1590, Galileo made a famous experiment of "two balls landing at the same time" on the leaning tower of Pisa, which overthrew Aristotle's theory that "the falling speed of an object is proportional to its weight" and corrected this erroneous conclusion that lasted for 1900.
But Galileo's idea of doing experiments in the leaning tower of Pisa was later denied by rigorous textual research. Nevertheless, people from all over the world will visit this ancient pagoda, and they regard it as a monument to Galileo.
1609, Galileo made an astronomical telescope (later called galileo telescope) and used it to observe celestial bodies. He found the unevenness on the surface of the moon and drew the first map of the moon himself. 161065438+17 October, Galileo discovered four moons of Jupiter, which provided conclusive evidence for Copernicus' theory and marked the beginning of its victory. With the help of a telescope, Galileo also discovered Saturn's rings, sunspots, the rotation of the sun, the profit and loss phenomena of Venus and Mercury, the balance between the moon and Zhou Yue on Sunday, and the fact that the Milky Way is composed of countless stars. These discoveries ushered in a new era of astronomy.
Galileo wrote the Star Messenger, letters about sunspots, dialogues between Ptolemy and Copernicus, and dialogues and mathematical proofs about two new sciences.
To commemorate Galileo's achievements, people named Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto as Galileo satellites.
People rushed to preach: "Columbus discovered the new continent and Galileo discovered the new universe."
Galileo provided inspiration for Newton's first law and Newton's second law of motion. He attaches great importance to the importance of mathematics in the application of scientific methods, especially the consistency between physical objects and geometric figures.
[Edit this paragraph] Life
1February 564 15, Galileo galilei was born into a humble aristocratic family in Pisa, Italy. It is said that his ancestors were famous doctors in Florence, but by his father Galileo Van Sandu's generation, his family had fallen. Van San is a talented composer. He published several pastoral poems and instrumental works before his death. He is also good at mathematics and proficient in Greek and Latin. However, wonderful music can't fill a family's stomach, and his mathematical talent can't get him a good position. Shortly after Galileo was born, Van Sandu opened a small shop selling woolen goods in Florence, not far from Pisa, which was a last resort. But in order to support his family, Fan Sandu had to go into business against his will.
Galileo Jr. is the eldest son of Fan Sandu, and his father placed great hopes on his son. He found that Galileo Jr. was very clever and had a strong curiosity about everything since he was a child. Not only that, the child is also very smart. He never seems to be idle, either painting or playing the piano. Moreover, he often makes many smart motor toys for his brothers and sisters and has a good time.
Galileo junior first entered the school of Frenborosa Monastery. In this school, he concentrates on philosophy and religion. For a time, Galileo hoped to be a missionary dedicated to the church in the future. But when Fan Sandu heard this, he immediately took his son home. He persuaded Galileo to study medicine, which he had already designed for his son's future.
/kloc-At the age of 0/7, Galileo entered the famous University of Pisa. According to his father's wishes, he became a medical student. The University of Pisa is an ancient university, and its library is rich in books, just to Galileo's taste. However, Galileo was not very interested in medicine. He seldom attends class, and as soon as he attends class, he puts forward such and such questions about what the professor teaches, which makes it difficult for the professor to answer. In the eyes of the professor, Galileo was a very unpopular bad student. However, Galileo was not interested in medicine. He studied mathematics, physics and other natural sciences tirelessly, and looked at those theories that have been regarded as classics since ancient times with suspicion.
You know, Galileo lived in a famous Renaissance era in European history, and Italy was the birthplace of the Renaissance. At that time, many big cities in Italy, such as Florence, Genoa and Venice, developed into the centers of East-West trade, established firms, workshops and the earliest banks, and the capitalist relations of production sprouted. Coupled with the development of trade and the invention of printing, new ideas spread faster than ever before. As a result, people began to shake the religious theology and traditional dogma that had bound their thoughts for thousands of years.
By chance, Galileo listened to a lecture by court mathematician Matteo Leach. Galileo was deeply fascinated by the young mathematician's profound knowledge and strict logic, especially his verification method in proving mathematical problems. His eyes lit up, as if he had discovered a magical world, which was his dream mathematics kingdom! He was so excited that he immediately went to court mathematician Matteo Leach and asked him many puzzling questions.
Matteo Leach came to Pisa with the Archduke of Tuscany from Florence. He taught mathematics to court attendants, but he didn't expect an enthusiastic audience. And his questions are very interesting, which fully shows his extraordinary wisdom and profound knowledge.
When matteo Leach heard that Galileo was a medical student at the University of Pisa, he couldn't help blurting out, "Ah, Galileo, you are a genius, and you will become an outstanding mathematician."
Galileo blushed. He talked about his boredom with medicine, his father's expectation of him, and his distress that he could not study according to his own wishes.
"Don't be discouraged." Matteo Leach said kindly, "You should study hard by yourself. If you have any difficulties, I will always be your loyal friend. "
Encouraged by Matteo Leach, Galileo studied mathematics and physics more and more diligently. He carefully read every book borrowed from the court mathematician and absorbed it like a sponge. However, he is not the kind of person who is superstitious about books. Those authoritative conclusions that people think are true often bring unexpected problems in Galileo's mind. He often feels distressed and falls into deep thinking.
On one occasion, Galileo strolled to his familiar Pisa Cathedral. He sat on a bench and stared at the beautifully carved altar and arched colonnade. Suddenly, the giant lamp in the center of the church hall shook, and it was the house repairman who installed the chandelier there.
This was originally a very common thing. The chandelier swings like a pendulum, drawing an invisible arc in the air. However, Galileo followed the swaying chandelier as if he had been touched by electricity. At the same time, he used his right hand to count the number of times the chandelier swings and the number of times the pulse beats according to the pulse of his left wrist, thus calculating the swinging time of the chandelier.
As a result of this calculation, Galileo discovered a secret, that is, the time for the chandelier to swing once is always the same, regardless of the radian. At first, the chandelier swung badly, and gradually, it slowed down, but every time it was swung, the number of pulse beats was the same.
Galileo's mind churned, and he thought, it is clearly written in the book that it is faster to pass through a short arc than a long one. This is what the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said, and no one doubts it. Is there something wrong with your eyes or something?
He ran back to the university dormitory like a madman and repeated the experiment behind closed doors. He found ropes and chains of different lengths, as well as iron balls and wooden balls from somewhere. On the roof, on the branches outside the window, I repeated over and over again, recording the time of swinging with an hourglass. Finally, Galileo had to boldly come to the conclusion that Aristotle's conclusion was wrong. It is the length of the rope that determines the swing period, which has nothing to do with the weight of the object at the end of the rope. In addition, the vibration period is the same for the pendulum rope with the same length. This is the law of pendulum motion discovered by Galileo.
Galileo need not say how happy he was. But at that time, who would believe a medical student's scientific discovery, not to mention whether his conclusion established the famous Aristotle's authoritative statement.
Just then, Fan Sandu's shops became more and more depressed. It is said that Galileo did not study medicine according to his own wishes, but was obsessed with unimportant experiments all day. So his stern father decided to stop Galileo from continuing to go to college and let him go home to be a clerk.
Galileo was very depressed. He left the University of Pisa and returned to Florence. But the path he chose is unshakable.
Believe in science
On a quiet street in Florence, there is a shop with a small facade and light business, that is, the woolen goods shop opened by Fan Sandu. Every day, when passers-by pass by in a hurry, Galileo with red hair can always be seen sitting in front of the counter, lost in thought, or fiddling with some inexplicable things, such as scales, iron blocks and plates. And more often, he is immersed in reading. He was so absorbed in reading that even his father couldn't hear him shouting.
Since returning home, Galileo had to work as a clerk in his father's shop against his will, but he never forgot math and physics for a moment. Without basic learning conditions and teachers' advice, he tried his best to find some books on natural science and taught himself with tenacious perseverance. His favorite books are Euclid's Elements of Geometry and Archimedes' works.
The Elements of Geometry is the earliest geometric work in the world. The works of Archimedes, a Greek scientist, contain rich knowledge of mathematics and mechanics, especially some physical experiments, which are very attractive to Galileo.
When it comes to experiments, Galileo is most interested. When he was still at the University of Pisa, he began to make one.
The "pulse meter" designed by him according to the movement law of the pendulum can be used to measure the patient's pulse beating, which is very popular with doctors. Now in my father's shop, I can't talk about the conditions of the experiment, but he still does the experiment with some daily necessities. Although it was inevitable that he would be scolded by his father, he did it anyway.
Archimedes' experiment of checking the king's crown inspired him. While repeating the experiment, he thought of using this method. At that time, the maritime industry in European countries was on the rise, which promoted the development of shipbuilding and machinery manufacturing, mining and metallurgy, and in turn raised many new problems for science and technology. Galileo then turned his attention to the study of the physical and mechanical properties of alloys. Soon, by measuring the weight of an object in the water, he found that throwing it into the water reduced the weight exactly equal to the weight of the water it displaced. On the basis of this important discovery, Galileo invented the specific gravity scale, which can easily determine the specific gravity of various alloys. He also wrote a paper, which introduced the construction principle and use method of the specific gravity scale in detail. This story soon spread in Florence and other cities.
1589 In the summer, Galileo spent four years in a shop in Florence. Thanks to the encouragement of the court mathematician matteo Leach, especially the recommendation of the noble Marquis Gheit Bhutto, he finally got the position of professor of mathematics and science at the University of Pisa. At this time, he was only 25 years old.
Now, Galileo need not worry about his life. Although the salary is not high, I can concentrate on my desired scientific research after completing my daily teaching. Soon after, Galileo carried out the free-falling experiment introduced at the beginning of this paper. The iron ball he threw on the Leaning Tower of Pisa (later it was strictly proved that Galileo did not come to the Leaning Tower of Pisa to do experiments) not only proved that objects with different weights fell at the same speed from the same height, but more importantly, this bold conclusion overturned Aristotle's authoritative conclusion. In the eyes of those who are conservative and rigid, this is tantamount to digging their own graves, and Aristotle's followers and Galileo began to disagree. After a semester at the University of Pisa, Galileo lost his job again. The reason is that he offended Giovanni, a relative of a grand duke. This Giovanni is an ignorant man. He claimed to have invented the dredger and disguised himself to ask Galileo for advice. When Galileo carefully observed the model of the dredger, he told him bluntly that the design was unscientific and could not be used at all. Giovanni was rejected. Instead of taking Galileo's advice, he stubbornly insisted on starting the experiment, and the ship sank. Facts have proved that Galileo's judgment is completely correct, but the angry Giovanni took it out on Galileo, spread gossip and attacked him as a "sinister man." Those disgruntled Aristotle followers took the opportunity to attack him and made a big fuss about him for a while. In this atmosphere, Galileo could not stay at the University of Pisa.
Galileo once again turned to Huguette, the Marquis of Titu. The noble who cherishes talents once again extended a hand of friendship. He used his influence to recommend Galileo to the University of Padua, a small town with a strong academic atmosphere in northern Italy, not far from the beautiful coastal city of Venice, which belongs to the jurisdiction of Venice. 1592, 28-year-old Galileo was appointed professor of mathematics, science and astronomy at the University of Padua.
From then on, Galileo ushered in the golden age of his life.
After that, Galileo continued his scientific research in the court of Florence, but his astronomical discoveries and his astronomical works clearly reflected the views of Copernicus and Heliocentrism. Therefore, Galileo began to attract the attention of the church. From 16 16, Galileo began to be brutally persecuted by the Roman Inquisition for more than 20 years.
Galileo lived a miserable life in his later years, and celeste, who took care of his daughter, died before him. The grief of losing his beloved daughter blinded Galileo. Even under such conditions, he still didn't give up his scientific research work.
1642 65438+1At 4 o'clock on the morning of October 8, the great Galileo, a lifelong fighter for science and truth, and a giant of science, died at the age of 78. On the eve of his death, he repeated this sentence: "It takes special courage to pursue science."