Galileo Galilei (1564～1642) was a great astronomer, mechanics, philosopher, physicist and mathematician in the late Italian Renaissance. He is also a pioneer in modern experimental physics and is known as the "Father of Modern Science". At the age of 17, he entered the University of Pisa to study medicine, and later switched to mathematics. After graduation, he became a university professor. He was an indomitable warrior for the truth. Engels called him "one of the giants who was able to break old theories and create new ones regardless of obstacles." Born in Pisa on February 15, 1564 and died in Pisa on January 8, 1642. Galileo's family name is Galilei (Galilei), and his full name is Galileo Galilei, but he is now commonly called by his first name, Galileo, instead of his surname. Due to translation problems, there are different opinions on the surname, but Galileo Galilei prevails.

Life

Galileo Galileo was born on February 15, 1564 in Pisa, a city on the western coast of Italy. He was originally from Florence and came from a declining aristocratic family. Galileo's father was a failed musician, proficient in Greek and Latin, and also quite accomplished in mathematics. Therefore, Galileo received a good family education from an early age.

At the age of twelve, Galileo entered the monastery of Vallombrosa near Florence to receive a classical education. At the age of seventeen, he entered the University of Pisa to study medicine, while also concentrating on physics and mathematics. Due to family financial difficulties, Galileo left the University of Pisa without receiving his diploma. Despite the difficult environment, he still persisted in scientific research, studied many works of Euclid and Archimedes, conducted many experiments, and published many influential papers, thus receiving great attention from the academic community at that time. , known as the "Contemporary Archimedes".

Galileo was taught mathematics at the University of Pisa when he was 25 years old. Two years later, Galileo lost his job because of his famous experiment on the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which angered the church. After Galileo left the University of Pisa, he went to Venice to teach at the University of Padua in 1592, where he remained until 1610. This period was Galileo's golden age in scientific research. Here, he made numerous achievements in mechanics, astronomy and other aspects.

In 1610, Galileo published his work in the form of a popular book, named "The Starry Messenger". This book was published in Venice, which caused a sensation in Europe at the time and won Galileo high praise. of honor. Galileo was hired as "court philosopher" and "court chief mathematician", and he returned to his hometown of Florence.

Galileo continued his scientific research at the court in Florence, but his astronomical discoveries and his astronomical writings clearly reflected the Copernican heliocentric view. As a result, Galileo began to attract the attention of the church. Beginning in 1616, Galileo began to be brutally persecuted by the Roman Inquisition for more than 20 years.

Galileo's later life was extremely miserable. His daughter Celeste, who took care of him, died before him. The grief of losing his beloved daughter made Galileo blind. Even under such conditions, he still did not give up his scientific research work.

At 4 o'clock in the morning on January 8, 1642, the great Galileo, a warrior who fought for science and truth all his life, passed away at the age of 78. On the eve of his death, he repeated this sentence: "The pursuit of science requires special courage."

On February 15, 1564, Galileo was born in a dilapidated noble family in the city of Pisa on the west coast of Italy. Home. It is said that his ancestor was a very famous doctor in Florence, but by the generation of his father Galileo Fansandu, the family situation was declining. Fansandu was a very talented composer. He published several pastoral and instrumental works during his lifetime. He was also good at mathematics and proficient in Greek and Latin. However, beautiful music could not fill the belly of his family. His mathematics Talent cannot get him a good position. About not long after little Galileo was born, Fansandu opened a small shop selling woolen fabrics in Florence, not far from Pisa. This was completely a last resort.

But in order to maintain the life of his family, Fansandu had to go into business against his will.

Little Galileo was the eldest son of Fansandu, and his father had great hopes for his son. He found that little Galileo was very smart and had been full of strong curiosity about everything since he was a child. Not only that, this child was very clever and he seemed to never be idle. He was either painting pictures or playing the piano, and he often did many clever things for his younger brothers and sisters. Motorized toy, fun to play with.

Little Galileo initially entered the school of the Florentine monastery. In this school, he concentrated on studying philosophy and religion. For a while, little Galileo wanted to be a missionary dedicated to the church in the future. But after Fansandu heard about this situation, he immediately took his son home. He persuaded Galileo to study medicine, which was a path he had already planned for his son's future. At the age of 17, Galileo entered the famous University of Pisa and became a medical student according to his father's wishes. The University of Pisa is an old university with a rich collection of books in the school library, which is very suitable for Galileo. However, Galileo did not have much interest in medicine. He rarely attended classes. Once in class, he would raise various questions about the content of the professors' lectures. , making it difficult for the professors to answer. In the eyes of the professors, Galileo was a very unpleasant and bad student. However, Galileo was not interested in medicine. He studied mathematics, physics and other natural sciences tirelessly, and viewed with suspicion those theories that have been regarded as classics since ancient times.

You must know that the era when Galileo lived was the famous Renaissance era in European history, and Italy was the birthplace of the Renaissance. At that time, many large cities in Italy, such as Florence, Genoa and Venice, developed into centers of East-West trade. Business houses, handicraft workshops and the earliest banks were built, and the germination of capitalist production relations appeared. Coupled with the development of trade and the invention of printing, new ideas spread faster than ever before. As a result, people began to waver in the religious theology and traditional dogmas that had bound their minds for thousands of years.

By chance, Galileo listened to a lecture by the court mathematician Matthew Leach. Galileo was deeply fascinated by this young mathematician's profound knowledge, rigorous logic, and especially his method of proving mathematical problems. His eyes lit up, as if he had discovered a magical world. This was the mathematical kingdom he had dreamed of! He was so excited that he immediately found the court mathematician Matthew Leach and asked him many puzzling questions.

Matthew Leach originally came to Pisa from Florence with the Grand Duke of Tuscany. He taught mathematics to the page boys in the palace. He did not expect that there would be an enthusiastic audience, and he proposed The questions are very interesting and fully demonstrate his superior wisdom and profound knowledge.

When Matthew Leach heard that Galileo was a medical student at the University of Pisa, he couldn't help blurting out: "Ah, Galileo, you have a genius, you will become an outstanding mathematician."

Galileo's face turned red. He talked about his boredom with medicine, his father's expectations of him, and his distress because he could not study as he wished.

"Don't be discouraged." Matthew Leach said kindly: "You should study hard on your own. If you have any difficulties, I will be your loyal friend at any time." After listening to Matthew Leach's words Encouraged, Galileo studied mathematics and physics more diligently. He read every book he borrowed from the court mathematicians carefully and absorbed it like a sponge absorbing water. However, he was not the kind of person who was superstitious about books. Those authoritative conclusions that people thought were truths often brought unexpected questions to Galileo's mind. He often felt distressed by this and fell into deep thinking. Once, Galileo strolled to the Cathedral of Pisa, which he was familiar with. He sat on a bench and stared at the beautifully carved altar and arched columns. Suddenly, the giant lamp in the center of the church hall swayed. Home repair workers were there installing chandeliers. This was a normal thing. The chandelier swayed like a pendulum, drawing an invisible arc in the air.

One exciting discovery after another was enough for Galileo to write a book on the latest astronomical discoveries. He wanted to publish his observation results to the world. In March 1610, Galileo's book "The Star Messenger" was published in Venice, which immediately caused a sensation in Europe.

However, he did not expect that the secrets of the universe revealed by the telescope would greatly offend many people, and a terrible misfortune was about to befall this outstanding scientist.

[Edit this paragraph] Encounter

One day in the winter of 1615, the weather was extremely cold and the sky was covered with gloomy dark clouds. Galileo came to Rome alone. Five years ago, in 1610, Galileo bid farewell to the University of Padua and returned to Florence, where he served as a court mathematician and philosopher in the Principality of Tuscany and a professor of mathematics at the University of Pisa. Also in this year, he visited Rome and received a warm reception and high standards of courtesy. His series of new discoveries in astronomy and the invention of the telescope were valued by Pope Paul V, and Roman nobles and scientists were honored to know him. However, only five years later, Rome's face had completely changed. There were no flowers or smiling faces, instead there were indifferent and expressionless faces everywhere. Even familiar people stayed away from him as if they were avoiding the plague.

What happened? It turned out that this time, Galileo's name was on the blacklist of the Roman Inquisition. He was summoned to Rome by the notorious Inquisition to accept his trial.

What crime did Galileo commit? Let’s start from the beginning.

Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries was a critical period in the transformation from feudal society to capitalist society. For a long time, in order to consolidate the order of feudal rule, theocratic Europe replaced science with theology, and replaced freedom with barbarism. Theologians absurdly claimed that the universe was filled with "angels of various degrees and crystal balls within one another," with the motionless earth at the center of these crystal balls. They admire the theory of the ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy that "the earth is the center of the universe", because in the view of theologians, the sun revolves around the earth, and the purpose of God's creation of the sun is to illuminate the earth and be kind to mankind. . This is an eternal and unbreakable truth.

In order to defend this absurd theory, the Catholic Church’s Inquisition did not hesitate to use horrific violence against anyone who dared to raise objections. In 1327, the Italian astronomer Cecco Dascoli was burned alive. His crime was only that the earth was spherical and that humans lived in the other hemisphere. However, he was persecuted for violating the teachings of the Bible. On February 17, 1600, the Italian philosopher Bruno was burned alive in the Piazza del Fiore in Rome because he promoted the Copernican theory everywhere and shaken the geocentric theory.

Galileo was a contemporary of Bruno. As early as when he was teaching at the University of Padua, he had read Copernicus's work "On the Hypothesis of the Movement of Celestial Bodies" (also known as "On the Movement of Celestial Bodies"). gt; gt;). In this book, this outstanding Polish astronomer boldly proposed the theory that the sun is the center of the solar system and that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun, that is, the heliocentric theory, which aroused Galileo's great interest from the beginning. But Galileo was a scholar with a very serious scientific attitude. He thought, in the past it was said that the sun revolves around the earth, but Copernicus put forward the opposite view. Which one is correct? Galileo did not jump to conclusions. He decided to use his telescope to confirm who was right and who was wrong.

When Galileo's book "The Star Messenger" was published, he was already a strong supporter of Copernicanism. Through his own observations and research, Galileo gradually realized that Copernicus' theory was correct, while Ptolemy's geocentric theory was wrong, and many of Aristotle's views were untenable. Galileo not only published essays refuting Aristotle, but also unabashedly supported Copernicus' theories through letters, and even sent copies of his letters directly to the Roman Church. According to Galileo, the conscience of scientists is to follow the truth.

However, the Holy See would never let Galileo go. They first issued a stern warning to Galileo, and then summoned him to Rome for trial. In February 1616, the Inquisition announced that Galileo was no longer allowed to promote Copernicus's theory, and he was no longer allowed to describe Copernicus's theory as the truth, whether in lectures or writing.

Galileo would not forget that 16 years ago Bruno was burned alive by these sanctimonious defenders of God wearing black robes. If he dared to resist, he would never end up better than Bruno.

Under the threat of the church, Galileo was forced to make a statement giving up the Copernican theory. He returned to Florence in great distress and spent several years in silence.

But deep down in his heart, Galileo did not give up the Copernican theory. On the contrary, his continuous observation and in-depth research made him more convinced that the Copernican theory was a completely correct scientific theory. In the Villa Sini on the outskirts of Florence, Galileo lived an isolated life. His body was not as good as before, and the disease was cruelly tormenting him, but he still never forgot to promote Copernicus's theory. After a long period of deliberation and almost five years, a great book "Dialogue on Two World Systems" was finally born.

"Dialogue on Two World Systems" is ostensibly a dialogue between three people, objectively discussing Ptolemy's geocentric theory and Copernicus' heliocentric theory, without prejudice as to who is right and who is wrong. Discuss. But when the book was finally published in February 1632, it was not difficult for careful readers to see that the book effectively criticized Aristotle and Ptolemy with sufficient arguments and a large number of indisputable facts. The erroneous theory, scientifically demonstrating Copernicus's theory of earthquakes, declared the complete bankruptcy of religious theology.

Soon, the church, whose sense of smell was better than that of a hunting dog, sniffed out the terrible ideas contained in this book, and the bold conclusions revealed between the lines caused great panic among theologians. Those academic liars who had long been dissatisfied with Galileo immediately colluded with the church, fabricated accusations, and conspired to create public opinion for the persecution of Galileo.

The irreconcilable struggle between science and theology broke out. In August 1632, the Roman Inquisition banned the sale of the book, and a special committee was appointed by the Pope to review the book. Galileo had a premonition that catastrophe was coming, and sure enough, in October, he received a document from the Inquisition asking him to go to Rome for trial.

At this time, Galileo was already 69 years old, suffering from illness and unable to move. Many people who cared about him went around to intercede for him, but the Pope said angrily: "Unless it is proved that he is unable to move, otherwise If necessary, handcuff him and take him to Rome!"

In this way, in early 1633, Galileo fell ill and came to Rome. As soon as he arrived in Rome, he lost his freedom, was thrown into the prison of the Inquisition, and no one was allowed to have contact with him.

This is how a horrific persecution in human history began. In the bloody and horrific courts of the Roman Inquisition, truth was rejected by error and science was judged by divine power. The church judges, who had murderous faces on their faces, threatened Galileo with burning at the stake to give up his faith, otherwise they would punish him with death.

The old and sick Galileo was desperate. He knew that truth could not be extinguished by violence. Although he could renounce the Copernican theory, no one could change the order among the celestial bodies in the universe.

Under the torture of interrogation and criminal law, Galileo was forced to express repentance in public in court, agreed to renounce Copernican theory, and signed the verdict.

"In order to punish you for such a serious and harmful mistake and sin, and for you to be more cautious in the future and set an example and warning to others," the presiding judge in black robes read out the verdict against Galileo in public. , "We declare by public order that Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two World Systems are prohibited; and we sentence you to be temporarily and formally imprisoned in prison, subject to our opinion and to the confession which has led to your salvation, for three years every week Read the Seven Penitential Psalms..."

Galileo's later years were very tragic. This scientist who opened up human horizons and revealed the secrets of the universe became completely blind in 1637 and fell into boundless darkness. His only relative, his youngest daughter Maliya, passed away before him, which was a huge blow to him. However, even so, Galileo still did not lose the courage to explore the truth. In 1638, his "Discussion on Two New Sciences" was published in the Netherlands with the help of friends. This book was a systematic summary of Galileo's long-term research on physics and was also the first great work of modern physics. Later, the Inquisition relaxed its surveillance on him, and several of his students, including the famous physicist and discoverer of atmospheric pressure Torricelli, came to the old man to take care of him and also asked him for advice. They can happily discuss scientific inventions together again.

On January 8, 1642, the 78-year-old Galileo stopped breathing. But the truth he defended throughout his life endures forever. Ironically, more than 300 years later, in November 1979, at the Synod of Bishops, the Pope proposed to reopen the "Galileo Case". To this end, world-renowned scientists formed a review committee to re-examine this unjust case. In fact, where is the need for trial? Spaceships fly in space, human footprints are deeply left on the surface of the moon, artificial satellites are launched into the sky, and space probes fly out of the solar system and send back radio waves... All these modern scientific and technological advances have already announced religious theology. Complete bankruptcy, mankind will always remember the dazzling name of Galileo.