Editing History of physics (section)

===Galileo Galilei===
{{main|Galileo Galilei}}
[[File:Galileo.arp.300pix.jpg|thumb|upright|Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), early proponent of the modern scientific worldview and method]]
The Italian mathematician, astronomer, and physicist Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) was a supporter of Copernicanism who made numerous astronomical discoveries, carried out empirical experiments and improved the telescope. As a mathematician, Galileo's role in the [[History of European research universities|university]] culture of his era was subordinated to the three major topics of study: [[law]], [[medicine]], and [[theology]] (which was closely allied to philosophy). Galileo, however, felt that the descriptive content of the technical disciplines warranted philosophical interest, particularly because mathematical analysis of astronomical observations&nbsp;– notably, Copernicus's analysis of the [[relative motion]]s of the Sun, Earth, Moon, and planets&nbsp;– indicated that philosophers' statements about the nature of the universe could be shown to be in error. Galileo also performed mechanical experiments, insisting that motion itself&nbsp;– regardless of whether it was produced "naturally" or "artificially" (i.e. deliberately)&nbsp;– had universally consistent characteristics that could be described mathematically.

Galileo's early studies at the [[University of Pisa]] were in medicine, but he was soon drawn to mathematics and physics. At age 19, he discovered (and, [[Galileo Galilei#Career as a scientist|subsequently, verified]]) the [[:wikt:isochronal|isochronal]] nature of the [[pendulum]] when, using his pulse, he timed the oscillations of a swinging lamp in [[Piazza dei Miracoli|Pisa's cathedral]] and found that it remained the same for each swing regardless of the swing's [[amplitude]]. He soon became known through his invention of a [[hydrostatic balance]] and for his treatise on the [[Center of mass#Center of gravity|center of gravity]] of solid bodies. While teaching at the University of Pisa (1589–1592), he initiated his experiments concerning the laws of bodies in motion that brought results so contradictory to the accepted teachings of Aristotle that strong antagonism was aroused. He found that bodies do not fall with velocities [[Proportionality (mathematics)|proportional]] to their weights. The story in which Galileo is said to have [[Galileo's Leaning Tower of Pisa experiment|dropped weights from]] the [[Leaning Tower of Pisa]] is apocryphal, but he did find that the [[Ballistic trajectory|path of a projectile]] is a [[parabola]] and is credited with conclusions that anticipated [[Newton's laws of motion]] (e.g. the notion of inertia). Among these is what is now called [[Galilean relativity]], the first precisely formulated statement about properties of space and time outside [[Three-dimensional space|three-dimensional geometry]].{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}

[[File:Jupiter and the Galilean Satellites.jpg|thumb|Composite montage comparing [[Jupiter]] (''left'') and its four [[Galilean moons]] (''from top'': [[Io (moon)|Io]], [[Europa (moon)|Europa]], [[Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede]], [[Callisto (moon)|Callisto]])]]

Galileo has been called the "father of modern [[observational astronomy]]",<ref>{{citation |title=A Short History of Science to the Nineteenth Century |first=Charles |last=Singer |year=1941 |publisher=Clarendon Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mPIgAAAAMAAJ }}, page 217.</ref> the "father of modern physics", the "father of science",<ref name="Einstein">{{citation |last=Weidhorn |first=Manfred |title=The Person of the Millennium: The Unique Impact of Galileo on World History |year=2005 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=0-595-36877-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/personofmillenni0000weid/page/155 155] |url=https://archive.org/details/personofmillenni0000weid/page/155 }}</ref> and "the father of [[modern science]]".<ref name="finocchiaro2007">[[#Reference-Finocchiaro-2007|Finocchiaro (2007)]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-12-25|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=#Reference-Finocchiaro-2007|reason= }}.</ref> According to [[Stephen Hawking]], "Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science."<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Galileo and the Birth of Modern Science|journal=[[American Heritage of Invention & Technology|American Heritage's Invention & Technology]]|volume=24|date=2009|page=36|url=https://www.inventionandtech.com/content/galileo-and-birth-modern-science|access-date=2020-09-15}}</ref> As religious orthodoxy decreed a [[Geocentricism|geocentric]] or [[Tychonic system|Tychonic]] understanding of the Solar system, Galileo's support for heliocentrism provoked controversy and he was tried by the [[Inquisition]]. Found "vehemently suspect of heresy", he was forced to recant and spent the rest of his life under house arrest.

The contributions that Galileo made to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the [[phases of Venus]]; his discovery, in 1609, of [[Moons of Jupiter|Jupiter's four largest moons]] (subsequently given the collective name of the "[[Galilean moons]]"); and the observation and analysis of [[sunspot]]s. Galileo also pursued applied science and technology, inventing, among other instruments, a military [[compass]]. His discovery of the Jovian moons [[Sidereus Nuncius|was published in 1610]], enabling him to obtain the position of mathematician and philosopher to the [[Medici]] court. As such, he was expected to engage in debates with philosophers in the Aristotelian tradition and received a large audience for his own publications such as the ''[[Two New Sciences|Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations Concerning Two New Sciences]]'' (published abroad following his arrest for the publication of ''[[Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems]]'') and ''[[The Assayer]]''.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Drake|1978}}</ref><ref>{{Harvtxt|Biagioli|1993}}</ref> Galileo's interest in experimenting with and formulating mathematical descriptions of motion established experimentation as an integral part of natural philosophy. This tradition, combining with the non-mathematical emphasis on the collection of "experimental histories" by philosophical reformists such as [[William Gilbert (astronomer)|William Gilbert]] and [[Francis Bacon]], drew a significant following in the years leading to and following Galileo's death, including [[Evangelista Torricelli]] and the participants in the [[Accademia del Cimento]] in Italy; [[Marin Mersenne]] and [[Blaise Pascal]] in France; [[Christiaan Huygens]] in the Netherlands; and [[Robert Hooke]] and [[Robert Boyle]] in England.