Contributions Of Galileo Galilei To Modern Astronomy Religion Essay

Contributions Of Galileo Galilei To Modern Astronomy Religion Essay Galileos Early Life and Career Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy. He was the oldest son of Vincenzo Galilei, a musician who made important contributions to the theory and practice of music. In the early 1570s, the family moved to Florence where they had lived for generations. In his middle teenager years, Galileo attended the monastery school at Vallombrosa, near Florence, and then in 1581 matriculated at the University of Pisa, where he was to study medicine but he decided to study mathematics instead.[3] In 1585, Galileo left the university without having obtained a degree and for several years he gave private lessons in the mathematics in Florence and Siena. During this period he designed a new form of hydrostatic balance for weighing small quantities.[3] He also began his studies on motion for the next two decades. Galileo discovered some ingenious theorems on gravity which brought him recognition among mathematicians, which resulted in him obtaining the chair of mathematics at the University of Pisa in 1589. It was here where he was reported to have shown his students the error of Aristotles belief that speed of fall is proportional to weight, by dropping two objects of different weight simultaneously from the Leaning Tower of Pisa.[4] His contract was not renewed in 1592, probably because he contradicted Aristotelian professors.[4] The same year he was appointed to the chair of mathematics at the University of Padua, where he taught geometry, mechanics and astronomy until 1610. It was during this period that Galileo made significant discoveries in both pure fundamental science and practical applied science. It was because of these discoveries that Galileo has been called the father of modern observational astronomy, the father of modern physics, the father of science, and the Father of Modern Science.[5] Galileos Work and Contributions to Modern Astronomy At Padua, Galileo invented a calculating compass for solving mathematical problems.[6] He discovered the law of falling bodies and of the parabolic path of projectiles. He also studied the motions of pendulums and investigated mechanics and the strength of materials.[7] In 1595, Galileo began to support the Copernican theory of the Earth revolving around the Sun (Heliocentric model) rather than the Aristotelian and Ptolemaic theory of the Earth at the centre of the universe (Geocentric model). The Copernican model had supported Galileos tide theory which was based on the motions of the Earth.[5] In the spring of 1609, Galileo heard that a spyglass had been invented in Holland. By trial and error, he quickly figured out the secret of the invention and made his own three-powered spyglass from lenses for sale in spectacle makers shops.[5] Others had done the same, but what set Galileo apart was that he quickly figured out how to improve the instrument, having taught himself the art of lens grinding, and thus, produced increasingly powerful telescopes. galileostele.jpg A Photo of The Original Galileo Telescope[8] By December 1609, Galileo had built a telescope of 20 times magnification and began observing the heavens. He discovered that the moon was not smooth, as had been thought by Aristotle and in fact, there were mountains and craters present on it making it rough and uneven.[9] Moon1.jpg Picture Showing Craters on the Moon[10] In January 1610, Galileo discovered four moons revolving around Jupiter thus proving that not all objects orbit the Earth (which was thought by Aristotle and Ptolemy).[11] These moons are now referred to as Galilean Moons. FG11_16.jpg Galilean Moons of Jupiter[12] These discoveries were tremendous and Galileo described them in a small book called The Sidereal Messenger which he dedicated to Cosimo II de Medici, the grand duke of his native Tuscany. He had also named the moons of Jupiter after the Medici family referring to them as the Sidera Medicea or Medicean Stars.[3] As a reward, Galileo was appointed as mathematician and philosopher of the grand duke of Tuscany. In Florence of that same year, he observed that Venus exhibited a full set of phases similar to that of the moon, which proved that it must orbit the Sun and not the Earth.[1] This observation was among the most important in human history, for it provided the first conclusive observational proof that was consistent with the Copernican system but not the Ptolemaic system. According to Nicholas Copernicus heliocentric model of the solar system, the Sun is at the centre of the solar system with the Earth being just another planet orbiting the Sun. The orbit of Venus around the sun would allow all the phases of Venus to be visible from the Earth. On the other hand, Claudius Ptolemys geocentric model, with Earth at the centre and Venus orbiting Earth, only the crescent and new moon phases of Venus would be observed. venus_orbit.png Ptolemaic View versus Copernican View of Venus[11] Galileos telescopic observations of the crescent, gibbous and full phases of Venus provided empirical and conclusive evidence that the Ptolemaics model was incorrect. Galileo was now confirmed in his belief, that the Sun is the centre of the universe and that the Earth is a planet, as Copernicus had previously argued. Galileos conversion to Copernicanism was a key turning point in the scientific revolution. In 1613, Galileo also observed the Sun through his telescope and saw that there were dark patches present on it, (now referred to as sunspots,) which were considered to be imperfections at the time.[13] sunspots.gif Sunspots on the Sun as Observed by Galileo through his Telescope[14] This was contrary to what Aristotle had proposed in that, the heavenly spheres and bodies were made from a divine, unchanging, perfect substance which he said was the fifth element called aether.[15] (The four elements were earth, fire, air and water.) Aristotle held that this perfect substance, had by nature to execute perfect (uniform, circular) motion.[16] Galileo observed the motion of these sunspots which indicated that the Sun was rotating on an axis which made it possible that the Earth might be rotating on an axis as well, as required by the Copernican model. Thus, if the heavens were in fact not perfect, then the idea of elliptical orbits (according to Kepler) was not so objectionable.[11] These new facts were both unknown to Aristotle and Ptolemy. The Greeks rejected the Heliocentric model partly because they could not detect stellar parallax, which was the apparent shifts in stellar positions when observed from two separate points over the course of the year. Galileo observed with his telescope that the Milky Way resolved into countless individual stars, which helped him argue that the stars were far more numerous and more distant than the Greeks had believed. With this in mind, Galileo was able to conclude that stars were so far away that stellar parallax were undetectable, thus further supporting the Heliocentric model.[11] In 1616, Galileo also discovered the planet Saturn which had seen as a three-body system, which was later found out to be the rings of Saturn but, he was unable to see this because his telescope was not powerful enough, showing them as extensions on either side of the planet. DSC08891-Saturn.jpgPic26-ears.jpg Galileos Sketch of Saturn[17] View of Saturn through Galileos Telescope in 1616[17] Galileo also conducted experiments using rolling balls to demonstrate that a moving object remains in motion unless a force acts to stop it (now codified as Newtons First Law of Motion). This explained why objects such as birds, falling stones and clouds, which share Earths motion in space, should stay with Earth rather than fall behind as Aristotle had argued.[11] Thus, it was Galileo who had laid the final groundwork in modern astronomy (originally started by Copernicus and continued with Brahe and Kepler) which was used to overthrow the views of Aristotle and Ptolemaic model. It was then the work of Issac Newton who put all the pieces together and demonstrated that the laws that governed the heavens were the same laws that governed motion on Earth. Galileos Writings and Publications In Astronomy Many philosophy professors had scorned Galileos discoveries because they had strongly believed in Aristotles views of perfectly spherical bodies existing in the heavens. In 1610, Sidereus Nuncius (The Starry/Sidereal Messenger) was the first scientific paper to be published based on Galileos telescopic observations which reported about the Galilean Moons, the craters and mountains on the Moons surface, the Milky Way and the numerous stars which it contains and the appearances of planets and fixed stars.[18] In 1613 he published work on the sunspots he discovered called the Letters on Sunspots. This publication also included the full set of phases of Venus as well as the puzzling appearance of the three-body system of Saturn. In 1614 a Florentine priest denounced Galileo from the pulpit because a Pisan professor (in Galileos absence) told the Medici that belief in a moving earth was unorthodox. Galileo wrote a letter on the irrelevance of biblical passages in scientific arguments, stating that the Bible should be adapted to increased knowledge and that no scientific person should be made a critique of the Roman Catholic faith.[3] In early 1616, Copernican books were subjected to censorship by law and that Galileo must no longer hold or defend the concept that the earth moves. Galileo remained silent on the subject for some years until 1623 when he published The Assayer. This book set forth his views on the mathematical formulation of scientific reasoning as well as experiments he conducted in determining longitudes at sea by using his predictions of Jupiters satellites. This book was successful and got support among the higher levels of Christian Churches. In 1624, Galileo went to Rome where he had a few interviews with the Pope (Urban VIII at that time), whom he told about his theory on tides that he developed in 1616. Galileo put forward proof of the annual and diurnal motions of the Earth, whereby he was granted the permission to write a book about the theories of the universe, but was warned to treat Copernican theory only hypothetically.[18] In 1630, the book titled the Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems was allowed to print by the Roman Catholic sensors at Rome, but they altered the title, excluding the words Ptolemaic and Copernican (at the end of the above title). The book was finally published at Florence in 1632. However, in 1633 Galileo was summoned by the Roman Inquisition to stand trial for suspicion of heresy, on the grounds that he had been personally ordered in 1616 not to discuss Copernicanism either orally or in writing and was sentenced to life imprisonment which was commuted to house arrest.[18] The Dialogue was ordered to be burned. galilei_image01.jpg Painting depicts Galileo standing trial in Rome for his belief in Copernicanism[19] In 1638 at Leiden, Galileos final book was published entitled the Discourses Concerning Two New Sciences, which reviewed and refined his earlier studies of motion and mechanics. This book led Newton to the law of gravitation that linked Keplers laws with Galileos physics. Conclusion Galileo became blind before his last book was published. He died at his home in Arcetri, near Florence on January 8th 1642. It was not until 1979 an investigation into Galileos condemnation called for a reversal by Pope John Paul II and in October 1992, a papal commission acknowledged the Churchs error. Fifty years after his death the city of Florence erected a monument in Galileos honour in Santa Croce. 800px-Tomb_of_Galileo_Galilei.jpg Tomb of Galileo in Santa Croce[20] In December 2008, during the events to mark the 400th anniversary of Galileos telescopic observations, Pope Benedict XVI praised his contributions to astronomy. Galileo still remains one of the most important scientists of his time and even though he had a difficult lifetime and personally suffered because of his ideas, he is greatly appreciated today.

Prayer In Public Schools Essay

The pros and cons of prayer in public schools have been debated for over forty years. The foundation of the United States is based on religious tolerance. The pilgrims came to this country because they were not free to worship and serve God leading to the guarantee of religious freedom in the Constitution. In years past, it was not acceptable in this country to proclaim disbelief in God.   Prayer in schools was an integral part of religious life. During the 1940’s and 1950’s, conservatives and liberals believed religion focusing on a personal relationship with Christ should be taught in schools (Zimmerman, pg. 1). It was not until the 1960’s that individuals began to have issues with this status quote. With more and more citizens coming forward to fight for their individual religious rights, it was decided by the Supreme Court that since everyone does not believe in God (or does not believe in the same God) open prayer should be removed from public schools. This does not mean that all prayer was removed from public schools. The 1962 ruling of the Supreme Court found organized school prayer unconstitutional (Manegold, pg. 1), which means that students can still pray privately. Yet, some people still found this unacceptable. No matter what side of the issue someone sits on, the fight surrounding prayer in public schools is deep and long-running. â€Å"Separation of church and state is a fundamental premise of our Constitution and our country,† (pbs.org, pg. 1). Prayer represents church and the Supreme Court and public schools represent state. The Constitution infers that the two should never meet. Those who oppose prayer in schools, first argue that prayer in public schools bring church and state together. The 1962 decision brought a surprising number of religious supporters. Martin Luther King Jr. was one such supporter. â€Å"It’s prayer decision was sound and good,† King declared, â€Å"reaffirming something that is basic in our Constitution, namely separation of church and state† (Zimmerman, pg. 1). Pastors and proclaimed Christians supported the Supreme Court because they did not want the state or government mixing in church affairs. Another argument focuses on personal rights guaranteed by the Constitution. As citizens of the United States, every person is guaranteed certain rights and public prayer impinges on those rights. Personal religious beliefs should not be forced onto someone else. Everyone has a right to pray and believe in what they want, whenever they want. The 1st â€Å"amendment sets out the principles regarding religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.   Basically, it protects our rights to worship as we want, say what we want, publish what we want, gather in groups, and make our concerns known to the government.   It also prohibits the government from identifying with a particular religion; effectively separating church and state† (pbs.org, pg. 1). When students are allowed to prayer publicly, the issue of others imposing their personal beliefs on others will occur. Prayer in school inhibits personal and guaranteed rights.   Supporters of prayer in public schools believe the Supreme Court has overstepped its authority. â€Å"The supreme Court†¦serves to clarify, refine and test the ideals written into the Constitution (pbs.org, pg. 1). It is their job to interpret the Constitution when lawsuits are filed concerning Constitutional laws. As a result of restricted prayer in public school, supporters of prayer continue to flood Congress with proposals to â€Å"keep the issue alive†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Zimmerman, pg. 1), fighting to bring organized prayer back into public schools.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Supporters argue that the amount of violence in today’s schools is directly linked to the ban of prayer in schools. It is not just a matter of students fist fighting but violence often involve knifes and guns, resulting in deaths. â€Å"Juvenile delinquency is on the rise. America is in an advanced state of moral decline,† (Zimmerman, pg. 2). Those in favor of prayer in schools are convinced that if God is brought back into the classroom, the violence will stop. The Bible teaches against violence and teaches love and tolerance. Collective and organized prayer will bring students together and stop violence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The United States is a diverse country with millions of people who believe in different religions and serve different Gods (or the same God called by different names). Students have a right to go to school and not be made to feel uncomfortable because of public prayer. The problem with supporters of prayer in public schools is that they do not understand the Supreme Court’s 1962 ruling. The Supreme Court’s ruled organized prayer is unconstitutional. Students can still pray privately. There is no reason to have public prayer unless the goal is to sway individuals to a particular way of thinking. Twenty-two years before the 1962 ruling, in 1940, the Supreme Court ruled â€Å"that a public school may require students to salute the flag and pledge allegiance even if it violates their religious scruples† (pbs.org, pg. 2).   Although this ruling was overturned three years later, it shows how the subject of school and religion has always been a murky area. The issue of prayer in school remains â€Å"unsettled† from the Supreme Court to local governments to school officials (Manegold, pg. 1). The first amendment has guaranteed everyone the right to free speech, therefore, citizens of the United States will continue to fight for rights they believe have been infringed in any way. The debate over prayer in school has not ended and is not likely to end in the near future. Works Cited    Manegold, Catherine S. February 5, 1994. Senators Take a Cautious Stand on School Prayer. New York Times. Retrieved from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html. PBS. April 5, 2001. â€Å"School and Religion.† Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june00/school_prayer.htm. Zimmerman, Jonathan. January 25, 2001. â€Å"The Other Massive Resistance: School Prayer and the Conservative Revolution, 1962-1984†. New York University. Retrieved from http://www.virginia.edu/uvanewsmakers/newsmakers/zimmerman.html.

Poetry Comparison Essay - 1369 Words

Poetry Comparison There have been many wars throughout time. Most people learn the facts through: papers, films, books or poems, but I am comparing two similar poems which have different meanings. Wilfred Owen who wrote the poem Dulce et Decorum est or Lord Alfred Tennyson who wrote The Charge of the Light Brigade. They are both based around the theme of war. Lord Alfred Tennyson is pro war and thinks its a good thing to die for your country. His poem was written to memorialise the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean war (1854 - 56) he wrote it ten years later, on: April 10th 1864. He was born in 1809 and died at the age of 83 in 1892. Wilfred Owen is against war and he writes about the First†¦show more content†¦The soldiers are getting defeated But limped on, blood shod. All went lame, all blind in this line Owen has used metaphors and repetition to make the soldiers movements stand out and shows they are injured and have got blood on there shoes. Owen wants the reader to picture this in your mind with the verbs he has used coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge shows they are choking on the gas and smoke but slowly and angrily carry on to battle. The use of repetition emphasises exactly how he felt and what he saw, All went lame; all blind it makes it stand out how tired and injured the soldiers really are from Owens view. The rhythm of stanza one is made by the ten syllables per line, which gives the effect that the soldiers are marching. The rhythm has changed, theres now a gas attack and the soldiers are shouting and rushing trying to get there masks on in time Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!-An ecstasy of fumbling. Owen then wants the reader to picture this so uses caesuras and exclamation marks to emphasise exactly whats happening and this makes you imagine the soldiers in a sudden rush for the masks. 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The Pathogenic Bacteria That Is Responsible For A...

Treponema pallidum, a pathogenic bacteria that is responsible for a dangerous multistage, sexually transmitted disease called Syphilis. This disease has been rapidly growing and is very easily infectious. Many people will mistaken it for a different disease and the average amount of time for symptoms to show is 21 days. It is curable within the first two stages, but once it moves onto the late/latent stages, it’s almost incurable due to damages that took place. There are more than one type of antibiotic to treat it and multiple different tests to determine if someone is infected with Syphilis. So even if this disease is easily contracted, there are preventative precautions that can be taken place and treatment that aren’t too difficult and time consuming. What is Treponema pallidum? This is a very thin and tightly coiled gram negative spirochete bacteria that grows where little oxygen is available according to Lori E. Fantry and Edmund C. Tramont (2014). This bacteria has periplasmic flagella and contains peptidoglycan outer complex membrane. Since they lack endotoxins, they make up for it by having lipoproteins which initiates inflammation. T. pallidum were originally thought to be an anaerobe, however it is now discovered that it is a microaerophilic. Since this microbe is so thin, it requires a dark field microscope to be viewed according to Radolph (1996). Similar bacteria to T. pallidum includes T. pallidum ssp. pertenue, T. pallidum ssp. endemicum, and Treponema