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Galileo Galilei

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Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer and physicist whose telescopic observations, including the four largest moons of Jupiter and the phases of Venus, provided strong observational evidence for the heliocentric model of the solar system. Around 1592 he also built an open thermoscope, a sealed glass bulb and tube whose liquid level rose and fell with temperature, the earliest known device to register temperature change, though it carried no fixed scale and remained sensitive to air pressure as well as heat.

Facts
Birth Year
1564 1
Field
Physics and astronomy 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Invented

Thermometer, Instruments

Why this is disputed. Built an open thermoscope around 1592 to 93, the earliest known device to register temperature change, but it had no fixed scale and vented to open air, so it is a precursor rather than the practical instrument.

Works In

In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Thermometer (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaView the Source
Astronomy: Copernicus (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaWorks In: AstronomyView the Source
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