Series:

Oxford Portraits in Science

2 total works

Cover of Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei

by James H. MacLachlan

Published 16 October 1997

The scientific innovations of Galileo Galilei are pivotal to our understanding of the laws of the natural world. Drawing on his diverse studies in philosophy, mathematics, mechanics, music, astronomy, and engineering, Galileo developed revolutionary theories that thoroughly changed the disciplines of physics, mathematics, astronomy, and technology. Galileo Galilei traces the great scientist's education, describes his maverick experiments in Padua and Pisa, and recreates the ingenious pathway of his famous discoveries. Often censored and imprisoned for his radical ideas that clashed with fundamental Church doctrines, Galileo persisted in his pursuit of scientific truths to bestow upon future generations the inspiration to challenge conventional views. His theories about the motions of falling bodies, his study of pendulums, and his major discoveries in astronomy made with a self-built telescope are all clearly explained in this volume. Heavily illustrated with photographs, graphics, and technical schemes, Galileo Galilei also features a number of sidebars elucidating important details of the great man's contributions. Oxford Portraits in Science is a collection of scientific biographies for young adults. Written by top scholars and writers, each biography examines the personality of its subject as well as the thought process leading to his or her discoveries. These illustrated biographies combine accessible technical information with compelling personal stories to portray the scientists whose work has shaped our understanding of the natural world.

Cover of Nicolaus Copernicus
Born in Poland in 1473, Nicolaus Copernicus launched a quiet revolution. No scientist so radically transformed our understanding of our place in the universe as this curious bishop's doctor and church official. In his quest to discover a beautiful and coherent system to describe the motions of the planets, Copernicus placed the sun in the center of the system and made the earth a planet traveling around the sun. Today it is hard to imagine our solar system any other way, but for his time Copernicus's idea was earthshaking. In 1616 the church banned his book Revolutions because it contradicted the accepted notion that God placed Earth in the center of the universe. Even though those who knew of his work considered his idea dangerous, Revolutions remained of interest only to other scientists for many years. It took almost two hundred years for his concept of a sun-centered system to reach the general public. None the less, what Copernicus set out in his remarkable text truly revolutionized science. For this, Copernicus, a quiet doctor who made a tremendous leap of imagination, is considered the father of the Scientific Revolution.

Oxford Portraits in Science is an on-going series of scientific biographies for young adults. Written by top scholars and writers, each biography examines the personality of its subject as well as the thought process leading to his or her discoveries. These illustrated biographies combine accessible technical information with compelling personal stories to portray the scientists whose work has shaped our understanding of the natural world.