Transcript The Scientific Revolution What Was the Scientific Revolution?

The
Scientific
Revolution
What Was the Scientific
Revolution?
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A revolution in human understanding and knowledge
about the physical universe
17th century
Began with Kepler, Galileo
Ended with Newton
“Science” Before
the Scientific Revolution
• Based almost
entirely on reasoning
• Experimental method
or observation wasn’t
used at all
• Science in medieval
times
• Alchemy
• Astrology
A medieval alchemist
Francis Bacon and
the Scientific Method
• 1561–1626
• English philosopher and
empiricist
• Inductive reasoning
• Argued for experimental
methodology
The Scientific Method
Science as a multiple-step process:
1. Observe an 2. Develop a
object or
theory that
phenomenon
explains the
object or
phenomenon
3. Test the
theory with
experiments
Models of the Universe:
Geocentric vs. Heliocentric
Geocentric: the Earth is at the
center of the universe; all
heavenly bodies move around the
Earth
Heliocentric: the Sun is at the
center of the universe; all
heavenly bodies move around
the Sun—including the Earth
Nicholas Copernicus (1473–
1543)
• Polish astronomer and
mathematician
• Commentariolus (1514)
• Concerning the
Revolutions of the
Celestial Spheres (1543)
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642)
• Italian mathematician,
astronomer
• “Father of Science”
• Telescopes and astronomical
discoveries
• Theory of falling objects;
disproved Aristotle
Galileo’s
telescopic
drawing of
the moon
Dialogue on the Two Chief
Systems of the World
• Galileo’s major work
• Written in 1632
• Argued in favor of
the heliocentric
model of the
universe
Frontspiece from
the Dialogue;
from left to right,
the figures shown
are Aristotle,
Ptolemy, and
Copernicus
Galileo vs. the Catholic
Church
• The church
condemned
heliocentric
conceptions of
the universe
• The Roman
Inquisition
• Galileo’s trial
• Galileo recants,
put under
house arrest
19th-century depiction of Galileo before the Inquisition tribunal
Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727)
• English astronomer,
physicist, and
mathematician
• Synthesized the works of
Copernicus, Kepler and
Galileo
• The Principia
Newton’s Laws of Motion
• First Law: Law of Inertia
• Second Law: Fundamental Law of
Dynamics
• Third Law: Law of Reciprocal Actions
Medicine Before
the Scientific Revolution
Illustration
depicting a
bloodletting,
an accepted
medical
procedure
before the
Scientific
Revolution
• Based on
tradition
• The Church
William Harvey (1578–1657)
• English physician
• On the Movement of the
Heart and Blood in
Animals
• Described the
functioning of the heart
and circulatory system
• Disproved Galen’s
theories
New Invention: The Telescope
• Invented in
the
Netherlands
• Galileo
• Newton
Illustration of
Galileo at his
telescope
New Invention: The
Microscope
• Hans Janssen
• Anton Van
Leeuwenhoek
• Robert Hooke
Hooke’s drawing of a flea
(from Micrographia)
A Janssen microscope, c.1600
New Invention:
The Pendulum Clock
• Invented by Christiaan
Huygens, a 17thcentury Dutch scientist
• Allowed scientists to
more accurately
measure time
Huygens’s design for a pendulum clock
New Invention: Barometer
• Invented by 17th-century
Italian physicist
Evangelista Torricelli
• The barometer measures
air pressure
Torricelli’s barometer experiment
New Invention: Thermometer
• Invented in the
17th century by
Santorio
Santorio, an
Italian scientist
• Ferdinand II
• Gabriel
Fahrenheit
• Anders Celsius
Santorio Santorio
Illustration depicting
Santorio’s thermometer
New Invention:
Mechanical Calculator
Wilhelm Schickard
• Invented by
Wilhelm
Schickard,
a 17thcentury
German
inventor
• Gottfried
von
Leibniz’s
“Step
Reckoner”
A 1624 sketch Schickard made
of his calculator
The Significance of
the Scientific Revolution
• Abandonment of ancient and medieval systems
• Development of the scientific method
• The Enlightenment