The Copernican Revolution
The Renaissance was a “rebirth” of knowledge in many ways
- Science and especially physics was at the center
- Re-examination of the “ultimate questions” of cosmology and the “practical questions” of understanding what we observe in nature
Is the earth the center of the universe or only a planet orbiting the sun?
- Ptolomy vs. Copernicus
- Resolved by the simple description of Kepler, the earth and other planets move in ellipses
- Copernican revolution
Affects our understanding of our place in the universe – our world view