The Inventions of Galileo Galilei Represented a breakthrough for humanity. This natural philosopher, Italian astronomer and mathematician was born in 1564 and died in 1642.
His defense of the Copernican heliocentric system earned him a process of Inquisition against him.
Portrait of Galileo Galilei realized by Justus Sustermans.
Galileo Galilei Made great contributions to the sciences of movement, astronomy and the strength of materials.
It was also a key piece in the development of the scientific method , Introducing experimentation as a recognized method for discovering the facts of nature.
Major inventions of Galileo Galilei
The thermometer
In the year 1593, Galileo Galilei invented what is now known as the Galileo thermometer. Strictly speaking, this mechanism was a thermoscope.
The thermometers differ from thermometers because they have no scale. Although several versions had already been invented, that of Galilei differed because its water thermometer made it possible to measure temperature variations.
This device consisted of a vessel filled with bulbs of variable mass. Each of these bulbs had a temperature mark.
As the buoyancy of water changes with temperature, some of these sink while others float. Thus, the lowest bulb indicated the temperature.
The compass
The first commercial scientific instrument of Galileo was the geometric and military compass, designed in 1597.
This device resembled two rules that moved on a third piece in the form of a semicircle.
This invention had many applications. It was used as an early calculator. The traders used it to calculate the monetary exchange rates.
Shipbuilders could employ the device when testing hull designs on scale models. In addition, it was used by soldiers to determine the charge of a cannon.
The telescope
The telescope was invented in Holland; But Galilei made significant improvements to this device.
Taking advantage of his connections with the craftsmen and the experience acquired in the workshops of the show manufacturers, he was able to construct a telescope that extended the observation nine times.
Originally, this mechanism was intended for use in military applications. But when he began to observe the night sky with the telescope, he realized the great potential of the new instrument. In this way, Galileo became the pioneer of telescopic astronomy.
To achieve this ambitious company, he used various materials such as glasses for German glasses, glass mirrors and rock crystal.
And with it he discovered that the lunar surface has craters, that Jupiter has satellites and that there are many more stars than can be seen with the naked eye.
The pendulum clock
Galilei made a theoretical contribution to the watch industry. In his youth, he realized that a pendulum oscillates at a constant speed or at least almost constant in the case of small angles.
According to his assistant, Vincenzo Vivani, Galilei noticed this peculiarity when he observed a lamp that swayed from one side to the other in the cathedral of Pisa.
In 1641, in the twilight of his life, he devised a scheme to use a pendulum to regulate a mechanical clock.
But this idea, could only be carried out effectively 15 years after his death.
References
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- Bellis, M. (2017, April 17). The History of the Thermometer. In Thoughtco. Retrieved from thoughtco.com.
- Galileo Instruments of Discovery (of). Galileo's Instruments of Discovery. In Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from smithsonianmag.com.
- Valleriani, M. (s / f). Galileo Galilei. Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin. Recovered from mpg.de.
- Johnstone, A. (2009, July 8). Galileo and the pendulum clock. Retrieved from cs.rhul.ac.uk.