Field of subject: the Scientific Revolution
We have read some texts about:
 The period before the scientific revolution
o The Middle Ages (500 - 1350 AD) – little change in scientific knowledge
o The Catholic Church had all power and they believed in the geocentric theory which
was based on the theories by the ancient Greeks and Romans (Aristotle’s).
o The Aristotelian system:
 Things had feelings e.g. the stone fell to the ground because it missed the
earth.
 The earth was the centre of the universe and the planets and the sun orbited
around the earth.
o The Geocentric system was based on the Aristotelian system.

The New Astronomy (1510 – 1600)
o Copernicus
 He concluded that there was something wrong with the geocentric theory.
 He tested the hypothesis that the earth was in fact in orbit around the sun and
found that the heliocentric theory was more feasible.
 He was a theoretician
 He said that the universe was finite
o Thyco Brahe
 He was a practical astronomer
 He spent his observing the heavens
o G. Bruno
 Was burned at the stake as a heretic
 His theory incompatible with the teachings of the Church
 He said that the universe was infinite but then what about heaven and hell?
o
Advancement of the astronomy
 There had to be better astronomical tools both mathematical and physics
 More accurate observations (over long time)
 Improved methods of mathmatics for the interpretation of this collected data
 Progress in the understanding of physics and motion

Advancements in Mathematics (1591 – 1655)
o Math played a big role
 Main condition necessary for the advancement of physics and astronomy.
 Mathematics allowed the proof of abstract theories and provided a more
logical method for attacking the Aristotelian system.
 Math was the missing evidence which Copernicus and Bruno need
o Development in mathematics
 Francois Viete used letters to represent unknown quantities – trigonometry
 Simon Steven introduced the decimal system
 John Napier of Scotland invented the logarithms
 Isaac Newton invented differential calculus

Physics (1590 – 1666)
o Galileo G. is very important to the history of physics

o
Developed a number of criticisms of the Aristotelian system’s view of the
physical world
 “The law”
 He showed how gravity worked
 Started to do experiments
 He demonstrated that the acceleration (gravity) didn’t depend on the mass of
the object (1pound, 100pound)
Physicists’ practical inventions
 The telescope and
 microscope
 the barometer
 air pump

Isaac Newton (1687)
o “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of
giants” - Newton tried to tell others that the only reason he managed to discover the
things he did was because others had done all the fundamental work.
 Nicolas Copernicus sugested flaws in the ancient world belief.
 Giordano Bruno claimed the universe wasn't like the ancients and the church
believed (Got burned)
 Kepler; reduced the motions of planets to intelligble matematical rules.
 Galileo developed the system of earthly mechanics that he hinted might be
applied to the heavens.

The Royal Society (1662 – 1700)
o The best scientists in Europe
o It was a place to gather theories and ideas having feedback
o The scientists had to bring their own theories not just old theories
o Everything went quicker when they were able to work together.

Prevailing Superstition (1550 – 1700)
o The scientific revolution had little impact on the normal person
 The four humors, the human body containd 4 major fluids:
 Blood
 Yellow bile
 Black bile
 Phlegm
 Too much or too less resulted in illness
o There was no mass accessible data
o People weren't able to read
o No newspapers

Scientific Methods
o Identifying a Question
o Forming a Hypothesis
o Testing a Hypothesis
o Analyzing Results
o Drawing a Conclusion