icae)[18].
Now they are more appropriately called "Galilean satellites".
Galileo shows the telescope to the Doge of Venice (fresco by J. Bertini)
Galileo described his first discoveries with a telescope in his essay "The Starry Messenger" (Lat. Sidereus Nuncius), published in Florence in 1610.
The book was a sensational success throughout Europe, even the crowned heads were in a hurry to order a telescope[19].
Galileo presented several telescopes to the Venetian Senate, which, as a sign of gratitude, appointed him a professor for life with a salary of 1000 florins.
In September 1610, Kepler got a telescope[20], and in December the discoveries of Galileo were confirmed by the influential Roman astronomer Clavius.
Universal recognition is coming.
Galileo becomes the most famous scientist in Europe, odes are composed in his honor, where he is compared to Columbus.
On April 20, 1610, shortly before his death, the French King Henry IV asked Galileo to discover a star for him[21].
There were, however, also dissatisfied ones.
The astronomer Francesco Sizzi (ital. Sizzi) published a pamphlet where he stated that seven is a perfect number, and even there are seven holes in a person's head, so there can only be seven planets, and Galileo's discoveries are an illusion[22].
Astrologers and doctors also protested, complaining that the appearance of new heavenly bodies is "disastrous for astrology and most of medicine", since all the usual astrological methods "will be completely destroyed"[23].
During these years, Galileo enters into a civil marriage with a Venetian Marina Gamba (ital. Marina Gamba).
He never married Marina, but became the father of a son and two daughters.
He named his son Vincenzo in memory of his father, and his daughters, in honor of his sisters, Virginia and Livia.
Later, in 1619, Galileo officially legalized his son; both daughters ended their lives in a monastery[24].
The pan European fame and the need for money pushed Galileo to a disastrous step, as it turned out later: in 1610, he left the quiet Venice, where he was inaccessible to the Inquisition[25], and moved to Florence.
Duke Cosimo II de ' Medici, son of Ferdinand, promised Galileo an honorary and lucrative position as an adviser at the Tuscan court.
He kept his promise, which allowed Galileo to solve the problem of the huge debts that had accumulated after the marriage of his two sisters.
Florence, 1610-1632[edit / edit wiki text]
Portrait of Galileo Galilei by Ottavio Leoni
Galileo's duties at the court of Duke Cosimo II were not burdensome — teaching the sons of the Tuscan duke and participating in some affairs as an adviser and representative of the duke.
Formally, he is also enrolled as a professor at the University of Pisa, but is relieved of the tedious duty of lecturing.
Galileo continues his scientific research and discovers the phases of Venus, the spots on the Sun, and then the rotation of the Sun around the axis.
Your achievements (as well as your priority) Galileo often expounded in a pugnaciously polemical style, which made many new enemies (in particular, among the Jesuits)[26].
Protection of Copernicanism[edit / edit wiki text]
Joshua stops the sun.
Engraving by Gustave Dore
The growing influence of Galileo, the independence of his thinking and his sharp opposition to the teachings of Aristotle contributed to the formation of an aggressive circle of his opponents, consisting of peripatetic professors and some church leaders.
Galileo's detractors were particularly outraged by his propaganda of the heliocentric system of the world, since, in their opinion, the rotation of the Earth contradicted the texts of the Psalms (Psalm 103:5), a verse from Ecclesiastes (Ecc. 1:5), as well as an episode from the Book of Joshua (Nav. 10:12), which speaks about the immobility of the Earth and the movement of the Sun[27].
In addition, a detailed justification of the concept of the immobility of the Earth and the refutation of hypotheses about its rotation was contained in Aristotle's treatise "On the Sky"[28] and in Ptolemy's Almagest[29].
In 1611, Galileo, in the halo of his glory, decided to go to Rome, hoping to convince the Pope that Copernicanism was quite compatible with Catholicism.
He was well received, was elected the sixth member of the scientific "Accademia dei Lincei", gets acquainted with Pope Paul V, influential cardinals[30].
He showed them his telescope, gave explanations carefully and cautiously.
The cardinals created a whole commission to find out whether it is not a sin to look at the sky through a pipe, but came to the conclusion that it is permissible[27].
It was also encouraging that Roman astronomers openly discussed the question of whether Venus moves around the Earth or around the Sun (the change of phases of Venus clearly spoke in favor of the second option)[31].
Emboldened, Galileo, in a letter to his disciple Abbot Castelli (1613), stated that the Holy Scripture refers only to the salvation of the soul and is not authoritative in scientific matters: "no utterance of Scripture has such a coercive force as any natural phenomenon has"[32].
Moreover, he published this letter, which caused the appearance of denunciations to the Inquisition.
In the same year, 1613, Galileo published the book "Letters on Sunspots", in which he openly spoke in favor of the Copernican system[33].
On February 25, 1615, the Roman Inquisition began the first case against Galileo on charges of heresy[34].
The last mistake of Galileo was the call to Rome to express a final attitude to Copernicanism (1615).
All this caused a reaction that was the opposite of what was expected.
Alarmed by the success of the Reformation, the Catholic Church decided to strengthen its spiritual monopoly — in particular, by banning Copernicanism.
The position of the church is clarified by a letter from the influential Cardinal Bellarmino [35], sent on April 12, 1615 to the theologian Paolo Antonio Foscarini, a defender of Copernicanism[36].
The cardinal explains that the church does not object to the interpretation of Copernicanism as a convenient mathematical device, but accepting it as a reality would mean recognizing that the previous, traditional interpretation of the biblical text was erroneous.
And this, in turn, will shake the authority of the church:
First, it seems to me that your priesthood and Mr. Galileo are wise to be content with saying that they are supposed, and not absolutely;
I have always believed that Copernicus also said this.
Because if we say that the assumption of the motion of the Earth and the immobility of the Sun allows us to represent all phenomena better than the assumption of eccentrics and epicycles, then this will be said perfectly and does not entail any danger.
For a mathematician, this is quite enough.
But to want to assert that the Sun is actually the center of the world and revolves only around itself, without moving from east to west, that the Earth stands in the third heaven and rotates around the Sun with great speed — to assert this is very dangerous, not only because it means to excite all philosophers and theologians of the scholastics; it would mean to harm the holy faith by presenting the provisions of the Holy Scripture as false.
Secondly, as you know, the Council of Trent forbade the interpretation of Holy Scripture contrary to the general opinion of the holy fathers.
And if your priesthood wants to read not only the holy fathers, but also the new commentaries on the book of Exodus, Psalms, Ecclesiastes and the book of Jesus, then you will find that everyone agrees that you need to understand literally that the Sun is in the sky and rotates around the Earth with great speed, and the Earth is the most distant from heaven and stands motionless in the center of the world.
Judge for yourself, with all your prudence, can the church allow the scriptures to be given a meaning contrary to everything that the holy fathers and all the Greek and Latin interpreters wrote?
The original text (Italian)
Primo, dico che V. P. et il Sig.r Galileo facciano prudentemente a contentarsi di parlare ex suppositione e non assolutamente, come io ho sempre creduto che habbia parlato il Copernico.
Perché il dire, che supposto che la Terra si muova e il Sole sia fermo si salvano tutte le apparenze meglio che con porre gli eccentrici et epicicli, è benissimo detto, e non ha pericolo nessuno; e questo basta al mathematico: ma volere affermare che realmente il Sole stia nel centro del mondo e solo si rivolti in sé stesso senza correre dall'oriente all'occidente, e che la Terra stia nel 3° cielo e giri con somma velocità intorno al Sole, è cosa molto pericolosa non solo d'irritare i filosofi e theologici scolastici, ma anco di nuocere alla Santa Fede con rendere false le Scritture Sante...
Secondo, dico che, come lei sa, il Concilio prohibisce le scritture contra il commune consenso de' Santi Padri; e se la P. V. vorrà leggere non dico solo li Santi Padri, ma li commentarii moderni sopra il Genesi, sopra li Salmi, sopra l'Ecclesiaste, sopra Giosuè, troverà che tutti convengono in esporre ad literam ch'il Sole è nel cielo e gira intorno alla Terra con somma velocità, e che la Terra è lontanissima dal cielo e sta nel centro del mondo, immobile.
Consideri hora lei, con la sua prudenza, se la Chiesa possa sopportare che si dia alle Scritture un senso contrario alli Santi Padri et a tutti li espositori greci e latini.
- The text of the letter (Ital.)
On March 5, 1616, Rome officially defines heliocentrism as a dangerous heresy[27]:
To assert that the Sun stands motionless in the center of the world is an absurd opinion, false from a philosophical point of view and formally heretical, since it directly contradicts St. John the Baptist.
The Scripture.
To assert that the Earth is not at the center of the world, that it does not remain stationary and even has a diurnal rotation, is an opinion equally absurd, false from a philosophical point of view and sinful from a religious point of view.
Pope Paul V approved this decision.
The book of Copernicus was included in the Index of Prohibited Books " before its correction research institute".
The decree of the congregation prescribed[37]:
...That from now on, no one, no matter what rank or position he holds, dares to print them or contribute to printing, keep them in his possession or read them, and everyone who has or will continue to have them is charged with the obligation to immediately submit them to the local authorities or inquisitors after the publication of this decree.
All this time (from December 1615 to March 1616), Galileo spent in Rome, unsuccessfully trying to turn things in a different direction.
He was only able to obtain assurances that nothing was threatening him personally, but from now on all support for the" Copernican heresy " should be stopped[38].
The ecclesiastical prohibition of heliocentrism, in the truth of which Galileo was convinced, was unacceptable for a scientist.
He returned to Florence and began to think about how, without formally violating the ban, to continue defending the truth.
In the end, he decided to publish a book containing a neutral discussion of different points of view.
He wrote this book for 16 years, collecting materials, honing arguments and waiting for a favorable moment.
Creating a new mechanic[edit / edit wiki text]
Statue of Galileo in Florence, sculptor Kotodi (1839)
After the fatal decree of 1616, Galileo changed the direction of the struggle for several years — now he focuses mainly on criticizing Aristotle, whose writings also formed the basis of the medieval worldview.
In 1623, Galileo's book "The Assay Maker" was published (ital. Il Saggiatore); this is a pamphlet directed against the Jesuits, in which Galileo expounds his erroneous theory of comets (he believed that comets are not cosmic bodies, but optical phenomena in the Earth's atmosphere).
The position of the Jesuits (and Aristotle) in this case was closer to the truth: comets are extraterrestrial objects.
This mistake did not prevent Galileo, however, from expounding and wittily arguing his scientific method, from which the mechanistic worldview of the following centuries grew[39].
In the same year, 1623, Matteo Barberini, an old acquaintance and friend of Galileo, was elected the new Pope, under the name of Urban VIII.
In April 1624, Galileo went to Rome, hoping to achieve the revocation of the edict of 1616.
He was received with all the honors, awarded with gifts and flattering words, but he did not achieve anything in the main issue.
The edict was revoked only two centuries later, in 1818.
Urban VIII particularly praised the book "The Assay Maker" and forbade the Jesuits to continue the polemic with Galileo[40].
In 1624, Galileo published "Letters to Ingoli"; this is a response to the anti Copernican treatise of the theologian Francesco Ingoli[41].
Galileo immediately stipulates that he is not going to defend Copernicanism, but only wants to show that it has solid scientific foundations.
He used this technique later in his main book, "A Dialogue about two systems of the World"; part of the text of "Letters to Ingoli" was simply transferred to the "Dialogue".
In his examination, Galileo equates the stars with the Sun, points to the colossal distance to them, speaks of the infinity of the Universe.
He even allowed himself a dangerous phrase: "If any point of the world can be called its center, then it is the center of the revolutions of the heavenly bodies; and in it, as everyone who understands these issues knows, is the Sun, not the Earth."
He also stated that the planets and the Moon, like the Earth, attract the bodies located on them[42].
But the main scientific value of this work is the laying of the foundations of a new, non Aristotelian mechanics, developed 12 years later in Galileo's last essay "Conversations and Mathematical Proofs of two New Sciences".
Already in the" Letters to Ingoli " Galileo clearly formulates the principle of relativity for uniform motion:
The results of the shooting will always be the same, no matter what country of the world it is directed to... this will happen because it should also turn out whether the Earth is in motion or standing still…
Let the ship move, and moreover at any speed; then (if only its movement is uniform, and not oscillating to and fro) you will not notice the slightest difference [in what is happening] [42].
In modern terminology, Galileo proclaimed the uniformity of space (the absence of the center of the world) and the equality of inertial reference systems.
An important anti Aristotelian point should be noted: Galileo's argument implicitly assumes that the results of earthly experiments can be transferred to celestial bodies, that is, the laws on Earth and in heaven are the same.
At the end of his book, Galileo, with obvious irony, expresses the hope that his essay will help Ingoli to replace his objections to Copernicanism with others more appropriate to science.
In 1628, the 18 year old Ferdinand II, a pupil of Galileo, became the Grand Duke of Tuscany; his father Cosimo II had died seven years earlier.
The new duke maintained a warm relationship with the scientist, was proud of him and helped in every possible way.
Valuable information about the life of Galileo is contained in the preserved correspondence of Galileo with his eldest daughter Virginia, who took the name Maria Celeste in monasticism.
She lived in a Franciscan monastery in Arcetri, near Florence.
The monastery, as it should be among the Franciscans, was poor, the father often sent his daughter food and flowers, in return, the daughter prepared jam for him, repaired clothes, copied documents.
Only letters from Maria Celeste have survived — letters from Galileo, most likely, the monastery was destroyed after the trial of 1633[43].
The second daughter, Livia, lived in the same monastery, but at that time she was often ill and did not take part in correspondence.
In 1629, Vincenzo, the son of Galileo, married and settled with his father.
The following year, Galileo had a grandson named after him.
Soon, however, alarmed by another plague epidemic, Vincenzo and his family leave.
Galileo is considering a plan to move to Arcetri, closer to his beloved daughter; this plan was realized in September 1631[44].
Conflict with the Catholic Church[edit / edit wiki text]
Main article: The Galileo Process
Frontispiece of Galileo's "Dialogue"
In March 1630, the book "Dialogue about the two most important systems of the world — Ptolemaic and Copernican", the result of almost 30 years of work, was mostly completed, and Galileo, deciding that the moment for its release was favorable, provided the then version to his friend, the papal censor Riccardi.
For almost a year, he waits for his decision, then decides to go for a trick.
He adds a preface to the book, where he declares his goal to debunk Copernicanism and submits the book to the Tuscan censorship, and, according to some reports, in an incomplete and softened form.
After receiving a positive review, he sends it to Rome.
In the summer of 1631, he received the long awaited permission.
At the beginning of 1632, the "Dialogue" was published.
The book is written in the form of a dialogue between three lovers of science: the Copernican Salviati, a neutral participant of Sagredo and Simplicio, an adherent of Aristotle and Ptolemy[45].
Although there are no author's conclusions in the book, the strength of the arguments in favor of the Copernican system speaks for itself.
It is also important that the book is not written in learned Latin, but in the "folk" Italian language.
Pope Urban VIII.
Portrait by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, circa 1625
Galileo hoped that the Pope would treat his trick as leniently as he had previously treated the "Letters to Ingoli" with similar ideas, but he miscalculated.
To top it all off, he himself recklessly sends out 30 copies of his book to influential clergy in Rome.
As already noted above, shortly before (1623), Galileo came into conflict with the Jesuits[46]; he had few defenders left in Rome, and even those, having assessed the danger of the situation, preferred not to interfere.
Most biographers agree that in simpleton Simplicio, the Pope recognized himself, his arguments, and became enraged.
Historians note such characteristic features of Urban as despotism, stubbornness and incredible self conceit[47].
Galileo himself later believed that the initiative of the trial belonged to the Jesuits, who presented the Pope with an extremely tendentious denunciation of the book of Galileo (see below Galileo's letter to Diodati).
After a few months, the book was banned and withdrawn from sale, and Galileo was summoned to Rome (despite the plague epidemic) to the court of the Inquisition on suspicion of heresy.
After unsuccessful attempts to obtain a postponement due to poor health and the ongoing plague epidemic (Urban threatened to deliver him forcibly in shackles[48]), Galileo obeyed, served the prescribed plague quarantine and arrived in Rome on February 13, 1633.
Niccolini, the representative of Tuscany in Rome, on the instructions of Duke Ferdinand II, settled Galileo in the embassy building.
The investigation lasted from April 21 to June 21, 1633.
Galileo before the court of the Inquisition.
Painting by Joseph Nicolas Robert Fleury, 1847, Louvre
At the end of the first interrogation, the accused was taken into custody.
Galileo spent only 18 days in prison (from April 12 to April 30, 1633) — this unusual leniency was probably caused by Galileo's consent to repent, as well as the influence of the Tuscan duke, who constantly worked to soften the fate of his old teacher.
Taking into account his illness and advanced age, one of the service rooms in the building of the Inquisition tribunal was used as a prison[49].
Historians have investigated the question of whether Galileo was tortured during his imprisonment.
The documents of the process were not published in full by the Vatican, and what was published may have been subjected to preliminary editing[50].
Nevertheless, the following words were found in the sentence of the Inquisition[27]:
Noticing that you do not quite honestly admit your intentions when answering, we considered it necessary to resort to a strict test.
The original text (Lat.)
Cum vero nobis videretur non esse a te integram veritatem pronunciatam circa tuam intentionem: judicavimus necesse esse venire ad rigorosum examen tui, in quo (absque praejudicio aliquo eorum, quae tu confessus es, et quae contra te deducta sunt supra, circa dictam tuam intentionem) respondisti Catholice.
- The verdict of Galileo (Lat.)
Jean Antoine Laurent.
Galileo is in prison
After the" trial", Galileo, in a letter from prison (April 23), carefully reports that he does not get out of bed, because he is tormented by "terrible pain in his hip".
Some of Galileo's biographers assume that the torture really took place[27][51], while others consider this assumption unproven, only the threat of torture is documented, often accompanied by an imitation of the torture itself.
In any case, if there was torture, it was on a moderate scale, since on April 30 the scientist was released back to the Tuscan embassy.
Judging by the preserved documents and letters, scientific topics were not discussed at the trial.
The main questions were two: whether Galileo deliberately violated the edict of 1616, and whether he repents of what he did[27].
Three experts of the Inquisition concluded that the book violates the ban on propaganda of the "Pythagorean" doctrine.
As a result, the scientist was faced with a choice: either he will repent and renounce his "errors", or he will suffer the fate of Giordano Bruno.
On June 16, the Inquisition held a plenary session with the participation of Urban VIII, where it decided[52]:
After reviewing the entire course of the case and listening to the testimony, His Holiness decided to interrogate Galileo under the threat of torture and, if he resists, then after a preliminary recantation as a strongly suspected heresy... to sentence him to imprisonment at the discretion of the Holy Congregation.
He is instructed not to argue any more in writing or orally in any way about the movement of the Earth and about the immobility of the Sun... under pain of punishment as incorrigible.
The last interrogation of Galileo took place on June 21.
Galileo confirmed that he agreed to make the required abdication; this time he was not allowed to go to the embassy and was again taken under arrest.
On June 22, the verdict was announced: Galileo was guilty of distributing a book with a " false, heretical, disgusting St.
According to the Scripture, the teaching " on the movement of the Earth[53]:
As a result of the consideration of your guilt and your consciousness in it, we award and declare you, Galileo, for all the above and confessed by you under strong suspicion at this Holy court of heresy, as possessed by a false and contrary to the Sacred and Divine Scripture idea that the Sun is the center of the earth's orbit and does not move from east to west, the Earth is mobile and is not the center of the Universe.
We also recognize you as a disobedient to the church authorities, who forbade you to expound, defend and pass off as a probable teaching, recognized as false and contrary to the Holy Spirit.
In order that your sin and disobedience, so grave and harmful, might not be left without any reward and you would not later become even bolder, but, on the contrary, would serve as an example and a warning to others, we decided to ban the book under the title "Dialogue" by Galileo Galilei, and to imprison you yourself at the Holy Judgment for an indefinite time.
Galileo was sentenced to prison for a term that the Pope will set.
He was declared not a heretic, but "strongly suspected of heresy"; this wording was also a grave accusation, but it saved him from the fire.
After the verdict was announced, Galileo knelt down and pronounced the text of the abdication offered to him [54].
Copies of the verdict were sent to all universities of Catholic Europe by the personal order of Pope Urban [55].
Galileo Galilei (c. 1630), Peter Paul Rubens
Recent years[edit / edit wiki text]
The Pope did not keep Galileo in prison for long.
After the verdict, Galileo was settled in one of the Medici villas, from where he was transferred to the palace of his friend, Archbishop Piccolomini in Siena.
Five months later, Galileo was allowed to go home, and he settled in Archetri, next to the monastery where his daughters were staying.
Here he spent the rest of his life under house arrest and under the constant supervision of the Inquisition.
The regime of Galileo's detention did not differ from that of a prison, and he was constantly threatened with transfer to prison for the slightest violation of the regime[55].
Galileo was not allowed to visit cities, although a seriously ill prisoner needed constant medical supervision.
In the early years, he was forbidden to receive guests on pain of being transferred to prison; later the regime was somewhat relaxed, and friends were able to visit Galileo — however, no more than one[55].
The Inquisition followed the prisoner until the end of his life; even at the death of Galileo, two of its representatives were present [56].
All his printed works were subject to particularly thorough censorship[27].
It should be noted that in Protestant Holland, the publication of the Dialogue continued (the first publication: 1635, translated into Latin).
In 1634, the 33 year old eldest daughter Virginia (Maria Celeste in monasticism), a favorite of Galileo, who faithfully cared for her sick father and keenly experienced his misadventures, died[57].
Galileo writes that he is possessed by "boundless sadness and melancholy...
I constantly hear my dear daughter calling me"[58].
Galileo's health has deteriorated, but he continues to work vigorously in the fields of science allowed for him.
A letter from Galileo to his friend Elia Diodati (1634) has been preserved, where he shares news about his misadventures, points out their perpetrators (the Jesuits) and shares plans for future research.
The letter was sent through a trusted person, and Galileo is quite frank in it:
In Rome, I was sentenced by the Holy Inquisition to imprisonment on the instructions of His Holiness... the place of imprisonment for me was this small town one mile from Florence, with the strictest prohibition to go down to the city, meet and talk with friends and invite them…
When I returned from the monastery with the doctor who had visited my sick daughter before her death, and the doctor told me that the case was hopeless and that she would not survive the next day (as it happened), I found the vicar inquisitor at home.
He came to order me, according to the order of St. Nicholas.
the Inquisition in Rome... that I should not have applied for permission to return to Florence, otherwise I would be put in a real prison of the Holy Inquisition…
This incident, and others about which it would be too long to write, shows that the rage of my very powerful persecutors is constantly increasing.
And they finally wanted to reveal their face: when one of my dear friends in Rome, about two months ago, in a conversation with Padre Christopher Greenberg, a Jesuit, a mathematician of this college, touched on my affairs, this Jesuit said to my friend literally the following: "If Galileo could keep the favor of the fathers of this college, he would live in freedom, using fame, he would have no worries and he could write at his discretion about anything — even about the movement of the Earth," etc.
So, you see that I was attacked not because of one or another of my opinions, but because I am in disfavor with the Jesuits [59].
At the end of the letter, Galileo ridicules the ignorant who "declare the mobility of the Earth a heresy" and informs that he intends to anonymously publish a new treatise in defense of his position, but first wants to finish a long planned book on mechanics[60].
Of these two plans, he managed to implement only the second — he wrote a book on mechanics, summarizing his earlier discoveries in this field (see below).
Tito Lassie.
Galileo and Viviani.
Museum of the History of Science, Florence
Soon after the death of his daughter, Galileo completely lost his sight, but continued his scientific research, relying on loyal students: Castelli, Torricelli and Viviani (the author of the first biography of Galileo).
In a letter dated January 30, 1638, Galileo states[61]:
I do not stop, even in the darkness that has engulfed me, to speculate about this or that phenomenon of nature, and I could not give my restless mind a rest, even if I wanted to.
Galileo's last book was "Conversations and Mathematical Proofs of Two New Sciences", which outlines the basics of kinematics and the resistance of materials.
In fact, the content of the book is a rout of Aristotelian dynamics; instead, Galileo puts forward his principles of movement, proven by experience.
Challenging the Inquisition, Galileo brought out the same three characters in the new book as in the previously banned "Dialogue about the two main systems of the World".
In May 1636, the scientist negotiates the publication of his work in Holland, and then secretly sends the manuscript there.
In a confidential letter to a friend, Count de Noel (to whom he dedicated this book), Galileo writes that the new work "puts me back in the ranks of fighters"[62].
"Conversations..." was published in July 1638, and the book got to Archetri almost a year later — in June 1639.
This work became the reference book of Huygens and Newton, who completed the construction of the foundations of mechanics begun by Galileo.
Only once, shortly before his death (March 1638), the Inquisition allowed the blind and seriously ill Galileo to leave Arcetri and settle in Florence for treatment.
At the same time, he was forbidden to leave the house on pain of prison and discuss the "damned opinion" about the movement of the Earth[63].
However, a few months later, after the appearance of the Dutch edition of " Conversations...", the permission was canceled, and the scientist was ordered to return to Archetri.
Galileo was going to continue the " Conversations...", writing two more chapters, but did not have time to fulfill his plan.
The tomb of Galileo Galilei.
Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence
Galileo Galilei died on January 8, 1642, at the age of 78, in his bed.
Pope Urban forbade the burial of Galileo in the family crypt of the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence.
They buried him in Arcetri without honors, the Pope also did not allow to put up a monument[64].
The youngest daughter, Livia, died in a monastery.
Later, Galileo's only grandson also took monastic vows and burned the priceless manuscripts of the scientist that he kept as ungodly.
He was the last representative of the Galilean family[65].
In 1737, Galileo's ashes, as he requested, were transferred to the Basilica of Santa Croce, where on March 17 he was solemnly buried next to Michelangelo.
In 1758, Pope Benedict XIV ordered to delete the works that defended heliocentrism from the "Index of forbidden Books"; however, this work was carried out slowly and was completed only in 1835 [66].
From 1979 to 1981, at the initiative of Pope John Paul II, a commission for the rehabilitation of Galileo worked, and on October 31, 1992, Pope John Paul II officially recognized that the Inquisition made a mistake in 1633, forcing the scientist to renounce the Copernican theory[67].
Scientific achievements[edit / edit wiki text]
Galileo is rightfully considered the founder of not only experimental, but — to a large extent — also theoretical physics.
In his scientific method, he consciously combined a well thought out experiment with its rational understanding and generalization, and personally gave impressive examples of such studies.
Sometimes, due to a lack of scientific data, Galileo made mistakes (for example, in questions about the shape of planetary orbits, the nature of comets or the causes of tides), but in the vast majority of cases his method led to the goal.
It is characteristic that Kepler, who had more complete and accurate data than Galileo, made the right conclusions in cases where Galileo was wrong.
Philosophy and scientific method[edit / edit wiki text]
Although there were wonderful engineers in ancient Greece (Archimedes, Heron and others), the very idea of an experimental method of cognition, which should complement and confirm deductive speculative constructions, was alien to the aristocratic spirit of ancient physics.
In Europe, back in the XIII century, Robert Grossetest and Roger Bacon called for the creation of an experimental science that could describe natural phenomena in mathematical language, but there was no significant progress in the implementation of this idea before Galileo: scientific methods differed little from theological ones, and answers to scientific questions were still sought in the books of ancient authorities[68].
The scientific revolution in physics begins with Galileo [69].
In relation to the philosophy of nature, Galileo was a convinced rationalist.
He believed that the laws of nature are comprehensible to the human mind.
In the "Dialogue about Two Systems of the World", he wrote[70]:
I affirm that the human mind knows some truths as completely and with such absolute certainty as nature itself has; such are the pure mathematical sciences, geometry and arithmetic; although the Divine mind knows infinitely more truths in them... but in the few that the human mind has comprehended, I think its knowledge is equal to the Divine in objective certainty, because it comes to understand their necessity, and there is no higher degree of certainty.
The mind of Galileo is its own judge; in case of a conflict with any other authority, even a religious one, it should not yield:
It seems to me that when discussing natural problems, we should not start from the authority of the texts of Holy Scripture, but from sensory experiences and the necessary evidence…
I believe that everything concerning the actions of nature that is accessible to our eyes or can be clarified by logical evidence should not arouse doubts, much less be condemned on the basis of texts of Holy Scripture, perhaps even misunderstood[71].
God is no less revealed to us in the phenomena of nature than in the utterances of the Holy Scriptures...
It would be dangerous to attribute to the Holy Scriptures any judgment that has been challenged by experience at least once[72].
Ancient and medieval philosophers proposed to explain the phenomena of nature a variety of "metaphysical entities" (substances), which were attributed far fetched properties.
Galileo was not satisfied with this approach[73]:
I consider the search for the essence to be a vain and impossible occupation, and the efforts expended are equally futile both in the case of distant celestial substances and with the nearest and elementary ones; and it seems to me that the substance of the Moon and the Earth, as well as spots on the Sun, and ordinary clouds are equally unknown... [But] if we search in vain for the substance of sunspots, this does not mean that we cannot study some of their characteristics, for example, place, movement, shape, size, opacity, ability to change, their formation and disappearance.
Descartes rejected this position (in his physics, the main focus was on finding the "main causes"), but since Newton, the Galilean approach has become predominant.
Galileo is considered one of the founders of mechanicism.
This scientific approach considers the Universe as a giant mechanism, and complex natural processes as combinations of the simplest causes, the main of which is mechanical movement.
The analysis of mechanical motion is the basis of Galileo's work.
He wrote in The Assaymaker [74]:
I will never demand from external bodies anything other than size, figure, quantity, and more or less rapid movements in order to explain the occurrence of sensations of taste, smell and sound;
I think that if we eliminated ears, tongues, noses, then only figures, numbers, movements would remain, but not smells, tastes and sounds, which, in my opinion, are nothing but empty names outside of a living being.
To design an experiment and to understand its results, some preliminary theoretical model of the phenomenon under study is needed, and Galileo considered mathematics to be its basis, the conclusions of which he considered as the most reliable knowledge: the book of nature is "written in the language of mathematics"[75];
"Anyone who wants to solve the problems of natural sciences without the help of mathematics sets an unsolvable task.
It is necessary to measure what is measurable, and to make measurable what is not. " [76]
Galileo considered the experience not as a simple observation, but as a meaningful and thoughtful question posed to nature.
He also allowed thought experiments, if their results are not in doubt.
At the same time, he clearly understood that experience itself does not provide reliable knowledge, and the answer received from nature must be analyzed, the result of which may lead to a reworking of the original model or even to replacing it with another one.
Thus, the effective way of cognition, according to Galileo, consists in a combination of the synthetic (in his terminology, the composite method) and the analytical (the resolute method), the sensual and the abstract[77].
This position, supported by Descartes, was established in science from that moment on.
Thus, science received its own method, its own criterion of truth and a secular character.
Mechanics[edit / edit wiki text]
Galileo's last work on the basics of mechanics
Physics and mechanics in those years were studied according to the writings of Aristotle, which contained metaphysical arguments about the" root causes " of natural processes.
In particular, Aristotle stated[78]:
The speed of falling is proportional to the weight of the body.
Movement occurs while the "motive cause" (force) is active, and in the absence of force it stops.
While at the University of Padua, Galileo studied inertia and free fall of bodies.
In particular, he noticed that the acceleration of free fall does not depend on the weight of the body, thus refuting the first statement of Aristotle.
In his last book, Galileo formulated the correct laws of falling: the speed increases in proportion to time, and the path increases in proportion to the square of time[79].
In accordance with his scientific method, he immediately brought experimental data confirming the laws he discovered.
Moreover, Galileo also considered (on the 4th day of the "Conversations") a generalized task: to investigate the behavior of a falling body with a non zero horizontal initial velocity.
He quite correctly assumed that the flight of such a body would be a superposition (superposition) of two "simple movements": a uniform horizontal movement by inertia and an equally accelerated vertical fall.
Galileo proved that the specified body, as well as any body thrown at an angle to the horizon, flies along a parabola[79].
In the history of science, this is the first solved problem of dynamics.
At the end of the study, Galileo proved that the maximum flight range of an abandoned body is achieved for a throw angle of 45° (this assumption was previously made by Tartaglia, who, however, could not strictly justify it[80]).
Based on his model, Galileo (back in Venice) compiled the first artillery tables[81].
Galileo also refuted the second of the above laws of Aristotle, formulating the first law of mechanics (the law of inertia): in the absence of external forces, the body either rests or moves evenly.
What we call inertia, Galileo poetically called "ineradicably imprinted movement".
However, it allowed free movement not only in a straight line, but also in a circle (apparently for astronomical reasons)[82][83].
The correct formulation of the law was later given by Descartes and Newton; nevertheless, it is generally recognized that the very concept of "motion by inertia" was first introduced by Galileo, and the first law of mechanics justly bears his name[84].
Galileo is one of the founders of the principle of relativity in classical mechanics, which became in a slightly refined form one of the cornerstones of the modern interpretation of this science[85] and was later named after him.
In the" Dialogue on Two Systems of the World", Galileo formulated the principle of relativity as follows[86]:
For objects captured by a uniform movement, this latter does not seem to exist and manifests its effect only on things that do not take part in it.
Explaining the principle of relativity, Galileo puts into the mouth of Salviati a detailed and colorful (very typical for the style of scientific prose of the great Italian) description of an imaginary "experience" conducted in the hold of a ship [87]:
...
Stock up on flies, butterflies and other similar small flying insects; let you also have a large vessel with water and small fish swimming in it; hang, further, a bucket at the top, from which water will fall drop by drop into another vessel with a narrow neck, substituted at the bottom.
While the ship is stationary, observe diligently how small flying animals move with the same speed in all directions of the room; fish, as you will see, will swim indifferently in all directions; all falling drops will fall into the substituted vessel...
Now make the ship move at a low speed and then (if only the movement is uniform and without pitching in either direction) you will not find the slightest change in all these phenomena, and you will not be able to determine from any of them whether the ship is moving or standing still.
Strictly speaking, Galileo's ship does not move in a straight line, but along the arc of a large circle of the Earth's surface.
Within the framework of the modern understanding of the principle of relativity, the reference system associated with this ship will be only approximately inertial, so it is still possible to identify the fact of its movement without referring to external landmarks (although suitable measuring devices appeared only in the XX century...)[88].
The above mentioned discoveries of Galileo, among other things, allowed him to refute many arguments of the opponents of the heliocentric system of the world, who argued that the rotation of the Earth would significantly affect the phenomena occurring on its surface.
For example, according to geocentrists, the surface of the rotating Earth during the fall of any body would leave from under this body, shifting by tens or even hundreds of meters.
Galileo confidently predicted:"Any experiments that should point more against than for the rotation of the Earth will be fruitless" [89].
Galileo published a study of pendulum oscillations and stated that the period of oscillations does not depend on their amplitude (this is approximately true for small amplitudes)[90].
He also found that the periods of oscillation of the pendulum correlate as square roots of its length.
Galileo's results attracted the attention of Huygens, who invented a clock with a pendulum regulator (1657); from that moment, the possibility of accurate measurements in experimental physics appeared.
For the first time in the history of science, Galileo raised the question of the strength of rods and beams during bending and thereby laid the foundation for a new science — the resistance of materials[91].
Many of Galileo's arguments are sketches of physical laws discovered much later.
For example, in the" Dialog " he reports that the vertical speed of a ball rolling on the surface of a complex terrain depends only on its current height, and illustrates this fact with several thought experiments [92]; now we would formulate this conclusion as the law of conservation of energy in the gravity field.
Similarly, he explains the (theoretically undamped) swings of the pendulum.
In statics, Galileo introduced the fundamental concept of the moment of force (ital. momento)[93].
Astronomy[edit / edit wiki text]
Sketches of the Moon from Galileo's workbook.
1609, Central National Library, Florence
In 1609, Galileo independently built his first telescope with a convex lens and a concave eyepiece.
The tube gave an approximately three fold increase[94].
Soon he managed to build a telescope that gives a magnification of 32 times.
Note that the term telescope was introduced into science by Galileo (the term itself was proposed to him by Federico Cesi, the founder of the Accademia dei Lincei)[95].
A number of Galileo's telescopic discoveries contributed to the establishment of the heliocentric system of the world, which Galileo actively promoted, and the refutation of the views of the geocentrists Aristotle and Ptolemy.
Galileo made his first telescopic observations of celestial bodies on January 7, 1610[3][96].
These observations showed that the Moon, like the Earth, has a complex terrain covered with mountains and craters.
Galileo explained the ashy light of the moon, known since ancient times, as the result of sunlight reflected by the Earth hitting our natural satellite.
All this refuted Aristotle's teaching about the opposite of "earthly" and "heavenly": The Earth became a body of fundamentally the same nature as the heavenly bodies, and this, in turn, served as an indirect argument in favor of the Copernican system: if other planets move, then it is natural to assume that the Earth also moves.
Galileo also discovered the libration of the moon and fairly accurately estimated the height of the lunar mountains[97].
The Galilean moons of Jupiter (modern photos)
Jupiter has discovered its own moons — four satellites.
Thus, Galileo refuted one of the arguments of the opponents of heliocentrism: The Earth cannot rotate around the Sun, since the Moon rotates around it itself.
After all, Jupiter obviously had to rotate either around the Earth (as in the geocentric system) or around the Sun (as in the heliocentric system).
A year and a half of observations allowed Galileo to estimate the period of rotation of these satellites (1612), although an acceptable accuracy of the estimate was achieved only in the epoch of Newton.
Galileo proposed using observations of eclipses of Jupiter's moons to solve the most important problem of determining longitude at sea[98].
He himself was unable to develop an implementation of such an approach, although he worked on it until the end of his life; Cassini was the first to achieve success (1681), but due to the difficulties of observing at sea, the Galilean method was used mainly by land expeditions, and after the invention of the marine chronometer (the middle of the XVIII century), the problem was closed.
Galileo also discovered (independently of Johann Fabricius and Herriot) sunspots.
The existence of spots and their constant variability refuted Aristotle's thesis about the perfection of the heavens (as opposed to the "sublunary world")[33].
Based on the results of their observations, Galileo concluded that the Sun rotates around its axis, estimated the period of this rotation and the position of the Sun's axis.
Galileo found that Venus changes phases.
On the one hand, this proved that it shines with the reflected light of the Sun (about which there was no clarity in the astronomy of the previous period).
On the other hand, the order of the phase change corresponded to the heliocentric system: in Ptolemy's theory, Venus as the "lower" planet was always closer to the Earth than the Sun, and "fullness" was impossible.
Galileo also noted strange "appendages" at Saturn, but the discovery of the ring was prevented by the weakness of the telescope and the rotation of the ring, which hid it from the Earth observer[99].
Half a century later, the ring of Saturn was discovered and described by Huygens, who had a 92 fold telescope at his disposal.
Historians of science have discovered that on December 28, 1612, Galileo observed the then undiscovered planet Neptune and sketched its position among the stars, and on January 29, 1613, he observed it in conjunction with Jupiter.
However, Galileo did not identify Neptune as a planet[100].
Galileo showed that when observed through a telescope, the planets are visible as disks, the apparent sizes of which change in various configurations in such a ratio as follows from the Copernican theory.
However, the diameter of the stars does not increase when observed with a telescope.
This refuted the estimates of the apparent and real size of stars, which were used by some astronomers as an argument against the heliocentric system.
The Milky Way, which looks like a solid glow to the naked eye, broke up into separate stars (which confirmed Democritus ' guess), and a huge number of previously unknown stars became visible.
In the" Dialogue on Two Systems of the World", Galileo explained in detail (through the mouth of the character Salviati) why he prefers the Copernican system rather than Ptolemy [101]: Venus and Mercury are never in opposition, that is, in the side of the sky opposite to the Sun.
This means that they revolve around the Sun, and their orbit passes between the Sun and the Earth.
Mars has confrontations.
In addition, Galileo did not reveal any phases of Mars that were noticeably different from the full illumination of the visible disk.
Hence, and from the analysis of changes in brightness during the movement of Mars, Galileo concluded that this planet also rotates around the Sun, but in this case the Earth is inside its orbit.
He made similar conclusions for Jupiter and Saturn.
Image of the heliocentric system of the world from Galileo's "Dialogue on the Two main systems of the World"
Thus, it remains to choose between two systems of the world: The Sun (with planets) rotates around the Earth or the Earth rotates around the Sun.
The observed pattern of planetary motions is the same in both cases, this guarantees the principle of relativity formulated by Galileo himself.
Therefore, additional arguments are needed for the choice, among which Galileo cites the great simplicity and naturalness of the Copernican model.
Being an ardent supporter of Copernicus, Galileo, however, rejected the Kepler system with elliptical orbits of the planets[102].
Note that it was Kepler's laws, together with the dynamics of Galileo, that led Newton to the law of universal gravitation.
Galileo did not yet realize the idea of the force interaction of celestial bodies, considering the movement of the planets around the Sun as if they were their natural property; in this he unwittingly turned out to be closer to Aristotle than, perhaps, he wanted[85].
Galileo explained why the Earth's axis does not rotate when the Earth revolves around the Sun; to explain this phenomenon, Copernicus introduced a special "third movement" of the Earth.
Galileo showed by experience that the axis of a freely moving top retains its direction by itself ("Letters to Ingoli")[42]:
A similar phenomenon is obviously found in any body that is in a freely suspended state, as I have shown to many; and you can see this for yourself by putting a floating wooden ball in a vessel with water, which you will take in your hands, and then, pulling them out, you will begin to rotate around yourself; you will see how this ball will rotate around itself in the direction opposite to your rotation; it will finish its full rotation at the same time as you finish yours.
At the same time, Galileo made a serious mistake, believing that the phenomenon of tides proves the rotation of the Earth around the axis[75].
However, he gives other serious arguments in favor of the daily rotation of the Earth[103]: It is difficult to agree that the entire Universe makes a daily revolution around the Earth (especially given the enormous distances to the stars); it is more natural to explain the observed picture by the rotation of one Earth.
The synchronous participation of the planets in the diurnal rotation would also violate the observed pattern, according to which, the farther a planet is from the Sun, the slower it moves.
Even the huge Sun has an axial rotation detected.
Galileo also describes here a thought experiment that could prove the rotation of the Earth: a cannon shell or a falling body deviates slightly from the vertical during the fall; however, the calculation he gave shows that this deviation is negligible[104].
He made a correct remark that the rotation of the Earth should affect the dynamics of winds[105].
All these effects were discovered much later.
Mathematics[edit / edit wiki text]
His research on the outcomes of throwing dice belongs to the theory of probability.
In his "Discourse on the game of dice" ("Considerazione sopra il giuoco dei dadi", the time of writing is unknown, published in 1718), a fairly complete analysis of this problem is carried out.
In "Conversations about Two New Sciences", he formulated the "Galileo paradox": there are as many natural numbers as there are squares, although most of the numbers are not squares[106].
This prompted further research into the nature of infinite sets and their classification; the process ended with the creation of set theory.
Other achievements[edit / edit wiki text]
Galileo invented:
Hydrostatic scales for determining the specific gravity of solids.
Galileo described their construction in the treatise "La bilancetta" (1586)[107][108].
The first thermometer, still without a scale (1592)[109].
Proportional compasses used in drawing (1606)[110][111].
A microscope, of poor quality (1612); with its help, Galileo studied insects [112][113].
—- Some of Galileo's inventions ——
Galileo Telescope (modern copy)
Galileo's Thermometer (modern copy)
Proportional compass
"The Galileo Lens", Galileo Museum (Florence)
He was also engaged in optics, acoustics, the theory of color and magnetism, hydrostatics, resistance of materials[114], problems of fortification.
I conducted an experiment to measure the speed of light, which I considered to be finite (without success)[115].
He was the first to experimentally measure the density of air, which Aristotle considered equal to 1/10 of the density of water; Galileo's experiment gave a value of 1/400, which is much closer to the true value (about 1/770)[116].
He clearly formulated the law of the indestructibility of matter[117].
Students[edit / edit wiki text]
Among the disciples of Galileo were:
Borelli, who continued to study the moons of Jupiter; he was one of the first to formulate the law of universal gravitation[118].
The founder of biomechanics.
Viviani, the first biographer of Galileo, a talented physicist and mathematician.
Cavalieri, the forerunner of mathematical analysis, in whose fate the support of Galileo played a huge role.
Castelli, the creator of hydrometry.
Torricelli, who became an outstanding physicist and inventor.
Memory[edit / edit wiki text]
The Galileo probe explores Io, a satellite of Jupiter (figure)
In honor of Galileo are named:
The "Galilean satellites" of Jupiter discovered by him.
Impact crater on the Moon (-63º, +10º).
Crater on Mars (6 ° s. w., 27 ° w. d.) [119]
An area with a diameter of 3200 km on Ganymede.
Asteroid (697) Galileo[120].
The principle of relativity and coordinate transformation in classical mechanics.
NASA's Galileo space probe (1989-2003).
The European project "Galileo" of the satellite navigation system.
The unit of acceleration "Gal" (Gal) in the GHS system, equal to 1 cm/sec2.
Scientific entertainment and educational TV program Galileo, shown in several countries.
In Russia, it has been running since 2007 on the STS.
The airport in Pisa.
In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the first observations of Galileo, the UN General Assembly declared 2009 the Year of Astronomy[121].
Personality assessments[edit / edit wiki text]
Lagrange estimated Galileo's contribution to theoretical physics in this way[122]:
It took an exceptional strength of spirit to extract the laws of nature from concrete phenomena that were always before everyone's eyes, but the explanation of which nevertheless escaped the inquisitive gaze of philosophers.
Einstein called Galileo "the father of modern science" and gave him this characteristic[123]:
We have before us a man of extraordinary will, intelligence and courage, who, as a representative of rational thinking, is able to stand up against those who, relying on the ignorance of the people and the idleness of teachers in church vestments and university robes, are trying to strengthen and protect their position.
His extraordinary literary talent allows him to address the educated people of his time in such a clear and expressive language that he manages to overcome the anthropocentric and mythical thinking of his contemporaries and restore to them an objective and causal perception of the cosmos, lost with the decline of Greek culture.
The outstanding physicist Stephen Hawking, who was born on the day of the 300th anniversary of the death of Galileo, wrote[124]:
Galileo, perhaps more than any other individual, is responsible for the birth of modern science.
The famous dispute with the Catholic Church occupied a central place in the philosophy of Galileo, because he was one of the first to declare that man has a hope to understand how the world works, and, moreover, that this can be achieved by observing our real world.
Remaining a devoted Catholic, Galileo did not waver in his belief in the independence of science.
Four years before his death, in 1642, while still under house arrest, he secretly forwarded to a Dutch publishing house the manuscript of his second major book, "Two New Sciences".
It was this work, more than his support for Copernicus, that gave birth to modern science.
Galileo in literature and art[edit / edit wiki text]
Bertolt Brecht.
The life of Galileo.
The play.
- In the book: Bertolt Brecht.
Theatre.
Plays.
Articles.
Statements.
In five volumes.
- Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1963.
- vol.
2. Liliana Cavani (director).
"Galileo" (film) (English) (1968).
Checked on March 2, 2009.
Archived from the original source on August 13, 2011.
Joseph Losey (director).
"Galileo" (film adaptation of the play by Brecht) (English) (1975).
Checked on March 2, 2009.
Archived from the original source on August 13, 2011.
Philip Glass (composer), opera "Galileo".
Galileo on booms and postage stamps[edit / edit wiki text]
Italy, 2000 lira banknote,
one thousand nine hundred seventy three
USSR, 1964
Ukraine, 2009
Kazakhstan, 2009
Myths and alternative versions[edit / edit wiki text]
"And yet it turns"[edit / edit wiki text]
There is a well known legend according to which, after an ostentatious renunciation, Galileo said: "And yet it turns!"
As historians have discovered, this myth was put into circulation in 1757 by the journalist Giuseppe Baretti[125][126] and became widely known in 1761 after the translation of Baretti's book into French.
Galileo and the Leaning Tower of Pisa[edit / edit wiki text]
Main article: Galileo's experiments on the Leaning Tower of Pisa
According to the biography of Galileo, written by his student and secretary Vincenzo Viviani, Galileo, in the presence of other teachers, simultaneously threw bodies of different masses from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The description of this famous experiment was included in many books, but in the XX century a number of authors came to the conclusion that it was a legend[127], based primarily on the fact that Galileo himself did not claim in his books that he conducted this public experiment.
Some historians, however, are inclined to believe that this experiment really took place[128].
It is documented that Galileo measured the time of descent of the balls on an inclined plane (1609)[129].
It should be taken into account that there was no accurate clock at that time (Galileo used an imperfect water clock and his own pulse to measure time), so rolling the balls was more convenient for measurements than falling.
At the same time, Galileo checked that the laws of rolling obtained by him do not qualitatively depend on the angle of inclination of the plane, and, therefore, they can be extended to the case of a fall.
The principle of relativity and the movement of the Sun around the Earth[edit / edit wiki text]
At the end of the XIX century, the Newtonian concept of absolute space was subjected to scathing criticism, and at the beginning of the XX century, Henri Poincare and Albert Einstein proclaimed the universal principle of relativity: it makes no sense to assert that a body is at rest or moving, unless you additionally specify what it is at rest or moving relative to.
When justifying this fundamental position, both authors used polemically sharp formulations.
So, Poincare in the book "Science and Hypothesis" (1900) wrote that the statement "The Earth rotates" has no meaning[130], and Einstein and Infeld in the book" Evolution of Physics " pointed out that the systems of Ptolemy and Copernicus are just two different agreements on coordinate systems, and their struggle is meaningless[131].
In connection with these new views, the question has been repeatedly discussed in the mass press: was Galileo right in his persistent struggle?
For example, in 1908, an article appeared in the French newspaper Matin, where the author stated: "Poincare, the greatest mathematician of the century, considers Galileo's persistence erroneous" [132].
Poincare, however, in 1904 wrote a special article "Does the Earth Rotate?" with a refutation of the opinion attributed to him about the equivalence of the systems of Ptolemy and Copernicus, and in the book" The Value of Science " (1905), he stated: "The truth for which Galileo suffered remains the truth"[133].
As for the above remark of Infeld and Einstein, it refers to the general theory of relativity and means the fundamental admissibility of any reference systems.
However, their physical (and even mathematical) equivalence does not follow from this[134].
From the point of view of a remote observer in a reference system close to the inertial one, the planets of the Solar system still move "according to Copernicus", and the geocentric coordinate system, although often convenient for an Earth observer, has a limited scope of application[135].
Infeld later admitted that the above phrase from the book "The Evolution of Physics" does not belong to Einstein and is generally poorly formulated, so " to conclude from this that the theory of relativity to some extent underestimates the Copernican case means to make an accusation that is not even worth refuting gat"[136].
In addition, it would have been impossible to deduce Kepler's laws and the law of universal gravitation in the Ptolemaic system, so from the point of view of the progress of science, Galileo's struggle was not in vain[134].
Galileo and the accusation of atomism[edit / edit wiki text]
In 1983, the Italian historian Pietro Redondi discovered an anonymous denunciation in the Vatican archive accusing Galileo of defending atomism.
On the basis of this document, he constructed and published[137][138] the following hypothesis.
According to Redondi, the Council of Trent branded atomism as heresy, and Galileo's defense of it in the book "The Assaymaker" threatened with the death penalty, so Pope Urban, seeking to save his friend Galileo, replaced the accusation with a safer one in heliocentrism.
Redondi's version, which absolved the Pope and the Inquisition, aroused great interest among journalists, but professional historians quickly and unanimously rejected it[139][140][141][142].
Their refutation is based on the following facts.
There is not a word about atomism in the decisions of the Council of Trent.
It is possible to interpret the interpretation of the Eucharist adopted by the council as conflicting with atomism, and such opinions were indeed expressed, but they remained the private opinion of their authors.
There was no official ecclesiastical prohibition of atomism (unlike heliocentrism), and there were no legal grounds to judge Galileo for atomism.
It should be noted that just during these years Gassendi freely published books promoting atomism, and there were no objections from the church.
Galileo's book The Assaymaker, which Redondi considers a defense of atomism, dates back to 1623, while Galileo's trial took place 10 years later.
Moreover, statements in favor of atomism are found even in Galileo's book "Reasoning about Bodies Immersed in Water" (1612).
They did not arouse any interest in the Inquisition.
Finally, after the trial, under the supervision of the Inquisition, Galileo again talks about atoms in his last book[143] — and the Inquisition, which promised to return him to prison for the slightest violation of the regime, does not pay attention to this.
There is no evidence that the denunciation found by Redondi had any consequences.
Currently, the Redondi hypothesis is considered unsubstantiated among historians and is not discussed[139].
Nevertheless, in Russia, this version is still vigorously defended by Archdeacon Andrey Kuraev[144].
Scientific works[edit / edit wiki text]
In the original language[edit / edit wiki text]
There are texts on the topic in Wikitek
Original texts (Italian)
Le Opere di Galileo Galilei.
— Firenze: G. Barbero Editore, 1929-1939.
This is a classic annotated edition of the works of Galileo in the original language in 20 volumes (a reprint of an earlier collection of 1890-1909), called the "National Edition" (ital. Edizione Nazionale).
The main works of Galileo are contained in the first 8 volumes of the publication[145].
Volume 1.
On the movement (De Motu), about 1590.
Volume 2.
Mechanics (Le Meccaniche), about 1593.
Volume 3.
The Starry Messenger (Sidereus Nuncius), 1610.
Volume 4.
Discourse on Bodies immersed in water (Discorso intorno alle cose, che stanno in su l'aqua), 1612.
Volume 5.
Letters on sunspots (Historia e dimostrazioni intorno alle Macchie Solari), 1613.
Volume 6.
Assay maker (Il Saggiatore), 1623.
Volume 7.
Dialogue on two systems of the world (Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo, tolemaico e copernicano), 1632.
Volume 8.
Conversations and mathematical proofs of two new sciences (Discorsi e dimostrazioni matematiche intorno a due nuove scienze), 1638.
Lettera al Padre Benedetto Castelli (correspondence with Castelli), 1613.
Translations into Russian[edit / edit wiki text]
Galileo Galilei.
Selected works in two volumes.
- Moscow: Nauka, 1964.
Volume 1: The Starry Messenger.
The message to Ingoli.
A dialogue about two systems of the world.
645 pages.
Volume 2: Mechanics.
About bodies that are in water.
Conversations and mathematical proofs concerning two new branches of science.
574 p.
Appendices and bibliography: B. G. Kuznetsov.
Galileo Galilei (An essay on life and scientific creativity).
L. E. Maistrov.
Galileo and the theory of probability.
I. B. Pogrebyssky, U. I. Frankfurt.
Galileo and Descartes.
I. B. Pogrebyssky, U. I. Frankfurt.
Galileo and Huygens.
L. V. Zhigalova.
The first mention of Galilee in the Russian scientific literature.
Galileo Galilei.
A dialogue about two systems of the world.
- M.-L.: GITTL, 1948.
Galileo Galilei.
Mathematical proofs concerning two new branches of science related to mechanics and local motion.
- M.-L.: GITTL, 1934.
Galileo Galilei.
An epistle to Francesco Ingoli.
- A collection dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the death of Galileo Galilei, ed. akad.
A.M. Dvorkin — - M.-L.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1943.
Galileo Galilei.
Assay making master.
- M.: Nauka, 1987.
This book was also published under the titles "Assay Scales" and "Assayer".
Galileo Galilei.
Reasoning about bodies floating in water.
- In the collection: The beginnings of hydrostatics.
Archimedes, Stevin, Galileo, Pascal.
- M.-L.: GITTL, 1932.
- pp.
140-232.
See also[edit / edit wiki text]
Galileo's satellites Galileo (KA) The heliocentric system of the world Giordano Bruno The life of Galileo Inertia And yet it turns!
Kepler, Johann Copernicus, Nicholas Galileo's Paradox Galileo's transformations The principle of relativity The Galileo process Refractor (telescope)#Galileo Telescope The daily rotation of the Earth Chronology of the development of the microscope
Notes[edit / edit wiki text]
↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Berry A.
A Short History of Astronomy — John Murray, 1898.
<a href="https://wikidata.org/wiki/Track:Q19939115"></a><a href="https://wikidata.org/wiki/Track:Q19025604"></a><a href="https://wikidata.org/wiki/Track:Q1232629"></a>
↑ 1 2 Mathematical genealogy <a href="https://wikidata.org/wiki/Track:Q829984"></a>
1 2 Thomas Herriot pointed a telescope at the moon a few months before Galileo.
The quality of his optical instrument was not important, but Herriot owned the first sketches of maps of the lunar surface and one of the first observations of sunspots.
However, he did not publish his results, and they remained unknown in the scientific world for a long time (see Ashimbayeva M. T. Thomas Herriot the predecessor of Galileo // The Firmament, No. 2 (2009). pp. 32 -- 33).
Another predecessor of Galileo may have been Simon Marius, who independently discovered 4 moons of Jupiter and gave them names that were fixed in science; however, Marius published his discoveries 4 years later than Galileo.
Ш Schmutzer E., Schutz V., 1987, p .
98. ↑ 1 2 3 Predtechensky E. A. Galileo Galilei.
Decree.
op., Chapter 1 I. Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, p .
20. Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, p .
24. Schmutzer E., Schutz V., 1987, p .
29-30.
In 1597, in a letter to Kepler, Galileo reports that he joined "many years ago... to the teachings of Copernicus" (see Antiseri D., Reale J. Western philosophy from its origins to the present day.
Volume II.
From the Renaissance to Kant.
- St. Petersburg: Pneuma, 2002. - p. 206 — - ISBN 5-9014151-05-4.).
Ш Schmutzer E., Schutz V., 1987, p .
33. Ба Baev K. L., 1955, p .
95-96.
↑ Schmutzer E., Schutz V., 1987, p .
34. ↑ Schmutzer E., Schutz V., 1987, p .
37 .
Gal Galileo's telescope reaches 400th anniversary: Galileo demonstrated the telescope he created on August 25, 1609.
Ш Schmutzer E., Schutz V., 1987, pp.
40-41.
↑ Sharratt, Michael.
Galileo: Decisive Innovator.
— Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
— P. 18—19.
— ISBN 0-521-56671-1.
The term "satellite of the planet" was coined by Kepler.
↑ Sharratt, Michael.
Galileo: Decisive Innovator.
— Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
— P. 17. — ISBN 0-521-56671-1.
знец Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, p .
82. ↑ Kepler received a telescope sold by Galileo to the Elector of Cologne (1610), from which the instrument came to Prague.
See E. Schmutzer, V. Schutz Galileo Galilei.
Decree.
op .
- p.
47. Г Gindikin S. G., 2001, p .
75. Ба Baev K. L., 1955, p .
108-109.
Анти Antiseri D., Reale J. Western philosophy from its origins to the present day.
Volume II.
From the Renaissance to Kant.
- St. Petersburg: Pnevma, 2002.
- p. 206 — - ISBN 5-9014151-05-4.
↑ Dava Sobel.
Galileo’s Daughter.
— London: Fourth Estate, 1999.
— ISBN 1-85702-712-4.
Venice was the only Italian state where the Inquisition was under the control of local authorities.
Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, p .
79. ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Predtechensky E. A. Galileo Galilei.
Decree.
op., Chapter 2 I. рист Aristotle.
About the sky.
Chapter 13.
Клав Claudius Ptolemy.
Almagest.
Book I, chapter 7 I. - Moscow: Nauka Fizmatlit, 1998.
Ш Schmutzer E., Schutz V., 1987, pp.
51-52.
^ A b Kuznetsov, B. G., 1964, pp.
95. ↑ Chernov, S. G., 2001, pp.
82. ↑ 1 2 Smetzer E., Schutz V., 1987, p.
53. ↑ Smetzer E., Schutz V., 1987, p.
60. ↑ Cardinal Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino (1542-1641), Jesuit, the head of the Inquisition, in 1930, canonized, and in 1931 m announced as one of the 33 "Doctors of the Church."
↑ Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, p. 117.
↑ Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, p. 121 .
Fin Finocchiaro, Maurice A.
The Galileo Affair: A Documentary History.
— Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1989.
— P. 147—149, 153.
— ISBN 0-520-06662-6.
Ш Schmutzer E., Schutz V., 1987, pp.
56-58.
Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, pp.
129-131.
↑ Christopher M. Graney.
Francesco Ingoli's essay to Galileo: Tycho Brahe and science in the Inquisition's condemnation of the Copernican theory.
Verified on December 22, 2012.
↑ 1 2 3 Galileo G. Epistle to Francesco Ingoli.
Decree.
op.
Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, p. 142.
Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, p. 143 .
In Italian, the name "Simplicio" means "simpleton", but Galileo himself claimed that he was referring to the famous commentator of Aristotle, Simplicius.
↑ Sharratt, Michael.
Galileo: Decisive Innovator.
— Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
— P. 135, 175—178.
— ISBN 0-521-56671-1.
знец Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, pp.
200-202.
↑ D. Antiseri, J. Real life.
Western philosophy from its origins to the present day.
- St. Petersburg: Pnevma, 2002.
- Vol. II.
From the Renaissance to Kant.
- p. 226 — - ISBN 5-9014151-05-4.
Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, p. 214.
Documents on the trials of Galileo and Giordano Bruno (publication history).
Verified on March 10, 2009.
Archived from the original source on August 13, 2011.
Гри Grigulevich I. R." Repentance " of Galileo.
Decree. op.
Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, pp.
215-216.
Grigulevich I. R." Repentance " of Galileo.
Decree.
op.
The original sentence of Galileo (Latin).
↑ See the translation of the text of the abdication: The Trial of Galileo#Renunciation.
↑ 1 2 3 Schmutzer E., Schutz V., 1987, p .
84 .
Спас Spassky B. I. History of Physics.
- Moscow: Higher School, 1977.
- Vol. 1 — - p. 93 .
Дочь Daughter of Galileo (English) ↑ D. Antiseri, J. Real life.
Western philosophy from its origins to the present day.
- St. Petersburg: Pnevma, 2002.
- Vol. II.
From the Renaissance to Kant.
- p. 207 — - ISBN 5-9014151-05-4.
Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, pp.
220-221.
Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, p. 223.
Schmutzer E., Schutz V., 1987, p. 129.
↑ Schmutzer E., Schutz V., 1987, p .
93. ↑ Schmutzer E., Schutz V., 1987, p .
90-93.
↑ Shea, William R., Artigas, Mario.
Galileo in Rome: The Rise and Fall of a Troublesome Genius.
— Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
— P. 199.
— ISBN 0-19-516598-5.
Predtechensky E. A. Galileo Galilei.
Decree.
op.
, Chapter 3 I, pp.
141-142.
↑ McMullin Ernan, editor.
The Church and Galileo.
— Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2005.
— P. 6. — ISBN 0-268-03483-4.
↑ Discourse of His Holiness Pope Pius XII given on 3 December 1939 at the Solemn Audience granted to the Plenary Session of the Academy.
- Discourses of the Popes from Pius XI to John Paul II to the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences 1939-1986 — - Vatican City.
- P. 34. Зубов Zubov V. P.
From the History of medieval atomistics / / Proceedings of the Institute of the History of Natural Science.
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↑ D. Antiseri, J. Real life.
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116, 147-148 — - ISBN 5-9014151-05-4.
Гали Galileo.
Selected works in two volumes.
Decree.
op., Vol. 1. p. 201.
Гали Galileo.
Selected works in two volumes.
Decree.
op., Vol. 1. Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Lorraine .
Д. D. Antiseri, J. Real life.
Western philosophy from its origins to the present day.
- St. Petersburg: Pnevma, 2002.
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218-219 — - ISBN 5-9014151-05-4.
↑ D. Antiseri, J. Real life.
Western philosophy from its origins to the present day.
- St. Petersburg: Pnevma, 2002.
- Vol. II.
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- p. 150 — - ISBN 5-9014151-05-4.
знец Kuznetsov B. G., 1964, p. 230.
↑ 1 2 Schmutzer E., Schutz V., 1987, p. 116.
Kuznetsov V. I., Idlis T. M., Gutina V. I. Natural Science.
- Moscow: Agar, 1996.
- P. 14 — - ISBN 5-89218-006-9.
Гали Galileo.
The assay maker is a master.
Decree.
op.
рист Aristotle.
Collected works in 4 volumes.
Physics, book 4, chapter 8.
- Moscow: Mysl, 1981.
- Vol. III.
↑ 1 2 Galileo Galilei.
Day four.
/ / Mathematical proofs concerning two new branches of science related to mechanics and local motion.
- M.-L.: GITTLE, 1934.
Г Gindikin S. G. Stories about physicists and mathematicians.
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55. Гали Galileo Galilei.
Conversations and mathematical proofs.
- Selected works in 2 volumes.
- Moscow: Nauka, 1964.
- Vol. 2. - p. 314 .
знец Kuznetsov B. G.
The problem of the true movement of the Earth in the" Dialogue " of Galileo // Proceedings of the Institute of the History of Natural Science and Technology.
Moscow: Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1954.
- Issue 1.
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Г Gindikin S. G. Stories about physicists and mathematicians.
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↑ 1 2 Ishlinskiy A. Yu., 198
