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The Scientific Revolution

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The Scientific Revolution gave Europeans a new way to view

humankind’s place in the universe.

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Background to the Revolution

1. Renaissance Humanists had mastered Greek and Latin

2. Technical problems, dealing with weights and measures stimulated scientific activity

3. printing press spread new ideas quickly

People become curious about their world thanks to the Renaissance, Reformation and Exploration.

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A Revolution in Astronomy

• New discoveries overturned ancient concepts about the universe

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The solar system SunPlanetsAsteroidsComets

PlutoNeptuneUranusSaturnJupiterMarsEarthVenusMercurySun

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Historical figures in the Copernican Revolution

Ptolemy – the geocentric model.

Copernicus – heliocentric model.

• Galileo – his observations by telescope verified theheliocentric model.

• Kepler – laws of planetary motion (elliptical orbits).

• Newton – Laws of motion. Universal laws of gravity.

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Ptolemaic Ptolemaic systemsystem

Geocentric – Earth centered theory.

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Nicolaus CopernicusThe Earth moves, in two ways.

•It rotates on an axis

• It revolves around the sun

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HELL

HEAVEN

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The Copernican ModelThe Copernican Model

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Galileo Galilei

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Galileo’s discoveries in Astronomy

•Galileo didn’t invent it •Built a better one •1st to look at the heavenly bodies with it.

1. Craters and mountains on the moon2. Four moons of Jupiter3. Phases of Venus4. The Milky Way consists of innumerable

stars.5. Sunspots move across the sun’s face.

All of these favored the Heliocentric model.

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Galileo’s sketch of the moon as seen from his telescope

A photograph of the moon

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Galileo made many specific discoveries through his observations.

The general implications…

● The planets are objects like the Earth –

● The planets, including Earth, travel around the sun.

● The Universe is a lot bigger than we can see

These ideas could be These ideas could be dangerous.dangerous.

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His Church decided that the heliocentric model was a heresy.

But Galileo continued to argue in favor of the theory, and published his reasoning. The Inquisition in Rome accused him of heresy, and required him to answer. Found guilty of “suspicion of heresy,” Galileo recanted publicly. [A story, probably not true, is that he muttered “Eppur si muove” – “And yet, it does move.”] He was put under arrest and sentenced to prison. But because of his fame and age (70 years old at that time) he was allowed to serve under house arrest in Florence, for the remaining years of his life.

The Trial of Galileo

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Is there a conflict between Science and Is there a conflict between Science and Religion?Religion? There is no major conflict today, but there have

been conflicts in the past, e.g. the trial of Galileo. Another example is the conflict between Darwin’s theory of evolution and the literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis ().

This latter conflict survives today in the controversy about teaching Creationism in public schools.

Pope John Paul II ordered a review of the trial of Galileo. Did the Inquisition make mistakes? ().(Speaking of Galileo’s judges in 1992) “This

subjective error of judgment, so clear to us today, led them to a disciplinary measure from which Galileo had much to suffer. These mistakes must be frankly recognized, as you, Holy Father, have requested.”

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Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630)

Three empirical laws of planetary motion in the heliocentric solar system

1. Each planet moves on an elliptical orbit.2. Confirmed the sun was the center of

universe.

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Kepler’s elliptical orbits

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Isaac NewtonNewton and the Apple

Newton asked good questions the key to his success

(The apple never fell on his head, but sometimes a stupid person will say that, trying to be funny.)

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To explain the motion of the planets, Newton developed three ideas:

1. The laws of motion2. Universal law of gravitation

1. Every object in the universe is attracted to every other object by a force called gravity.

3. Calculus, a new branch of mathematics

Newton solved the premier scientific problem of his time --- to explain the motion of the planets.

Isaac Newton

“If I have been able to see farther than others it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants.”

--- Newton’s letter to Robert Hooke

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What is the procedure for collecting and analyzing

evidence called?

Hint: Think Breakfast meat

Who created it?

Scientific method

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Francis Bacon