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The next time when you see light or any of
its related inventions, trace back and think who were those great ones who made it
possible. Scientists who dwelled back many years back investigated and founded the
numerous theories and inventions which have brought great convenience to us presently.
There are apparently too many scientists for us to work on so we chose and did about 12 of
them. Indulge...
Galileo Galilei
Galileo (1564-1642) is an Italian physicist
and astronomer. Under Johannes Kepler and him, they started the scientific revolution,
which flourished in the work of Sir Isaac Newton. Galileo Galilei main contributions were,
in astronomy, the use of the telescope in observation and the discovery of sunspots, lunar
mountains and valleys, the four largest satellites of Jupiter, and the phases of Venus. He
was a important person in physics too. The discovery of the laws of falling bodies and the
projectile motions were all credited to him. Culturally, he still strongly fights against
authority of freedom of inquiry.
By December 1609, Galileo had built a telescope of 20 times
magnification, with which he discovered mountains and craters on the moon. He also saw
that the Milky Way was composed of stars, and he discovered the four largest satellites of
Jupiter. He published these findings in March 1610 in The Starry Messenger (trans.
1880). His new fame gained him appointment as court mathematician at Florence. By December
1610 he had observed the phases of Venus, which contradicted Ptolemaic astronomy and
confirmed his preference for the Copernican system.
The telescope (find in inventions) is one of his most famous inventions. Galileo's most valuable scientific
contribution was his founding of physics on precise measurements rather than on
metaphysical principles and formal logic.
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