The Scientific Revolution

The origins of the European Scientific Revolution are grounded in the discoveries and philosophies of the Ancient Greeks. The scientists of the Renaissance examined the theories of Pythagorus, Euclid, and others to reimagine the laws of the natural world. Through their discoveries, they revolutionized human knowledge through inventions of technology, new applications of math, and new theories of existence. While scientific innovation happened around the world for eons, this guide focuses on the significant discoveries from Europe, the scientists, the plays about them, and their legacy on humanity’s pursuit of knowledge into the 21st century.

Terminology

• Astrophysics: The branch of astronomy that studies the physical properties of celestial bodies
• Euclidean Geometry: The branch of geometry derived from Euclid, which uses a small number of rules (or axioms) to create true statements about lines, angles, etc. An example of a Euclidean axiom is that all right angles are equal to each other.
• Fermat’s Last Theorem: Named for Pierre de Fermat (1607-1665), a mathematical proposition, stated in 1637, that there are no natural numbers (1, 2, 3,…) x, y, and z such that xn + yn = zn, in which n is a natural number greater than 2. It is noted for the complexity of calculations, and was solved by Andrew Wiles over 350 years after it was first published.
• Fractal Geometry: A method of mathematics that examines patterns in the natural world. A fractal is a shape that contains repetitions of itself at smaller and smaller scales. A common example is a stalk of broccoli.
• Geocentrism: The argument that celestial bodies revolve around the Earth.
• Heliocentrism: The argument that celestial bodies revolve around the Sun.
• Heresy: An opinion that is in conflict with the established and accepted religious belief.
• Musica Universalis: Harmony of the world, the philosophical belief that the celestial bodies of the universe work together in musical principles.
• Supernova: Explosion of a star.

Key Dates & Events

Scientists

• Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
• Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
• Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
• Pierre de Fermat (1607-1665)
• Isaac Newton (1643-1727)
• Benoit B. Mandelbrot (1924-2010)
• Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
• Enrico Fermi (1901-1954)
• J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967)
• Stephen Hawking (1942-2018)