'Galileo Galilei' Story in English | Summary | Question and Answers.
The story 'Galileo Galilei' about Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), the Italian astronomer. was an He was one of those who completely changed our understanding of the world. Before Galileo, most people thought that the earth was flat and lay at the centre of the universe. Galileo proved that the sun lies at the centre of our Solar System and the Earth revolves around it.
- Galileo Galilei -
You must have read about Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), the Italian
astronomerOne who studies the science of stars, planets and other heavenly bodies.
. was an He was one of those who completely changed our understanding of the world. Before Galileo, most people thought that the earth was flat and lay at the centre of the universe. Galileo proved that the sun lies at the centre of our Solar System and the Earth revolves around it. Read how he dared to be different.
'Galileo Galilei' story in english :
Who would think that one person could change the way we see the universe? Who would even try? However, it really happened more than four hundred years ago. It happened because one man dared to think differently.
You see, back then, people thought that the Earth stood still. It did not spin around the sun. The Earth was the centre of the universe and everything, including the sun,
orbited the EarthTravelled in a circle around the Earth.
. Well, that is not really true, but everyone believed it was true then. Also, nobody wanted to argue about it because they feared being thrown into prison or facing some terrible punishment. So everyone just kept on happily thinking that the Earth stood still in space-and it made sense really, because no one can ever feel that it is moving. Galileo was the first astronomer to find out what the universe is made up of and what actually goes on in the solar system.On 15 February 1564, in Pisa, Italy, a little boy was born and his surname was Galilei. His parents must have liked poetry because they didn't call him something ordinary like George Galilei or Fred Galilei. They called him Galileo Galilei. He probably didn't mind having a 'different' name though-at least it was easy to remember!
When Galileo grew older his father wanted him to be a doctor so he sent him to a university to study medicine. Many of Galileo's ancestors were doctors, so he was expected to follow in their footsteps. In 1581, he joined the University of Pisa as a medical student.
At the university, a friend, Ostilio Ricci, changed the course of Galileo's life by introducing him to Mathematics. Galileo realized that he didn't really enjoy studying medicine. He now wanted to study Mathematics and Astronomy. So he left the medical school and became a mathematician instead.
When he was seventeen, Galileo noticed a lamp swinging overhead in a cathedral in Pisa. In those days lamps were hung by long rods from the ceiling. Curious to find out how long it took the lamp to swing back and forth, he used his pulse to time the long and short swings. Galileo discovered something that no one else had ever realized. Whether long or short, each swing took exactly the same time. This discovery was found useful for making and running clocks. Galileo became famous and was soon the Head of the Department of Mathematics at the university.
In his spare time too Galileo liked to do various things. He experimented with all sorts of different things. He put water into a glass bulb and noticed that the level of the water rose if the glass was heated and fell as it cooled down. He had invented the first-ever thermometer!
In 1609, Galileo heard about a new invention called the telescope which had been made with two lenses. He decided to build a telescope and use it to look at the universe. Until then people had only been able to guess what the universe was, but Galileo was actually going to look at it and find out the truth. So he built a telescope that made things appear to be twenty times bigger than they actually were.
He looked at the Milky Way and discovered that it was made up of millions of stars, each at a different distance from the earth. If the universe was really a glass sphere as everyone thought it was, then all the stars would be at the same distance from the Earth. Everyone at that time thought that the moon was a smooth round ball. Galileo discovered that it was not so. When he looked at the moon he discovered mountains, valleys and
cratersThat has fallen from the sky huge holes in the ground caused by an explosion or by something.
on it.He observed that the planets Mercury and Venus pass through phases just like the moon. The only way they could do that was if they circled the sun, and not the Earth.
And most remarkable of all, Galileo discovered four moons orbiting and Jupiter! This meant that everything in the universe did not circle the Earth.
In addition to these discoveries, Galileo also discovered that everything falls at the same speed. If you jumped off a bridge at the same time as an elephant, you would both hit the water at exactly the same time! Galileo dropped two balls off the Leaning Tower of Pisa. One was very heavy and one was light. Both hit the ground at the same time.
The most important thing about Galileo's discoveries was that he was not guessing. He could clearly prove to anyone that what he had discovered was true. He could demonstrate and repeat his experiments to do so.
Galileo spent many happy hours looking through his telescope. After some research he realized that what everyone believed about the Earth standing still was actually wrong. In fact, the Earth travelled around the sun. This had already been stated by Copernicus. Galileo began to publish papers about his discoveries. This made many people very angry. So Galileo had to face the
InquisitionA tribunal set up by the church in medieval times to punish people who opposed its beliefs.
and was asked to write a letter to say he was sorry for making up silly stories. They ordered him to declare that the earth stands still, and the sun revolves around it.Of course, it wasn't a scientific truth. So Galileo just went on writing about his work and he even published a book. This made the Inquisition so angry that they sentenced him to life imprisonment. By then, Galileo was quite old and not in good health, so they put him under 'house arrest' instead. This meant that he had to stay at home all the time and was never allowed to go out.
Galileo just went on studying the universe, doing his experiments and writing books without taking much notice. He did not mind being in his house anyway!
So today everyone thinks Galileo Galilei was very brave to dare to be different and we are all very glad that the Earth isn't standing still because if it was, it would tumble into space and we would all fall off!
A popular legend holds that Galileo, after publicly announcing that the Earth does not move, arose from his knees and exclaimed, "E pur si muove"
"NEVERTHELESS, IT DOES MOVE!"
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# Word - Meaning :
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⚈ Astronomer : One who studies the science of stars, planets and other heavenly bodies.
⚈ Orbited the Earth : Travelled in a circle around the Earth.
⚈ Craters : Huge holes in the ground caused by an explosion.
⚈ Inquisition : A tribunal set up by the church to punish people who opposed its beliefs.
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# Question Answers :
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# Complete the following :
1. The most important thing that Galileo discovered about the Earth was... .
2. Galileo had to face the Inquisition because... .
3. Galileo was very brave because... .
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# Answer the following questions :
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Who was Galileo? In which country did he live and work?
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Why did Galileo change his subject of study at the university?
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What did Galileo do during his spare time?
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What did Galileo discover about the Milky Way?
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What did Galileo discover about the moon?
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What did Galileo drop from the Leaning Tower of Pisa and why?
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What was the great scientific truth that Galileo discovered and published?
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What happened to Galileo at the Inquisition?
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