Galileo Galilei

LA FISICA SPERIMENTA… L’INGLESE

GALILEO GALILEI Galileo Galilei was born in 1564 into the family of a Florentine cloth merchant living in Pisa. Young Galileo learned mathematics quickly and also mastered the lute. He entered medical school but became a nuisance because he criticized all the accepted beliefs.

His father allowed him to withdraw. At age 25, his friends exerted their influence and Galileo received the chair in mathematics at the University of Pisa.

In 1610, Galileo became a household name. He improved on the idea of a lens grinder named Hans Lepperhey and designed a telescope which magnified distant objects 1,000 times. With his telescope trained on the heavens, he discovered four of Jupiter’s moons and watched their motion. He found that the surface of the moon was rough, contrary to Aristotle’s view. He watched Venus go through phases like the moon, saw a bulge around the middle of Saturn, and discovered that there were many stars in every section of the sky.

The sanctioned beliefs of the times followed Aristotle in claiming that the universe was fixed and immutable and the Earth was the center. Although Copernicus had suggested earlier that the sun was the centre, most discounted the claim. Galileo defended Copernicus heartily and pointed to his own observations of moving heavenly bodies. Galileo was a respected man and few wanted to believe that he was doubting Aristotle.

In 1616 Galileo had a brief brush with the Inquisition but was unharmed. Nevertheless, in 1625 he published a book titled Dialogue Concerning the Two World Systems and the Inquisition took note. Pope Urban VIII pressed the issue and Galileo was placed under house arrest and forced to

“confess”. He was beaten and discouraged. He finished a large book on mechanics before he became blind and died in 1642.

GLOSSARY

cloth – tessuto mastered – conobbe a fondo lute – liuto nuisance – seccatore beliefs – convinzioni to withdraw – ritirarsi

chair – cattedra universitaria household – famiglia lens grinder – molitore di lenti

magnified – ingrandiva trained – puntati heavens – cieli

go through – passare attraverso rough – ruvida bulge – sporgenza

sanctioned – approvate claim – affermazione pointed to – puntò

discounted – sminuirono l’importanza heartily – con entusiasmo brush – scaramuccia

unharmed – illeso neverthless – tuttavia pressed – insistette su

issue – questione beaten – sconfitto blind – cieco

ACTIVITIES

1. Match the word to its translation:

Merchant Progettò Father Movimento Designed Commerciante Moons Stelle

Motion Terra Middle Celestiali Stars Padre Sky Centro Earth Cielo Center Lune Heavenly Centro

2. Multiple choice:

a) Galilei’s father was a ________ merchant.

1. shoes 2. cloth 3. boots 4. wood

b) He was born in ___________ .

1. 1456 2. 1546 3. 1465 4. 1564 c) He had the chair in ___________ at the University of Pisa.

1. mathematics 2. music 3. science 4. geography d) He designed a ________ .

1. telephone 2. telescope 3. train 4. tool e) He discovered ______ of Jupiter’s moons.

1. four 2. five 3. fourteen 4. forty f) In _____ he had a brief brush with the Inquisition

.

1. 1661 2. 1166 3. 1611 4. 1616 g) He became blind and died in ____ .

1. 1264 2. 1642 3. 1462 4. 1624

3. Answer the following questions:

a) When and where was Galileo Galilei born?

b) What and where did he teach?

c) How many times did his telescope magnify distant objects?

d) What did he observe?

e) What did he have in 1616?

f) What did he publish in 1625?

g) When did he die?