Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) - Italian physicist, mechanic, astronomer, philosopher and mathematician, who significantly influenced the science of his time. He was one of the first to use a telescope to observe celestial bodies and made a number of important astronomical discoveries.

Galileo is the founder of experimental physics. Through his own experiments, he managed to refute the speculative metaphysics of Aristotle and lay the foundation for classical mechanics.

Galileo gained fame as an active supporter of the heliocentric system of the world, which led to serious conflict with the Catholic Church.

There are many interesting facts in the biography of Galileo, which we will talk about in this article.

So, before you is a short biography of Galileo Galilei.

Galileo's biography

Galileo Galilei was born on February 15, 1564 in the Italian city of Pisa. He grew up and was brought up in the family of an impoverished nobleman Vincenzo Galilei and his wife Julia Ammannati. In total, the spouses had six children, two of whom died in childhood.

Childhood and youth

When Galileo was about 8 years old, he and his family moved to Florence, where the Medici dynasty, known for its patronage of artists and scientists, flourished.

Here Galileo went to study at the local monastery, where he was admitted as a novice to the monastic order. The boy was distinguished by curiosity and a great desire for knowledge. As a result, he became one of the best disciples of the monastery.

An interesting fact is that Galileo wanted to become a clergyman, but his father was against his son's intentions. It is worth noting that, in addition to success in the field of basic disciplines, he was an excellent drawing artist and had a musical gift.

At the age of 17, Galileo entered the University of Pisa, where he studied medicine. At the university, he became interested in mathematics, which aroused such great interest in him that the head of the family began to worry that mathematics would distract him from medicine. In addition, the young man with great passion became interested in the heliocentric theory of Copernicus.

After studying at the university for 3 years, Galileo Galilei had to return home, since his father could no longer pay for his studies. However, the rich amateur scientist Marquis Guidobaldo del Monte managed to draw attention to the promising student, who considered the guy's many talents.

It is curious that Monte once said the following about Galileo: "Since the time of Archimedes, the world has not yet known such a genius as Galileo." The Marquis did his best to help the young man realize his ideas and knowledge.

Thanks to the efforts of Guidobald, Galileo was introduced to Duke Ferdinand 1 of the Medici. In addition, he applied for a paid scientific position for the young man.

Work at the university

When Galileo was 25 years old, he returned to the University of Pisa, but not as a student, but as a professor of mathematics. During this period of his biography, he deeply studied not only mathematics, but also mechanics.

After 3 years, the guy was invited to work at the prestigious University of Padua, where he taught mathematics, mechanics and astronomy. He had great authority among colleagues, as a result of which his opinion and views were taken very seriously.

It was in Padua that Galileo's most fruitful years of scientific activity passed. From under his pen came such works as "On Movement" and "Mechanics", which refuted the ideas of Aristotle. Then he managed to design a telescope through which it became possible to observe celestial bodies.

The discoveries that Galileo made with a telescope, he detailed in the book "Star Messenger". On his return to Florence in 1610, he published a new work, Letters on Sunspots. This work caused a storm of criticism among the Catholic clergy, which could cost the scientist his life.

In that era, the Inquisition operated on a large scale. Galileo realized that not so long ago, Catholics burned at the stake Giordano Bruno, who did not want to give up his ideas. An interesting fact is that Galileo himself considered himself an exemplary Catholic and did not see any contradictions between his works and the structure of the universe in the ideas of the church.

Galileo believed in God, studied the Bible and took everything that was written in it very seriously. Soon, the astronomer travels to Rome to show his telescope to Pope Paul 5.

Despite the fact that the representatives of the clergy commended the device for studying celestial bodies, the heliocentric system of the world still caused them extreme displeasure. The Pope, along with his followers, took up arms against Galileo, calling him a heretic.

The indictment against the scientist was launched in 1615. A year later, the Roman Commission officially declared heliocentrism a heresy. For this reason, everyone who at least somehow relied on the paradigm of the heliocentric system of the world was severely persecuted.

Philosophy

Galileo is the first person to revolutionize physics. He was an adherent of rationalism - a method according to which reason acts as the basis for knowledge and action of people.

The universe is eternal and endless. It is a very complex mechanism, the creator of which is God. There is nothing in space that can disappear without a trace - matter only changes its form. The basis of the material universe is the mechanical movement of particles, by examining which you can learn the laws of the universe.

Based on this, Galileo argued that any scientific activity should be based on experience and sensory knowledge of the world. The most important subject of philosophy is nature, studying which it becomes possible to get closer to the truth and the fundamental principle of all that exists.

The physicist adhered to 2 methods of natural science - experimental and deductive. Through the first method, Galileo proved hypotheses, and with the help of the second he moved from one experiment to another, trying to achieve the full volume of knowledge.

First of all, Galileo Galilei relied on the teachings of Archimedes. Criticizing the views of Aristotle, he did not deny the analytical method used by the ancient Greek philosopher.

Astronomy

After the creation of the telescope in 1609, Galileo began to carefully study the movement of celestial bodies. Over time, he was able to modernize the telescope, achieving 32 times the magnification of objects.

Initially, Galileo explored the moon, finding a mass of craters and hills on it. The first discovery proved that the Earth in its physical properties does not differ from other celestial bodies. Thus, the man refuted the idea of Aristotle regarding the difference between earthly and heavenly nature.

The next important discovery related to the detection of 4 satellites of Jupiter. Thanks to this, he refuted the arguments of the opponents of Copernicus, who stated that if the moon moves around the earth, then the earth can no longer move around the sun.

An interesting fact is that Galileo Galilei was able to see spots on the Sun. After a long study of the star, he came to the conclusion that it rotates around its axis.

Investigating Venus and Mercury, the scientist determined that they are closer to the Sun than our planet. In addition, he noticed that Saturn has rings. He also observed Neptune and even described some of the properties of this planet.

However, possessing rather weak optical instruments, Galileo was unable to investigate celestial bodies more deeply. After doing a lot of research and experiments, he gave convincing evidence that the Earth not only revolves around the Sun, but also on its axis.

These and other discoveries further convinced the astronomer that Nicolaus Copernicus was not mistaken in his conclusions.

Mechanics and Mathematics

Galileo saw mechanical movement at the heart of physical processes in nature. He made a lot of discoveries in the field of mechanics, and also laid the foundation for further discoveries in physics.

Galileo was the first to establish the law of falling, proving it experimentally. He presented the physical formula for the flight of an object flying at an angle to a horizontal surface.

The parabolic movement of the thrown body played a large role in the development of artillery tables.

Galileo formulated the law of inertia, which became the basic axiom of mechanics. He was able to determine the pattern of oscillation of pendulums, which led to the invention of the first pendulum clock.

The mechanic took an interest in the properties of material resistance, which later led to the creation of a separate science. Galileo's ideas formed the basis of physical laws. In statistics, he became the author of the fundamental concept - the moment of power.

In mathematical reasoning, Galileo was close to the idea of the theory of probability. He set out his views in detail in a work entitled "Discourse on the game of dice."

The man deduced the famous mathematical paradox about natural numbers and their squares. His calculations played an important role in the development of set theory and their classification.

Conflict with the church

In 1616, Galileo Galilei had to go into the shadows due to a conflict with the Catholic Church. He was forced to keep his views secret and not mention them publicly.

The astronomer outlined his own ideas in the treatise "The Assayer" (1623). This work was the only one that was published after the recognition of Copernicus as a heretic.

However, after the publication in 1632 of the polemical treatise "Dialogue on the two main systems of the world", the Inquisition subjected the scientist to new persecutions. The inquisitors initiated proceedings against Galileo. He was again accused of heresy, but this time the matter took a much more serious turn.

Personal life

During his stay in Padua, Galileo met Marina Gamba, with whom he later began to cohabit. As a result, the young people had a son, Vincenzo, and two daughters - Livia and Virginia.

Since the marriage of Galileo and Marina was not legalized, this negatively affected their children. When the daughters reached adulthood, they were forced to become nuns. At the age of 55, the astronomer was able to legitimize his son.

Thanks to this, Vincenzo had the right to marry a girl and give birth to a son. In the future, Galileo's grandson became a monk. An interesting fact is that he burned the precious manuscripts of his grandfather that he kept, since they were considered godless.

When the Inquisition outlawed Galileo, he settled on an estate in Arcetri, which was built near the temple of the daughters.

Death

During a short imprisonment in 1633, Galileo Galilei was forced to renounce the "heretical" idea of heliocentrism, falling under indefinite arrest. He was under house confinement, being able to talk to a certain circle of people.

The scientist stayed at the villa until the end of his days. Galileo Galilei died on January 8, 1642 at the age of 77. In the last years of his life, he became blind, but this did not prevent him from continuing to study science, using the help of his faithful students: Viviani, Castelli and Torricelli.

After the death of Galileo, the Pope did not allow him to be buried in the crypt of the Basilica of Santa Croce, as the astronomer wanted. Galileo managed to fulfill his last will only in 1737, after which his grave was located next to Michelangelo.

20 years later, the Catholic Church rehabilitated the idea of heliocentrism, but the scientist was justified only centuries later. The mistake of the Inquisition was recognized only in 1992 by Pope John Paul 2.