Galileo Galilei:(1564 - 1642)
Italian scientist who formulated the basic law of falling bodies, which he verified by careful measurements. He constructed a telescope with which he studied lunar craters, and discovered four moons revolving around Jupiter and espoused the Copernican cause.
Without a doubt, Galileo made many important contributions to observational astronomy. Historians disagree, however, about Galileo's role as a founder of modern experimental science. In fact, some of them doubt the importance of experiment in Galileo’s scientific development. These historians maintain that Galileo's real originality lay in the way he approached scientific problems. First, Galileo reduced those problems to very simple terms on the basis of everyday experience and common-sense logic. Then he analyzed and resolved the problems according to simple mathematical descriptions. The success with which Galileo applied this technique to the analysis of physics, especially the physics of motion, opened the way for the development of modern mathematical physics.
Sources: http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Galileo.html
http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar215300&st=galileo+galilei
Italian scientist who formulated the basic law of falling bodies, which he verified by careful measurements. He constructed a telescope with which he studied lunar craters, and discovered four moons revolving around Jupiter and espoused the Copernican cause.
Without a doubt, Galileo made many important contributions to observational astronomy. Historians disagree, however, about Galileo's role as a founder of modern experimental science. In fact, some of them doubt the importance of experiment in Galileo’s scientific development. These historians maintain that Galileo's real originality lay in the way he approached scientific problems. First, Galileo reduced those problems to very simple terms on the basis of everyday experience and common-sense logic. Then he analyzed and resolved the problems according to simple mathematical descriptions. The success with which Galileo applied this technique to the analysis of physics, especially the physics of motion, opened the way for the development of modern mathematical physics.
Galileo also pioneered the presentation of scientific findings to the widest possible audience. He wrote in clear, witty Italian rather than Latin, the scholarly language of his time. The broad public appeal of his Dialogue most likely contributed to Galileo’s condemnation by the church.
Sources: http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Galileo.html
http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar215300&st=galileo+galilei
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