GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY MODERN AGES

Scientific
Life and works
Revolution of:

Overview
Aristotle
The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the
emergence of modern science during the early modern period,
when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy,
biology (including human anatomy) and chemistry transformed Ptolemy
the views of society about nature.
It is a drastic change in scientific thought that took place during
the 16th and 17th centuries. A new view of nature emerged Copernicus
during the Scientific Revolution, replacing the Greek view that
had dominated science for almost 2,000 years. Science became
an autonomous discipline, distinct from both philosophy and
technology, and it came to be regarded as having utilitarian
Brahe
goals. By the end of this period, it may not be too much to say
that science had replaced Christianity as the focal point of
European civilization. Out of the ferment of the Renaissance and Kepler
Reformation there arose a new view of science, bringing about
the following transformations: the reeducation of common sense
in favour of abstract reasoning; the substitution of a quantitative Galileo
for a qualitative view of nature; the view of nature as a machine
rather than as an organism; the development of an
experimental, scientific method that sought definite answers to
certain limited questions couched in the framework of specific Newton
theories; and the acceptance of new criteria for explanation,
stressing the “how” rather than the “why” that had characterized
the Aristotelian search for final causes.
By tradition, the "Scientific Revolution" refers to historical
changes in thought & belief, to changes in social & institutional
Self
organization, that unfolded in Europe between roughly 1550- Assessment
1700; beginning with Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543), who
asserted a heliocentric (sun-centered) cosmos, it ended with
Isaac Newton (1642-1727), who proposed universal laws and a
Mechanical Universe.

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:

• outline key events in the scientific revolution

• identify important figures of the scientific revolution and
their contributions such as
Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo and
Newton

For SLSU use only 1

GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
The change to the medieval idea of science
occurred for four reasons:
1. Seventeenth century scientists and
philosophers were able to collaborate with
members of the mathematical and
astronomical communities to effect advances
in all fields.
2. Scientists realized the inadequacy of
medieval experimental methods for their
work and so felt the need to devise new
methods (some of which we use today).
3. Academics had access to a legacy of
European, Greek, and Middle Eastern
scientific philosophy that they could use as a
starting point (either by disproving or
building on the theorems).
Aristotle
(born 384 BCE, Stagira, Chalcidice, Greece—
died 322, Chalcis, Euboea), ancient Greek
philosopher and scientist, one of the greatest
intellectual figures of Western history. He
was the author of a
philosophical and
scientific system that
became the
framework and
vehicle for both
Christian
Scholasticism and
medieval Islamic
For SLSU use only
MODERN AGES
philosophy. Even after the intellectual
revolutions of the Renaissance, the
Reformation, and the Enlightenment,
Aristotelian concepts remained embedded in
Western thinking.
Aristotle was born on the Chalcidic peninsula
of Macedonia, in northern Greece.
Aristotle’s father, Nicomachus, was court
physician to the Macedonian king Amyntas II.
Although Nicomachus died when Aristotle
was just a young boy, Aristotle remained
closely affiliated with and influenced by the
Macedonian court for the rest of his life. Little
is known about his mother, Phaestis; she is
also believed to have died when Aristotle was
young.
After Aristotle’s father died, Proxenus of
Atarneus, who was married to Aristotle’s
older sister, Arimneste, became Aristotle’s
guardian until he came of age. When Aristotle
turned 17, Proxenus sent him to Athens to
pursue a higher education. At the time,
Athens was considered the academic center
of the universe. In Athens, Aristotle enrolled
in Plato’s Academy, Greek’s premier learning
institution, and proved an exemplary scholar.
Aristotle maintained a relationship with
Greek philosopher Plato, himself a student of
Socrates, and his academy for two decades.
Plato died in 347 B.C. Because Aristotle had
disagreed with some of Plato’s philosophical
treatises, Aristotle did not inherit the position
of director of the academy, as many imagined
he would.
Pythias, also known as Pythias the Elder, was
a Greek biologist and embryologist. She was
the adoptive daughter of Hermias of
Atarneus, as well as Aristotle's first wife.
Aristotle met and married his first wife,
Pythias, Pythias, named after her mother. In
335 B.C., the same year that Aristotle opened
the Lyceum, his wife Pythias died.While in
Athens, Aristotle became involved with
Herpyllis of Stagira, ... as Aristotle's concubine
after his wife, Pythias, died.
Together Aristotle and Herpyllis had a son,
named Nicomachus after Aristotle's father.
2
GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
He believed in a geocentric Universe and that
the planets and stars were perfect spheres
though Earth itself was not. He further
thought that the movements of the planets
and stars must be circular since they were
perfect and if the motions were circular, then
they could go on forever. Today, we know
that none of this is the case, but Aristotle was
so respected that these wrong answers were
taught for a very long time.
Geocentric
model, any
theory of the
structure of the
solar system (or
the universe) in
which Earth is
assumed to be at
the centre of it
all. The most highly developed geocentric
model was that of Ptolemy of Alexandria (2nd
century CE). It was generally accepted until
the 16th century, after which it was
superseded by heliocentric models such as
that of Nicolaus Copernicus.
An Earth-Centered View of the Universe
85–165 CE lived
in Alexandria,
Egypt, a city
established by
Alexander the
Great some 400
years before
Ptolemy’s birth.
After the Romans
conquered Egypt
in 30 BCE, Alexandria became the second-
largest city in the Roman Empire and a major
source of Rome’s grain, but less funding was
provided for scientific study of the stars.
Ptolemy was the only great astronomer of
Roman Alexandria.
For SLSU use only
MODERN AGES
He may have been a member of the royal
lineage of Egypt. He was not an Egyptian
though. Records seem to infer he was a Greek.
Ptolemy was also a mathematician,
geographer, and astrologer.
The Earth was the center of the Universe
according to Claudius Ptolemy, whose view of
the cosmos persisted for 1400 years until it
was overturned — with controversy — by
findings from Copernicus, Galileo, and
Newton.
Ptolemy accepted Aristotle’s idea that the Sun
and the planets revolve around a spherical
Earth, a geocentric view. Ptolemy developed
this idea through observation and in
mathematical detail. In doing so, he rejected
the hypothesis of Aristarchus of Samos, who
came to Alexandria about 350 years before
Ptolemy was born. Aristarchus had made the
claim that the Earth revolves around the Sun,
but he couldn’t produce any evidence to back
it up.
The Almagest
Ptolemy’s most famous work is the Almagest,
an astronomy textbook and star catalogue.
The Almagest was a substantial, ambitious
work. It taught its students how to predict the
location of any heavenly body at any time
from anywhere on Earth using Ptolemy’s
mathematical model of planet movements.
Ptolemy presented his model’s output in the
form of data tables. Using his tables, one
could also predict eclipses.
As for the details of the life of Claudius
Ptolemy, little is known and most is lost to
history. Much of what is believed to be true
about Ptolemy comes from texts that were
written about him centuries after his death,
and thus may not be accurate. Scholars are
certain that Ptolemy was ethnically Greek and
nationally a Roman – but also influenced by
the ancient cultures of Egypt and even
Babylon.
3
GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
Not much is known about the final years of
Claudius Ptolemy. His death was just as
mysterious as his birth and origins. It is
strongly believed that when he passed away,
he died in the city he spent the bulk of his life,
Alexandria, Egypt. But he left behind a legacy
of work that continues to influence well into
the modern era.
1473-1543 Nicholaus Copernicus was
a Polish astronomer known as the father of
modern astronomy.
He was the first
modern European
scientist
to propose that
Earth and other
planets revolve
around the sun, or
the Heliocentric
Theory of the
universe. He
argued that Earth lay at the center of the
universe, the view also held by most
ancient philosophers and biblical writers.
In addition to correctly postulating the
order of the known planets, including
Earth, from the sun, and estimating their
orbital periods relatively accurately,
Copernicus argued that Earth turned daily
on its axis and that gradual shifts of this
axis accounted for the changing seasons.
He was born on February 19, 1473 in
Torun, a city in north-central Poland .
Copernicus was born into a family of well-
to-do merchants, and after his father’s
death, his uncle–soon to be a bishop–took
the boy under his wing. He was given the
best education of the day and bred for a
career in canon (church) law. At the
University of Krakow, he studied liberal
arts, including
astronomy and
astrology, and
then, he was sent
to Italy to study
medicine and law.
For SLSU use only
MODERN AGES
Copernicus later studied at the University
of Padua and in 1503 received a doctorate
in canon law from the University of
Ferrara. He returned to Poland, where he
became a church administrator and
doctor. In his free time, he dedicated
himself to scholarly pursuits, which
sometimes included astronomical work.
Nicolaus Copernicus: Against The
Ptolemaic System
The cosmology of early 16th-century
Europe held that Earth sat stationary and
motionless at the center of several
rotating, concentric spheres that bore the
celestial bodies: the sun, the moon, the
known planets, and the stars. From
ancient times, philosophers adhered to
the belief that the heavens were arranged
in circles (which by definition are
perfectly round), causing confusion
among astronomers who recorded the
often eccentric motion of the planets,
which sometimes appeared to halt in their
orbit of Earth and move retrograde across
the sky.
But the Ptolemaic system remained
Europe’s accepted cosmology for more
than 1,000 years,
Copernicus's revolutionary ideas
reorganized the heavens
This secretive astronomer devoted his
entire life to sun-centered cosmic theories
as larger questions of faith were dividing
Europe nearly 500 years ago.
Nicolaus Copernicus and the
Heliocentric Theory
Sometime
between 1508
and 1514,
Nicolaus
Copernicus wrote
4
GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
a short astronomical treatise commonly
called the Commentariolus, or “Little
Commentary,” which laid the basis for his
heliocentric (sun-centered) system. The
work was not published in his lifetime. In
the treatise, he correctly postulated the
order of the known planets, including
Earth, from the sun, and estimated their
orbital periods relatively accurately.
For Copernicus, his heliocentric theory
was by no means a watershed, for it
created as many problems as it solved.
For instance, heavy objects were always
assumed to fall to the ground because
Earth was the center of the universe. Why
would they do so in a sun-centered
system? He retained the ancient belief
that circles governed the heavens, but his
evidence showed that even in a sun-
centered universe the planets and stars
did not revolve around the sun in circular
orbits. Because of these problems and
others, Copernicus delayed publication of
his major astronomical work, De
revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi,
or “Six Books Concerning the Revolutions
of the Heavenly Orbs,” nearly all his life.
Completed around 1530, it was not
published until 1543–the year of his
death.
What Did Nicolaus Copernicus
Discover?
According to Copernicus Earth and the
planets revolve around the sun led him to
make a number of other major
astronomical discoveries. While revolving
around the sun, Earth, he argued, spins on
its axis daily. Earth takes one year to orbit
the sun and during this time wobbles
gradually on its axis, which accounts for
the precession of the equinoxes. Major
flaws in the work include his concept of
the sun as the center of the whole
universe, not just the solar system, and
his failure to grasp the reality of elliptical
orbits, which forced him to incorporate
numerous epicycles into his system, as did
Ptolemy. With no concept of gravity, Earth
For SLSU use only
MODERN AGES
and the planets still revolved around the
sun on giant transparent spheres.
The Julian calendar, then in use, had become
so inexact that it fell out of time with the
seasons. Copernicus submitted a statement
to a 1512-16 council convened to address the
problem, in which he called for more
accurate observations. A new “Gregorian”
calendar with leap years was introduced
under Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 and is still
in use today.
In 1514 Copernicus was invited to contribute
to a council to reform the calendar, so as to
enable the church to fix feast days with more
accuracy. This heliocentric theory was
considered as the greatest controversy
in science during that time. Most of the
people accused Copernicus as a fool and his
theory is anti biblical.
Facts About Nicolaus Copernicus
1. He came from a family of merchants and
clergy. Some historians believe that
Copernicus's name derives from Koperniki, a
village in Poland named after tradesmen who
mined and sold copper. The astronomer's
father, also named Nicolaus Copernicus, was a
successful copper merchant in Krakow.
2. He was a polyglot.
Growing up, Copernicus likely knew both
Polish and German. When Copernicus's father
died when he was around 10, Lucas
Watzenrode funded his nephew's education
and he started learning Latin.
3. He wasn't the first person to suggest
heliocentrism it was Aristarchus of Samos. a
Greek astronomer who lived in the 200s BCE,
4. He was probably a lifelong bachelor As an
official in the Catholic Church, Copernicus
took a vow of celibacy. He never married and
was most likely a virgin, but he may have had
an affair with his housekeeper in the late
1530s, the astronomer was in his sixties
5
GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
when Anna Schilling, began living with
him.
5. He attended four universities before
earning a degree
He died the year his major work was
published, saving him from the outrage of
some religious leaders who later
condemned his heliocentric view of the
universe as heresy. By the late 18th
century, the Copernican view of the solar
system was almost universally accepted.
Toward the close of 1542, Copernicus was
seized with apoplexy and paralysis, and he
died at age 70 on 24 May 1543. Legend has it
that he was presented with the final printed
pages of his Dē revolutionibus orbium
coelestium on the very day that he died,
allowing him to take farewell of his life's
work.[w] He is reputed to have awoken from
a stroke-induced coma, looked at his book,
and then died peacefully.
#FOCUS QUESTION
1. Copernicus wrote a book that summarizes
his lifetime of observation on planets and
stars, published just before his death. it was
called
a: the sun goes around the earth
b: on the revolutions of celestial spheres
c: heliocentric universe
d: why the sun is the center
2. The theory Copernicus developed of the
cosmos, that the planets revolve around the
sun is called the _____________ theory.
a. geocentric c. heliocentric
b. cosmocentric d. homocentric
3. Copernicus' book De Revolutionibus
orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the
Celestial Spheres) is viewed as the starting
point of which modern branch of study?
A: medicine C: physics
B: mathematics D: astronomy
For SLSU use only
MODERN AGES
4. What are the reasons why geocentric
theory of Aristotle and Ptolemy last that long.
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)
Tycho Ottesen Brahe was born into a highly
aristocratic, very wealthy family on December
14, 1546. He was born in his parents’ large
manor house at Knutstorp, in the Danish
region of Scarnia, which is now in Sweden.
Tycho’s father was Otte Brahe, a member of
the Royal Court. His mother was Beate Bille,
also an important aristocrat. Tycho was the
second of the couple’s 12 children.
Although we usually refer to scientists by
their surnames, in some cases we use their
first names – Galileo, for example. This is also
the case with Tycho Brahe, who is usually
referred to simply as Tycho, pronounced
‘Teeko.’
Kidnapped
Something rather remarkable happened to
Tycho in his second year of life – he was
kidnapped by his uncle and aunt, Jørgen
Brahe and Inger Oxe, when his parents were
away from home. Tycho’s uncle and aunt
were childless, and they believed that Jørgen
was entitled to a lawful son and heir to his
estates. Tycho’s natural parents eventually
agreed to this, so Tycho was raised by his
uncle and aunt as if he were their own son.
Important natural events turned Tycho from
law to astronomy. Tycho’s interest in
astronomy began with the solar eclipse of
August 21, 1560. In Copenhagen this eclipse
6
GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
was barely noticeable – less than half of the
sun was covered. The eclipse inspired Tycho
not because it was spectacular, but because
astronomers had predicted exactly when it
would happen. Tycho was fascinated, and
wanted to learn how he too could make
predictions like this.
A Scholar, Not a Warrior
The Brahe family was powerful and
militaristic. By tradition their male children
became warriors serving the interests of the
family, the King, and the Danish nobility
However, Tycho’s foster mother, Inger, had
come from an academic family and she
persuaded her husband that Tycho should
receive an academic education.
In the summer of 1565, Tycho’s step-father
Jørgen had been in the process of making
Tycho his legal heir. Unfortunately for Jørgen
and Tycho, a war with Sweden intervened.
Jørgen was appointed Vice Admiral of the
Danish Fleet and died of pneumonia in the
summer of 1565 after falling into the water.
Tycho inherited nothing, because the
paperwork making him Jørgen’s legal heir
was incomplete.
A Nose for Trouble
In April 1566, aged
19, Tycho arrived
back in Germany. On
a December evening
he got into argument
with another Danish
student who, like
him, was studying at
the University of
Rostock.
The cause of the argument is not known.
Sometimes it’s claimed they were arguing
about which of them was the better
mathematician, but this is probably a myth.
No doubt alcohol played a part in the dispute
– Tycho enjoyed dining and drinking heartily.
After further disagreements, the two students
fought a duel with swords, which resulted in
Tycho losing the front of his nose and picking
up a permanent scar on his forehead. A year
For SLSU use only
MODERN AGES
later, he returned to Denmark, where he
began experimenting with metal fittings to
disguise his nose’s disfigurement. He wore a
skin-colored metal prosthetic for the rest of
his life.
When news reached him that his natural
father, Otte Brahe, was ailing, Tycho returned
to Denmark. His father died in May 1571,
leaving 23-year-old Tycho a substantial
legacy.
Astronomy without a Telescope
Galileo Galilei studied the heavens with a
telescope for the first time in 1609. Sadly,
Tycho did not live long enough to see this. All
his observations were made with the naked
eye, using the finest astronomical
instruments in Europe.
He built his own observatory on an island
(the King of Denmark gave him the island and
some additional money just for that purpose).
Tycho named his island observatory
Uraniburg-Urania after the muse of
astronomy
Tycho’s System
Tycho tried to produce a model consistent
with the best of both Ptolemy and Copernicus.
He said that Copernicus was right – the five
planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and
Saturn – do orbit the sun. However, the moon,
the sun and the stars orbit the earth, as
Ptolemy had said.
The Tychonic
System. Earth is at
the center of the
universe. The
moon, the sun, and
the stars orbit the
earth. The five
planets orbit the
sun.
A Wife and Children
At the age of 25, Tycho committed a serious
social offense; he took a woman who was not
born an aristocrat as his partner. It was illegal
for the young couple to marry in the usual
way. However, provided they lived together
for three years, their partnership would be
recognized as a legal marriage. They did this
7
GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
and became husband and wife. Tycho’s wife
was Kirsten Hansen, daughter of a Lutheran
minister.
Tycho and Kirsten had eight children, six of
whom survived to adulthood. The form of
marriage between the couple meant their
children were commoners, not entitled to
enjoy any of the privileges of the nobility.
Also, they could not inherit Tycho’s estates or
his coat of arms.
Following his exile from Denmark, Tycho and
his family ended up in the court of Holy
Roman Emperor Rudolph II. There Tycho’s
wife and children were treated as nobles.
A Bizarre Death
On October 13, 1601, Tycho attended a
banquet in Prague. As usual, he had plenty to
drink, but the meal carried on for a long time.
Although desperate to urinate, he did not
leave the table – it would have been very
impolite to leave the table before the meal
was formally over.
Brahe was long thought to have died from a
bladder infection after politeness kept him
from excusing himself to use the bathroom
during a royal banquet in October 1601,
causing his bladder to rupture. However,
scientists who opened Brahe's grave in 1901
to mark the 300th anniversary of his death
claimed to find mercury in his remains,
fueling rumors that the astronomer was
poisoned. Some even accused a jealous Kepler
of the crime.
Separately, tests revealed that Brahe's
famously "silver" prosthetic nose was actually
made out of brass.
Facts About Tycho Brahe
1. Brahe had a fake nose. Quite literally!
2. Brahe kept an Elk for a pet.
A mature male Elk is typically 2.4 meters
long, weighing 320 to 330 Kilograms.
Notwithstanding, Brahe took his Elk to
parties where both he and the Elk would get
drunk! His beloved pet died when it got
For SLSU use only
MODERN AGES
intoxicated to the point of falling down a
flight of stairs!
3. Brahe hoarded his research
Tycho had hoarded his data since he did not
want to share credit with anybody else,
should they have benefited from his
groundwork.
Keppler was Tycho’s assistant, who with the
data access went on to bring astronomy fully
into the realm of science- he formulated his
three basic laws of planetary motion and
supported his heliocentric model of the solar
system.
It was rumored that Keppler poisoned Brahe
for his research- perfect modern-day motive!
Keppler did admit crossing some ethical lines
publishing his work using some of Brahe’s
data.
4. A bladder infection was the cause of
Brahe’s death
Contrary to the rumors at the time, Tycho
was not poisoned as chastisement for having
an affair with the queen of Denmark. His
body was exhumed in 2010 and tests carried
revealed he died of bladder infection from
holding in urine too long.
In case you are wondering why he’d do that,
tradition required that when in the King’s
presence, guests sit at the table until the King
arose. This is what befell Tycho who was
dining with the king. After drinking too much,
Tycho sat with crossed legs so long that his
bladder burst leading to a bladder infection.
5. Brahe’s wealth totaled 1% of Denmark’s
wealth
Brahe had a biological father as well as a
wealthy adoptive father (his uncle) who
raised him. When he died, Brahe inherited his
wealth. Similarly, he inherited his biological
father’s wealth when he died. This was quite a
tidy amount. Research estimates that
combined, this wealth would to 1% of all of
8
GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
Denmark’s entire wealth- not shabby at all for
one person!
# Focus Question
1. Where did Tycho Brahe carry out his
astronomical observation?
a. On a mountain c. In a cave
b. On an island d. In a desert
2. Tycho Brahe believed that:
1. The Earth revolved around the moon but
all the other planets around the sun.
b. The sun revolved around the Earth but all
the other planets around the moon.
c. The moon revolved around the Earth but
all the other planets around the moon.
d. The sun revolved around the Earth but all
the other planets around the sun.
3. Why Kepler becomes the prime suspect of
Brahe’s death.
Tycho Brahe died aged 54 on October 24,
1601 in Prague. His premature death was
probably caused by either a burst bladder or
kidney failure resulting from an excessive
Johannes Kepler 1571 – 1630 in Weil
der Stadt,
Württemberg, in
the Holy Roman
Empire of German
Nationality. He was
a sickly child and
his parents were
poor. But his
evident intelligence
earned him a
scholarship to the
University of
Tübingen to study
for the Lutheran ministry. There he was
introduced to the ideas of Copernicus and
delighted in them. In 1596, while a
mathematics teacher in Graz, he wrote the
first outspoken defense of the Copernican
system, the Mysterium Cosmographicum.
For SLSU use only
MODERN AGES
As a university student, he studied the Polish
astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus’ theories of
planetary ordering. Copernicus (1473-1543)
believed that the sun, not the earth, was the
center of the solar system, a theory that
contradicted the prevailing view of the era
that the sun revolved around the earth.
In 1600, Kepler went to Prague to work for
Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, the imperial
mathematician to Rudolf II, emperor of the
Holy Roman Empire. Kepler’s main project
was to investigate the orbit of Mars.
In the early 1600s, Johannes Kepler proposed
three laws of planetary motion. Kepler was
able to summarize the carefully collected data
of his mentor - Tycho Brahe - with three
statements that described the motion of
planets in a sun-centered solar system.
Kepler's efforts to explain the underlying
reasons for such motions are no longer
accepted; nonetheless, the actual laws
themselves are still considered an accurate
description of the motion of any planet and
any satellite.
Kepler's three laws of planetary motion
can be described as follows:
1. The Law of Ellipses
Kepler's first law - sometimes referred to as
the law of ellipses - explains that planets are
orbiting the sun in a path described as an
ellipse. An ellipse can easily be constructed
using a pencil, two tacks, a string, a sheet of
paper and a piece of cardboard. Tack the
sheet of paper to the cardboard using the two
tacks. Then tie the string into a loop and wrap
the loop around the two tacks. Take your
pencil and pull the
string until the
pencil and two
tacks make a
triangle (see
diagram at the
right). Then begin
to trace out a path
with the pencil,
9
GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY MODERN AGES

keeping the string wrapped tightly around earth would have to be moving more slowly
the tacks. in order for this imaginary area to be the
The resulting shape will be an ellipse. An same size as when the earth is closest to the
ellipse is a special curve in which the sum of sun.
the distances from every point on the curve to But Kepler failed to explain why planets
two other points is a constant. The two other maintain their position in their respective
points (represented here by the tack orbit. That issue was address by Newton.
locations) are known as the foci of the ellipse.
The closer together that these points are, the
more closely
that the
ellipse
resembles the
shape of a
circle. In fact,
a circle is the
special case
of an ellipse
in which the
two foci are at the same location. Kepler's
first law is rather simple - all planets orbit the Rotation of the Earth
sun in a path that resembles an ellipse, with The spinning of the Earth around its axis is
the sun being located at one of the foci of that called ‘rotation’. The axis has an angle of 23.5
ellipse. degrees and is perpendicular to the plane of
Earth’s orbit. Which means, Earth is tilted on
2. The Law of Equal Areas its axis, and because of this tilt, the northern
Kepler's second law - sometimes referred to and southern hemispheres lean in a direction
as the law of equal areas - describes the speed away from the Sun. The rotation of the Earth
at which any given planet will move while divides it into a lit-up half and a dark half,
orbiting the sun. The speed at which any which gives rise to day and night.
planet moves through space is constantly
changing. A planet moves fastest when it is Revolution of the Earth
closest to the sun and slowest when it is
furthest from the sun. Yet, if an imaginary The movement of the Earth around the Sun in
line were drawn from the center of the planet a fixed path is called a revolution. The Earth
to the center of the sun, that line would revolves from west to east. The Earth
sweep out the same area in equal periods of completes one revolution around the Sun in
time. For instance, if an imaginary line were one year or precisely in 365.242 days. The
drawn from the earth to the sun, then the revolution speed of the earth is 30 km/s-1.
area swept out by the line in every 31-day
month would be the same. This is depicted in
the diagram below. As can be observed in the
diagram, the areas formed when the earth is
closest to the sun can be approximated as a
wide but short triangle; whereas the areas
formed when the earth is farthest from the
sun can be approximated as a narrow but
long triangle. These areas are the same size. The Earth is closest to the Sun – at its
Since the base of these triangles are shortest Perihelion – and farthest from the Sun – at
when the earth is farthest from the sun, the its Aphelion

For SLSU use only 10

GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY MODERN AGES

When the earth is in Perihelion closest to the Uranus 84.0 19.18 1.00
sun its orbital velocity increases and when it Neptune 165 30.06 1.00
is at Aphelion farthest distance away from the
sun it’s orbital velocity decreases.
To determine the time given the distance:
Perigee and Apogee Like the Earth's orbit
around the Sun, the Moon's path around the Mercury is 0.39 au away from the sun. How
Earth is elliptical. The point in the Moon's long will it take (in yrs) to complete 1
orbit that is closest to the Earth is called the revolution around the sun.
Perigee and the point farthest from the Earth • Determine the value of 3rd law T2/R3
is known as the Apogee. The terms are also
sometimes used interchangeably with the
Earth's Perihelion and Aphelion.

3. The Law of Harmonies

Kepler's third law - sometimes referred to as
the law of harmonies - compares the orbital
period and radius of orbit of a planet to those
of other planets. Unlike Kepler's first and
second laws that describe the motion
characteristics of a single planet, the third law
makes a comparison between the motion
characteristics of different planets. The
comparison being made is that the ratio of the
squares of the periods to the cubes of their
average distances from the sun is the same
for every one of the planets. As an illustration,
consider the orbital period and average
distance from sun (orbital radius) for Earth
and mars as given in the table below.
Observe that the T2/R3 ratio is the same for
Earth as it is for mars. In fact, if the
same T2/R3 ratio is computed for the other
planets, it can be found that this ratio is
nearly the same value for all the planets (see
table below). Amazingly, every planet has the
same T2/R3 ratio.

Average
Period T2/R3
Planet Distance
(yr) (yr2/au3)
(au)
Mercury 0.241 0.39 0.98
Venus .615 0.72 1.01
Earth 1.00 1.00 1.00
Mars 1.88 1.52 1.01
Jupiter 11.8 5.20 0.99
Saturn 29.5 9.54 1.00

For SLSU use only 11

GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
Jupiter has an average distance away from
the sun of 5.20 au. Determine the time it takes
for one complete revolution.
• Determine the value of 3rd law T2/R3
To determine the distance given the time.
It takes 0,615 years for planet Venus to
revolve around the sun.
• Determine the average distance of
Venus away from the sun
• Determine the value of 3rd law T2/R3
Venus
Mars took 1.88years to complete 1 revolution
around the sun.
• Determine the average distance of
Mars away from the sun
• Determine the value of 3rd law T2/R3
For SLSU use only
MODERN AGES
Mars
Sample problem
1. An unknown planet has an average
distance away from the sun of 3.2 au.
• Determine the time needed (in
years) to complete one revolution
around the sun
• Determine the T2/R3
Answer. 5,72 yrs, Answer. 0,998 yr2/au3
2. Planet X took 7.5 years to revolve
around the sun.
• Determine the time needed (in
years) to complete one revolution
around the sun
• Determine the T2/R3
Answer. 3.83 au Answer. 1.00yr2/au3
12
GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY MODERN AGES

accomplishments has been studied and

Did Johannes Kepler Murder Tycho Brahe? written about in detail for centuries. From his
discovery of the moons of Jupiter to his fight
with Pope Urban VIII, noted authors and
Answer
playwrights have been fascinated with both
While Kepler certainly could have killed
Galileo’s life and contributions. Galileo
Tycho Brahe, it’s also possible that Brahe’s
claimed to have discovered sunspots and that
own cousin did the terrible deed. And, of
the sun rotates. His abrasive and outspoken
course, it really could have been an accident,
criticism of Aristotelian philosophy and his
prompted by Brahe’s own overly acute sense
obvious acceptance of the Copernican
of decorum. In the absence of more
worldview, particularly in his Dialogue
convincing and definitive evidence, it may
concerning the Two Chief World Systems, led
never be known if Kepler had a role in his
him into serious trouble with the Roman
superior's downfall, or indeed if there was a
Catholic Church, which placed him under
role to be had at all..
house arrest for the last eight years of his life.

Galileo Facts
# Galileo enrolled to do a medical degree at
Kepler died in Regensburg, after a short
the University of Pisa but never finished,
illness. He was staying in the city on his way
instead choosing to study mathematics.
to collect some money owing to him in
connection with the Rudolphine Tables. He
# Galileo did not invent the telescope, The
was buried in the local church, but this was
first person to apply for a patent for a
destroyed in the course of the Thirty Years'
telescope was a Dutch eyeglass maker named
War and nothing remains of the tomb.
Hans Lippershey (or Lipperhey). In 1608

1564-1642 born in Pisa, Italy, on the 15th of Hans Lippershey (or Lipperhey)
February 1564, he died on the 8th of January the inventor of telescope
1642.

Galileo Galilei was an

Italian scientist who
helped open the eyes
of the world to a new
way of thinking
about the workings of our solar system and One of Galileo's first telescopes. He did not
astronomy in general. invent the telescope, but he did make several
One of the improvements and was the first to aim one at
most prolific the stars.
scientists of
all time, # With these telescopes, Galileo was able to
Galileo’s life observe the skies in ways previously not
and achieved. In 1610 he made observations of 4
objects surrounding Jupiter that behaved
unlike stars, these turned out to be Jupiter’s

For SLSU use only 13

GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
four largest satellite moons: Io, Callisto,
Europa and Ganymede. They were later
renamed the Galilean satellites in honor of
Galileo himself.
# Galileo refused to believe Kepler’s theory
that the moon caused the tides, instead
believing it was due to the nature of the
Earth’s rotation (helping prove that even the
smartest people can make mistakes).
# The middle finger of Galileo’s right hand
has been exhibited at the Museo Galileo in
Florence, Italy.
The finger points toward Rome.
GALILEO NEVER MARRIED, BUT THAT
DOESN'T MEAN HE WAS ALONE.
Galileo was very close with a beautiful
woman from Venice named Marina Gamba;
together, they had two daughters and a son.
And yet, they never married, nor even shared
a home. Why not? As Dava Sobel notes, it was
traditional for scholars in those days to
remain single; perceived class difference may
also have played a role.
GALILEO MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN THRILLED
WITH THE VATICAN'S 1992 "APOLOGY."
In 1992, under Pope John Paul II, the Vatican
issued an official statement admitting that it
was wrong to have persecuted Galileo. But
the statement seemed to place most of the
blame on the clerks and theological advisers
who worked on Galileo’s case—and not on
Pope Urban VIII, who presided over the trial.
Nor was the charge of heresy overturned.
GALILEO DIDN'T HAVE TROUBLE WITH THE
CHURCH FOR THE FIRST TWO-THIRDS OF
HIS LIFE.
In fact, the Vatican was keen on acquiring
For SLSU use only
MODERN AGES
astronomical knowledge, because such data
was vital for working out the dates of Easter
and other holidays. In 1611, when Galileo
visited Rome to show off his telescope to the
Jesuit astronomers there, he was welcomed
with open arms. The future Pope Urban VIII
had one of Galileo’s essays read to him over
dinner and even wrote a poem in praise of the
scientist. It was only later, when a few
disgruntled conservative professors began to
speak out against Galileo, that things started
to go downhill. It got even worse in 1616,
when the Vatican officially denounced the
heliocentric (sun-centered) system described
by Copernicus, which all of Galileo’s
observations seemed to support. And yet, the
problem wasn’t Copernicanism. More vexing
was the notion of a moving Earth, which
seemed to contradict certain verses in the
Bible.
Galileo, buried between Michelangelo and
Machiavelli, is said to have had his gravestone
inscribed with the words “But the Earth does
move.” It’s not true.
# FOCUS QUESTION
1. What are the four moons that Galileo
discovered near Jupiter?
a. Kanye West, Eminem, Fetty Wap, and
Lil Wayne
b. Callisto, Ganymede, Europa, and Io
c. Kallisto, Canymede, Auropa, and Lo
d. Metis, Thebe, Carpo, And Elara
2. Which object is the center of the solar
system according to Galileo?
a. Earth c. Moon
b. Sun d. Neptune
3. What was Galileo accused of?
a. Robbery c. Treason
b. Heresy d. dont know
4. Galileo is credited with discovering
four large moons around what planet?
a. Neptune c. Venus
b. Jupiter d. Mars
14
GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY MODERN AGES

5. What are the possible reasons why # Isaac Newton’s mother wanted him to be a
Newton might be the reincarnation of farmer.
Galileo?

Isaac Newton 1642- However, Newton literally hated that

profession. Overall, his rural lifestyle ended up
unsuccessful. His mother knew that he was not
Isaac Newton made for a rural work, so she allowed him to get
was a physicist his formal education.
and
mathematician # When Newton arrived at Cambridge, the
who developed Scientific Revolution of the 17th century was
the principles already in full force. The heliocentric view of the
of modern universe—theorized by astronomers Nicolaus
physics, Copernicus and Johannes Kepler, and later
including the refined by Galileo—was well known in most
laws of motion and is credited as one of the European academic circles.
great minds of the 17th-century Scientific # The bubonic plague of 1665 interrupted his
Revolution. education.

Isaac Newton was born prematurely and

barely survived on Christmas day 1642, the
same year Galileo died. Newton’s birthplace
was his mother’s farm house in Woolsthorpe
England. His father died several months
before his birth and grew up under the care of
his mother and grand mother.
The Cambridge University was closed for two
# He wasn't years, during which Isaac Newton returned to
Woolsthorpe manor to work on his scientific
expected to survive
pursuit.
as a child.
He was born quite Actually, it was an extremely productive
premature: an estimated 11 to 15 weeks early. period for him.
His mother said he could fit in a quart-sized cup It was during this time that he saw a
upon birth. falling apple in the Woolsthorpe manor
Newton was the only son of a prosperous local
gardens.
farmer, also named Isaac, who died three
months before he was born. But some historian said that the apple story
never happened.
When he was 3 years old, his mother, Hannah
Ayscough Newton, remarried a well-to-do
minister, Barnabas Smith, and went to live with
# He became a mathematics professor at
him, leaving young Newton with his maternal Cambridge University at the age of 27.
grandmother.
This was only a year after getting his masters
At age 12, Newton was reunited with his degree.
mother after her second husband died. She Impressed with Isaac Newton’s mathematical
brought along her three small children from her works, professor Isaac Burrow gave his post
second marriage. to Isaac Newton.

# When ask how he was able to make

For SLSU use only 15

GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
discoveries
Newton replied that he found his solutions to
problems not buy sudden insight but by
thinking very long and hard about them until
he worked them out. He also said that
“ He stood on the shoulder of the giants”,
acknowledging others like Galileo.
# Centrifugal and Centripetal force
Newton found the reason why planet earth
maintain its position on the planetary orbit
which Kepler was fascinated. According to
Newton there were two forces acts on the
planet earth as it revolves around the sun.
First is the centrifugal force created when
planet revolve it tends to move outside the
orbit and the centripetal force or an inside
force or the gravitational force exerted by the
sun. These two forces maintained its
equilibrium as planet orbiting around the sun.
1. Newtons first law,
usually called law of
inertia is
restatement of
Galileo’s idea
Every object continues in a state of rest, or of
motion in a straight line at constant speed,
unless it is compelled to change that state by
forces exerted upon it
For SLSU use only
MODERN AGES
Q.
A ball is rolled across a counter top and
rolls slowly to a stop. How would
Aristotle interpret this behavior? How
would Galileo interpret it? How would
you interpret it?
Answer.
Aristotle would probably say that the ball
stop because it seeks its natural state of
rest.
Galileo would probably say that the
friction between the ball and table
overcome ball’s natural tendency to
continue rolling and brings it to stop.
Only you can answer the last question
NEWTON’S SECOND LAW OF MOTION
The acceleration of a system is directly
proportional to and in the same direction as
the net external force acting on the system,
and inversely proportional to its mass.
Third Law of Motion states, "For every
action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction." This law describes what happens to
a body when it exerts a force on another
body. Forces always occur in pairs, so when
one body pushes against another, the second
body pushes back just as hard.
# Politics
At the age of 46, he was elected a member of
parliament. He attended the sessions for 2
years and never gave speech. One day he
rose and house fell silent to hear the great
man. Newton speech was very brief
He simply requested that a windows be
closed because of the draft.
16
GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
# Why he is address as “ SIR”
Isaac Newton was knighted by queen Anne
that’s why he called as sir.
# Old age
He remained healthy in body and mind into
old age. Newton’s hair turned gray at the age
30, it remained full, long and wavy all his life.
At age 80 , he still had all his teeth, his eye
sight and hearing were sharp, and his mind
was alert.
# Reincarnation
Some people believed that Isaac Newton was
the reincarnation of Galileo, since in the year
Galileo died the same year were Newton was
born. And the first law of Newton among his
three laws of motion was based on Galileo’s
point of view.
# Isaac Newton never got married.
Some historians suggest that since Cambridge
was the inheritance from Catholic University
systems, administration usually suggested
that its students, fellows, and professors
possess a celibate life.
As being the respected member of the
Cambridge University and someone who is
always in the pursuit of the science, Isaac
Newton might not find a time for his personal
life, or simply, he did not want any
distractions.
# Isaac Newton died at the age of 85 from
severe stomach pain.
When he crossed the 80 years mark of his life,
he started experiencing some digestion
problems, which forced him to be in a strict
diet.
On March 31, 1727, Newton passed away
on his sleep.
Isaac Newton Quotes
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the
shoulders of Giants.”
For SLSU use only
MODERN AGES
“I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies
but not the madness of people.”
“What we know is a drop, what we don't
know is an ocean.”
“Gravity explains the motions of the planets,
but it cannot explain who sets the planets in
motion.”
“No great discovery was ever made without a
bold guess.”
# SELF ASSESSMENT
.1. Sir Isaac Newton’s birth place and
hometown
a. Cambridge c. Westminster Abbey
b. Woolstorpe d. Perimeter Institute
2. Newton’s greatest achievement
a. Reflecting telescope
b. Theory of Universal Gravitation
c. Publication of Opticks and Principia
d. Being the first scientist to be knighted
3. Which famous king did Aristotle teach?
a. Lynceus b. William
c. Jedediah d. Alexander
4. When Isaac Newton was three, his
mother, Hannah Newton, married Rev.
Barnabas Smith. Which of the following
circumstances of the marriage is not
correct?
a. Smith legally adopted Isaac.
b. Newton never lived in the house with
his mother and Smith.
c. Smith was wealthy and over thirty
years older than Hannah.
d. Hannah had a son and two daughters
by Smith.
5. There, Galileo made a famous
experiment to disprove whose theory of
downward motion?
a. Ptolemy’s c. Kepler’s
b. Aristotle’s d. Copernicus’s
6. Who was the first modern thinker to
question 17gocentricity?
a. Brahe c. Kepler
b. Copernicus d. Galileo
7. Who was the real inventor of
17
GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY MODERN AGES

telescope? 16. What was the Scientific Revolution?

a. Copernicus c. Kepler a. An era of political upheaval when
b. Lippershey d. Galileo scientists led rebellions against
8. The place where a planet is farthest governments in Europe
away from the Sun in its orbit around the b. An era that transformed the way that
Sun is called the society understood the universe, which
a. aphelion c. perihelion was based in science
b. perigee d. apogee c. An era of military aggression against
9. In 1616, what did the Church declare scientists as governments cracked down
regarding heliocentricity? on science
a. That it was contrary to scripture, and d. An era that saw the very first theories
should not be taught about the way that the universe worked
b. That it deserved further study 17. Galileo is known as the “father of
c. That it was correct science” because
d. That it should be taught in all a. he performed experiments and
universities analyzed the results mathematically
b. he developed an early evolutionary
10. The farther away a planet is from the theory of how life beganhe
sun, the _______ it takes it to orbit around c. invented microscope to view small
the sun. things
a. longer c. shorter d. he determined the planets traveled in
b. same d, nothing change elliptical orbits
11. Where was the sun in the Copernican 18. Which is NOT the alleged reason of
system? Brahe’s death.
a. At the edge of the universe a. mercuric poisoning
b. Orbiting the earth b. urinary tract infection
c. At the center of the earth c. hypertension
d. At the center of the universe d. prosthetic nose
12. The farther away a planet is from the 19. Draw and label the Geocentric and
sun, the _______ it revolves around the sun. heliocentric theory.
a. faster c. remain the same 20. Discuss the relationship of the
b. slower d, non of these distance of planets away from the sun
13. During the Scientific Revolution the with their respective orbital velocity.
heliocentric view of the universe was first 21. A certain planet has an average
proposed by distance of 8.5 AU away from the sun.
a. Ptolemy c. Galieo Determine the ff. a. Time it takes for one
b. Bacon d. Copernicus complete revolution. b. Determine the
14. Who of the following is a famous value of 3rd law T2/R3
astronomer of the scientific revolution? 22. an unknown planet takes 19 years to
a. Toussaint c. Ptolemy revolve around the sun. Determine the
b. Karl Marx d. Nicholas Copernicus average distance of the said planet.
15. What event really started the
Scientific Revolution? ]a. Copernicus'
work on the heliocentric model
b. Newton's work on gravity
c. Bacon's work on the scientific method
d. Galileo's work on the orbit of the
planet

For SLSU use only 18

GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY MODERN AGES

https://www.history.com/topics/renaissanc
https://int.search.myway.com/search/GGmai e/renaissance#:~:text=The%20Renaissance
n.jhtml?n=78494ec2&p2=%5ECP5%5Exdm2 %20was%20a%20fervent,classical%20philos
05%5ETTAB02%5EPH&ptb=8AEBB11B-47 o

https://www.biography.com/scientist/isaac-
newton
Conceptual Physical Science (5th Edition) 5th
Edition by Paul G. Hewitt (Author), John A.
Suchocki (Author), Leslie A. Hewitt (Author)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/microsoft-365/business/new-business-
software-
suites?OCID=AID2100142_OLA_24371502_2
76396466_134308552

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/ci
rcles/Lesson-4/Kepler-s-Three-Laws
https://www.famousscientists.org/tycho-
brahe/
http://www.angelfire.com/art/Reniassance/
Overview.html
https://www.biography.com/scholar/petrarc
h
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-
hccc-worldhistory/chapter/humanism/

https://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/ice https://dailyhistory.org/How_did_the_de_Me
core/The_Astronomers_Tycho_Brahe_and_Joh dici_contribute_to_the_Renaissance%3F
annes_Kepler.pdf

*https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/5334
58/facts-about-nicolaus-copernicus

https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/
nicolaus-copernicus

http://users.clas.ufl.edu/ufhatch/pages/03-
Sci-Rev/SCI-REV-Teaching/03sr-definition-
concept.htm

https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/144
040

https://www.famousscientists.org/tycho-
brahe/

https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/5630d7fecc
88ea7b33b01f78/scientific-revolution

http://users.clas.ufl.edu/ufhatch/pages/03-
Sci-Rev/SCI-REV-Teaching/03sr-definition-
concept.htm

https://www.britannica.com/science/Scienti
fic-Revolution

For SLSU use only 19

GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY MODERN AGES

For SLSU use only 20