Plato
In A Little History of Science, the author emphasizes Plato’s influence on early scientific thought, especially his emphasis on the relationship between science and this.
What is philosophy?
This philosopher, who founded the Academy in Athens, was the teacher of Aristotle, the man who would later challenge many of his ideas.
Who is Plato?
Ptolemy's Almagest is considered a fundamental work in this field of science, where he proposed the geocentric model of the universe.
What is astronomy?
Archimedes' principle of buoyancy, which explains why objects float or sink, is still taught in this branch of physics that deals with fluids.
What is hydrostatics?
Democritus is best known for proposing that everything in the universe is made up of these tiny, indivisible particles.
What are atoms?
Plato's influence on science extended beyond his own work, as he established this philosophical school, which became a major center of learning in the ancient world.
What is the Academy?
According to Aristotle, this type of motion refers to the natural movement of objects based on their inherent qualities, such as heavy objects falling downward.
What is natural motion?
Ptolemy’s work in both astronomy and geography was based on a system of these, imaginary lines used to measure angles and distances on Earth.
What are coordinates (or latitude and longitude)?
Archimedes is known for this principle, which states that an object submerged in a fluid experiences an upward force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.
What is Archimedes' Principle?
According to Democritus, atoms differ in these two properties, which determine the nature of the objects they compose.
What are size and shape?
Plato’s philosophy influenced many later thinkers, especially this pupil of his, who used empirical observation and logic to shape the foundations of natural science.
Who is Aristotle?
Aristotle rejected the idea that the natural state of motion was this, which would imply that an object could move forever without external influence.
What is inertia?
Ptolemy’s use of epicycles and deferents in The Almagest to explain planetary motion influenced this method of understanding the universe until the time of Copernicus.
What is the Ptolemaic system or geocentric model?
In addition to his work in geometry, Archimedes made contributions to this branch of physics, focusing on levers and pulleys.
What is mechanics?
Democritus and his teacher Leucippus believed that the universe was made up of atoms and this substance, which fills the void and allows atoms to move.
What is the void (or empty space)?
Plato’s Timaeus was a precursor to this later field of study, which explores the fundamental nature of the universe, its origins, and its physical laws.
What is cosmology or theoretical physics?
Aristotle’s concept of these causes is crucial to his explanation of motion, change, and the natural world, which was later integrated into medieval scholastic philosophy.
What are the four causes?
Ptolemy's geocentric model, while influential, was eventually replaced by the heliocentric model proposed by this astronomer in the 16th century.
Who is Nicolaus Copernicus?
Archimedes invented this simple machine, often used to raise water from lower to higher ground, by winding it around a central axis.
What is the Archimedean screw?
Democritus proposed that atoms can combine in various ways to form all substances or elements as conceived by Democritus. He believed that the diversity of the world could be explained by differences in these atomic characteristics.
What are arrangements or combinations of atoms?