The Scientific Revolution

• In the 1500s and 1600s

the Scientific
Revolution changed the
way Europeans looked at
the world.
• People began to make
conclusions based on
experimentation and
observation, instead of
merely accepting
traditional ideas.
Before the Scientific Revolution…
• Until the mid 1500’s, European
Ptolemy
scholars accepted and believed
(87-140 A.D.)
the teachings of Ptolemy, an
ancient Greek astronomer.
• Ptolemy taught that the
Earth was the center of the
universe.
•People felt this was common
sense, and the geocentric
theory was supported by the
Church.
• It was not until some startling
discoveries caused Europeans
to change the way they viewed
the physical world.
 Nicolaus Copernicus
• Copernicus was a Polish
astronomer who studied in
Italy.
• In 1543 Copernicus
published On the
Revolutions of the
Heavenly Spheres.
• In his book, Copernicus
made two conclusions:
1. The universe is
heliocentric, or sun-
centered.
2. The Earth is merely one
of several planets
revolving around the sun.
 Nicolaus Copernicus

• Copernicus came to these

conclusions using
mathematical formulas.

• The Copernican
conception of the universe
marked the start of
modern science and
astronomy.
 Reaction to Copernicus

• Most scholars rejected his

theory because it went against
Ptolemy, the Church, and
because it called for the Earth
to rotate on its axis.

• Many scientists of the time also felt that if

Ptolemy’s reasoning about the planets was wrong,
then the whole system of human knowledge could
be wrong.
Tycho Brahe
• Then, in the late 1500s,
the Danish astronomer
Tycho Brahe provided
evidence that supported
Copernicus’ heliocentric
•theory.
Brahe set up an
astronomical
observatory.
•Every night for years he
carefully observed the sky,
accumulating data about
the movement of the stars
and planets.
 Johannes Kepler
• After Brahe’s death, his assistant, the German
astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler,
used Brahe’s data to calculate the orbits of the planets
revolving around the sun.
• Kepler’s calculations supported
Copernicus’ heliocentric theory.
• His calculations also showed
that the planets moved in oval
shaped orbits, and not perfect
circles, as Ptolemy and
Copernicus believed.
• Kepler’s finding help explain the
paths followed by man-made
satellites today.
 Galileo Galilei
• Galileo Galilei was an
Italian astronomer who built
upon the scientific
foundations laid by
Copernicus and Kepler.
• Galileo assembled the first
telescope which allowed him to see
mountains on the moon and fiery
spots on the
• He also sun. four moons
observed
rotating around Jupiter – exactly the
way Copernicus said the Earth
rotated around the sun.
• Galileo also discovered that objects
fall at the same speed regardless of
weight.
 Galileo Galilei
• Galileo’s discoveries caused
an uproar. Other scholars
came against him because
like Copernicus, Galileo was
contradicting Ptolemy.
• The Church came against Galileo
because it claimed that the Earth was
fixed and unmoving.
• When threatened with death
before the Inquisition in 1633,
Galileo recanted his beliefs, even
though he knew the Earth moved.
• Galileo was put under house arrest,
and was not allowed to publish his
 The Scientific Method
• By the early 1600s, a new approach to
science had emerged, known as the Scientific
Method.
Scientific Method – painstaking method used to
confirm findings and to prove or disprove a
hypothesis.
• Scientists observed nature, made
hypotheses, or educated guesses, and then
tested these hypotheses through
experiments.
• Unlike earlier approaches, the scientific method
did not rely on the classical thinkers or the
Church, but depended upon a step-by-step
process of observation and experimentation.
 The Scientific Method
1. State the problem
2. Collect information
3. Form a hypothesis
4. Test the hypothesis
5. Record & analyze data
6. State a conclusion
7. Repeat steps 1 – 6

• Scientists soon discovered that the movements of

bodies in nature closely followed what could be
predicted by mathematics.
• The scientific method set Europe on the road to
rapid technological progress.
 The Scientific Method

Newton • Sir Isaac Newton was an

English scholar who built upon
the work of Copernicus and
Galileo.
• Newton was the most
influential scientist of the
Scientific Revolution.
• He used math to prove the
existence of gravity - a force
that kept planets in their orbits
around the sun, and also caused
objects to fall towards the earth.
 The Scientific Method
• Newton published his scientific
Newton ideas in his book Mathematical
Principles of Natural Philosophy.
• He discovered laws of light
and color, and formulated the
laws of motion:
1. A body at rest stays at rest
2. Acceleration is caused by force
3. For every action there is an
equal opposite reaction
• He invented calculus: a method
of mathematical analysis.
 The Scientific Method
According to a popular story,
Newton saw an apple fall from
a tree, and wondered if the
force that pulled the apple to
the Earth also controlled the
movement of the planets.
Newton argued that nature
followed laws.
 The Scientific Method
• Francis Bacon was an
English philosopher who
Francis Bacon
wrote Advancement of
Learning.
• Bacon popularized the
scientific method and used it
with philosophy and
knowledge.
• Bacon argued that truth
could not be known at the
beginning of a question, but
only at the end after a long
process of investigation.
 The Scientific Method
• Descartes was a French
René Descartes scientist, mathematician, and
philosopher.
• Descartes emphasized human
reasoning as the best road to
understanding.
• Like Bacon, Descartes also
believed that truth was only
found after a long process of
studying and investigation.

“I think, therefore I am”

 Other Scientific Advances…

Chemistry

Robert Boyle
• In the 1600s Robert
Boyle distinguished
between individual
elements and chemical
compounds.
• Boyle also explained the
effect of temperature
and pressure on gases.
 Other Scientific Advances…

Medicine

Andreas Vesalius
• In 1543 Andreas Vesalius
published On the Structure of
the Human Body.

• Vesalius’ book was the first

accurate and detailed book
on human anatomy.
Other Scientific Advances…

Medicine

William Harvey
• An English scholar who
described the circulation
of blood for the first time.
•He showed how the
heart served as a pump
to force blood through
veins and arteries.
 Other Scientific Advances…

Medicine
Ambroise Paré
• French physician Ambroise
Paré developed a new and
more effective ointment for
preventing infection.
• Paré also developed a
technique for closing
wounds and stitches.
Other Scientific Advances…

Medicine

Anton von
Leeuwenhoek
• A Dutch inventor who
perfected the microscope
and became the first human
to see cells and
microorganisms.