Aristotle is correct in the case that all things are physical, because are matter, he also does not bring religion into his statement, yet does not discredit an artisan; he also states that all things do in fact have a purpose, and are something believable.
Does Aristotle successfully show that the body requires the soul, and the soul requires the body?
Aristotle believed that happiness is the end (telos) that encircles the completeness of one’s entire life. Happiness is not something we attain and lose within hours. Human being’s lifetime cannot be concluded to have been happy or lived well until he is dead or everything is over, which could be related to education. We cannot conclude that a student would have an A at the beginning or at the middle of the semester, anything could happen at the middle of the semester which could set a large or a small drawback for the student. The student’s final exam will determine his/her final grade.