THE LEAP OF SCIENCE

A N D T E C H N O LO G Y
DURING THE
SCIENTIFIC
REVOLUTION
 The scientific revolution was the emergence of modern science during the early
modern period, when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology and chemistry
transformed the views of society and nature. The scientific revolution began in Europe towards
the end of the Renaissance period and continued through the late 18th century, influencing the
intellectual social movement known as the Enlightenment.
Science and Technology Development:
1. Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543, De revolutionalize orbium coelestium is often cited as
marking the beginning of the scientific revolution.
2. William Gilbert (1544-1603) published books On the Magnet and Magnetic Bodies, and
the Great Magnet the Earth in 1600, which laid the foundations of a theory of magnetism
and electricity. Gilbert provided a hyper-empirical study of magnetics, magnetism and
electricity with speculations about cosmology.
3. Tycho Brahe (1546- 1601), a Danish Nobleman. He is known for his accurate and
comprehensive astronomical and planetary observations. He was assisted by Johannes Kepler,
where the latter used the information to develop his own theories in Astronomy. In November
1572, he discovered the “Tycho Star” or the “Star of 1572” a dramatic supernova believed to
appear in Cassiopeia a constellation which became the talk of Europe and the great comet of
1577. Proposed a system in which the sun and moon orbited the earth while the other planets
orbited the sun. ( Geo-Heliocentric theory or tychonic theory). The crater Tycho on the moon is
named after him, as the crater Tycho Brahe on Mars.
4. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) first publication in astronomy, called Cosmographic Mystery
presented a stridently Copernican worldview dedicated to drawing together mechanical
astronomy, physics, and a quasi-Pythogorean religious perspective in hope of a new astronomy. He
published the first two of his three laws of planetary motion in 1609- published his Ad vitellioem
paralipomena quibus astronomiea pars optica traditor ( the optical part of astronomy) where he
argues that light rays are rectilinear, that they diminish in intensity by the inverse square of their
distance as they travel from the light source.
5. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) published Novum Organum in 1620, which outlined a new
system of logic based on the process of reduction, which he offered as an improvement over
Aristotle’s philosophical process of syllogism. He was a pivotal figure in establishing the scientific
method of investigation
6. Galileo Galilei ( 1564- 1642) the famous Italian Astronomer when demonstrated that a
projectile follows a parabolic path; 1608 he invented the telescope “ spyglass” which employs a
convex objective lens and a concave eyepiece; 1609, he constructed his first telescope and turns
toward the heavens and able to discover and argues there are innumerable stars visible to the
naked eye; he discovered mountains on the Moon and four moons circling Jupiter; later in 1610,
Galileo observes the phases of Venus, which suggested to him that waning and waxing planet
must circle the sun; discovered the sunspots; noted that Saturn appeared to have “handles” and
troubled over what could give rise to such an appearance:
7. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) published his Discourse on the Method in 1637, which helped
to establish the scientific method.
8. Antoine Van Leeuwenhoek (1632- 1723) constructed powerful single lens microscopes and
made extensive observations that he published around 1660, opening up the micro world of
biology.
9. Isaac Newton (1643-1727) built upon the work of Kepler and Galileo. He showed that an
inverse square law for gravity explained the elliptical orbits of the plantes, and advanced the law
of universal gravitation. In his Principia, Newton theorized his axiomatic
10. Alexander Koyre in the 20th century, introduced the term “ Scientific Revolution” centering
his analysis on Galileo and the term was popoularized by Butterfield in his Origins of Modern
Science.
11. John Locke is recognized founder of empiricism and proposed in an Essay Concerning
Human Understanding (1689) that the only true knowledge that could be accessible to the
human mind was that which was based on experience. He argued that the human mind was
created as a tabula rasa, a “ blank blanket” upon which sensory impressions were recorded and
built up knowledge through process of reflection.
12. Robert Boyle (1627-1691) an English chemist considered to have refined the modern
scientific method for alchemy and to have separated chemistry further from alchemy. Boyle is
largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders of modern
chemistry, an one of the pioneers of modern experimental scientific method. Although Boyle was
not an original discover, he is best known for Boyle’s law, which he presented in 1662; the law
described the inversely proportional relationship between the absolute pressure and volume of
gas; if the temperature is kept constant within closed system. He built an airpump and many new
instruments were devised in this period which greatly aided in the expansion of scientific
knowledge .
 Alexander Koyre John Locke Robert Boyle
13. Refracting telescopes first appeared in the Netherlands in 1608. The spectacle makers
Hans Lippershey, Zacharias Janssen and Jacob Metius of Alkmaarall contributed to its
invention.
14. Evangelista Torricelli (1607- 1647) was best known for his invention of the mercury barometer.
The motivation for the invention was to improve on the suction pumps were that were used to raise
out of the mines.