Galileo

Galileo

Introduction What do a chandelier and the planet Venus have in common? They each played a part in the discoveries of one of history's greatest scientists five hundred years ago. His name was Galileo Galilei.

Galileo's Childhood Galileo was born in Italy in 1564. From a young age, he was good at asking questions. Though his questions got him in trouble, Galileo changed the way we understand the world.

The Student As a young man, Galileo wanted to learn about math and physics (the science of matter, energy, and motion). He made one of his first discoveries in physics a year before he entered university. One day in 1582, Galileo watched a chandelier hanging from the ceiling inside a church. He saw that the wind outside was making the chandelier swing back and forth. He also saw something strange. Although some swings were wider than others, every swing took exactly the same amount of time.

By watching the chandelier, Galileo discovered that a weight that swings back and forth can keep time. Later, he figured out how to build a clock using this idea. Clocks like his are still in use today. Galileo did not study math when he first entered university in 1583. His father wanted him to become a doctor instead. Galileo's study of medicine never interested him much, though. In fact, he never finished his studies; he left university in 1585 because of money problems. For the next four years, Galileo taught math. However, he did not give up his interest in science.

The Professor In 1589, Galileo returned to the university as a math professor. He continued to ask questions and test things. For example, he did several tests with falling objects to see what would happen. However, the discoveries that would make him famous were still to come.