Abstract
A LETTER has been received from Prof. Lane Cooper with reference to the article by Prof. A. S. Eve which appeared in NATURE of January 4 (p. 8). Prof. Lane Cooper suggests that physicists should find much to interest them in Aristotle's “Dynamics” (pp. 26–33) and in Aristotle's “Physics”, edited by W. D. Boss (Oxford, 1936). There is a further suggestion that Salviati may have referred to the Tower of Pisa (178 ft.), while Sagredi might have considered the Campanile of Venice (323 ft.). Prof. Lane Cooper directs attention to the curious mistake of Galileo, namely, that “in free fall, wood starts off faster than lead”. Moreover, Galileo, about 1590, claims that he had “often tested this”. It must be remembered that Prof. Lane Cooper's main interest is in language and literature, and that his personal interest lay in the growth of a myth. He further questions whether those who suppose that a theatrical Galileo ascended the Tower, after due advertisement, to perform modern experiments with free fall before the mob, are really honouring that great and good man. “If Stokes and Rayleigh had lived in Galileo's day, would either of them have lent himself to a display of the sort ?”
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Galileo and Scientific History. Nature 137, 488 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137488a0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137488a0