23 - Galileo Galilei: Research and development of the telescope

Abstract

This chapter describes Galileo Galilei's research and development of the telescope. The personality and the work of Galileo Galilei have fascinated generations of scientists engaged in the advancement of knowledge. The scientific merits of Galileo, along with their philosophical implications, are celebrated and fully acknowledged today. In the case of the telescope, in particular, acquaintance with and mastery of optical engineering skills play a fundamental role in its development into a successful instrument. Only two telescopes and a single objective lens in the Science Museum of Florence remain. Galileo's research and development of the telescope proceeded from a rumor of feasibility, to a working device presented to the Senate of Venice, and then to a fully engineered instrument used for astronomical observations. Further inspections have been made recently with state-of-the-art equipment. Finally, this chapter discusses the main results of such studies, outlining the engineering achievements that Galileo was able to obtain as related to the technological knowledge of his time.