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  • Essay / The biggest developments of the scientific revolution and its impact on the world today

    In 1543, an event called the scientific revolution began to attract the attention of many Europeans. In fact, the 16th and 17th centuries saw many of the greatest developments in science and mathematics. Before that, scholars used the Bible to determine what was true, and some challenged these ideas through observation. Many scientists, mathematicians, astronomers and philosophers began to come up with new theories and ideas. Some of the inventions from this era are still used today. These ideas that began to spread began to make people think differently, which began to scare the Catholic Church. Advances in science and mathematics in Europe caused many people to question religion and previous beliefs taught by the Church. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Before the Scientific Revolution, the Church made many assumptions about how the world worked from the Bible and ancient Greek and Roman authors. Scientists claim that "the scientific revolution was built on the foundations of ancient Greek knowledge and science of the Middle Ages, as they had been elaborated and developed by Roman/Byzantine science and medieval Islamic science." Scholars believed and taught others that the earth was the center of the universe and that since the sun sets and rises, they believed that the sun revolves around it. They also believed that the planets moved in perfect circles around the Earth. This theory is called geocentric theory. Christianity taught that this was true and the philosopher Aristotle and the astronomer Ptolemy said it was also true. But when scholars began to publish their ideas, a new way of life began to develop. Martyn Shuttleworth, an academic writer, states that during this period, "researchers embraced empiricism, proposing the idea that theories should be based on human observations and experience." The universe functioned like a soulless machine, without the hand of God behind every unexplained phenomenon, although many scholars, including Newton, believed there was room for a creator. The invention of the printing press facilitated the circulation of ideas among the population. Scientists, their tools, and their observations during this period resulted in a major turning point in history. Scientists and philosophers of this era used their previous discoveries to further their knowledge. They found that some of the Church's teachings were not correct. Many people contributed to the ideas and inventions that came to be, but some are better known. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), for example, created the heliocentric theory. This theory states that the Sun is at the center of the solar system. Previously, the Church taught that the Earth was the center of the solar system, calling this the geocentric theory. According to scientists, "it remains true that the transition from an Earth-centered universe to a Sun-centered planetary system had revolutionary consequences." Copernicus also used mathematics to determine the distance between the planets and the sun. He also proved that the Earth rotates on its axis daily and that the Earth has a specific orientation in space. Another well-known scientist is Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). He is best known for his telescopic observations of the phases of Venus,the analysis of sunspots, observations of Saturn's rings and the discovery of Jupiter's four largest satellites. In 1610, Galileo published Sidereus Nuncius, where he recorded most of his observations. Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) was another scientist who impacted the world through his observations. Brahe was an astronomer and had made some of the most precise observations before the invention of the telescope. He also determined the precise positions of more than 777 stars. When he died, he left all his experimental data to Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), who had been his assistant for some previous years. He published his first book, Mysterium cosmographicum, in 1596. Kepler used Copernicus' discoveries to determine that the orbits of the planets were elliptical, not circular. He explained that it is from his book Astronomia nova, published in 1609. Kepler's second law states that a line that connects a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times. His final law states that “the time required for a planet to orbit the sun, called its period, is proportional to the major axis of the ellipse raised to the power of 3/2. » The constant of proportionality is the same for all planets. When Kepler died, it served as a base for Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727). He invented calculus so that he and future scientists and mathematicians could measure how things move. His most famous discovery is the laws of motion, which he published in his book Principia in 1687. His first law states that any object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless a external force is applied to it. The second law states that the relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was also an important figure at this time. He was the first to use the scientific method in chemistry. He is considered the founder of modern chemistry. He published a book in 1661 called The Skeptical Chymist. In this book, Boyle "questioned Aristotle's idea that the physical world consisted of four elements: earth, air, fire, and water." Instead, Boyle proposed that matter was made up of smaller primary particles that came together in different ways. Boyle's law constitutes his most important contribution to chemistry. The law “explains how the volume, temperature and pressure of the gas influence each other.” These scientists had to make sacrifices to continue their observations because some of them had been very frowned upon by the Catholic Church. Even though they could have been punished and tormented by the Church, they continued to expand the knowledge of the population with their theories, laws and inventions. Not only were theories and laws proposed during this time, but inventions were also created. This opened more opportunities for scientists to further explain their research to the public, other scientists, and even the Church. For example; Galileo Galilei invented the first telescope in 1593. Its design was simple and allowed other scientists to develop it and make it even more effective. It is a very important instrument these days. In 1595, Zacharias Janssen created the first compound microscope. This instrument was very advanced for its time. The telescope was invented in 1609 by Hans Lippershey, then improved by Galileo. The telescope was used to study planets and stars and helped scientists obtain the observations they needed for their theories. Galileo used the telescope to prove Copernicus' heliocentric theory. In 1644, the first barometer wasinvented by Evangelista Torricelli. This invention helped people predict the weather more accurately. Eventually, Isaac Newton's theory of gravity surfaced in 1687. Not only were inventions created, but scientists also tried new ways of experimenting. For example, scientists began to “study human anatomy based on the dissection of human cadavers, rather than animal dissections, as had been practiced for centuries.” Scientists also began to study magnetism and electricity. These instruments and new methods of experimentation were very important during this time because, as new ideas began to surface, scientists and philosophers needed a way to prove their theories and explanations. Without this proof, people would not follow new ideas. Although the inventions of these instruments were very beneficial to scientists then and even now, it gave the Church even more reason to be afraid. As scientists and philosophers made observations and developed new theories, the Church urged them to stop. The Church was afraid that these discoveries might cause the population to question its scientific teachings, which in turn would cause them to question its religious teachings and the people's faith. At this point, the Church had a lot of power, but with people questioning them and hearing about new theories opposed to the Church's teachings, the Church was afraid of losing its power. Indeed, “the end of the 16th century saw the beginnings of atheism in Europe”. The Church was very opposed to Copernicus who opposed the geocentric theory to his heliocentric theory, because "Christianity taught that God had deliberately placed the earth at the center of the universe" and the Church did not want new information to surface that would go against the Bible. When they discovered that Galileo was experimenting with and supporting Copernicus's work, they told him not to defend his ideas. He accepted, in the name of fear, that he would be tortured and remained silent. He continued to work in silence and eventually published Dialogue Concerning the Two Major World Systems. The book clearly showed that Galileo had experimented with and supported Copernicus' ideas. After discovering this, the Pope summoned Galileo to Rome to stand trial before the Inquisition. Galileo knelt and was forced to read a signed confession claiming that Copernicus' findings were false. Then Galileo continued to study quietly. His work nevertheless spread across Europe, and in 1992 the Catholic Church made it official that Galileo was correct in his observations. Copernicus, on the other hand, was never persecuted or recognized at the time because he died shortly after his book was published. These two scientists played an important role in laying the foundations for the Age of Enlightenment, which allowed people to think freely and become more secular. The Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment laid the foundation for the scientists who followed. The scientific revolution has had a great impact on our lives today. Scientists and philosophers have made many discoveries that are still proven today, and without the discoveries of microscopes and telescopes, we would not know nearly half of the facts we know today. The Scientific Revolution also gave us the scientific method used by scientists today. We know more about animals, plants, space, bacteria and humans because we can., &.