The Scientific
Revolution
World History
Holyst
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Background...
During the time of the reformation, a small group of scholars started to questioned the established laws of nature (specifically that of Aristotle and the Church). The new use of observation and questioning brought progress in the Scientific Revolution, but also conflict with religion.
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Nicolaus Copernicus (Polish astronomer)
­ prior to his theories, the universe was geocentric (earth­centered); supported by Aristotle, Ptolemy and the Church
­ Copernicus, after studying the sky for over 30 years, developed the heliocentric (sun­centered theory)
­ Angered both Protestants and Catholics, but very positive in the science community
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Johannes Kepler (Danish astronomer)
­ theories about planetary movement started by mentor
Tycho Brahe
­ Kepler established three laws:
1) elliptical orbits
2) faster orbits when closer to the sun
3) time length of orbit was tied to
distance from sun
­ Scientific method (hypothesis, testing, analysis) developed 4
Galileo Galilei (Italian scholar)
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in youth, developed the law of the pendulum before becoming a professor at the University of Pisa
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studied motion (ex: objects accelerate at a fixed rate when falling)
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constructed a telescope, gave him wealth
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wrote Starry Messenger (collection of observations)
­ EXTREMELY popular with scholars; enraged the Church
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targeted after Copernicus’s ideas were banned
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Pope put him on trial in 1633
­ Galileo recanted his theories and lived the rest of his life
under watchful eye
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Andreas Vesalius (Flemish doctor)
­ 1543= On the Fabric of the Human Body (book that described and depicted human anatomy in detail)
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William Harvey (English doctor)
­ 1628= wrote a book that had the heart as the pump for blood circulation
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Zacharias Janssen (Dutch eyeglass maker)
­ 1590= created the microscope
­ used to view bacteria by Anton von Leeuwenhoek 8
Gabriel Fahrenheit (German physicist) and Anders Celsius (Swedish astronomer)
­ used mercury thermometers to display temperatures, specifically those of freezing and boiling
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Evangelista Torricelli (Italian scientist under Galileo)
­1655= barometer; helped to predict weather with air pressure
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