| Scientific Revolution | the emergence of modern science-precise knowledge of the physical world based on the union of experimental observations with sophisticated mathematics |
| Aristotle | lived in 4th century BC; believed that the earth was center of universe and ten separate transparent crystal spheres moved about it-moon, sun, five known planets, fixed stars, two more for changes in stars positions over time-other spheres consisted of a perfect, incorruptible fifth essence-earth was made up of 4 imperfect, changeable elements (light elements) air and fire naturally moved upward while (heavy elements) water and earth naturally moved downward-uniform force moved an object at a constant speed and that object would stop as soon as the force was removed |
| Ptolemy | lived in 2nd century AD; worked out complicated rules to explain the minor irregularities in the movement of the planets |
| Nicholas Copernicus | the sun was the center of the universe and the stars and the planets, including the earth, moved around the sun- the stars were in fixated spots and weren’t rotating spheres moving around the earth- universe was of an unimaginable size-many religious leaders attacked Copernicus for his ideas because his theory meant that no one knew where the heavenly realm existed-he published his book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres until 1543, the year of his death |
| Geocentricism | the disproven theory that the Earth is at the center of the universe and the Sun and other objects go around it |
| Heliocentricism | the theory that the sun is at the center of the Universe and/or the Solar System |
| Tycho Brahe | fascinated by the idea that men could know the motions of the stars so accurately that they were able to predict their places and positions- studied astronomy in several different countries, and then returned to Denmark and built the most sophisticated observatory of his time- observed and recorded information about the stars and planets, making his greatest contribution all of the data |
| Johannes Kepler | : from Brahe’s data, Johannes Kepler, Brahe’s assistant, formulated three laws of planetary motion-(1) the orbits of the planets around the sun are elliptical rather than circular-(2) the planets don’t move at a uniform speed-(3) the time a planet takes to make its complete orbit is related to its distance from the sun- Kepler proved mathematically the precise relations of a sun-centered solar system |
| Galileo | examined motion and mechanics through the experimental method-he established the law of inertia- discovered the first four moons of Jupiter which proved that Jupiter could not be in an impenetrable crystal sphere- wrote a book entitled Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World in 1632, after which he was tried for heresy and thrown into jail where he recanted |
| Isaac Newton | combined and synthesized the findings of Brahe, Kepler, Galileo and others into a single explanatory system that would comprehend motion both on earth and in the skies- key component of his synthesis was the law of universal gravitation- published his book, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, otherwise known as Principia, in 1687 |
