THUS SPOKE GALILEO: THE GREAT SCIENTIST'S IDEAS AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO THE PRESENT DAY; TRANS. BY JIM MACMANUS

Any reasonably educated person knows what is said about Galileo, but not what Galileo himself actually said. This has allowed a variety of different interpretations to be put upon his stands as a scientist and as a man, in particular from within the Catholic world, where a sense of guilt for his dramatic destiny has never been completely erased. Let him speak, then so that he can bring to everybody's attention, in particular the young, his message of reason, of intellectual honesty, of free thinking. A message that more than ever, is of great relevance in the rampant irrationality of the new millennium. The selection of writings offered here is preferred by a blunt self-portrait, which is of course a forgery - however, one that is based entirely on extracts from Galileo's writings and private letters, though he would never have dared, nor been allowed to write it himself. The anthology touches upon the themes dearest to Galileo and a lively commentary, from both the scientific and the literary-historical viewpoints, should help make the extracts accessible. The reader will be able to appreciate the work and the writing-style of a very great scientist and author and will probably also be surprised to find with the aid of a test with answers provided, just how many of the misconceptions about the workings of the world that were rife prior to Galileo, still survive today among the common beliefs of even well-educated, non scientific people. Cover......Page 1 Acknowledgements......Page 7 Contents......Page 8 Foreword......Page 10 Preface to the English Edition......Page 13 Preface......Page 15 Persisting Misconceptions - A Test......Page 19 PART I INTRODUCTION......Page 22 1 Posthumous Self-Portrait of Galileo Galilei, Philosopher......Page 24 Character and features......Page 25 Means and family......Page 26 Blindness......Page 27 Sources of pleasure and delight......Page 28 Studies and activities......Page 29 Copernicus and the Bible......Page 31 Clash with the Church......Page 32 Saint Robert Bellarmine......Page 34 The dispute with Father Grassi......Page 35 Bigger misfortunes......Page 37 Bitter reflections......Page 39 Pupils......Page 40 Self-criticism......Page 41 In defence of my abjuration......Page 42 List of works......Page 43 The principle of authority......Page 45 The text......Page 47 The anatomical dissection......Page 49 The treasures of the alphabet......Page 51 Aristotle today......Page 52 The three interlocutors......Page 53 PART II REVOLUTIONARY MOTIONS......Page 56 How bodies fall......Page 58 TheAristotelian mistake......Page 60 From the LeaningTower of Pisa......Page 62 The paradox of the two falling bodies......Page 64 Air friction......Page 68 Parachute effect......Page 72 Simplicio and the false science......Page 73 And yet it moves......Page 79 The principle of inertia......Page 80 Circular motion......Page 82 The horse and coach......Page 83 Caution and irony......Page 84 Diurnal motion......Page 88 The earth and the ship......Page 89 The cabin below deck......Page 93 Inertia inertia inertia......Page 101 Motion of projectiles......Page 102 Dispute with a pupil......Page 104 Shots towards the east and shots towards the west......Page 105 The text......Page 106 A fall from the top of the mast......Page 109 A perfectly smooth plane......Page 110 Returning to the falling rock......Page 113 Forcibly impressed motion......Page 115 The mistakenAristotelian view......Page 116 Arrows shot sideways......Page 118 The astounding cannon......Page 120 Objects thrown from horseback......Page 122 Shooting towards the east and towards the west......Page 123 From a moving carriage......Page 125 Shooting at flying birds......Page 128 Birds in pursuit......Page 130 Independence of motions......Page 131 Taking aim......Page 133 Artillery shots......Page 134 PART III THE PENDULUM AND MUSIC......Page 136 Consonance and dissonance......Page 138 The laws of the pendulum......Page 141 Isochronism of oscillations......Page 142 Foucault’s pendulum......Page 145 The text......Page 147 The mass of the pendulum......Page 148 Isochronism......Page 149 The length of the thread......Page 152 Resonance......Page 154 Musical strings......Page 156 The secret of consonance......Page 158 The problem of the phase......Page 163 Wonderful facts......Page 164 The law of the pendulum......Page 166 The effect of damping......Page 168 Musical consonance......Page 169 PART IV THE STARRY SKY ABOVE US......Page 172 7 The Crystal Moon......Page 174 Humans and the universe......Page 175 The dedication to the Grand Duke......Page 176 The essence of the work......Page 178 The telescope......Page 180 The face of the moon......Page 183 The lunar mountains......Page 185 The structure of galaxies......Page 187 Jupiter’s satellites......Page 189 The effect of vapors......Page 192 Hymn to the earth......Page 194 The sphere of crystal......Page 197 The Keplerian telescope......Page 200 The Galilean telescope......Page 202 8 In The Moonlight......Page 204 Specular and diffused reflection......Page 206 Oblique illumination......Page 207 The text......Page 208 Cinereous light......Page 210 The mirror and the wall......Page 211 The spherical mirror......Page 213 Diffuse reflection......Page 216 Obliquity of the sun’s rays......Page 217 The moon in daytime......Page 220 The earth is like the moon......Page 223 In praise of the human mind......Page 225 Light diffusion......Page 226 PART V THE SPINNING EARTH......Page 230 9 An Ingenious Wrong Theory......Page 232 Galileo’s idea......Page 234 Where the error lies......Page 235 The text......Page 238 The tidal effect......Page 239 Tidal models......Page 240 The water in the vessel......Page 244 Galileo’s model......Page 247 Wind and waves on the sea......Page 250 The tower of knowledge......Page 252 An angelic doctrine......Page 254 The offense against the Pope......Page 256 The acceleration at the earth’s surface......Page 258 Calculation of the lunar tide......Page 259 The sun’s contribution......Page 261 10 The Seized Atmosphere......Page 263 The trade-winds and the earth’s motion......Page 264 The rationality of Nature......Page 266 The impossibility of perceiving terrestrial motion......Page 267 From the top of the cupola......Page 269 The atmosphere accompanies the earth......Page 270 The jet stream......Page 272 Perpetual winds......Page 274 11 Stand Still, Ever Moving Sun......Page 278 Galileo and the Holy Scriptures......Page 279 The text......Page 281 Heresies and blasphemies in the Bible......Page 282 Invitation to flexibility......Page 284 Trust in reason......Page 285 First offensives......Page 286 Trusting the Jesuits......Page 288 Letter to Dini......Page 289 Cardinal Bellarmine’s opinion......Page 290 Over to SaintAugustine......Page 293 Christina of Lorraine233......Page 294 Each to his trade......Page 295 Wonders of research......Page 297 Science and faith......Page 298 PART VI THE INVASION OF THE INFINITESIMALS......Page 304 Quanta and infinitesimals......Page 306 The text......Page 307 A fanciful idea......Page 308 The squares trick......Page 310 Infinity of unity......Page 315 Down to earth......Page 317 13 Down the Slope......Page 321 Uniformly accelerated motion......Page 322 The indivisibles......Page 323 Velocity and time......Page 324 The text......Page 325 Ascent and descent of a body......Page 327 Weight and violent action......Page 333 Error upon error......Page 336 A bitter invective......Page 339 The experiment of the inclined plane......Page 340 Uniformly accelerated motion......Page 345 The mistaken conception......Page 346 The inclined plane......Page 347 Determination of the gravitational acceleration......Page 348 Galileo’s constant......Page 349 PART VII BODIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT......Page 352 14 Archimedes and the Weight of Air......Page 354 Terminal velocity......Page 355 The text......Page 358 Weighing the air......Page 359 The air bladder......Page 367 Dew on leaves......Page 369 Neither up nor down......Page 371 The skill of fish......Page 372 Two grains of salt......Page 373 Cabbage leaves......Page 374 Surface tension......Page 376 Capillarity......Page 378 The importance of technology......Page 381 Applied science......Page 383 Scale factor......Page 386 The text......Page 387 The broken column......Page 389 A new science......Page 390 Materials science......Page 391 Land animals......Page 392 Aquatic animals......Page 393 PART VIII FROM MATTER TO LIGHT......Page 396 17 In Horror at a Vacuum......Page 398 The weight of the atmosphere......Page 400 Fusion of a solid......Page 401 Freedom of research......Page 402 The two plates......Page 403 A vacuum is not sufficient......Page 405 Simplicio’s transformation......Page 406 Measurement of the “force of a vacuum”......Page 407 The mysterious gluey substance......Page 409 The particles of fire......Page 410 Strength in unity......Page 412 A ventured hypothesis......Page 414 Liquids......Page 415 Contraction and rarefaction......Page 417 18 The Dark Labyrinth of the Senses......Page 422 The grand Book of Nature......Page 423 The role of mathematics......Page 424 The qualities perceived......Page 425 Tickling......Page 428 The nature of heat......Page 430 Fire-corpuscles and quanta......Page 432 Light and matter......Page 433 The blackbody......Page 436 An alleged heresy of Galileo......Page 437 Temperature and molecular velocity......Page 439 The blackbody......Page 440 19 As Fast as Light......Page 443 Descartes’ opinion......Page 444 Galileo’s precursor experiment......Page 445 The text......Page 446 Galileo’s experiment......Page 447 The “head” and “spread” of a lightning flash......Page 448 Galilean realism......Page 449 Methods for measuring the speed of light......Page 451 PART IX ALL THAT GLITTERS .........Page 454 Confidence in the new Pope......Page 456 A weak point......Page 458 The detractors......Page 460 The Capra–Mayr case......Page 461 The dispute with Father Grassi......Page 462 Small apples and apple cores......Page 465 Poor science......Page 466 21 The Scientist and the Cicada......Page 468 EPILOGUE......Page 478 Threatening shadows......Page 480 The trial......Page 483 Galileo’s heresy......Page 484 Before the judges......Page 485 Conviction416......Page 486 Abjuration423......Page 491 Galileo’s “rehabilitation”......Page 493 Persisting Misconceptions - Answers......Page 498 Main Texts Quoted......Page 501 Additional Reading......Page 504 Subject and Name Index......Page 506 "You might know what is said about Galileo, but not many people know what Galileo himself actually said! His demanding and often misquoted discourse has resulted, over the years, in slurs against his name and reputation as a scientist. Let him speak then, so that he can bring to everyone's attention his message of reason, of intellectual honesty, and of free thinking. A message that, more than ever, is of great relevance in the rampant irrationality of the new millennium." "The exposition begins with a blunt 'self-portrait'. A 'forgery' of course, based largely on extracts from Galileo's writings and private letters; something he would never have dared, nor been allowed, to write for the public. The selection of writings offered in this book includes many of the subjects that were closest to Galileo's heart and uppermost in his mind, and is accompanied by a lively commentary elucidating literary, scientific, and historical features. For those who want to know the mathematics behind Galileo's theories, each chapter closes with a separate self contained summary." "Thus Spoke Galileo will allow the reader to appreciate the work and the writing-style of a great scientist and author who has had a decisive influence on the modern world."--Jacket. You might know what is said about Galileo, but not many people know what Galileo himself actually said. His elusive and often misquoted discourse has resulted, over the years, in slurs against his name and reputation as a scientist. Let him speak then, so that he can bring to everyone's attention his message of reason, of intellectual honesty, and of free thinking. A message that, more than ever, is of great relevance in the rampant irrationality of the new millennium. The exposition begins with a blunt 'self-portrait'. A 'forgery' of course, based mainly on extracts from Galileo's writings and private letters; something he would never have dared, nor been allowed, to write for the public. The selection of writings offered includes many of the subjects that were closest to Galileo's heart and mind with lively commentary from both the literary, scientific, and historical viewpoints. For those who want to know the mathematics behind Galileo's theories, each chapter closes with a separate self contained summary. Thus Spoke Galileo will allow the reader to appreciate the work and the writing-style of a great scientist and author who had a tremendous influence on the modern world. Presentation of the most important discoveries by Galileo Galilei, endorsed by his own lively writings. Includes simple explanations for the general reader, comparative discussions about state of knowledge in Galileo's time and in today's understanding, as well as major public and private events in Galileo's life.