Galileo 2

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tutored privately and wrote on hydrostatics and natural motions, but he did not publish. In 1589 he became the professor of mathematics at Pisa, where he is reported to have shown his students the error of Aristotle's belief that speed of fall is proportional to weight, by dropping two objects of different weight simultaneously from the Leaning Tower. His contract was not renewed in 1592, probably because he contradicted Aristotelian professors. The same year, he was appointed to the chair of mathematics at the University of Padua, where he remained until 1610.
At Padua, Galileo invented a calculating “compass” for the practical solution of mathematical problems. He turned from speculative physics to careful measurements, discovered the law of falling bodies and of the parabolic path of projectiles, studied the motions of pendulums, and investigated mechanics and the strength of materials. He showed little interest in astronomy, although beginning in 1595 he preferred the ...

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