Galileo

Galileo was born on February 15,1564 in Pisa, Italy. Galileo was not born in a family of wealth, but he was the first child in his family (they had 7 child in total). In the 1570's he moved to Florence, Italy. Galileo's father wanted him to study medicine, but Galileo didn't want that. Instead he started his study on pendulum. "According to legend, he watched a suspended lamp swing back and forth in the cathedral of Pisa"- said The Galileo Project Website. Galileo made a discovery about the pendulum and turned him to think about the idea of a pendulum clock. Galileo believed that any object whichever the weight every object falls at the same rate. Galileo later was a professional in a university. He made a pump by using only one horse instead of more. Galileo had a relationship with a woman named Marina Gamba, but never married her. He had two daughters, Virginia and Livia, and only had one son named Vincenzio. Marina married another man. Galileo was the one who invented the telescope, and saw that Jupiter had four moons making earth not the only planet with a moon. Galileo was arrested and was to be under house arrest because he believed that the sun was the center of the solar system, and wrote a book about it. He moved closer to his doctors in Florence, and became blind. He later died in his house in 1642 A.D.

Galileo made the telescope and made many observations. He said that stars exist in heaven, and that heaven did exist. He noticed too that the earth is not the center of the solar system but the sun was. We call this theory of his “The Copernican Theory”. When he improved his telescope he noticed three new different extraordinary things: the moon had mountains and valleys, that the earth was not the only planet to have a moon because Jupiter had four, and that the sun had sun spots. His second theory was called “The Heliocentric Theory”. This theory was that he believed that the sun was in the center of our solar system. The church said that his thought was forbidden and he wrote a book about it called “Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World System”. He published the book and got arrested for it. In Sophie’s World book pages 116-121 we can find information about Galileo and his theory. 5 Quotes on Galileo's writings (Quotes found in Good Readers) -“To our natural and human reason, I say that these terms ‘large,’ ‘small,’ ‘immense,’ ‘minute,’ etc. are not absolute but relative; the same thing in comparison with various others may be called at one time ‘immense’ and at another ‘imperceptible.” - Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems -After an injunction had been judicially intimated to me by this Holy Office, to the effect that I must altogether abandon the false opinion that the sun is the center of the world and immovable, and that the earth is not the center of the world, and moves, and that I must not hold, defend, or teach in any way whatsoever, verbally or in writing, the said false doctrine, and after it had been notified to me that the said doctrine was contrary to Holy Scripture — I wrote and printed a book in which I discuss this new doctrine already condemned, and adduce arguments of great cogency in its favor, without presenting any solution of these, and for this reason I have been pronounced by the Holy Office to be vehemently suspected of heresy, that is to say, of having held and believed that the Sun is the center of the world and immovable, and that the earth is not the center and moves. - Galileo Galilei, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems -“Names and attributes must be accommodated to the essence of things, and not the essence to the names, since things come first and names afterwards.” -Galileo Galilei, Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo -“Who indeed will set bounds to human ingenuity? Who will assert that everything in the universe capable of being perceived is already discovered and known?” -Galileo Galilei, Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo -“Surely it is a great thing to increase the numerous host of fixed stars previously visible to the unaided vision, adding countless more which have never before been seen, exposing these plainly to the eye in numbers ten times exceeding the old and familiar stars.” -Galileo Galilei, Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo

Galileo had many great works but the three most famous are: (found famous work found in "Galileo's Famous Works")

-Telescope Observations

-Science and religion; philosophy of science (Letters to the Grand Duchess Christina)

-The Heliocentric Theory