Galileo Galilei

 

 

    Galileo Galilei was born on February 15th, 1564, to Vicenzo Galilei and his wife. When Galilei was 15, he found an urge to become a monk; however that was not the life his father had planned for him. Two years after he was withdrawn from the monastery, he went to the University of Pisa to undertake the study of medicines, as his father requested of him. Three years after enrolling in the University, in 1602, Galilei discovered the Law of the Pendulum. The Laws of the Pendulum had shown Galilei that the period of time it took for each and every swing was the same. After he discovered that law, he proved Aristotle's theories on the Laws of Nature wrong. Galilei also discovered that the moon was not a perfect sphere, the Laws of Gravity, and that the Earth was not the center of our universe. Once he had created his theories and conclusions, he published them, as a fictional story, and for that he faced charges of heresy. He was put on house arrest for the rest of his life and died there January 8th, 1642.

 

 

 

Why I chose Galilei

 

 

 

 

     Galileo Galilei was an incredible man; he was able to discover all that he did before basic technology was developed, some of which he himself developed. He discovered The Law of the Pendulum. This law is now used all around the world, whether they are in one region or another, clocks regulate to this law. He started designing the pendulum as early as 1582, but his designs for the pendulum were never created, thus making the world wait until Christian Huygens came along to create it. Long after discovering the Law of the Pendulum, there were rumors, and what started as a rumor of a spyglass that could make faraway things seem closer, turned into a reality for Galileo Galilei when he decided to make one his self, even without the knowledge of what it looked like. His version of this “spyglass” was actually a 3-power telescope, of which he used to discover what the center of the universe really was: the sun. Galilei is the perfect example for the Power of One project, because the Pendulum's Law is an important part of everyday life. The law is what allows us to regulate clocks and watches. Time is important to everyone, it is valuable and it is counted so that people can know what time it is when they need to. I find Galileo Galilei to be amazing, to do what he did, even in fear, without technology or much assistance amazes me, it is incredible what humans can do when they put their minds to it.

 

The Time Period of Galileo Galilei

 

 

 

     Galileo Galilei lived through the 16^th and 17^th centuries. During this time, the Roman Catholic Church was in command. In Europe, the many countries, specifically Italy, were involved in the renaissance. The renaissance was the time period of new art and ideas, where many artists and philosophers came up with brilliant new ideas. Within this time period the Thirty Year War started and finished; it started in 1618 and ended six years after Galileo Galilei’s death in 1642. Far away from Europe, between the years of 1519 to 1521, the Spanish attempted and succeeded to take control of the Aztec Empire, with the help of other tribes whom highly disliked the Aztecs as well. Long after the times of the early Spanish empire came 1592 to 1598 where attempts, made by the Japanese, to invade Korea were made: these events are recognized as the “Seven Year War” and the “Imjin War”. Not so far from Japan and Korea, was China, and in China, the ruling power was that of the Ming dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was very powerful but it died down in the late 1600s and early 1700s. Considering that the time period is a span of almost 100 years, there is most likely way more than mentioned or found online. This time period was a great time for Europe due to the renaissance and its lively artists and philosophers.

 

The Impact of Galileo Galilei

 

 

 

 

 

     Every discovery and invention made by Galileo Galilei has been beneficial to the world in not just one country but many. The Law of the Pendulum, for example, is what allows us to use and function with time. The Pendulum law regulates clocks so that we know what time it is where ever we are. Time affects our economy, and is part of the technology the world has created. Another one of his efforts was the telescope: He did not invent it, but he modified it so that it could be used in a more sufficient way. Galilei’s telescope had a zoom of 32 times, using only two lenses. His telescope was a new piece of technology that was later modified over and over again so that it could see further than it had before. This piece of technology has greatly affected our economy as well, it has provided its manufacturers with jobs, and the modified telescopes are used daily by scientists who look at tiny cells with a microscope of some kind, or scientists in labs who work in NASA and look beyond the stars. Galilei also created a thermometer, this thermometer was created with water, now we have modified it so that it is more efficient, we now use mercury so that it may tell the temperature with better accuracy. The thermometer affects our culture; It is a piece of technology that measures how hot or cold it is so that we may see the weather. It is also used as a medical purpose to tell the temperature of the human body, as to tell whether or not someone is above or below the average temperature. Technology has come a long way and for that there are many who should be thanked, one of them being Galileo Galilei.

 

Works Cited

 

 

Machamer, Peter, "Galileo Galilei", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2009 Edition), 4 NOV. 2009, http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2009/entries/galileo/

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Bellis, Mary. "Galileo Galiei: Biography of Galileo Galilei", About.com:Inventors, 1997. 4 November 2009, http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Galileo_Galilei.htm

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Van Helden, Albert. "Galileo and the Pendulum." Connexions.

     24 May 2004. 4 November 2009, http://cnx.org/content/m11929/latest/

 

   

 

 

Mary Somerville

 

Many inventions, over time, have been made. From paper to planes we have seen the world and we have seen life. Many people have made this possible: Many of them were men and many were woman. Mary Somerville, a mathematician and astronomer, began her studies of math when she was 15. She was born in 1780 and forced to wed her cousin in 1804. However, in 1807 the husband and father died, quickly following his death was one of his two sons. Mary took the other son to Scotland for her studies, and then married another cousin, this time, he supported her studies. Mary Somerville, awarded many ribbons and medals, had published many books before her death in 1872. Marrying her cousins was surprising; for us it seems weird because we would never marry a relative, but in the past marrying a cousin was common. The studies she undertook may have contributed to the things we now study and/or understand. She, even with the doubt of others, continued her studies and continued to contribute to the scientific world.

 

 

 

 

 

William Clinton

 

 Along with inventors come leaders: from Hitler to Obama there have been many. William Clinton, America's 42nd president was and still is a very commanding man. Before he looked down the road of politics he considered being a doctor, but after meeting President John F. Kennedy, he changed his mind. From 1974 to 1976 he was a teacher in Arkansas; he then became the state attorney general. In the January of 1993, William Clinton was involved in the creation of “Don’t ask, don’t tell”, thus allowing people whom like their own gender to join the military. Clinton was also involved in the NAFTO, GATT, and WTO. William Clinton would be a good person for the Power of One project because he was involved with economics, culture, and government. What is most intriguing about him is that he has always stuck to helping our nation grow stronger, which is a good quality to have as a leader.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grace Murray Hopper

 

           Another female who dedicated her live to helping our nation was Grace Murray Hopper. Grace was born in 1906 and died in 1992. In her lifetime she spent a lot of her time creating mathematical codes, that computers could understand, and moved on to pioneering the COBOL project, which was a computer language that provided easier access. She was the first woman to attain the rank of rear admiral, which she attained in 1991. Her work was related with government, and science/technology, she would be a great person to use on the project of “Power of One”. I admire her most for her dedication to her work, even though she was one of the first few women to do the work she did.

 

 

 

1)

http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_mary_somerville.htm

 

 

 

 

 

2)

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0760626.html

 

 

 

 

 

3)

http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=79