Scientific Revolution

Commonly viewed as

a foundation and

origin of modern

science.

An Overview

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Inventions

Theories

Scientists Roots

Scientific

Revolution

ROOTS

Greek Rationalists

• The Greeks used reason and logic to figure out scientific explanations.

• Hippocrates – famous physician; known as the father of medicine

• Aristotle – philosopher who developed logic

• Plato – Aristotle’s teacher

• Pythagoras – famous mathematician; known for the Pythagorean Theorem

• Ptolemy – astronomer who said the

Scholars of Three Faiths

• Muslim Scholars

– Introduced Arabic numerals to Europe – the beginning of modern math.

– Muslim scholars preserved the Greek books on science.

• Jewish and Christian Scholars agreed:

• Aristotle’s logic and reasoning was the way to go.

• There is no conflict between reason and faith.

• It’s okay to study science – it will not

Renaissance Humanism • Humanists

– Revived Greek reason and logic to explore new ideas in every field.

– Questioned old ideas such as superstition

– Stressed the importance of speaking and writing well

– Believed science is the way to understand the universe

• Alchemy

– Experiments to try to turn other metals into gold

– Learned more about how nature worked

The Age of Exploration

• New knowledge from global exploration

– Christopher Columbus had a theory: If I sail west, I should land in Asia. In 1492, he conducted an experiment to test his theory. He was dead wrong:

– There were two continents (North and South America) that Europeans did not know about.

– This made scientists throw “accepted ideas” out the window. From then on, scientists questioned EVERYTHING.

THEORIES

New Scientific Theories

Ptolemy (ancient Greece)

The earth is the center of the universe!

Copernicus (1473-1543 Poland)

Sorry! The sun is the center of the universe!

Brahe (1546-1601 Sweden)

Carefully and accurately record what you observe!

Kepler (1571-1630 Germany)

My math proves planets move in elliptical orbits!

Galileo (1564-1642 Italy)

Use my telescope to see that Copernicus was right!

Newton (1642-1727 England)

The universe operates by regular laws!

Geocentric – everything

revolves around the

Earth

Heliocentric –

everything revolves

around the sun

Old way of thinking...

New way of thinking ...

SCIENTISTS

Francis Bacon

• Concept of experimental thinking

• He popularized the new scientific method of observation and experimentation.

• From England

Nicholas Copernicus

• Polish astronomer

• Concluded that the sun is the center of our solar system

• The earth is merely one of several planets revolving around the sun.

• Founder of modern astronomy

Nicholas Copernicus believed the sun was center

of the universe

HELIOCENTRIC = Copernicus’ belief that the

sun is the center of the universe.

Johannes Kepler • German astronomer

• Determined that the planets follow an elliptical, not a circular, orbit in revolving around the sun.

• Helped explain the paths followed by human-made satellites today.

#4 – Galileo Galilei

• Came up with law of inertia

• Invented the first effective telescope

• Challenged Church authority

Galileo Galilei

• Italian astronomer and physicist

• Demonstrated the law of falling bodies and greatly improved the telescope

• Confirmed the Copernican theory

Galileo’s map of the stars…not the Hollywood

types!

TELESCOPES

Galileo believed that all

should study the stars

and the planets.

Telescopes certainly

helped.

Galileo defending his work.

#6 Isaac Newton • English mathematician,

astronomer, and physicist

• Invented calculus

• Discovered laws of light and color

• Formulated the laws of motion

• Calculated the law of gravitation

#5 – Issac Newton

• Made great strides in study of gravity, heat and light.

Newton believed in the theory of Gravity…now we

know it is true.

Rene Descartes • French Scientist, mathematician, and philosopher

• Discovered laws of optics and is considered the founder of analytic geometry.

• “I think, therefore, I am.”

Vesalius • Flemish Physician

• Undertook dissections of the human body

• Founded the science of anatomy

#3 – Andreas Vesalius

• First to study human anatomy in 1500 years.

Examples of tools used by Vesalius for dissection/inspection

of bodies

Dissection would

answer many

questions the people

had…but it was not

approved of by the

Catholic Church!

William Harvey • English Physician,

demonstrated that blood circulates through the body

• His research furthered the study of medicine

#1 William Harvey

• First to correctly prove that the heart pumps blood.

William Harvey…

blood circulates through the heart and body

No…food doesn’t

turn into blood

Yes…Harvey proved

blood circulated

through the body

inside veins and

arteries

Where does blood come from?

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

• Dutch naturalist

• Perfected the microscope

How did these scientists change Church beliefs of the

time? • Harvey – changed belief on function of

heart • Copernicus – came up with heliocentric

theory (earth revolves around sun) • Vesalius – changed belief on how human

anatomy (body) functions • Galileo – used telescope to map stars • Newton/Galileo – gravity forces objects

to fall at the same speed

Quiz Time

INVENTIONS

Telescope • Who invented it

– The Dutch, 1608. Galileo built

his in 1609. Magnified 30 times

• What it does

– Magnifies things at a distance.

– Improves human observation in astronomy.

• Why it was significant

– Galileo observed: Moons revolved around Jupiter. So everything does not revolve around the Earth.

Microscope

• Who invented it

– Robert Hooke, 1667

• What it does

– Magnifies small objects.

– Improves observation in biology and medicine.

• Why it was significant

– Discovered plant cells

Thermometer

• Who invented it

– Fahrenheit

– Celsius

• What it does

– Measures temperature.

• Why it was significant

– Boiling point (212°F); freezing point (32°F)

– Boiling point (100°C); freezing point (0°C)

Barometer

• Who invented it

– Torricelli, 1645

• What it does

– Measure atmospheric pressure.

• Why it was significant

– It allows you to forecast the weather.

– When the barometer falls dramatically, you are in for bad weather.

Calculus • Who invented it

– Sir Isaac Newton of England and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz of Germany

• What it does

– It provides a systematic way for the exact calculation of many areas, volumes, and other quantities.

• Why it was significant

– It’s the source of today’s modern world.

– Without it, we wouldn’t have cars, cell phones, computers, motorcycles, etc.

The Scientific Method: • The five scientists all had to write down their observations and follow strict rules for conducting their experiments. These rules are known as The Scientific Method.

• What are the three main steps? 1) Form a

hypothesis

2) Test

your

hypothesis

3) Make

conclusions

based on the

experiment

Which of the steps do you

consider to be the most

important and why?

What was the Impact of Scientific Revolution on:

• Philosophy: Enlightenment and ideas on

government

• World: application of science to solve problems in society

• Religion: mistaken conflict between faith

and science

Government Rationalism and Democracy

Going against Church beliefs examples

– #1 = Church taught: Heavy objects would fall faster then lighter ones.

Newton proved: Objects can fall at same speed.

– #2 = Church taught: Earth was center of

universe. Galileo/Copernicus proved: It’s not, (using a telescope.)

– #3 = Church taught: Dissecting human bodies was

immoral and a sin. Vesalius proved: Human anatomy is

important (to understand diseases)

Society Effects of the Scientific

Revolution • People felt that human understanding of the universe could be reduced to mathematical laws

• The universe no longer appeared to be a mystery- people felt that it was orderly, rational and most importantly, could be understood by humans

• People felt that humans were able to control their own destiny

• The concept of natural laws developed

• Laws similar like those found in science by Newton, could govern other aspects of life (ex: economics, politics, ethics)

Science Effects of the SR continued…

• Science gained a wider appeal and unprecedented popularity

• Science became a profession

• Increased knowledge

• Greater toleration (scientific and religious)

• Less superstition

• More scientific answers

• Freedom to deviate from established theories which increased new developments

Scientific Views and Democratic Ideas

• Why could it be easier for a scientist to come up with a new idea today in America? – Americans allow freedom of speech AND religion

– Many opportunities for new exploration – Most Americans are more understanding and open minded

– Not as much influence from the Church

Is there new science today that would be hard to experiment if not for American Democracy?

• Sure! • Example: Genetically Altered Food –

– “The team of scientists from Harvard, the University of Missouri and the University of Pittsburgh used a gene from an earthworm, which naturally produces omega-3 fatty acids, to genetically make their pigs less harmful for humans to eat.”

– Source: LA Times, 3/27/06