Galileo Galilei Inventions, Biography

With ground-breaking discoveries and his research findings, Galileo Galilei needs no introduction. From sharing his invaluable wisdom, the Italian astronomer and philosopher, Galileo Galilei has given many inspirational quotes. “It is beautiful and delightful to behold the body of the Moon” is one of them. Among other things, he was a renowned engineer, mathematician, and physicist. An improved telescope is among Galileo Galilei inventions. In his Heliocentric model of the world, he explained how the planetary system works. Galileo Galilei achievements include the discovery of Jupiter’s moons, phases of the moon, the star of the milky way, and the pendulum clock. This article will help you know more about Galileo’s biography, discoveries, inventions, early life, and achievements.

Galileo Galilei Biography

The oldest son of Vincenzo Galilei, Galileo was born on February 15, 1564, in Pisa, Tuscany. His father was a court musician. When the Galilei family moved to Florence in 1572, Galileo attended the monastery school at Vallombrosa. After returning from the monastery, he enrolled for a medical degree at the University of Pisa. He was going to study medicine, but he never completed this degree due to his fascination for mathematics. Despite the protest of his father, he studied mathematics with Ostilio Ricci, a mathematics teacher. 

While learning, he started giving lectures in subjects such as Aristotelian philosophy and mathematics. These lectures have succeeded in surviving to this day. However, he left the university without completing his degree. After leaving the university, he started giving private lectures in mathematics subjects in Florence and Siena. During this time, Galileo wrote La Bilancetta (“The Little Balance”). This short treatise was circulated in manuscript form. He also started studying motion which he continued for the next two decades. 

Despite his unsuccessful attempt to secure the chair of mathematics at the University of Bologna, he delivered two lectures to the Florentine Academy. His theorems on centres of gravity made him famous among mathematicians and soon secured him the mathematics chair at the University of Pisa. However, it was at the University of Paroda where he taught from 1592 till 1610. 

Galileo Galilei Inventions

Galileo learned spyglass and started experimenting with telescope-making. Although he was not the first inventor of the telescope, his experiments allowed him to create a reformed telescope. With the magnification of eight or nine times, his telescope made it possible to see the surface of the moon. This invention led to many discoveries that we will discuss later. 

He also gave the earliest design of the pendulum clock to the world. However, it was Christiaan Huygens who invented the first pendulum clock in the seventeenth century.

Galileo Galilei Discoveries

Using his observations and experiments, Galileo discovered many revolutionary things, including:

Moon’s Surface

With the help of his reformed telescope discovery, he could see the moon’s surface. Galileo was the first to tell that the moon had craters and mountains. He used shadows’ length of mountains created by the Sun to calculate the mountain’s height. This way, he proved that lunar mountains were very similar to the mountains on the Earth.  

Venus’s Phases

Using his heliocentric model, he explained planetary motion. He also discovered that the phases of the planet Venus were similar to the moon. However, their geometry did not incline with the received wisdom they had claimed.  

Jupiter’s Moons

Galileo also discovered the four moons of the Jupiter planet, namely Lo, Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto. These moons are now known as Galileo’s moons. This discovery also contradicted the notion that everything revolves around the Earth. 

The Star of the Milky Way

In 1610, Galileo discovered that the Milky Way was made up of individual stars using his telescope. He discovered that the milky way was not just a band of many stars but an unusually dense collection of stars. 

Galileo Galilei Achievements

Galileo claimed, with the help of his experiments, that the speed of fall of an object is independent of its mass. To prove his theory, he dropped objects of different weights from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. His studies of objects in motion contradicted Aristotle’s ideas which made him unpopular. 

Using his telescope, he made many discoveries that confirmed the belief of Nicolaus Copernicus. He then summarised that the solar system exists with the Sun in the centre and other planets revolving around it. However, these discoveries and conclusions resulted in his life imprisonment.

Conclusion

He has been called ” the father of modern science because of his work, experiments, and keen observations. His excellent works in astronomy, physics, cosmology, and material science receive much appreciation and sometimes heated debates. Galileo Galilei inventions, discoveries, and achievements have brought him widespread recognition. His valuable work, wisdom, and experiments are a legacy that will live forever. 

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