Science in the Renaissance

Science in the Renaissance

Science in the Renaissance was a time when people learned more about the world in new ways. They built on old ideas and added new thoughts about math, our bodies, and the stars and planets. Many old science books were found and shared.

The Renaissance started in the 1400s and lasted until around 1453. The invention of printing helped spread ideas fast. Some people thought science wasn’t very advanced then because many scholars studied people and history more than nature or numbers. But we now know that finding and studying old books was very important.

The printing press made it easier to share new discoveries. Meeting new lands like the Americas showed people different ideas. All of this helped prepare for even bigger changes in science that came later in the 1600s.

Context

Further information: European science in the Middle Ages and List of medieval European scientists

During and after the Renaissance of the 12th century, Europe became more interested in learning about nature. But in the 14th century, big problems started. The Black Death caused many deaths in Europe. This made it harder for people to keep making new discoveries.

The Renaissance

The 14th century started the Renaissance, a time of big cultural change. By the early 15th century, people looked for old writings. This search went on until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. Many Byzantine scholars moved to places like Italy. The printing press helped share ideas faster and made learning easier for everyone.

At first, there were no major new discoveries in science. Many still believed old ideas about the universe from Aristotelian and Ptolemaic thinkers. Renaissance humanism focused more on feelings and ideas than strict logic rules. Later, people studied and translated old writings. This led to new science work by Copernicus, Cardano, and Vesalius.

Important developments

Printing

Further information: Printing press § Circulation of information and ideas

From one print shop in Mainz, Germany around 1440, the movable type printing-press spread to about 270 cities in Europe. By the end of the 1400s, it had produced over 20 million books. Printing made books easier to find, so researchers could read old texts and compare their ideas with others. It ended the old way of copying books by hand and started a new time where facts grew quickly.

Geography and the New World

Further information: New World § Mundus Novus, and Waldseemüller map

In the past, people used a book called the Geographia by Claudius Ptolemy. It was translated into Latin in the 1400s and many people read it. Ptolemy’s book helped people make maps. New lands were found, which showed that old maps were not correct. Voyages, like Christopher Columbus travel to the New World in 1492, led to better maps. Books like Thomas More’s Utopia were inspired by these new discoveries.

Alchemy and chemistry

Alchemy and chemistry had similar goals in the Renaissance. Alchemy was the study of changing materials in secret ways. Alchemists believed they could change one material into another, like turning lead into gold. They thought there was a special material that all others came from.

Paracelsus was a doctor who thought salt was also important in making things. He believed the body worked in ways that seemed like chemistry. His ideas were different from old beliefs, like those of Aristotle.

Astronomy

The astronomy of the past was based on ideas by Claudius Ptolemy. People used books like the Almagest and other guides to learn about the stars and planets.

Later, Nicolaus Copernicus suggested that the Earth moves around the Sun, not the other way around. In his book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium published in 1543, he explained that the Earth is one of several planets that move around the Sun.

Mathematics

Main article: Greek mathematics

The work of ancient Greek mathematicians like Euclid, Archimedes, and Apollonius was copied and studied over many years. Translations of these works helped mathematicians in the Renaissance.

People like Regiomontanus, Commandino, and Maurolyco translated and added to these old works. This helped future mathematicians learn new techniques.

Physics

Progress in mathematics helped people study physics more. They looked at areas like mechanics, optics, and navigation.

Navigation needed better tools and ideas. Determining longitude was hard, so sailors used methods with many uncertainties.

Medicine

Main article: Medical Renaissance

The Renaissance brought more experiments, especially in studying the body. Andreas Vesalius described the brain and other organs. William Harvey described how blood moves in the body. Useful books like materiae medicae and pharmacopoeiae were used by doctors and students.