College Physics II – Mechanics, Sound, Oscillations, and Waves
Definition
Galileo Galilei was an Italian physicist and astronomer who made pioneering observations that laid the foundation for modern physics, particularly in mechanics. He is best known for his work on the motion of objects and the laws governing free fall.
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Galileo conducted experiments by dropping objects of different masses from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to demonstrate that their time of descent was independent of their mass.
He formulated the principle of inertia, which later influenced Newton's First Law of Motion.
Galileo discovered that objects in free fall accelerate at a constant rate, leading to the concept of gravitational acceleration ($g \approx 9.8\, m/s^2$).
He used inclined planes to study uniformly accelerated motion, concluding that displacement is proportional to the square of time ($d \propto t^2$).
His observations with telescopes provided crucial evidence for heliocentrism, challenging Aristotelian cosmology.
Review Questions
What experiment did Galileo conduct to illustrate that objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass?
How did Galileo's study on inclined planes contribute to our understanding of acceleration?
What is Galileo's principle of inertia and how did it influence later scientific developments?
An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by a net external force.
$g$ (gravitational acceleration): The constant acceleration experienced by an object when falling freely near Earth's surface, approximately $9.8\, m/s^2$.