伽利略·伽利雷――西方科学之父.doc

伽利略·伽利雷――西方科学之父 　　Galileo Galilei was a mathematician[数学家]， physicist[物理学家]， philosopher and astronomer[天文学家]. He is often considered the father of modern science. Paul Ronney （Professor of Aerospace Mechanical Engineering， University of Southern California）： Galileo was the one who really put together the principles[法则，原理] of experiment， theory and mathematics together into a common framework. Amy Mainzer （Scientist at JPL注）： Probably more than anyone else， Galileo was really the person responsible for[造成……的原因] developing modern astronomy[天文学]. Galileo was born in Pisa， Italy， in 1564. He was educated in a Jesuit[耶稣会信徒] monastery[修道院]. Before he studied medicine at the University of Pisa， Galileo first gained fame when he discovered what is now called the law of the pendulum[钟摆]. Dr. Laura Danly （Curator， Griffith Observatory[天文台]）： One day in the cathedral[大教堂] he was watching the lamps that were hanging from the ceiling and saw them swaying back and forth， and started thinking about the nature of a pendulum. Ronney： He found that the amplitude[振幅] of the swaying doesnt matter， but the length of the pendulum does， and this became the genesis[起源] of regulation[校准] of clocks， for which he became instantly[立即地] famous. Galileo also gained fame by supposedly using the leaning Tower of Pisa to prove the law of constant acceleration[等加速度]. Ronney： Its said that Galileo dropped two steel balls of different masses[质量] but the same material from the leaning Tower of Pisa， and they landed at the same time， in contrast to[和……形成对比] what Aristotle would have predicted. Mainzer： Whats important about this is not only the result but the fact that he ushered[开创] in this new method of doing science， where you conduct an experiment to test a hypothesis[假设]. He showed that you have to do more than just think somethings true， you have to prove it. In 1609， Galileo heard about a telescope built by a Dutch eyeglass-maker. He soon built his own， 32 times more po