History of science and science combined: solving a historical problem in optics—the case of Galileo and his telescope

Archive for History of Exact Sciences - The claim that Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) transformed the spyglass into an astronomical instrument has never been disputed and is considered a...     

Laktationshemmende Wirkung von N-[d-6-Methyl-8-isoergolin-I-yl]-N′, N′-diäthylharnstoff (VÚFB-6638)

Summary The inhibiting effect of orally administered N-[d-6-methyl-8-isoergolin-I-yl], N, N-diethylurea (VÚFB-6638) on the production of milk was found in rats. The inhibition of lactation was ascertained through the observation of the daily weightgains of the suckled puppies (ED₅₀=0.112 mg/kg/day) and through the observation of the presence of milk in the stomach of these puppies, as seen through their abdomen wall (0.084 mg/kg/day). This inhibition could be abolished with exogenous prolactin, which gives evidence that the drug studied acts via the endocrine system.

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Für die technische Assistenz danken wir FrauM. Kommersová und FrauV. Maitová.     

Magnification: how to turn a spyglass into an astronomical telescope

According to the received view, the first spyglass was assembled without any theory of how the instrument magnifies. Galileo, who was the first to use the device as a scientific instrument, improved the power of magnification up to 30 times. How did he accomplish this feat? Galileo does not tell us what he did. We hold that such improvement of magnification is too intricate a problem to be solved by trial and error, accidentally stumbling upon a complex procedure. We construct a plausibility argument and submit that Galileo had a theory of the telescope. He could develop it by analogical reasoning based on the phenomenon of reflection in mirrors—as it was put to use in surveying instruments—and applied to refraction in sets of lenses. Galileo could appeal to this analogy and assume Della Porta’s theory of refraction. He could thus turn the spyglass into a revolutionary scientific instrument—the telescope.     

Geometry of Light and Shadow: Francesco Maurolyco (1494–1575) and the Pinhole Camera

In his Theoremata de lumine, et umbre (1521), Francesco Maurolyco (1494–1575) discussed, inter alia, the problem of the pinhole camera. Maurolyco outlined a framework based on Euclidean geometry in which he applied the rectilinear propagation of light to the casting of shadow on a screen behind a pinhole. We limit our discussion to the problem of how the image behind an aperture is formed, and follow the way Maurolyco combined theory with instrument to solve the problem of the projection of light through small apertures. We show that Maurolyco not only reformed the classical sources which, he thought, were no longer the authoritative code of textual knowledge, but also established with the dioptra a novel linkage of method, theory, and instrument. He thereby demonstrated the importance of optics to the science of astronomy.