Lesson 2: Discoveries and Inventions (The Scientific Revolution)
❓ Discovery Leads to Doubt
In the 1500s and 1600s, scientists began making new discoveries. But these discoveries didn’t just give answers—they also created questions.
People started to doubt old ideas. For example, when explorers found new animals and lands, they realized old books didn’t say everything. They began to think:
“What else could be wrong?”
One big moment: Andreas Vesalius, a doctor, cut open dead bodies to study them. He found many mistakes in the old books about the human body! This shocked people and made them want to learn from real evidence, not just from old writings.
🌌 Advances in Astronomy
Astronomy is the study of the stars and planets.
Long ago, people thought the Earth was the center of the universe. But in the 1500s, Nicolaus Copernicus said the Sun is at the center, and Earth goes around it. Many didn’t believe him at first.
Then, Galileo Galilei made a telescope. He looked at the sky and saw moons moving around Jupiter, not Earth. This proved Copernicus was right! But church leaders were upset and told Galileo to stop teaching this. Still, he whispered:
“And yet it moves.”
This was a brave step toward modern science.
🍎 Sir Isaac Newton
One of the most famous scientists in history is Sir Isaac Newton. One story says he was sitting under a tree, and an apple fell on his head. He began to wonder:
“Why do things fall down?”
Newton studied motion, gravity, and light. He said that gravity pulls objects toward the Earth—and also keeps the planets moving in space!
He wrote a big book called Principia Mathematica in 1687. It showed that the universe works like a machine, with rules you can study.
⚙️ New Inventions
The Scientific Revolution wasn’t just about ideas—it also brought new tools to help people learn.
The microscope let scientists see tiny things like cells and bacteria.
The barometer helped people measure air pressure and study weather.
The thermometer helped measure temperature for the first time.
The printing press (from earlier) helped spread new ideas fast.
These inventions helped people see more, know more, and share more than ever before.