Renaissance+Science


 *  Nicolas Copernicus ||  Galileo's Telescope ||  Sir Isaac Newton ||
 * [[image:Nicolas_Copernicus.jpg width="264" height="340" align="center"]] || [[image:Galileo_Telescope.jpg width="368" height="170" align="center"]] || [[image:Sir_Isaac_Newton.jpg width="240" height="290" align="center"]] ||
 * Nicolas Copernicus's scientific theory changed the way people viewed the world. He proposed the Earth was not the center of the universe, but the sun was. He referred to this new idea as the heliocentric universe in his book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. The church was not too keen on his proposed theory though. They thought that if they were proved wrong in their knowledge of the world, people would start to question their authority. The rather self-centered people of the church thought that people would give up their beliefs and traditions because of this revolutionary theory. This led to Copernicus's work staying unnoticed for centuries. This Polish astronomer was truly a genius who went unnoticed. He created a revolutionary theory that questioned what people really knew about the world. It is no surprise that he inspired many others to discover and prove new ideas about the world. He exemplified a true Renaissance man in that he fought for what he believed was true. || Galileo was a talented Renaissance man, but especially had great skills is astronomy and physics. One of his finest inventions was the telescope like the one above. He modeled the first telescope after one created in Holland. Galileo soon improved the design so that it could not only magnify three times like previous models, but a mind-boggling twenty. Using this instrument he made revolutionary observations. He looked at the moon and the satellites of Jupiter and studied them. He soon proved Nicolaus Copernicus's theory correct. The Earth was no longer thought of as the center of the universe, but the sun was. Galileo recorded his observations in his numerous books including The Starry Messenger and The Assayer. His discoveries were not widely accepted though. Other scholars said his observations contradicted ancient views, while the Church condemned him. In 1633 Galileo was tried before the Inquisition and threatened with death unless he took back what he said. Galileo may have withdrew his "heresies", but it is said that he left muttering the Earth does move. Nevertheless Galileo changed the world with his revolutionary ideas. He set the foundation for modern science. || Sir Isaac Newton made countless contributions to the scientific and mathematics communities. Starting off as one of the worst performers in his school, Newton grew up to be one of history's most respected scientist. The discoveries he made are even still accepted and taught today. He revolutionized the fields he worked in. For example, before he even graduated college Newton discovered his Noble Prize worthy Binomial Theorem. Newton's book Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy described a universe that was completely unheard of and changed existing beliefs forever. His books were considered the bible of new science and his principal of "universal levitation" proved ingenious. Newton was very modest however and kept his work on centripetal force to himself for over twenty years. It took the notion of fierce competition for him to finally publish his findings. Sir Isaac Newton dedicated his life to making new discoveries. He was a wise man who realized there is so much more to life then people currently know. Newton was a strong man who broke away from the traditions of society and found the truth about the world. Sir Issac Newton was one of the greatest scientific minds of his time and is still considered one today. ||