The scientific revolution
By Polina Zlokazova
What was the scientific revolution?
Who were the people associated with the change?
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
He was born in Pisa in 1564, Galileo studied medicine, mathematics, astronomy, physics and scientific philosophy.He built his own telescope and used it to study the heavens in 1609. He also proved that heavy objects fall at the same rate as lighter ones, tested Aristotle's ideas about pendulums and found them wrong, found objects accelerate at a predictable and fixed rate.
His contributions are important his inventions, from compasses and balances to improved telescopes and microscopes revolutionized astronomy and biology.
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
For centuries before Copernicus's time, astronomy had been based on Potemy's theory that Earth was the center of universe and motion less. He protested a new model for the universe - the universe model: he proved that the sun was stationary in the center of universe and the Earth and other planets revolved around it. He also stated that Earth rotated on an axis.
Although his model wasn't completely correct, it formed a strong foundation for future scientists to build on and improve mankind's understanding of the motion of heavenly bodies.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
Kepler published three laws of planetary motion in 1609:
- The orbits of planets are eleptical with the sun at one focus.
- Planets travel faster when close to the sun and slower when farther away.
- The period of time it takes a planet to orbit the sun is related to its distance from the sun.
It laws provided the basis for many great scientific discoveries.
How did the change impact society at the time?
The major result of all this was that science became a distinct enterprise, placed more prominently in society than at any other time and place.
The Marxist historian and scientist J. D. Bernal asserted that "the renaissance enabled a scientific revolution which let scholars look at the world in a different light. Religion, superstition, and fear were replaced by reason and knowledge".This revolution led to new ideas about government, religion, education and economic.
It was essential to the subsequent Industrial Revolution that there was open minded examination of nature and actual thinking beyond the restrictions of Catholic Church.
People lost their traditional faith and faith in Heaven.
How is that change evidenced in today's modern society?
The science of the middle ages was significant in establishing a base for modern science.
This period saw a fundamental transformation in scientific ideas across mathematics, physics, astronomy, and biology in institutions supporting scientific investigation and in the more widely held picture of the universe. The scientific revolution led to the establishment of several modern sciences.
The basis for the Scientific Revolution was the Scientific Method. The scientific method uses observation and experimentation to explain theories on the workings of the universe. This process removed blind adherence to tradition from science, and allowed scientists to logically find answers through the use of reason. This method of research is the basis for modern science.
Today we continue to use the important discoveries of this era, this opening allowed us to develop in different fields of science, people still use theories of scientists of this time.