Scientific Revolution

Europe experienced diverse perspectives on the world from various people, both men and women. Their new outlook on the world included new philosophical views, scientific discoveries, and government ideas, consequently resulting in a “modern” way of thinking. Influential men and women during this time were Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, John Locke, Denis Diderot, Maria Theresa and Catherine II.
Galileo Galilei was an influential astronomer due to his confirmation of the Copernican theory and development of the law of inertia. Galileo studied at the University of Pisa, learning about the Aristotelian view of physics. During his studies, he questioned Aristotle’s discoveries.   He proved this theory wrong by conducting experiments, in which he discovered that all objects have the same uniform acceleration. His findings were called the law of inertia. Galileo documented his breakthrough of the law of inertia in his book De Motu. In 1609, Galileo developed his first telescope which magnified objects 20x, unlike other telescopes of the time that magnified up to 3x. With his telescope he was able to see the moon, discover the four satellites of Jupiter, witness supernovas, and observe sun spots. His findings allowed him to confirm the Copernican system, developed by Nicolaus Copernicus, which says the earth and all the other planets revolve around the sun. In present day, people still use Galileo’s discoveries in modern physics and science.
Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician and astronomer whose discoveries contributed to the new modern thinking. He studied at the University of Tübingen and later became an assistant for Tycho Brahe.   Johannes developed the three laws of planetary motion, which the Copernican theory was the basis of. The first law of planetary motion stated that the orbits of the planets around the sun are elliptical, not circular. The second law that Kepler formulated stated that the planets do not move in a uniform speed in their orbit...