short period of time he made more discoveries in astronomy than had ever been made in the centuries before him, and even after him.
And Galileo didn't stop with the telescope; he also constructed a microscope. Again it wasn't the first, but it was likely the best available at that time. He used it for examining insects and various other small objects.
Other Inventions
The telescope and microscope were not the only devices Galileo constructed. In 1593 he built one of the first thermometers. It was based on the expansion and contraction of air in a ball that moved water in an attached tube. He even tried to market it, but he was unsuccessful.
Galileo was one of the first to understand the role of frequency (or pitch) in relation to sound, and he made an attempt to determine the speed of light, but was unsuccessful. And he invented a device for determining how much heavier metal was than water.
Galileo is perhaps best known for his objection to the idea of the earth-centered universe that was accepted in his day. He was sure that the sun was at the center of the solar system, and he was eventually condemned by the church for his ideas.
For several decades after the death of Galileo there was almost continuous warfare. This period included the Thirty Yearsâ War of 1618 to 1648, which was one of the most costly wars in terms of human life in the history of the world. The deadliness of this conflict was largely a result of the new weapons that were devised. So let's start with these weapons, and the guns, in particular.
THE GUNS OF WAR
In the previous chapters we saw how the cannon was developed and how it evolved, but within a short time after its first use men were beginning to think about something smaller that could be handheld, and soon the first hand cannons appeared. They came about mainly as a result of the problems of steel armor; that is, it could still withstand most of the arrows from the longbows (unless they happened to strike the right place) and it was quite effective against the bolts of the crossbow. Something was needed that could easily penetrate this armor. Cannon shells were certainly adequate, but they were large and unwieldy. Something smaller was needed, and it finally came in the form of the hand cannon. Hand cannons were first used in China in the thirteenth century, but they were generally inaccurate and difficult to use; nevertheless, the bullets from them could penetrate most types of armor at close range. 1
The barrels of the earliest guns were about four feet long, and they were made from wrought iron or bronze. Attached to the barrel was a wooden stock. One of the main difficulties in using these early guns was that two men were needed because it took two hands to aim and hold them steady and another pair of hands to light and hold a match to the touchhole. It was possible for the gunner to prop his gun in a support and light his own gun, but it was difficult. The earliest hand cannons were also relatively heavy, at about twenty to twenty-five pounds, but they could fire projectiles up to one hundred yards.
Strangely, while they were relatively inaccurate, their flash and loud roar usually had a strong psychological effect on the enemyâparticularly if the enemy had never seen them before. In many cases enemy soldiers fled in terror. Hand cannons were used extensively throughout Europe and Asia until about the 1520s. But as new developments in powder emerged, such as granulated powder, handguns began to improve. The first to appear after the hand cannon was the arquebus, which means âhook gunâ in Dutch. What the hook referred to is still uncertain. Most believe it was the hook-shaped wooden stock. Later guns did, however, have a hook mechanism that held the match.
There is a problem with terminology, as some of the later guns were also called arquebuses. At any rate, it was first used in about 1458, and it was commonly used until about 1490. Again, it was a short-range
And Galileo didn't stop with the telescope; he also constructed a microscope. Again it wasn't the first, but it was likely the best available at that time. He used it for examining insects and various other small objects.
Other Inventions
The telescope and microscope were not the only devices Galileo constructed. In 1593 he built one of the first thermometers. It was based on the expansion and contraction of air in a ball that moved water in an attached tube. He even tried to market it, but he was unsuccessful.
Galileo was one of the first to understand the role of frequency (or pitch) in relation to sound, and he made an attempt to determine the speed of light, but was unsuccessful. And he invented a device for determining how much heavier metal was than water.
Galileo is perhaps best known for his objection to the idea of the earth-centered universe that was accepted in his day. He was sure that the sun was at the center of the solar system, and he was eventually condemned by the church for his ideas.
For several decades after the death of Galileo there was almost continuous warfare. This period included the Thirty Yearsâ War of 1618 to 1648, which was one of the most costly wars in terms of human life in the history of the world. The deadliness of this conflict was largely a result of the new weapons that were devised. So let's start with these weapons, and the guns, in particular.
THE GUNS OF WAR
In the previous chapters we saw how the cannon was developed and how it evolved, but within a short time after its first use men were beginning to think about something smaller that could be handheld, and soon the first hand cannons appeared. They came about mainly as a result of the problems of steel armor; that is, it could still withstand most of the arrows from the longbows (unless they happened to strike the right place) and it was quite effective against the bolts of the crossbow. Something was needed that could easily penetrate this armor. Cannon shells were certainly adequate, but they were large and unwieldy. Something smaller was needed, and it finally came in the form of the hand cannon. Hand cannons were first used in China in the thirteenth century, but they were generally inaccurate and difficult to use; nevertheless, the bullets from them could penetrate most types of armor at close range. 1
The barrels of the earliest guns were about four feet long, and they were made from wrought iron or bronze. Attached to the barrel was a wooden stock. One of the main difficulties in using these early guns was that two men were needed because it took two hands to aim and hold them steady and another pair of hands to light and hold a match to the touchhole. It was possible for the gunner to prop his gun in a support and light his own gun, but it was difficult. The earliest hand cannons were also relatively heavy, at about twenty to twenty-five pounds, but they could fire projectiles up to one hundred yards.
Strangely, while they were relatively inaccurate, their flash and loud roar usually had a strong psychological effect on the enemyâparticularly if the enemy had never seen them before. In many cases enemy soldiers fled in terror. Hand cannons were used extensively throughout Europe and Asia until about the 1520s. But as new developments in powder emerged, such as granulated powder, handguns began to improve. The first to appear after the hand cannon was the arquebus, which means âhook gunâ in Dutch. What the hook referred to is still uncertain. Most believe it was the hook-shaped wooden stock. Later guns did, however, have a hook mechanism that held the match.
There is a problem with terminology, as some of the later guns were also called arquebuses. At any rate, it was first used in about 1458, and it was commonly used until about 1490. Again, it was a short-range
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