|
|
Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy on February 15, 1564. He was the first of 7 children. Although Galileo's father was a musician and wool trader, he wanted his clearly talented son to study medicine. So, at age eleven, Galileo was sent off to study in a Jesuit monastery. After four years, Galileo announced to his father that he wanted to be a monk. Galileo was hastily withdrawn from the monastery. In 1581, at the age of 17, Galileo entered the University of Pisa to study medicine, as his father wished.
Galileo was attracted to mathematics. He received private instruction in maths from Ostilio Ricci, and progressed rapidly. Galileo left the University in 1585 without a degree and returned to Florence to study Archimedes and Euclid. He supported himself by teaching maths in Florence and Siena. In 1589, he became professor of mathematics at Pisa.
Through experiments, Galileo proved that light hits the ground at exactly the same time as the heavy weight. Galileo continued to be interested in how things fall. Galileo found that when things fall they don't move at a constant speed, but they accelerate, or get constantly faster. He found a new rule. The distance traveled when you are falling is proportional not to the time, but to the square of the time. He experimented and worked out a rule for pendulums. The time of the swing is not proportional to the length of the pendulum, but the time squared is In 1592, Galileo's contract at Pisa ended and was not renewed. However, he got the chair of mathematics in Padua, where he remained for 8 years. Galileo made huge advances and enhanced his reputation.
In 1609, Galileo heard about the invention of the spyglass, a device that made distant objects appear closer. Galileo used his mathematics knowledge and technical skills to improve upon the spyglass and build a telescope. Later that same year, he became the first person to look at the Moon through a telescope and make his first astronomy discovery. He subsequently used his newly invented telescope to discover four of the moons circling Jupiter, to study Saturn, to observe the phases of Venus, and to study sunspots on the Sun.
Galileo's observations strengthened his belief in Copernicus' theory that Earth and all other planets revolve around the Sun. After Galileo began publishing papers about his astronomy discoveries and his belief in a heliocentric or Sun-centered Universe, he was called to Rome to answer charges brought against him by the Inquisition (the legal body of the Catholic Church). Early in 1616, Galileo was accused of being a heretic, a person who opposed Church teachings. Galileo was cleared of charges of heresy, but was told that he should no longer publicly state his belief that Earth moved around the Sun.
Galileo continued his study of astronomy and became more and more convinced that all planets revolved around the Sun. In 1632, he published a book that stated, among other things, that the heliocentric theory of Copernicus was correct. Galileo was once again called before the Inquisition and this time was found guilty of heresy. Galileo was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1633. Because of his age and poor health, he was allowed to serve his imprisonment under house arrest.
Galileo died on January 8, 1642.
