Post on 02-Jan-2016
The Scientific Revolution
Madnick/Global History 9
The Basics
Geographic Location: Western EuropeTime Period: 1500-1700
Science was important because it…
• was used to explain the world• challenged Church teachings• spread through Europe in books• is still used today
The Basics
Scientists used the Renaissance ideas of• Humanism- explaining the world in human
terms rather than religious ones• Realism-explaining things as they really are
• Followed the examples of Greek, Roman, and Muslim scientists
School of AthensRaphael 1509
Example of a Roman scientist
Let’s go back to…PtolemyRoman astronomer, c. 100Geocentric Theory of the Universe • planets and sun revolve around the Earth
• his theory was wrong but his thinking was right
European Scientists
Nicolas Copernicus, 1473-1543(borrowed Ptolemy’s basic idea)
Heliocentric Theory of the Universe
• all planets revolve around the sun
• wrote his theory in a book “On the Revolution of Celestial Spheres”
European Scientists
Tycho Brahe, 1546-1601Laws of Planetary Motion• planets move in elliptical
orbits around the sun
• Used telescopes, built observatories, taught young astronomers
• One of his many books was De Nova Stella
European Scientists
Galileo, 1564-1642Modern Telescope• proved Heliocentric Theory by
by observing movement of the planets
• put on trial by Catholic Church• gave up science rather than be excommunicated
European Scientists
Isaac Newton, 1642-1727Theory of Gravity
• natural force that causes objects to fall to Earth
• Also holds planets in their orbits around the sun
• invented calculus
What did they all have in common?
1. scientific explanations of the world2. used the Scientific Method
What did they all have in common?
3. challenged Church laws & teachings4. ideas spread in books -- made with a new technology called the printing press