Physics 1 - 1373 Words

Galileo Galilei Introduction It is no question that Galileo was an influential scientist in his time and still is today (picture located on page 6 from google.com). Though his most notable discoveries were in the field of astronomy, we cannot label him simply as an astronomer. He authored many important works including, Sidereal Messenger (also known as Starry Messenger), but unfortunately, due to the power of the Catholic church in his native Italy, his work in astronomy was widely rejected by his countrymen. His contributions to physics also place him in the ranks of the greatest scientists of all time. Without Galileo’s contributions to astronomy, mathematics, and physics, we would lack many basic understandings of the universe and†¦show more content†¦However, contrary to legend, he did not experiment by dropping weights off the leaning tower of Pisa but rather by rolling spheres down an inclined plane. Galileo’s most famous discoveries are his contributions to astronomy. Though he did not invent the telescope (it had long been used by sailors and soldiers to view objects in the distance) he improved upon it. The telescope used to view the heavens was supposedly brought to Venice by the Dutch in 1609. Catching wind of this, Galileo built his own telescope and then within a week made another improved version (Rosen, 180). He used it to observe Earth’s moon and other bodies in the solar system. He was the first to observe the phases of Venus, the composite structure of Saturn, Jupiter’s four moons, and mountains on Earth’s moon. Pictured above is Galileo’s personal telescope. Galileo’s description of the moon was also a point of controversy. As Galileo observed, and as we know today, the moon is a solid object whose surface is rough: covered with mountains and craters. Though this does not shock us, to those living in 17th century Italy, this description was frightening because it did not coincide with a description of the moon in the book of Revelation. The crescent moon, as it appears in the described image, is smooth, possibly translucent, and immaculate. He also developed a mathematical formula for determining the height of theShow MoreRelatedMastering Physics Assignment 12834 Words   |  12 PagesAssignment 1: Kinematics in 2 and 3 Dimensions Due: 2:00am on Saturday, September 4, 2010 Note: To understand how points are awarded, read your instructors Grading Policy. [Switch to Standard Assignment View] Arrow Hits Apple An arrow is shot at an angle of above the horizontal. The arrow hits a tree a horizontal distance away, at the same height above the ground as it was shot. Use for the magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity. Part A Find , the time that the arrowRead MorePhysics Unit 8 Assignment 1663 Words   |  3 PagesUnit 8 Assignment 1 20. Because the magnetic force which deflects the electrons is defined by F = q * v x B (v x B is the cross product of the 2 vectors), so: The force vector would always be perpendicular to both the v and B vectors. Since the force is perpendicular to the electrons velocity vector, and thus the path of the electrons, the work done by the field on the electrons is 0, because W = F*d*cos(theta), and theta=90 degrees, therefore cos(theta)=0, and W=0 If W = 0 thenRead MorePhysics 1 Midterm Exam Review 21359 Words   |  6 PagesPHYSICS 1 MIDTERM EXAM REVIEW #2 1. A 6.0-N force and an 8.0-N force act concurrently on a point. As the angle between these forces increases from 0 ° to 90 °, the magnitude of their resultant (1) decreases (2) increases (3) remains the same 2. A car increases its speed from 9.6 m/s to 11.2 m/s in 4.0 s. The average acceleration of the car during this 4.0-second interval is (1) 0.40 m/s2 (3) 2.8 m/s2 (2) 2.4 m/s2 (4) 5.2 m/s2 3. 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According to its syllabu s, PHYS 101 is a 3 credits course with only lectures but not labs. Hence, the students in the course will not have the opportunity to experiment with the knowledge learned from lectures. It is almost impossible to learn physics just by theories because physics is allRead MorePlank, Einstein and Black Body Radiation1400 Words   |  6 Pagesand Black Body Radiation. Part 1. Trace the development of the understanding of â€Å"black body radiation† and assess Einstein’s contribution to quantum theory with particular reference to it. Some recent scientific discoveries have been developed during periods of war and have not necessarily been of an altruistic nature. Discuss Einstein and Plank’s differing views of the role society and politics played in scientific research. Towards the end of the 19th century physics was mostly thought to be at anRead MoreI Am Interested Into Learning1244 Words   |  5 Pages I have struggled with Calculus 1 and with Physics 1 and while initially that was very discouraging and made me want nothing to do with either subject, I now feel that struggling through those subjects may be the best thing I can do for myself, especially if my goal is to become an engineer. At the beginning of the year, I told my roommates that I wanted nothing to do with Physics or Calculus after this semester and yet now, I find myself enrolled in both Physics 2 and Calculus 2. I have enjoyedRead MoreQuantum Mechanics and Islam Essay1602 Words   |  7 Pages Introduction Quantum mechanics or also known as quantum physics is a field of science which studies the behaviour of particles at sub-atomic level. This theory tells us that short-lived pairs of particles and their antiparticles are constantly being created and destroyed in an apparently empty space. In quantum mechanics the weird behaviour of electrons are not accurately explained and until now not a single theory is acceptable by the whole scientific community to postulate the phenomena. TheRead MoreThe Paradox From Zeno And Mctaggart Essay1539 Words   |  7 Pagesmodern science has potential solved the paradox put forth by McTaggart. Both of these paradoxes have a enormous repercussion on how objective fact about the world can be understood. I claim that McTaggart’s theory of time can be solved by modern physics as Einstein’s theory of relativity makes time a relative factor in how time is understood. Before discussing the idea of paradoxes, I will first describe what a paradox is. A paradox, strictly speaking, is when a theory with logical premisesRead MoreWhen Diving Into The Details Of Gravitational Theories800 Words   |  4 Pagescornerstone of modern physics, and is strongly supported by observations. In fact, all the experiments carried out so far are consistent with it [36], and no evidence to show that such a symmetry must be broken at certain energy scales, although it is arguable that such constraints in the gravitational sector are much weaker than those in the matter sector [37]. It should be emphasized that, the breaking of Lorentz invariance can have significant ef- fects on the low-energy physics through the interactions