The Scientific Revolution

c.1550

What is the Scientific Revolution?• In European history the term 'Scientific Revolution' refers to the period between

Copernicus(1473-1543), and Newton (1642-1727)

• The scientific revolution - a series of changes in the structure of European thought itself: systematic doubt, empirical and sensory verification, the abstraction of human knowledge into separate sciences, and the view that the world functions like a machine.

• A revolution in the way the individual perceives the world.

• An intellectual revolution -- a revolution in human knowledge.

• The scientific revolutionaries attempted to understand and explain man and the natural world.

• The Scientific Revolution challenged the authority of the classical world (Ptolemy, Aristotle) and of the Middle Ages – The Church.

• Pre-scientific revolution influences on Europe also included Arabic science, math and astronomy (Nasir al-Din Tusi, Mu’ayyad al-Din al-‘Urdi and ibn al-Shatir) from the 12 th century.

• Science is faith – a belief that science can improve our situation here on earth.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)The True “Renaissance Man”

• Dissected bodies to learn human anatomy

• First to explain the circulation of blood

• Believed that the earth revolved around the sun.

• Drew designs for submarines & airplanes.

• Leonardo NEVER published his scientific ideas.

• One of the western world’s greatest artist (Mona Lisa)

Beginning of the Scientific Revolution in Europe

• Began in Europe when Polish scholar Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) challenged the Ptolemaic concept of an earth-centered universe (geocentric).

• Copernicus demonstrated mathematically that it was the sun that was at the center of the universe (heliocentric).

- His theory was rejected by most experts.

- Dutch astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) provided evidence through an astronomical observatory that supported Copernicus’ theory.

- Brahe’s German assistant Johannes Kepler used Brahe’s data to confirm Copernicus’s theory of a heliocentric universe.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) Kopernik

• Known as the “Father of Astronomy”

• Born in Poland, studied at the University of Krakow (Poland) and University of Bologna (Italy).

• Most famous work: On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (1543)

The Scientific Method of Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

and Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650)

The Scientific Method of Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

and Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650) • Both rejected Aristotle’s scientific assumptions.

• Challenged scholarly traditions of the medieval universities that sought to make the physical world fit in with Church teachings.

• Truth is found not at the beginning of research but at the end.

• Bacon wanted science to lead to practical technologies that would benefit the lives of people.

• Descartes emphasized the use of reason as the best way to understand science. Bacon emphasized experimentation and observation.

• Descartes moved to the Dutch Republic when his books were banned in France.

Scientific MethodStep 2:Gather

InformationOn the

Problem

Step 7:Communicate, share

Data, answer questions

Step 1:State The

Problem

Step 3: Form a Hypothesis – An educated guess

Step 4:Experiment to

Test thehypothesis

Step 5: Collect,Record, andAnalyze data

Step 6: Draw

Conclusions

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)• Born in Pisa, Italy. Lived in Florence.• Studied at the University of Pisa.• First scientist to publish his studies in

vernacular (Italian) rather than in Latin.• Achievements include:

- Studied the movement of a pendulum that led to development of a pendulum clock

- improvement of the telescope

- Astronomy: observed the earth’s moon, four moons of Jupiter & the phases of Venus.

- Earth was one of many planets revolving around the

sun – part of a larger Solar System.

- Strong supporter of Copernican theory.

Trial of Galileo

Trial of Galileo• 1616 – The Catholic Church forbade Galileo to teach that the earth moves. 1633 – forced to

appear before the Inquisition for failing to obey the Church order.

• At the Inquisition, he agreed to recant his assertions about the earth’s movement to save himself from torture and possible execution.

• Lived the rest of his life under house arrest. Could only publish his work in the Dutch Republic. Catholic Church banned his work.

• After his trial, the Protestant areas in Europe dominated scientific discovery.

• September,1822: publishing books supporting the heliocentric model of the universe permitted by Pope Pius VII.

• 1835: Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is taken off the Vatican's list of banned books.

• 1992: Catholic Church formally admits that Galileo's views on the solar system are correct.

• Modern History Sourcebook: The Crime of Galileo: Indictment and Abjuration of 1633• Modern History Sourcebook: Index Librorum Prohibitorum

Galileo Quotes• All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover

them.

• Where the senses fail us, reason must step in.   • I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense,

reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.   • In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble

reasoning of a single individual.

• Doubt is the father of invention.   • I think that in the discussion of natural problems we ought to begin not with the

Scriptures, but with experiments, and demonstrations. • "My dear Kepler, what would you say of the learned here, who have steadfastly

refused to cast a glance through the telescope?  What shall we make of this?  Shall we laugh, or shall we cry?"

Breakthroughs in Medicine and Chemistry

1. Andreas Vesalius – (1514-1564, Belgian) On the Structure of the Human Body (1543)- Continued and refined da Vinci’s

work on the human anatomy.

2. Ambroise Pare – (1517 - 1590)- Introduced the use of artificial limbs in the 1540’s.

3. William Harvey – (1578-1657, English)- Published work explaining the circulation

of blood.

4. Anton Leeuwenhoek – (1632-1723)- Perfected the microscope and was the first human to

see cells and microorganisms.

Dimitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834-1907)

• Born in Russia.• Studied at the University of St.

Petersburg.• Developed the Periodic Table of

Elements in the 1860’s.- By arranging all of the

63 elements then known by their atomic weights, he managed to organize them into groups possessing similar properties.

- Where a gap existed in the table, he predicted a new element would one day be found and

deduced its properties.

Periodic Table of Elements

Science Humor

Newton’s Theories and Achievements

• Synthesized astronomy and physics with his law of gravitation.

• Discovered the law of gravity.• Deeply religious, he tried to reconcile faith

and science.• Experimented with light and helped establish

the science of optics.• Newton’s contributions to physics became

the foundations for modern science.

Impact of the Scientific Revolution

1. One of the supreme achievements of the human mind.

2. Science affects practical affairs:

- changed the size of populations

- changed the use of raw materials

- changed methods of production, transport, business, war.

3. Science has changed the ideas of religion, God and man.