Scribd
Upload
147 views35 pages

Science and The Ancient World

This document provides an overview of science and astronomy in the ancient world. It discusses Aristotle's writings on physics and the four elements of earth, water, air and fire. It also describes Hippocrates' contributions to medicine, including establishing observation and record keeping as vital to understanding disease. Ptolemy is mentioned for developing a geocentric model of the universe and cataloging stars. Key early astronomers mentioned include those who developed star maps and trigonometry as well as establishing observatories. The document then discusses the development of telescopes from early lenses to Galileo's usage of telescopes to observe and disprove the Ptolemaic model. Finally, it briefly outlines Eratosthenes' life and significance, including calculating the

Uploaded by

Durai Raj Vijayan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
147 views35 pages

Science and The Ancient World

This document provides an overview of science and astronomy in the ancient world. It discusses Aristotle's writings on physics and the four elements of earth, water, air and fire. It also describes Hippocrates' contributions to medicine, including establishing observation and record keeping as vital to understanding disease. Ptolemy is mentioned for developing a geocentric model of the universe and cataloging stars. Key early astronomers mentioned include those who developed star maps and trigonometry as well as establishing observatories. The document then discusses the development of telescopes from early lenses to Galileo's usage of telescopes to observe and disprove the Ptolemaic model. Finally, it briefly outlines Eratosthenes' life and significance, including calculating the

Uploaded by

Durai Raj Vijayan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 35

SCIENCE

and the
Ancient World
ITW Fall 2013

ARISTOTLE

Physics
Eight Volumes Written ca. 350 BCE
Collection of treatises and observations
Aristotles thoughts about matter and
movement; living and non- living

The Four Elements


From Lightest to Heaviest:
Fire
Air
Water
Earth

The Universe
The Geocentric Model
Elements arranged according to weight
Water and Earth are heaviest, in the center
Fire and air, the light elements, take their
place in the atmosphere

Elemental Arrangement of the Earth and Atmosphere

Properties of Matter

There are four properties of matter


Each element has two:
FIRE

DRY

Fire: Dry and Hot


Air: Hot and Wet

HOT

EARTH

AIR

Water: Wet and Cold


Earth: Cold and Dry

COLD

WET
WATER

Sources
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-natphil/
http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Four_elemen
ts.html
http://www.universetoday.com/32607/
http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/physics.html

HIPPOCRATES
The Father of Modern Medicine

Background
Born in Cos, Greece; site of an important
temple of Asclepius
Around 460 B.C.
Little is known about him

Causes of Disease
Before Hippocrates: divine intervention
Hippocrates claimed that there are scientific/
natural reasons for medical conditions

Beliefs/Studies
How the body works
What causes disease
Viewed the human body as a whole

Reason
Observation of patient is vital
Systematic period of observation
Required records of what was observed

Hippocratic Corpus
60- 70 medical texts
Hippocrates didnt write them all
Mostly written by son in law, Polybus

Sources
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/hippocrates/g/031711-Hippocratic-Corpus.ht
m
http://www.greekmedicine.net/whos_who/Hippocrates.html
http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/hippocrates#The_emergence_of_Hippocratic_med
icine
http://www.plant-medicine.com/community/learning/greeks/hippocrates.htm

ASTRONOMY

Firsts of Astronomy
Vedanga Jyotisha (1400 BC)
Hipparchus (190-120 BC)
Star Maps
Trigonometry

Observatory
Cairo Egypt (1120 AD)
Older than Stonehenge by
~1000 years

Ptolemy (90-168 AD)


Developed system for calculating
planet location
Catalogued 1000+ stars

School of Astronomy
Al Mammon (786-833 AD)
Founded school of
astronomy in Baghdad
Translated Ptolemys
work

Sources
http://archive.org/stream/vedicchronologya033083mbp/ved
icchronologya033083mbp_djvu.txt
http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast121/lectures/lec02.html
http://www.windows2universe.org/the_universe/uts/timeline
.html

TELESCOPES

Lenses

-3500 B.C.- Egyptian Glass


-2000 B.C.- Primitive lenses in Turkey and Crete
-300 B.C.- Euclid discusses light refraction
-100 A.D.- Seneca discusses magnification

Early Evidence of Telescopes


13th Century Englishman Roger Bacon:
...Thus from an incredible distance we may read the
smallest letter the Sun, Moon, and stars may be made to
descend hither in appearance...

Telescope
1608: Dutch optometrist Jan Lippershey
Used telescope as customer bait
Sold many telescopes to government

Galileo Galilei
1609: Hears telescope rumor and creates own
First person to use telescopes to observe sky
Thoroughly recorded observations, published
Well known for facing Roman Catholic Church

Ptolemaic Model

Geocentric
Circular cycles, epicycles
Planetary spheres vs. celestial spheres
Change, decay, evil vs. constant, perfect

Disproving the Ptolemaic Model


Telescopes allowed Galileo to see:
Sunspots
Rocky moon terrain
The phases of Venus
The moons of Jupiter

Sources
Star Ware: The Amateur Astronomers Ultimate Guide by
Philip S. Harrington
Coming of Age in the Milky Way by Timothy Ferris
Telescopes: Searching the Heavens by Deborah Hitzeroth
Larry Smith: Astronomy Expert

ERATOSTHENE
S

Life and Significance


Alexandria, Egypt 276 BC
Geography
Scientific Chronology
Armillary Sphere
World Map

Eratosthenes Map of the

Sieve of Eratosthenes

Earths Circumference

Sources
http://www.math.wichita.edu/history/men/eratos
thenes.html
http://outreach.as.utexas.edu/marykay/assignm
ents/eratos1.html

You might also like