Trending Back Then: The Scientific Renaissance

The Scientific renaissance was a period in Europe where information spread far and wide. This was allowed by the invention of printing, which promoted the spread of information all across Europe. The renaissance also gained momentum when people started to integrate greek ideas of philosophy, mathematics, physics, astronomy, and medicine into their work, as these were already accepted ideas. Along with printing, the renaissance gained popularity, and scientific ideas spread far and wide.

One of the more well known scientists today from that time is Copernicus (1473-1543). He was famous for his work with finding evidence for the theory that the Earth revolves around a centralized sun. Although it had been proposed before, Copernicus was the first one to actually present evidence for this theory. Up until him, no one could explain why the heavenly bodies may rotate about another, they just thought it may be possible. This theory later came to be known as the copernican theory, and it spread while getting people thinking. This helped to promote the scientific renaissance.

Another scientist you may have heard of from the renaissance period is Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Perhaps his most famous achievement is creating the first telescope, which he first used to observe the heavenly bodies with in 1609. With this new device, Galileo was able to prove Copernicus’s theory, for what he saw, no doubtedly indicated the rotation of the earth relative to other objects in the solar system. He observed that Jupiter had moons that did not revolve around the Earth, and that Venus had phases, also proving that it rotated around the sun. He made even more discoveries such that the moon was not flat, that it was spherical and had hills and craters. He published his findings in a small booklet called The Starry Messenger which all supported the Copernican theory. Although Galileo was a huge supporter of the theory, it want against the teachings of the church and Aristotle. Because Galileo was a supporter of the church, he explained his findings as not deeming the church as wrong, but saying his evidence supports a more accurate perspective than that of the church. In addition, In 1612 he published his journal: Discourse on Bodies in Water, which explained buoyancy and density.

At this time, there were many scientists fussing over the topic of astronomy, and Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) is no exception. He is famous for his work and research contributing to coming up with the mathematical reasons for the orbital patterns of planets that explain orbits are ellipses not circles. His findings greatly impacted his field, and therefore led to the discovery of gravity, and gravitational pull. But before all of this, Kepler got his start when he was asked to work with Tycho Brahe at his observatory. At the start, Brahe gave Kepler the task of finding out why mars appeared to move backwards in the night sky. This was one of the most difficult and tedious problems at the time, but what Kepler really wanted to do was tap into Brahe’s notes. When Brahe died in 1601, this is exactly what Kepler did. He convinced himself that he could solve this problem in eight days with the help of the notes, but it took him over eight years.

Aside from Astronomy, Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) and Harvey Pase (1578-1657) did work in medicine at this time. These two great men are said to be the founders of human anatomy and physiology. Vesalius was known for his work on creating the first detailed description of the human body based on dissections he had done. From his notes, he was able to fully explain the human interior. Harvey, on the other hand, had been observing animals and their blood flow. His led him to the discovery of the circulatory system. His discoveries could explain how the blood circulated the body and through the heart.

These are just a few of the great scientists of the time. We can see a larger

picture of how the popularity and scale of the Scientific Renaissance has shaped the modern world of science, and thus the advancements and discoveries we are still making today.