Intro

Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.

I’m Jans your Mnemonic Man and today's episode will be on a man that was persecuted for his beliefs of heliocentrism and as a result spent the remainder of his life under house arrest. Galileo Galilei was an Italian Polymath who was born in Pisa in 1564.

He was supposed to study a medical degree but diverted to follow his true passion for mathematics and philosophy. Often called the “father of observational astronomy” Galileo made significant contributions to astronomy, physics, and the scientific method.

He significantly improved the design of the telescope which allowed him to, discover the four largest moons of Jupiter, observe the phases of Venus, sunspots, and craters on the moon.

Galileo also made significant contributions to the study of motion with the finding that a pendulum is isochronous and the formulation of the laws of falling bodies. He helped shape modern science which was echoed by Albert Einstein calling him the “father of modern science.”

Today’s mnemonic will be on Galileo’s top five discoveries.

So, with that being said, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Galileo.arp.300pix.jpg

Wikipedia Summary

Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei (/ˌɡælɪˈleɪoʊ ˌɡælɪˈleɪ/ GAL-il-AY-oh GAL-il-AY, US also /ˌɡælɪˈliːoʊ -/ GAL-il-EE-oh -⁠, Italian: [ɡaliˈlɛːo ɡaliˈlɛːi]) or simply Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. He was born in the city of Pisa, then part of the Duchy of Florence.[3] Galileo has been called the father of observational astronomy,[4] modern-era classical physics,[5] the scientific method,[6] and modern science.[7]

Galileo studied speed and velocity, gravity and free fall, the principle of relativity, inertia, projectile motion and also worked in applied science and technology, describing the properties of the pendulum and "hydrostatic balances". He was one of the earliest Renaissance developers of the thermoscope [8] and the inventor of various military compasses, and used the telescope for scientific observations of celestial objects. With an improved telescope he built, he observed the stars of the Milky Way, the phases of Venus, the four largest satellites of Jupiter, Saturn's rings, lunar craters and sunspots. He also built an early microscope.

Galileo's championing of Copernican heliocentrism was met with opposition from within the Catholic Church and from some astronomers. The matter was investigated by the Roman Inquisition in 1615, which concluded that his opinions contradicted accepted Biblical interpretations.[9][10][11]

Galileo later defended his views in Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632), which appeared to attack Pope Urban VIII and thus alienated both the Pope and the Jesuits, who had both supported Galileo up until this point.[9] He was tried by the Inquisition, found "vehemently suspect of heresy", and forced to recant. He spent the rest of his life under house arrest.[12][13] During this time, he wrote Two New Sciences (1638), primarily concerning kinematics and the strength of materials, summarizing work he had done around forty years earlier.[14]

Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_Galileo_Galilei_in_IUCAA.jpg

Mnemonic

Galileo Galilei – Top 5 Discoveries Mnemonic – CoPS Jailed Galileo

(Picture Galileo jailed by the cops for his belief of Copernican heliocentric theory)

1. Craters and mountains on the moon

2. Phases of Venus

3. Stars of the Milky Way

4. Jupiter’s moons

5. Galileo’s discovery of sunspots

Five Fun Facts

1. Known as the father of science, Galileo was sent by his father to study medicine at the University of Pisa. This didn’t really interest him though and he ended up taking courses on his true passion, mathematics and natural philosophy and as a result never completed his medical degree.

2. Many believe that Galileo invented the telescope but this is not true. The telescope is credited to Dutch eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey. Galileo learned of the device one year after Lippershey’s patent application and developed his own, significantly improving its design.

3. Fittingly, in 1989, NASA and a team from Germany launched a spacecraft bearing Galileo’s name. Appropriately, it was to study Jupiter and its moons which Galileo had discovered in 1610 (Europa, Callisto, Io and Ganymede). The mission found evidence of salt water below the surface of certain moons, and provided information about volcanic activity.

4. Ptolemy had originally placed Earth as the centre of the solar system in the second century. Copernicus then challenged this with his heliocentric theory which conflicted with the church and contradicted certain Bible verses. Galileo was then given permission to further investigate the ideas of Copernicus, which he did when he published “Dialogue of the Two Principal Systems of the World,” Unfortunately, for him the book was seen as supporting the Copernican model and was ordered to stand trial, where he was then sentenced to life in prison and forced too publicly repent.

5. Now just to finish off with Galileo and his sentence of life in prison for heresy. It took the Catholic Church right up to 1979 before Pope John Paul II initiated an investigation into the condemnation of Galileo. This investigation took a further 13 years before the Pope officially closed the investigation and issued a formal apology, acknowledging that errors were made by the judges during the trial. This was 359 years after Galileo was tried by the inquisition!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Justus_Sustermans_-_Portrait_of_Galileo_Galilei_(Uffizi).jpg

Three Question Quiz

Q.1. What was the first planet Galileo observed?

Q.2. Where did Galileo get the idea for building a telescope? Your options are a student, a book, or a professor

Q.3. Where was Galileo born? Options are Florence, Rome, or Pisa

Bonus Q. From what famous landmark did Galileo perform his experiment of dropping things of different weights?

Mnemonic Recap

Galileo Galilei – Top 5 Discoveries Mnemonic – CoPS Jailed Galileo

(Picture Galileo jailed by the cops for his belief of Copernican heliocentric theory)

1. Craters and mountains on the moon

2. Phases of Venus

3. Stars of the Milky Way

4. Jupiter’s moons

5. Galileo’s discovery of sunspots

Three Question Quiz Answers

Q.1. What was the first planet Galileo observed?

A. Jupiter

Q.2. Where did Galileo get the idea for building a telescope? Your options are a student, a book, or a professor

A. A student who had built a simple telescope

Q.3. Where was Galileo born? Options are Florence, Rome, or Pisa

A. Pisa

Bonus Q. From what famous landmark did Galileo perform his experiment of dropping things of different weights?

A. The Leaning Tower of Pisa

Now, just speaking of gravity. As part of my research on Galileo I’m currently reading a book by a prominent scientist on anti-gravity. And I must say it is an intriguing and fascinating read … … Impossible … … to put down!

Word of the Week

theocracy

[ thee-ok-ruh-see ]

noun

plural the·oc·ra·cies.

a form of government in which priests rule in the name of a deity

Example

In many theocracies, the bible was the ultimate legal document.

Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]

Website:

https://www.themnemonictreepodcast.com/

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