Galileo Galilei. His amazing discoveries and inventions. Discoveries of Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). The fame of this scientist was great during his lifetime, and, growing with each century, by our time has made him one of the most revered scientists.

Galileo Galilei was born into an aristocratic Italian family; his grandfather was the head of the Florentine Republic. After studying at the monastery, he entered the University of Pisa. Lack of money forced the young man to return home (1585). But his abilities were so great, and his inventions were so witty, that already in 1589 Galileo was a professor of mathematics. In well-known universities, he teaches, explores the processes of mechanics. The young professor is gaining immense popularity with students and authority with the authorities. While in Padua, Galileo develops new technologies for the industry of the Republic of Venice.

The scientist's studies in astronomy led to the first conflicts with the church. Galileo Galilei modified a newly invented telescope to view the sky. They discovered the mountains on the moon, it was established that the Milky Way is a cluster of individual stars, the satellites of Jupiter were discovered. To the suspicions of the Inquisition was added the distrust of colleagues who claimed that what was seen through the telescope was an optical illusion.

Nevertheless, the glory of Galileo becomes pan-European. He becomes an adviser to the Duke of Tuscany. The position allows you to engage in science and discoveries follow one after another. The study of the phases of Venus, spots on the Sun, research in the field of mechanics and the main discovery - heliocentrism.

The claim that the Earth moves around the Sun has seriously alarmed the Roman Catholic Church. Galileo's theory was also opposed by many scientists. However, the Jesuits became the main enemy. Galileo Galilei expressed his views in printed works, which often contained caustic attacks on the powerful order.

The ban on heliocentrism by the church did not stop the scientist. He published a book where he presented his theory in the form of a polemic. However, in one of the stupid characters of the published book "Dialogues ...", the head of the Catholic Church recognized himself.

The Pope was furious and the intrigues of the Jesuits fell on fertile ground. Galileo was arrested and held in prison for 18 days. The scientist was threatened with the death penalty at the stake, and he preferred to renounce his views. The phrase “And yet it spins” was attributed to him by journalists when compiling a biography.

The rest of the days the great Italian spent under a kind of house arrest, where the jailers were his old enemies, the Jesuits. A few years after the death of the scientist, his only grandson took the monastic vows and destroyed the manuscripts of Galileo that he kept.

Galileo Galileo (02/15/1564 - 01/08/1642) was an Italian physicist, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher who made a great contribution to the development of science. He discovered experimental physics, laid the foundation for the development of classical mechanics, made major discoveries in astronomy.

Young years

Galileo - a native of the city of Pisa, had a noble origin, but his family was not rich. Galileo was the eldest child of four (a total of six children were born in the family, but two died). From childhood, the boy was drawn to creativity: like his father, a musician, he was seriously fond of music, he drew well and understood the fine arts. He also had a literary gift, which later allowed him to express his scientific research in his writings.

He was an outstanding student at the school at the monastery. He wanted to become a clergyman, but changed his mind due to the rejection of this idea by his father, who insisted that his son receive a medical education. So at the age of 17, Galileo went to the University of Pisa, where, in addition to medicine, he studied geometry, which greatly fascinated him.

Already at that time, the young man was characterized by the desire to defend his own position, not being afraid of established authoritative opinions. Constantly argued with teachers on science issues. I studied at the university for three years. It is assumed that at that time Galileo learned the teachings of Copernicus. He was forced to drop out of school when his father could no longer pay for it.

Due to the fact that the young man managed to make several inventions, he was noticed. He was especially admired by the Marquis del Monte, who was very fond of science and had good capital. So Galileo found a patron who also introduced him to the Duke of Medici and placed him as a professor at the same university. This time Galileo focused on mathematics and mechanics. In 1590 he published his work - the treatise "On the Movement".

Professor in Venice

From 1592 to 1610, Galileo taught at the University of Padua, became the head of the mathematical department, and was famous in scientific circles. The most active activity of Galileo fell on this time. He was very popular with students who dreamed of getting into his classes. Eminent scientists corresponded with him, and the authorities constantly set new technical tasks for Galileo. At the same time, the treatise "Mechanics" was published.

When a new star was discovered in 1604, his scientific research fell on astronomy. In 1609, he assembles the first telescope, with the help of which he seriously advanced the development of astronomical science. Galileo described the surface of the Moon, the Milky Way, discovered the satellites of Jupiter. His book The Starry Messenger, published in 1610, was a huge success and made the telescope a popular acquisition in Europe. But along with recognition and reverence, the scientist is also accused of the illusory nature of his discoveries, as well as in an effort to harm the medical and astrological sciences.

Soon, Professor Galileo enters into an unofficial marriage with Marina Gamba, who bore him three children. Responding to an offer of a high position in Florence from the Duke of Medici, he moves and becomes an adviser at court. This decision allowed Galileo to pay off large debts, but partly played a disastrous role in his fate.

Life in Florence

At the new location, the scientist continued his astronomical research. It was characteristic of him to present his discoveries in a bullying style, which greatly annoyed other figures, as well as the Jesuits. This led to the formation of an anti-Galilean society. The main claim on the part of the church was the heliocentric system, which contradicted religious texts.

In 1611, the scientist went to Rome to meet with the head of the Catholic Church, where he was received quite warmly. There he introduced the cardinals to the telescope and tried, with care, to give some explanations. Later, encouraged by a successful visit, he published his letter to the abbot that Scripture could not have authority in matters of science, which attracted the attention of the Inquisition.

Galileo demonstrates the laws of gravity (fresco by D. Bezzoli, 1841)

His 1613 book "Letters on Sunspots" contained open support for the teachings of N. Copernicus. In 1615, the first case was opened against Galileo by the Inquisition. And after he called on the Pope to express his final point of view on Copernicanism, the situation only worsened. In 1616, the Church declares heliocentrism a heresy and bans the book of Galileo. Galileo's attempts to remedy the situation did not lead to anything, but he was promised not to be persecuted if he stopped supporting the teachings of Copernicus. But for a scientist convinced of his rightness, this was impossible.

Nevertheless, for a while, he decided to turn his energy in a different direction, engaging in criticism of the teachings of Aristotle. The result was his book The Assay Master, written in 1623. At the same time, a longtime friend Galileo Barberini was elected Pope. In the hope of lifting the ban on the church, the scientist went to Rome, where he was well received, but did not get what he wanted. Further, Galileo decided in his writings to continue to defend the truth, considering several scientific points of view from a position of neutrality. His Dialogue on Two Systems of the World lays the groundwork for the new mechanics.

Galileo's conflict with the church

In 1630, having handed over his "Dialogue" to the court of the Catholic censor, Galileo waits a year, after which he resorts to a trick: he writes a preface about the rejection of Copernicanism as a doctrine. As a result, permission was obtained. Published in 1632, the book did not contain specific conclusions of the author, although it clearly made sense in the argumentation of the Copernican system. The work was written in accessible Italian, the author also independently sent copies to the highest ministers of the church.

A few months later, the book was banned and Galileo was called to trial. He was arrested and spent 18 days in captivity. Thanks to the troubles of his pupil, the duke, the scientist was shown leniency, although he was presumably still tortured. The investigation went on for two months, after which Galileo was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment as a punishment, he also had to renounce his own "delusions". The catchphrase “But nevertheless it turns”, which is attributed to Galileo, he did not actually utter. This legend was invented by the Italian literary figure D. Baretti.

Galileo before the Judgment (K. Bunty, 1857)

Old age

The scientist did not stay in prison for a long time, he was allowed to live on the Medici estate, and after five months he returned home, where they continued to follow him. Galileo settled in Arcetri near the monastery where his daughters served, and spent his last years under house arrest. He was subjected to a large number of prohibitions that made it difficult for him to treat and communicate with friends. Later, they were allowed to visit the scientist one at a time.

Despite the difficulties, Galileo continued to work in non-prohibited scientific directions. He published a book on mechanics, planned to anonymously publish a book in defense of his views, but did not have time. After the death of his beloved daughter, he went blind, but continued to work, wrote a work on kinematics, published in Holland and which became the basis for the research of Huygens and Newton.

Galileo died and was buried in Arcetri, the church forbade burial in the family crypt and the erection of monuments to the scientist. His grandson, the last representative of the family, having become a monk, destroyed valuable manuscripts. In 1737, the remains of the scientist were transferred to the family tomb. The Catholic Church only rehabilitated Galileo in the late 70s of the last century, in 1992 the mistake of the Inquisition was officially recognized.

(1564-1642)

The first person to look at the sky through a magnifying optical tube - a telescope, was the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei.

At the age of 20, Galileo left medicine, which he studied at the University of Pisa, and took up physics and astronomy. He became a professor of physics and mathematics and taught at the largest universities in Italy. Since 1606, he was engaged exclusively in astronomy, and his discoveries literally shocked his contemporaries.

In 1609, for the first time in the history of science, he made a telescope. To do this, he studied information about the spotting scope invented then in Holland. The telescope gave approximately 3x magnification. Soon Galileo built a telescope with a magnification of 32 times. With its help, he distinguished mountains, valleys, craters on the surface of the moon. This means that the Moon is not a smooth ball, as many believed at that time, but a world similar to the Earth. Through a telescope, he saw that the planet Venus, like the Moon, was changing its apparent shape. This could only be explained by the fact that Venus does not revolve around the Earth, but around the Sun, as Nicolaus Copernicus claimed.

On the Sun itself, Galileo was able to distinguish dark spots. By their displacement, the scientist proved that the celestial body rotates around its axis. This means that the Sun is not at all an ideally pure, “perfect” body, as the ancient philosophers and modern churchmen taught Galileo. But the most amazing sight was the huge planet Jupiter. Four satellites revolved around it - just like, according to the teachings of Copernicus, the Earth and planets should revolve around the Sun.

Finally, the Milky Way, when viewed through a telescope, broke up into many stars that are not visible to the naked eye. Before Galileo, an endless world of stars opened up, each of which is a distant sun, similar to ours. Became plausible and the teachings of Giordano Bruno about the many inhabited planets circling around distant stars. The discoveries of Galileo were a clear confirmation of the teachings of Copernicus. They refuted the teachings of Aristotle and Ptolemy accepted by the church about the Earth as the motionless center of the Universe.

The churchmen declared the teachings of Copernicus to be heresy; since 1616 it has been banned. Those who spread and defended it were threatened with cruel reprisals. But Galileo continued to defend his scientific views, to prove the correctness of Copernicus. He dedicated his main astronomical work “Dialogue on the two main systems of the world - Ptolemaic and Copernican”, written in 1632, to this. Then, in 1633, the churchmen staged a trial of the elderly scientist and, under pain of torture, forced him to renounce his views.

But in his heart Galileo remained the most staunch supporter of the teachings of Copernicus. Although the scientist was put under house arrest for the rest of his life and forbidden to publish any books on astronomy, he continued to contribute to the development of science with new discoveries in the field of mechanics. Galileo showed himself as one of the outstanding fighters for the scientific worldview.

"ShkolaLa" welcomes all its readers who want to know a lot.

Once upon a time, everyone thought this:

The earth is a flat huge penny,

But one person took the telescope,

Opened the way for us into the space age.

Who is this, do you think?

Among scientists known throughout the world is Galileo Galilei. In what country was he born and how did he study, what did he discover and what did he become famous for - these are the questions that we will look for answers to today.

Lesson plan:

Where are future scientists born?

A poor family, where little Galileo Galilei was born in 1564, lived in the Italian city of Pisa.

The father of the future scientist was a real master in various fields, from mathematics to art history, so it is not at all surprising that since childhood, young Galileo fell in love with painting and music and gravitated towards the exact sciences.

When the boy turned eleven, the family from Pisa, where Galileo lived, moved to another city in Italy - Florence.

There, he began studying in a monastery, where the young student showed brilliant abilities in the study of sciences. He even thought about the career of a clergyman, but his father did not approve of his choice, wanting his son to become a doctor. That is why, at seventeen, Galileo moved to the University of Pisa at the Faculty of Medicine and began to diligently teach philosophy, physics and mathematics.

However, he could not graduate from the university for a simple reason: the family could not pay for his further education. After leaving the third year, student Galileo begins self-education in the field of physical and mathematical sciences.

Thanks to his friendship with the wealthy Marquis del Monte, the young man managed to get a paid scientific position as a teacher of astronomy and mathematics at the University of Pisa.

During his university work, he conducted various experiments, which resulted in the laws of free fall discovered by him, the motion of a body along an inclined plane, and the force of inertia.

Since 1606, the scientist has been closely involved in astronomy.

Interesting Facts! The full name of the scientist is Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de Galilei.

About mathematics, mechanics and physics

It is said that, as a university professor in the town of Pisa, Galileo conducted experiments by dropping objects of different weights from the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in order to disprove Aristotle's theory. Even in some textbooks you can find such a picture.

Only these experiments are not mentioned anywhere in the works of Galileo. Most likely, as researchers today believe, this is a myth.

But the scientist rolled objects on an inclined plane, measuring time by his own heart pulse. There were no clocks back then! These same experiments were put into the laws of motion of bodies.

Galileo was given the palm for inventing the thermometer in 1592. The device was then called a thermoscope, and it was quite primitive. A thin glass tube was soldered to a glass ball. This structure was placed in a liquid. The air in the balloon was heated and displaced the liquid in the tube. The higher the temperature, the more air in the balloon and the lower the water level in the tube.

In 1606, an article appeared where Galileo laid out a drawing of a proportional compass. This is a simple tool that converted measurements to scale and was used in architecture and drafting.

Galileo is credited with inventing the microscope. In 1609, he made a "small eye" with two lenses - convex and concave. With the help of his invention, the scientist considered insects.

With his research, Galileo laid the foundations of classical physics and mechanics. So, on the basis of his conclusions about inertia, Newton later fixed the first law of mechanics, according to which any body is at rest or moves uniformly in the absence of external forces.

His research on the oscillations of the pendulum formed the basis for the invention of the clock with a pendulum regulator and made it possible to make accurate measurements in physics.

Interesting Facts! Galileo not only excelled in the natural sciences, but was also a creative person: he knew literature very well and composed poetry.

About astronomical discoveries that shocked the world

In 1609, the scientist heard a rumor about the existence of a device that helps to view distant objects by collecting light. If you guessed it, it was called a telescope, which is translated from Greek as "to look far away."

For his invention, Galileo modified the telescope with lenses, and this device was able to magnify objects 3 times. Time after time, he assembled a new combination of several telescopes, and it gave more and more magnification. As a result, the Galilean "foresight" began to zoom in 32 times.

What discoveries in the field of astronomy belong to Galileo Galilei and glorified him throughout the world, becoming real sensations? How did his invention help the scientist?

• Galileo Galilei told everyone that this is a planet comparable to the Earth. He saw plains, craters and mountains on its surface.
• Thanks to the telescope, Galileo discovered four satellites near Jupiter, today called "Galilean", and appeared to everyone in the form of a strip, crumbling into many stars.
• By putting smoked glass to the telescope, the scientist was able to examine, see spots on it and prove to everyone that it was the Earth that revolves around it, and not vice versa, as Aristotle believed and religion and the Bible said.
• He was the first to see the surroundings, which he took for satellites, today known to us as rings, found different phases of Venus and made it possible to observe previously unknown stars.

Galileo Galilei combined his discoveries in the book The Starry Herald, confirming the hypothesis that our planet is mobile and rotates around its axis, and the sun does not revolve around us, which caused condemnation of the church. His work was called heresy, and the scientist himself lost his freedom of movement, falling under house arrest.

Interesting Facts! It is rather surprising for our developed world that it was not until 1992 that the Vatican and the Pope acknowledged that Galileo was right about the rotation of the Earth around the Sun. Until that time, the Catholic Church was sure that the opposite is happening: our planet is motionless, and the Sun “walks” around us.

This is how you can briefly tell about the life of an outstanding scientist who gave impetus to the development of astronomy, physics and mathematics.

A well-known science and entertainment television program was named after Galileo Galilei. The host of this program, Alexander Pushnoy, and his colleagues conducted all sorts of different experiments and tried to explain what they did. I propose to watch an excerpt from this wonderful program right now.

Don't forget to subscribe to blog news so you don't miss anything very important. Also join our group "VKontakte" We promise a lot of interesting things!

"ShkolaLa" says goodbye for a short time to look for and share useful information with you again and again.

One of the most famous astronomers, physicists and philosophers in the history of mankind is Galileo Galilei. A brief biography and his discoveries, which you will now learn about, will allow you to get a general idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthis outstanding person.

First steps in the world of science

Galileo was born in Pisa (Italy), February 15, 1564. At the age of eighteen, the young man enters the University of Pisa to study medicine. His father pushed him to take this step, but due to lack of money, Galileo was soon forced to leave his studies. However, the time that the future scientist spent at the university was not in vain, because it was here that he began to take a keen interest in mathematics and physics. No longer a student, the gifted Galileo Galilei did not abandon his hobbies. A brief biography and his discoveries made during this period played important role in the future fate of the scientist. He devotes some time to the independent study of mechanics, and then returns to the University of Pisa, this time as a teacher of mathematics. After some time, he was invited to continue teaching at the University of Padua, where he explained to students the basics of mechanics, geometry and astronomy. Just at this time, Galileo began to make discoveries significant for science.

In 1593, the first scientist was published - a book with a laconic title "Mechanics", in which Galileo described his observations.

Astronomical research

After the publication of the book, a new Galileo Galilei is “born”. A brief biography and his discoveries is a topic that cannot be discussed without mentioning the events of 1609. After all, it was then that Galileo independently built his first telescope with a concave eyepiece and a convex objective. The device gave an increase of about three times. However, Galileo did not stop there. Continuing to improve his telescope, he increased the magnification to 32 times. Observing in it the Earth's satellite - the Moon, Galileo discovered that its surface, like the earth's, is not flat, but is covered with various mountains and numerous craters. Four stars were also discovered through the glass and changed their usual sizes, and for the first time the idea of ​​their global remoteness arose. turned out to be a huge accumulation of millions of new celestial bodies. In addition, the scientist began to observe the movement of the Sun and make notes about sunspots.

Conflict with the Church

The biography of Galileo Galilei is another round in the confrontation between the science of that time and church teaching. The scientist, based on his observations, soon comes to the conclusion that the heliocentric, first proposed and justified by Copernicus, is the only true one. This contradicted the literal understanding of Psalms 93 and 104, and in addition, the verse from Ecclesiastes 1:5, in which one can find reference to the immobility of the Earth. Galileo was summoned to Rome, where they demanded to stop propagating "heretical" views, and the scientist was forced to comply.

However, Galileo Galilei, whose discoveries had already been appreciated by some representatives of the scientific community, did not stop there. In 1632, he makes a cunning move - he publishes a book called "Dialogue on the two main systems of the world - Ptolemaic and Copernican." This work was written in an unusual form of dialogue at that time, the participants of which were two supporters of the theory of Copernicus, as well as one follower of the teachings of Ptolemy and Aristotle. Pope Urban VIII, a good friend of Galileo, even gave permission for the publication of the book. But this did not last long - just a couple of months later, labor was recognized as contrary to the dogmas of the church and banned. The author was summoned to Rome for trial.

The investigation lasted quite a long time: from April 21 to June 21, 1633. On June 22, Galileo was forced to pronounce the text offered to him, according to which he renounced his "false" beliefs.

The last years in the life of a scientist

I had to work in the most difficult conditions. Galileo was sent to his villa Archertri, in Florence. Here he was under the constant supervision of the Inquisition and did not have the right to get out into the city (Rome). In 1634, the beloved daughter of the scientist, who had taken care of him for a long time, died.

Death came to Galileo on January 8, 1642. He was buried on the territory of his villa, without any honors and even without a tombstone. However, in 1737, after almost a hundred years, the last will of the scientist was fulfilled - his ashes were transferred to the monastic chapel of the Florentine Cathedral of Santa Croce. On the seventeenth of March, he was finally buried there, not far from the grave of Michelangelo.

Posthumous rehabilitation

Was Galileo Galilei right in his beliefs? A brief biography and his discoveries have long been the subject of controversy between clergy and luminaries of the scientific world, and many conflicts and disputes have developed on this basis. However, only on December 31, 1992 (!) John Paul II officially admitted that the Inquisition in the 33rd year of the 17th century made a mistake, forcing the scientist to renounce the heliocentric theory of the universe formulated by Nicolaus Copernicus.