Galileo Galilei

Megan Mecham
Physics 1010
Paper 1

Galileo Galilei born February 15, 1564 in Italy was one out of six
children. Galileo started his education at Camaldolese monastery in
Vallombrosa and in 1583, he started at the University of Pisa, with a
focus in medicine. As his studies began he began gaining interest in
mathematics and physics. Galileo began pursuing a career as a
university professor but because of financial reasons couldnt continue
and discontinued his education in 1585. Galileo studied mathematics
and gained small teaching positions to support himself and his studies.
He studied objects motion and published a book called The Little
Balance. This began his fame as he continued his two-decade study.
After his book was published Galileo finally lived his dream of
becoming a university professor at the University of Pisa in 1589. While
there Galileo published a manuscript Du Motu (one Motion). With this
manuscript it set Galileo apart from regular scientists because he
viewed objects motion differently then what was proven before which
was known as Aristotelian views. Galileos peers did not approve of his
criticisms of Aristotle and in 1592 was asked to leave the university
because of his beliefs. A new teaching opportunity at the University of
Padua came and Galileo began teaching geometry, mechanics and
astronomy. (Editors, n.d.)

Spyglass was then invented and in 1609 Galileo used his

knowledge to improve it to create what is now known as the telescope
which was one of his greatest inventions. In the same year he was the
first person to look at the moon through the telescope and make his
fist astronomy discovery. He continued to use his telescope and also
discovered and studied the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and the phases of
Venus. Because of his studies Galileo began proving that the sun was
the center of the universe instead of what most people believed which
was that the earth was the center of the universe. The studies of the
sun being the center of the universe which is called Heliocentric was
not approved by the Catholic Church which believed in geocentric or an
earth-centered universe. The Catholic Church was a big influence on
Galileo and in 1616 the church accused him of disagreeing with church
teachings. The church advised him to stop publicly displaying his
opinion but he continued his studies and eventually published a book
in 1632 stating that is theories of heliocentric was correct. (NASA, n.d.)
Because of his published book he was charged with heresy or the belief
or opinion contrary to orthodox religious doctrine (Merriam-Webster,
2015) and because of his health state and age, he served
imprisonment under house arrest until his death on January 8,1642.
(NASA, n.d.)

Although Galileo had multiple astronomy discoveries one of his

main contributions to the science world was through his studies in
physics. Galileo questioned Aristotles studies of the gravitational pull
on objects and the study of motion. Aristotles Laws of Motion state
that nothing moves unless it is pushed/moved by an outside force, and
because motion exists there is a self-moved mover (i.e. a God). (Law of
Motion, n.d.) to sum up Aristotles laws of motion, it depends on the
amount of force performed on the object to keep it moving, but with
Galileos studies he proves that it doesnt depend on the amount of
force or how hard you push an object it depends on the force of friction
that acts on the object. If friction could be totally eliminated an object
in motion would stay in motion, but since the outside force acting on it
also known as friction is what slows down the object until it comes to a
complete stop. Galileo also studied the rules of inertia which depends
on only the mass of the object. Galileo proved that as the mass of an
object increased the more inertia it has and also with a greater mass
the more friction force there is. (Newton's First law of motion and
Galileo's concepts, n.d.)
Galileo did a lot in his time mainly in his studies of science
and mathematics. He discovered Jupiters four moons, Saturn, and the
phases of Venus. He changed the perspective of the world by his

Heliocentric beliefs of the sun being the center of the universe instead
of the earth. He went against his main beliefs to prove something to
the world. He also questioned Aristotles discoveries of motion which
left him job less. Galileos impact on physics changed everything. It
brought to life new ways of motion including the outside force of
friction and also new principles of inertia.

Bibliography
Editors, B. (n.d.). The Biography.com Website. Retrieved March 2, 2016, from bio.:
http://www.biography.com/people/galileo-9305220#academic-career
Law of Motion. (n.d.). Retrieved from Aristotle's Law of Motion:
http://web.williams.edu/HistSci/curriculum/224/aristotle.html
Merriam-Webster. (2015). Merriam-webster. Retrieved from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/heresy
NASA. (n.d.). Galileo Galilei. Retrieved from StarChild.nasa.gov:
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/galileo.html
Newton's First law of motion and Galileo's concepts. (n.d.). Retrieved from Newton's
first law of motion.