Kira Farmer
AP11 Research Paper
3.19.2015
Galileo: The Father of Modern Science
Every day, students, teachers, doctors, and scientists ponder the great minds of the past with respect. Perhaps one would consider Albert Einstein, Aristotle, Archimedes, Nikola Tesla, or Sir Isaac Newton. How many of today’s world population would consider Galileo Galilei to be the world’s most renowned and influential scientist in world history?
Not only did Galileo invent hundreds of things society still uses today. He also put his safety, sanity, and freedom on the line so that the rest of the world and the future world could have truth. Because of Galileo, our technology has advanced greatly, allowing humankind to reach a fuller potential and discover the secrets of
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He is regarded as the founder of modern science and the individual credited for disproving Aristotle’s theory that heavier objects fall faster than light ones.
According to legend, Aristotelian theory said heavy objects fall faster than those of lighter weight. Galileo was curious as to whether or not this was true. To test the centuries-old theory, Galileo Galilei assembled together a few of his pupils and friends, took two spheres of equal size and different weight to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and dropped the orbs over the side of the tower. It is said that Galileo and his relations observed the spheres hit the ground below at the same time.
Hundreds of years later, Galileo’s finding was put to the test in the moon landing of 1969. Neil Armstrong, after landing on the moon, retrieved a feather and a hammer for the spacecraft he had arrived in. Armstrong dropped these objects and declared “Galileo was right” as the objects hit the surface of the moon at the same time. Galileo’s experiment proved that gravity affects all things the same, despite its