Topic > The Greatest Developments of the Scientific Revolution and Its Impact on the World Today

In 1543, an event called the Scientific Revolution began to capture the attention of many Europeans. Indeed, the 16th and 17th centuries saw most of the major developments in science and mathematics. Before that, scholars used the Bible to determine what was true, and some questioned those ideas through observation. There were many scientists, mathematicians, astronomers and philosophers who began to come up with new theories and ideas. Some of the inventions dating back to this period are still used today. These ideas that began to spread began to make the population think differently, which began to scare the Catholic Church. Advances in science and mathematics in Europe have led many to question religion and previous beliefs taught by the church. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Before the Scientific Revolution, the church made many assumptions about how the world works from the Bible and ancient Greek and Roman authors. Scientists say that "the scientific revolution was built on the foundations of ancient Greek learning and science in the Middle Ages, as it had been elaborated and further developed by Roman/Byzantine science and medieval Islamic science." Scholars believed and taught others that the earth was at the center of the universe, and because the sun sets and rises, they believed that the sun revolved 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 even the philosopher, Aristotle and astronomer Ptolemy said this was true. But as scholars began to publish their ideas, a new way of life began to develop. Martyn Shuttleworth, an academic writer, states that during this period "scholars adopted empiricism, proposing the idea that theories should be based on observation and human experience." The universe functioned as a soulless machine, without God's hand behind every inexplicable phenomenon, although many scholars, including Newton, believed there was room for a creator. The invention of the printing press helped the flow of ideas throughout the population. Scientists, their instruments, and their observations during this time period led to a major turning point in history. Scientists and philosophers of this time used previous discoveries to expand. They found that some of the church's teachings were incorrect. There are many who contributed to the ideas and inventions that have been brought forward, 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 had taught that the Earth was the center of the solar system, calling it the geocentric theory. Scientists say that "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 demonstrated that the Earth rotates daily around its axis and that it has a specific orientation in space. Another well-known scientist is Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). He is best known for telescopic observations of the phases of Venus, analysis of sunspots, observation of Saturn's rings, and the discovery of Jupiter's four largest satellites. In 1610 Galileo published the Sidereus Nuncius, where he recorded most of hisobservations. Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) was another scientist who impacted the world with his observations. Brahe was an astronomer and made some of the most accurate observations before the invention of the telescope. It also determined the accurate location of more than 777 stars. When he died, he left all his experimental data to John Kepler (1571-1630), who had been his assistant for a few years prior. He published his first book, Mysterium cosmographicum in 1596. Kepler used Copernicus' discoveries to determine that the orbits of the planets are elliptical, not circular. He explained that this is his book Astronomia nova, published in 1609. Kepler's second law states that a line connecting a planet to the sun sweeps equal areas in equal times. His final law states that "The time it takes for a planet to orbit the sun, called the period, is proportional to the long axis of the ellipse raised to the power 3/2." The constant of proportionality is the same for all planets. When Kepler died, he provided the foundation for Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727). He invented calculus so that he and future scientists and mathematicians could have a way to measure how things move. His most famous discovery was 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 uniform motion is applied to it. external force. 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 in this period. He was the first to use the scientific method in chemistry. He is considered the founder of modern chemistry. In 1661 he published a book entitled The Skeptical Chymist. In this book, Boyle "challenged 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 stuck together in different ways. Boyle's law was his most significant 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 greatly disapproved of by the Catholic Church. Even though they might have been punished and tormented by the church, they continued to expand the knowledge of the population with their theories, laws and inventions. During this period not only were theories and laws proposed, but inventions were also created. This opened up 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. His design was simple and allowed other scientists to expand it and make it even more efficient. This is a very important tool nowadays. In 1595 Zacharias Janssen created the first compound microscope. This tool was very advanced for its time. The telescope was invented in 1609 by Hans Lippershey and later improved by Galileo. The telescope was used to study planets and stars and helped scientists get the observations they needed for their theories. Galileo used the telescope to demonstrate Copernicus' heliocentric theory. In 1644 Evangelista Torricelli invented the first barometer. This invention helped people predict the weather more accurately. Finally, Isaac Newton's theory of gravity emerged in 1687. Not only were inventions created, but scientists also attempted new ways of experimenting. For example, scientists began to “study human anatomy basedon the dissection of human cadavers, rather than that of animals, as practiced for centuries". Scientists also began to study magnetism and electricity. These tools and new ways of experimentation were very important for those times because when new ideas began to emerge, scientists and philosophers needed a way to prove their theories and explanations. Without that proof, the population would not follow the new ideas. Although the inventions of these tools were very useful to scientists then and now, this gave the church even more reason to be afraid. As scientists and philosophers made observations and formulated new theories, the church urged them to stop. The church was afraid that these discoveries might cause the population to question their scientific teachings, which in turn it would make people question their own religious teachings and faith. The church had a lot of power at this point, but with people questioning it and hearing about new theories that opposed the church's teachings, the church was afraid. to lose power. Indeed, "the end of the 16th century saw the beginnings of atheism in Europe." The church was very against Copernicus who opposed the geocentric theory with 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 emerge that went against the Bible. When they learned that Galileo was experimenting with and supporting the works of Copernicus, they told him not to defend his ideas. Out of fear he agreed to be tortured and remained silent. He continued to work in silence and eventually published the Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. The book clearly showed that Galileo was experimenting with and supporting Copernicus' ideas. Having discovered this, the Pope summoned Galileo to Rome to be tried before the Inquisition. Galileo knelt and was forced to read a signed confession stating that Copernicus' discoveries were false. Afterwards, Galileo continued to study in silence. However, his work spread throughout Europe, and in 1992 the Catholic Church made it official that Galileo was correct in his observations. Copernicus, however, never received any persecution or recognition at the time because he died shortly after publishing his book. These two scientists played an important role in developing the foundation for the Enlightenment, which allowed the population to think freely and become more secular. The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment laid the foundation for the scientists who came after. The scientific revolution has had a great impact on our lives today. Scientists and philosophers have made many discoveries that still prove true today, and without the discoveries of microscopes and telescopes we would not know nearly half 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 are able to look more closely at what they really are. Although the church was extremely against experimentation and questioning, scientists continued to provide the population with new information supported by facts, and that was the beginning of Europe becoming more secular. This time period led to the Age of Enlightenment, "which centered on reason as the primary source of authority and legitimacy, and emphasized the importance of the scientific method." Shuttleworth states that the scientific revolution is “perhaps the greatest change in human society of all time, the transition from the ancient to the modern world.” The science of man has become., &.