Galileo Galilei and his studies on freefall they became one of the most important experiments in the world of physics.
Galileo did not one, but several experiments in order to demonstrate that two bodies in free fall, regardless of their weight, would travel the distance at the same time.
Portrait of Galileo Galilei made by Justus Sustermans.
Although the theories about freefall have been previously mentioned in Aristotle's studies, Galileo Galilei returned to work with several experiments.
Finally he managed to finish rejecting the theory that heavier bodies would fall faster than those lighter bodies.
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei was an Italian physicist, astronomer, mathematician and engineer born on February 15, 1564 in Tuscany.
He is known worldwide as the father of astronomy and modern physics thanks to the studies and experiments carried out throughout his life. He died on January 8, 1642 in Tuscany.
Discoveries: The telescope and free fall
Thanks to its unique intelligence and curiosity, in 1609 Galileo Galilei presented an instrument known today as the first telescope.
He himself was a kind of high-magnification binocular, with which he was able to discover mountains, lunar craters and was even able to discover that the Milky Way was surrounded by stars.
On the other hand, Galileo was one of the pioneers in physical trials in the world. Thanks to the experiment he did from the Tower of Pisa, he discovered that bodies in free fall travel the distance at the same time no matter how much weight each one has.
The free fall
The free fall is the movement of a body where there is no resistance or gravitational force.
In this type of movement, various factors intervene, such as the shape of the body or the means by which it is moving.
Theory of Aristotle
Aristotle's theory of free fall indicated that heavier bodies would fall faster than lighter bodies.
The problem with this theory is that it did not take into account the resistant factors that may exist in the medium of displacement, such as air, and therefore was not accurate.
Theory of Galileo Galilei
The theory of Galileo Galilei rejected the Aristotle, since it expressed that in the absence of resistance factors such as air, all bodies weighed the same and therefore would travel the distance of fall at the same time.
Galileo was able to demonstrate this theory despite not having the necessary instruments to create a vacuum by subtracting the air. This instrument was created several years after his death, approximately in 1650.
One of the best-known experiments with this theory was carried out with two spheres in an inclined plane.
In this experiment, Galilei used two spheres of different weight and noticed that in the inclined planes, the behavior of the same did not differ much.
Thanks to the use of these planes he was able to calculate more accurately during the experiment.
References
- Free Fall Retrieved on December 7, 2017, from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
- Galileo Galilei. Retrieved on December 6, 2017, from Biography: www.biography.com
- Galileo Galilei. Retrieved on December 7, 2017, from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
- Galileo Retrieved on December 6, 2017, from Encyclopædia Britannica : www.britannica.com
- Introduction to Free Fall. Retrieved on December 7, 2017, from The Physics Classroom: www.physicsclassroom.com