Galileo's Discoveries.

The questions in this problem are about Galileo's life within the larger historical context leading to modern science. They are based on (+ Chaisson & McMillan's text,Section 2.4) and the episode # 4, "Inertia," from "The Mechanical Universe" magnificentseries:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2vyzfu#

watch the video from 2:05 to 20:20 then answer the questions.

(a) The Telescope.

Did Galileo invent the telescope?Explain with one short sentence each what he discovered regarding the Moon, the Sun,Jupiter, the Milky Way, and the phases of Venus.And state why these discoveries suggested that the Ptolemaic model and the ancientview "Earth versus heavens" (as distinct realms of existence) needed revision.

(b) The Law of Inertia:A body will remain at rest or continue to move with a constantspeed in a straight line unless acted upon by an outside agent (i.e.,a net unbalanced force).Explain the experiment performed by Galileo with rolling balls and inclines leading tohis principle of inertia (as stated above).What is this principle called in the Newtonian synthesis? (i.e., which one of Newton'sLaws is it?)

(c) "Galileo's ship experiment."Imagine dropping a ball from the top of the mast of a moving ship (moving withconstant speed).

Use this analogy (Galileo's ship) to refute the Aristotelian argument that "the Earthis not moving for otherwise we would feel (notice) its motion." Specifically, explainwhat happens to a ball dropped from a tower in our spinning Earth (as shown in thevideo).

Note (food for thought!): The fact that you don't notice the motion is related to theprinciple of inertia. In this form, it called the Principle of Relativity (the lawsof mechanics are exactly the same for any two observers moving at constant velocitywith respect to one another). This eventually became the basis for Einstein's specialrelativity in 1905.