The Scientific Revolution
In the mid-1500s, scientists begin to question
accepted beliefs and make new theories based
on experimentation.
Scientists continued this revolutionary process into the
19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
During the Middle Ages, Europeans’ understanding of the
nature of the world around them was based on the writings of
ancient classical philosophers such as Aristotle and Ptolemy.
The Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries led scholars
to examine these texts more closely. A new enthusiasm for
knowledge, in addition to a greater belief in the abilities of
humanity, led some to start making observations and
formulating new theories.
Central to this new spirit of inquiry was an insistence that
theories should be based on experimental evidence and
not on the authority of ancient sources.
The Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th
centuries changed the way Europeans saw the world
and promoted the application of scientific methods of
rational inquiry to all aspects of life.
The Roots of Modern Science
The Medieval View
• Most knowledge in
Middle Ages comes from
Bible and Greco-Roman
sources
• Believed in the
geocentric theory—
moon, sun, planets
revolve around earth
The Roots of Modern Science
A New Way of Thinking
• Renaissance prompts new ways of thinking (1300–1600)
• Scientific Revolution—new way of viewing natural world—
based on observation, inquiry
• New discoveries, overseas exploration open up
thinking
• Scholars make new developments in astronomy,
mathematics
A Revolutionary Model of the
Universe
The Heliocentric Theory
• Copernicus develops
heliocentric theory—planets
revolve around sun
• Later scientists mathematically
prove Copernicus to be correct
1473–1543 Nicolaus Copernicus
Polish priest and mathematician.
He denies the medieval belief, inherited from
the classical Greek astronomer Ptolemy (c. 90–
168), that the Earth is the center of the universe
and develops the revolutionary theory that the
Earth and planets revolve around the Sun
(heliocentric theory)
Heliocentric Model of the Solar System
Revolutionary Model of the Universe
Galileo’s Discoveries
• Italian scientist Galileo Galilei makes key advances
in astronomy
-makes discovery about planet surfaces,
supports heliocentric theory
Conflict with the Church
• Church attacks Galileo’s work, fears it will
weaken people’s faith
• Pope forces Galileo to declare his and other new
findings are wrong
Galileo at trial before the Inquisition in 1633. Painting, 17th century.
1564–1642 Galileo Galilei,
Italian mathematician and scientist. The first to
use telescopes for astronomy.
He describes the surface of the Moon and the
rotation of the moons of Jupiter.
Also establishes basic laws of motion from
experimentation.
He is arrested by the Inquisition and forced to
recant his endorsement of the heliocentric
Theory.
Heliocentric Model of the Solar System
1571–1630 Johannes Kepler,
German mathematician and astronomer.
Accepts the heliocentric theory after examining
data gathered by the Danish astronomer
Tycho Brahe (1546–1601).
He explains that the orbits of the planets are
elliptical and not circular as Copernicus has
suggested
Heliocentric Model - Elliptical
The Scientific Method
A Logical Approach
• Revolution in thinking leads to development
of scientific method
-series of steps for forming, testing scientific theories
Bacon and Descartes
• Thinkers Bacon and Descartes help to create scientific
method
• Bacon urges scientists to experiment before drawing
conclusions
• Descartes advocates using logic, math to reason out
basic truths
1561–1626 Francis Bacon, English
philosopher.
His Novum organum (1620)
stresses the importance of proper
scientific method: theories must be
supported by proof acquired by
experimentation and observation
Scientific Method
1596–1650 René Descartes,
French philosopher and mathematician.
Develops analytic geometry and other
mathematical techniques useful in
theoretical science.
He believes that mathematical proof is the
model for rational scientific inquiry.
His best-known philosophical work,
Meditations on First Philosophy,
emphasizes the importance of accepting
only indubitable evidence
Scientific Method
Newton Explains the Law of Gravity
Newton’s Theories
• English scientist Isaac Newton develops theory of motion
- states same forces rule motion of planets, matter in
space, earth
• Motion in space, earth linked by the law of universal
gravitation
- holds that every object in universe attracts every
other object
• Newton views universe as a vast, perfect mechanical clock
1642–1727 Issac Newton,
English physicist and mathematician.
One of the greatest theoretical scientists in
history.
He discovers the law of gravitation after
studying Kepler’s laws of planetary motion and
formulates three laws of motion that form the
basis of physics until the 20th century
Also invents the reflecting telescope (uses a
curved mirror to focus light)
Develops the mathematical system known
as calculus.
Gravity, Laws of Motion, Calculus
Scientific Instruments
• Scientists develop microscope, barometer, thermometer
• New instruments lead to better observations, new discoveries
1514–1564 Andreas Vesalius,
Belgian physician and anatomist.
He describes human anatomy more accurately
than the ancient Greeks.
His work brings a sentence of death
from the Inquisition for immorality, but he is not
executed
Human Anatomy
Dura mater—the membrane surrounding brain. Anatomical drawing by
Andreas Vesalius (1543).
1578–1657 William Harvey,
English physician and anatomist.
He discovers the circulation of the
blood and describes the purpose of
arteries, veins, and the heart.
Human Anatomy – Circulatory System
1749-1823 Edward Jenner,
English physician and scientist.
Creates world’s first vaccination—
for smallpox
Medicine, Vaccination
1627–1691 Robert Boyle,
Irish physicist and chemist.
He investigates the properties of air
and develops a theory describing the
relationship between the pressure and volume
of gases (known as Boyle’s Law).
InThe Sceptical Chemist (1661) he questions
the accepted belief that the world is made up
of just four elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water)
and argues that they can be broken down into
more fundamental, chemical elements
Chemistry
The Scientific Revolution Continues
Michael Faraday, (1791 – 1867)
English scientist who contributed to the
fields of electromagnetism and
electrochemistry.
Charles Robert Darwin (1809 – 1882)
English naturalist best known for his
contributions to evolutionary theory
Gregor Johann Mendel (1822 - 1884)
German scientist and Augustinian monk
who gained posthumous fame as the
founder of the modern science of genetics
Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)
Austrian neurologist who became known
as the founding father of psychoanalysis
Louis Pasteur (1822 – 1895)
French chemist and microbiologist
Renowned for his discoveries of the
principles of vaccination, microbial
fermentation and pasteurization.
He is remembered for his remarkable
breakthroughs in the causes and
preventions of diseases, and his
discoveries have saved countless lives
ever since.
Marie Curie (1867 – 1934)
Polish and naturalized-French physicist
and chemist who conducted pioneering
research on radioactivity.
She was the first woman to win a Nobel
Prize, the only woman to win in two fields,
and the only person to win in multiple
sciences.
Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955)
German-born theoretical physicist.
He developed the general theory of
relativity
He is best known in popular culture for his
formula
E = mc2
He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in
Physics
Niels Henrik David Bohr (1885 – 1962)
Danish physicist who made foundational
contributions to understanding atomic
structure and quantum theory
Received the Nobel Prize in Physics in
1922.
Werner Heisenberg (1901 – 1976)
German physicist and one of the key
creators of quantum mechanics.
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for
1932
Enrico Fermi (1901 – 1954)
Italian physicist best known for his work on the
first nuclear reactor and for his contributions to
the development of quantum theory, nuclear
and particle physics and statistical mechanics.
He is one of the men referred to as the "father
of the atomic bomb".
Awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics
Alexander Fleming, (1881 – 1955)
Scottish biologist.
His best-known discovery is the
antibiotic substance penicillin from
the mold in 1928,
Won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in
1945
J Robert Oppenheimer (1904 – 1967)
American physicist
He is among the persons who are often
called the "father of the atomic bomb" for
their role in the Manhattan Project, the
World War II project that developed the first
nuclear weapons.
Jonas Salk (1914 – 1995)
American medical researcher and virologist
He discovered and developed the first
successful inactivated polio vaccine.
Gregory Pincus (1903 – 1967)
American biologist who co-invented the
birth control pill
James Watson (1928) and
Francis Crick (1916–2004),
discovered the structure of DNA,
but only by drawing on the work of
many scientists who came before
them, including Rosalind Franklin.
Let’s see where these scientists rank on the 100 Most
Influential Persons of the Millennium.
