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  • Galileo Galilei Facts for Kids | Father of Modern Physics

    Galileo Galilei Facts for Kids | Father of Modern Physics

    Galileo Galilei was a famous physicist, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher of Italy. During 14th and 17th centuries, he made some revolutionary discoveries in the field of physics and astronomy. Due to his remarkable achievements, Galileo is rightly regarded as the father of observational astronomy. In the field of astronomy, he discovered the four largest satellites of Jupiter; he proved through his telescope the phases of Venus for the first time; and he also observed the sunspots. He invented several instruments like geometric and military compass. At the age of eight years, the family of Galileo traveled to Florence. For the next two years, he stayed with Jacopo Borghini. One of his ancestors was Galileo Bonaiuti, who was a teacher as well as physician in Florence. He lived in the 14th century. The family of Galileo changed their surname to pay respect to him. Previously, their family names ended on Bonaiuti. For that reason, the surname of Galileo comes from his first name. Let’s dive deep into his life in Galileo Galilei facts for kids!

    A Quick Guide to Galileo Galilei Facts for Kids

    Year and Place of birth: 1564 in Pisa, Italy

    Father: Vincenzo Galilei (Italian lutenist, music theorist and composer)

    Reason for Fame: Remarkable discoveries in Physics and Astronomy

    Title: Father of observational astronomy

    Discoveries: Four largest satellites of Jupiter, phases of Venus and sunspots

    Inventions: Geometric and military compass

    Fascinating Galileo Galilei Facts for Kids

    • He took earlier education in Camaldolese Monastery at Vallombrosa near Florence.
    • In order to earn medical degree, he attended the University of Pisa.

    Galileo Galilei portrait

    While studying medicine in 1581, he witnessed the swinging movement of bronze chandelier moving back and forth in cathedral of Pisa. What he actually observed was that (irrespective of the amplitude) the pendulum took about the same time in to and fro direction. He calculated this movement with his pulse. He took two pendulums in his home, experimented on them and found the same result.

    • Galileo had to study medicine because physicians at the time earned higher income.
    • He attended a class on geometry not on purpose and later asked his father to allow him to study mathematics.

    Galileo Galilei Accomplishments

    • At the University of Padua in 1592, Galileo taught mechanics, geometry and astronomy for about 18 years. It was during this time when he made famous discoveries in science like kinematics of motion.
    • He invented a device which could note down the changes in temperature as the liquid inside it rises and falls accordingly. This device was known as thermoscope and set the tone for the creation of thermometer.
    • He was among one of the first thinkers of modern science to state that laws of nature are mathematical.
    • In 1609, Galileo created a telescope having 3 x magnification. Later on, he increased its magnification to 30 x. This telescope is called spyglass or terrestrial telescope.
    • By means of his telescope, Galileo discovered three of the four largest moons of Jupiter on January 7, 1610. At first, he called them ‘three fixed stars, totally invisible by their smallness’ but after three days, one of them vanished. After another three days, he observed the fourth moon. He called all of these moons Medicean stars. These moons are now named as Galilean satellites because of its discoverer.
    • The discovery of Jupiter’s moons was a revolution in astronomy because at the time it was believed that every object in space orbits around the earth.
    • In the middle of 1611, Galileo was able to figure out the periods of these moons accurately. Johannes Kepler could not believe it.
    • Like our moon, Venus also exhibits full sets of phases. This was first illustrated by Galileo in September 1610.
    • The astronomical observations of Galileo disproved the geocentric model of Ptolemy, which suggested planet earth as the center of solar system and all heavenly bodies circle around it.
    • He observed the planet Saturn along with its rings. However he thought the rings of Saturn were actually planets and remained confused.
    • In 1612, he observed the planet Neptune. But he could not figure out that it was a planet instead he believed it was one of the dim stars.
    • He is one of the first Europeans to witness sunspots. Before him, Kepler also spotted sunspots in 1607 but he confused it with transit of mercury.
    • Galileo described for the first time that because of the light occlusion from craters and lunar mountains, the moon experiences uneven waning.
    • In 1617, he witnessed the double star called Mizar in Ursa Major.
    • He spotted the Milky Way as a densely packed collection of stars that looked a lot like clouds from our planet.
    • He developed a method by means of which the apparent size of the star can be calculated without seeking help from a telescope.
    • He is the pioneer to figure out sound frequency.

    Galileo works provided the foundation for Newton’s laws of motion as well as special theory of relativity by Einstein. He concluded that there is no absolute motion or rest and that laws of physics are always the same.

    Learn now: Issac Newton Facts for Kids

    During his house arrest, Galileo produced one of the remarkable works on science; Two New Sciences. This was his final book published in 1638 and he gave account of his works that he did 40 years earlier on the strength of materials and kinematics. Albert Einstein also applauded this book. This work awarded Galileo the title of ‘Father of Modern Physics’.

    Galileo observing through telescope

    Galileo Galilei Facts about his Life

    • With the help of his theory of the tides, Galileo showed that Earth and other planets revolve around the static sun. Thus, he proved that the model developed by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543 was true. Although he was right about the movement of earth around the sun, he could not figure out the cause of tides correctly. According to his theory, there should have been one high tide daily instead of two.
    • Galileo did not accept the idea of Johannes Kepler that moon was the real reason behind tides. Besides, the elliptical orbits of planets described by Kepler also did not appeal to Galileo.
    • At the time, the protestant leaders rejected the idea of heliocentrism (model of astronomy in which earth and other planets orbit the sun). They had a strong belief that earth is the center of the universe and all planets revolve around it (geocentrism). In 1609, Galileo supported heliocentrism based on his observations.
    • In 1613, the Grand Duchess Christina of Florence argued that heliocentrism was against the biblical texts. But Galileo replied that Bible was not a book on science but on morals and faiths.
    • Due to Galileo’s beliefs that earth moves around the sun (heliocentrism), Father Niccolo Lorini felt that he was going to reinterpret the Bible and thus Galileo was presented before Roman Inquisition to defend his views.
    • Due to his views on heliocentrism, Galileo became ‘vehemently suspect of heresy’ and he was kept house arrest for the rest of his life. It is thought while he was forced to change his beliefs and had to concede that all the planets revolve around the motionless earth; he spoke silently to say the following famous words:

    And yet it moves

    • By 1638, Galileo became blind due to insomnia and hernia.

    Galileo Galilei Death

    • At the age of 77, Galileo died on 8 January 1642.
    • Galileo was buried in Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. It is the same church where his ancestor Galileo Bonaiuti was buried 200 years earlier.
    • Since Galileo was condemned by the Catholic Church, Pope Urban VIII did not allow him to bury at the main body of Basilica of Santa Croce.
    • In 1737, he was reburied at basilica’s main body and a monument was built in his honor. While doing this, one tooth and three fingers of Galileo were shed. Today, his right-hand’s middle finger is on display at the 11th century building called Museo Galileo in Florence.
  • Pompeii Facts For Kids | Ancient Roman Town

    Pompeii Facts For Kids | Ancient Roman Town

    Pompeii was an old city of Romans. It is located in the region of Southern Italy known as Campania. According to experts, this city was basically built by the Oscans and dates back to the 6th or perhaps 7th century BC. Later on, Romans came here and settled themselves. During 1st century AD, Pompeii was among those towns that were located just at the bottom of Mount Vesuvius, a volcano. Pompeii has always been one of the best places to visit in Italy and it has remained as such for over 250 years now. Therefore, let’s have a look at Pompeii facts for kids to explore this wonderful and ancient Italian city.

    A Quick Guide To Pompeii Facts For Kids

    Year at which it was founded: 6th to 7th century

    Year at which it was destroyed: 79 AD

    Country: Italy

    Province: Naples

    Type of Settlement: Town

    Basic Pompeii Facts For Kids

    Physical Features

    1. It is located at a distance of about 8 kilometers far from Mount Vesuvius.
    2. The total area covered by this city was more or less 67 hectares.
    3. The total number of inhabitants in this city was nearly 11,000.
    4. Before Mount Vesuvius burst open in 79 AD, the population of Pompeii had probably reached to 20,000 persons.
    5. Pompeii has a temple known as ‘Temple of Apollo’. Its construction dates back to 2nd century BC.
    6. Archaeologists also discovered a hotel near this city. The total area covered by this hotel was 1,000 square meters and these days it is known by the name of ‘Grand Hotel Murecine’.

    People

    1. Oscans were the ancient people of Italy. They founded Pompeii. They used to speak Oscan language and were also known by another name called Osci.
    2. The Greek and Phoenician people used this city as a harbor.
    3. During the period of 525 to 474 BC, the Greeks were said to be the first people who gained control over this city. The name of the settlement of Greeks who came here was known ‘Cumae’.
    4. The Samnites (residents of Samnium) took over this city during 5th century BC.
    5. Pompeii became the ‘socium of Rome’ during 4th century BC when the Samnite Wars were finished.

    Romans

    1. During the Second Punic War (218 – 201 BC), this city supported the Romans.
    2. In the year 89 BC, a Roman general named ‘Sulla’ surrounded the city.
    3. There were several towns in the region of Campania that went to war against Romans. Pompeii was one of them.
    4. Pompeii eventually surrendered against Romans in 80 BC. Those residents who made any effort against Romans were driven out of the city.
    5. The Romans gave this city a name known as ‘Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum’.
    6. When Romans ruled over Pompeii particularly in Augustan period, this city saw great progress in road and rail network.
    7. A large aqueduct was built that was used to supply water to 4 restrooms, the vast number of residences, business centers and above all, it supplied water to 25 waterfalls installed on different streets.

    Earthquake

    1. A very strong earthquake hit Pompeii on February 5, 62 AD. Experts believe that reading on the Richter Scale of this earthquake was probably 6.
    2. The earthquake destroyed many buildings, homes and temples.
    3. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius happened on August 24. On August 23 (one day before the eruption), a carnival was celebrated which was known as Vulcanalia.
    4. Today after carrying out a lot of experiments, it is believed that ‘heat’ was the main factor behind the killing of thousands of people in Pompeii. Until that time, it was thought that the emerging ash may have choked people to death but it is now proved to be wrong.
    5. One of the persons who saw the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, was Pliny the Younger. He was an attorney as well as a writer. He wrote about this volcano after 25 years of its eruption.

    More Pompeii Facts For Kids

    1. The ruins of this ancient city are present alongside another urban area called Pompei.
    2. The most famous community that was living next to the city of Pompeii was Herculaneum.
    3. In 1997, UNESCO announced this city to be the World Heritage Site.
    4. Until 2008, the number of tourists that came to Pompeii every year was just about 2.6 million people.
    5. The site of this town had been lost and it had remained unknown for about 1,500 years. It was found again in 1599 but the greatest rediscovery was made in 1748 by Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre, an engineer from Spain.

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  • Colosseum Facts For Kids | Largest Amphitheatre In The World

    Colosseum Facts For Kids | Largest Amphitheatre In The World

    The most famous site for the tourists in Rome is Colosseum. It is by far the biggest amphitheatre in the world and one of the greatest remains of the Roman Empire. Let’s explore it further in Colosseum facts for kids.

    A Quick Guide To Colosseum Facts For Kids

    Starting Date of Construction: 70 AD

    Ending Date of Construction: 80 AD

    Shape: Elliptical

    Length: 189 meters

    Width: 156 meters

    Covered Area: 6 acres

    Height of Outer Wall: 48 meters

    Number of Stories: 3

    Basic Colosseum Facts For Kids

    Physical Features

    1. Colosseum is an amphitheatre that is elliptical in shape.
    2. It is located at the center of the Italian city of Rome.
    3. It is made up of stone and concrete.
    4. It was the biggest amphitheatre built by the Romans.
    5. It is the biggest amphitheatre of the world.
    6. Colosseum has the capacity of taking 50,000 to 80,000 viewers at one time.
    7. There are 80 entrances of Colosseum.
    8. There is a number for every entrance as well as every exit.
    9. There are 4 axial entrances of Colosseum. All of them were beautifully adorned.
    10. The Roman Emperor used to enter it from the north side (which was a main entrance). No ordinary citizen can enter it from this side.
    11. There are 2 entrances from the Roman period that still exist until today. These are entrance number XXIII and number LIV. ‘XXIII’ means 23 and ‘LIV’ means 54.
    12. There were different levels of seating arrangements for different classes of people.
    13. The seating level for ordinary Romans was called ‘maenianum secundum’. It consists of two parts.
    14. The lower section of seating level was called ‘The Immum’. It was reserved for well-off people.
    15. The upper section of seating level was called ‘The Summum’. It was reserved for poor people.
    16. The seating arrangement at the top of Colosseum within a gallery was called ‘maenianum secundum in legneis’.
    17. Colosseum consists of a floor made up of wood and is coated with sand. This region is known as arena. The word ‘Arena’ is a Latin word that means ‘sand’.
    18. The length of arena is 83 meters. Its width is 48 meters.
    19. Colosseum consists of a structure called Hypogeum. This word means ‘underground’.

    Construction and Destruction

    1. In 70 AD, a Roman emperor named Vespasian started its construction.
    2. The construction was finished in 80 AD by Vespasian’s son (another emperor) named Titus.
    3. Under the rule of Domitian, new adjustments were made to the structure.
    4. It was built to show various public competitions like drama, mock sea battle, fighting between gladiators and the like.
    5. A church was also constructed inside Colosseum in the 6th century.
    6. Domitian was the son of Vespasian. When he became emperor, he built a gallery at the uppermost part of Colosseum and thus allowing more spectators to come.
    7. Once the lightning struck Colosseum in 217. It was so powerful that it resulted in a fire and eventually damaging many parts of this structure. Most of the top structure was cut off as a result of it.
    8. An earthquake occurred in 1349 which caused great damage to its structure.
    9. A mega project to save this wonderful site from weakening was undertaken in 1993 and continued until 2000. The entire cost of this restoration project was $19.3m.

    ­­­­More Colosseum Facts For Kids

    1. The Latin word for Colosseum is Amphitheatrum Flavium. It is the original name of Colosseum.
    2. It is also known as Flavian Amphitheatre.
    3. When Colosseum was opened, the games that were played at the beginning killed 9,000 animals.
    4. During the 16th century, Pope Sixtus V tried to convert it into a factory of wool but could not succeed because of his death.
    5. Cardinal Altieri also tried to use Colosseum for bullfighting in 1671, but he was unsuccessful because of great protests by the public.
    6. Pope Benedict XIV called this structure a holy place in 1749. It is because Christians were martyred here in olden times.
    7. The death punishment in Italy was eliminated in 1948. Colosseum has since been an icon for getting rid of this punishment.
    8. When death penalty was eliminated in New Mexico (a US State) in 2009, Colosseum was lit up as a symbol against this punishment.

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  • Roman Facts For Kids | Facts About Roman History

    Roman Facts For Kids | Facts About Roman History

    People who live in the Italian city of Rome are called Romans. It is a very old city and therefore Romans has a rich cultural history that dates back to thousands of years. Let’s have a quick review about Roman civilization and culture in Roman facts for kids.

    Roman Emperors | Interesting Roman Facts For Kids

    Augustus Caesar

    Augustus was the founder of the Roman Empire.

    He was also the first emperor.

    He died at the age of 75.

    Constantine

    Constantine was the first Roman emperor who became Christian.

    He changed the capital of eastern Roman Empire to Constantinople.

    The eastern Roman Empire was known as Byzantine Empire.

    Trajan

    Under the rule of Trajan (another roman emperor), the Roman Empire reached its maximum size.

    Theodosius I

    Theodosius I was the last roman emperor.

    Theodosius I made Christianity as the state religion.

    General Facts

    Population

    The total population under Roman Empire was between 60 million to 100 million people.

    Language

    ‘Latin’ was the language of the Romans in the West while ‘Greek’ was the language of the Romans in the East (due to the conquests of Alexander the Great).

    Architecture

    In the field of architecture, Romans made remarkable progress in building mainly the dome, vault and arch.

    The biggest bridge built by the Romans was Trajan’s bridge.

    Romans constructed biggest structure of circuses.

    Literacy Rate

    The literacy rate of Romans varies from 5 percent to 30 percent.

    Clothing

    Romans used to wear simple piece of clothing called Tunic. This dress was for both men and women.

    Women

    Freeborn women were citizens but were not allowed to vote or hold any public office.

    There was a separate family name for every Roman woman, which went on with her till her death.

    Legally speaking, father of every Roman woman was in charge of her actions and she would remain under the guidance of her father even after her marriage. Her father was however not allowed to interfere with her daily actions and for that reason, she enjoyed reasonable freedom. She was not obliged to answer her husband for any legal matter instead it was her father whom she was to accountable legally.

    If a father had not donated his property to anyone in his life, all the property would have been distributed equally among girls and boys of his roman family. This was the Roman law about inheritance. In this respect, the mother enjoyed great freedom and she was entitled to hold all the property and give after that, the entire property to any of his sons or daughters, whom she wished.

    Since a Roman woman was a legal citizen, she was allowed to do business or sign a legal document.

    Slaves

    During the time of Augustus (a Roman emperor), there was almost 35 percent slaves living in Italy.

    The Romans regarded their slaves as the property.

    The Roman slaves could not legally marry with others. At times, some kind of bond was accepted by the legal authorities though.

    Roman slaves could not possess any property.

    More Roman Facts For Kids

    Rome, Antioch and Alexandria were the biggest cities of Roman Empire.

    According to the theory of law of the Romans, a person was divided into two groups only; he may be a slave or he may be free.

    Majority of Romans were not entitled to vote and so they were not allowed to hold any public office either.

    Only those Romans were allowed to vote who enjoyed all the rights of a citizen under Roman Empire.

    Most of the Romans were not citizens though they were free (not slaves). Such Romans were called peregrine, which means ‘non-Romans’.

    Caracalla, a Roman emperor made all the free Romans as the legal citizens.

    A male Roman can only have one wife at a time.

    Romans described the Mediterranean Sea as ‘Our Sea’ because the whole empire surrounded it.

    The two famous games among Roman kids were knucklebones and hoop rolling.

    The most fantastic work of art by the Romans was called Mosaic.

    Romans used to send their kids to ‘pedagogue’ so that he may educate their kids, teach them how to behave and the like. Pedagogues were however not treated with respect.

    The parents of wealthy Roman kids used to sign up teachers to give primary education to their children at home.

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  • Mount Vesuvius Facts For Kids | The Most Active Volcano in Europe

    Mount Vesuvius Facts For Kids | The Most Active Volcano in Europe

    The Vesuvius is probably the most active volcano in the entire Europe which is believed to have caused as much damage as any other volcanic eruption. The volcano has long been admired for its silent yet deadly nature to the inhabitants of Europe and to the residents of Southern Italy in particular.

    Mount Vesuvius Facts For Kids

    The Vesuvius is a distinctive cone-shaped mountain the height of which is measured around 4000 feet on the north-eastern side of the Bay of Naples.

    While Mount Vesuvius is commonly seen as a regular cone-shaped mountain, it nevertheless consists of two peaks that are almost equal in elevation. One of these peaks is called Monte Somma while the other that seems properly applicable is known as Vesuvius. Both these peaks stand on the great mountain called Mount Vesuvius.

    The Mount Vesuvius measures around 30 miles in circumference and is almost entirely circular in shape.

    The mountain seems to have a circular base that indeed supports the two small mountains—one is cone-shaped and is comparatively taller whereas the other one is semicircular ridge little less in elevation.

    The Vesuvius was formed when two tectonic plates collided with each other. These two plates were Eurasian and African.

    Although the Mountain has undergone many different eruptions in the last 17,000 years, the worst ever was 79 A.D. eruption that took the entire city of Pompeii and killed everyone on its way. The eruption led to the demise of 16,000 people who indeed turned into Ash, mud, and rocks. This is believed to be the worst ever disaster in the history of the world. The recent scientific studies suggest that the height of the primary eruption of ash measured in between 49,000 – 98,000 ft.

    According to the Roman poet, Pliny the Younger, who was the only eyewitness of the disaster, there was a cloud of ash and fumes all around with the height reached 20 miles above the ground. The speed of molten rocks was 1.5 million tons per second. The intensity of the disaster was so much so that it released a thermal energy that was hundred thousand times than that discharged by Hiroshima bombing.

    The 79 A.D. eruption underwent two different phases: Plinian Phase and Pelean Phase. In the Plinian phase, all the ashes and fumes were expelled in the upward direction then immediately falling on earth like a rain. In Pelean phase which was possibly the most destructive phase, these ashes move as fast as possible down the sides of the volcanoes. They had run like an avalanche of smoke and dust leaving little time to react.

    The 79 A.D. eruption had continued for at least 48 hours.

    Beginning in 1631, Vesuvius had seen an array of volcanic activities and the late 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s, saw several volcanic eruptions. These eruptions could at times kill people while sometimes it destroyed the whole town.

    The volcanic eruption of 1906 killed 100 people.

    The most recent and last eruption took place in the World War II in 1944 when the volcanic ashes and mud took away with it all the Allied forces in Italy. It devastated all fighter planes.

    Since 1944, the Mount Vesuvius had been quiet and silent. However, the region had experienced quite a number of minor earthquakes since 1944.

    The mountain is deemed to have formed some 25,000 years before.

    Learn more: Mount Vesuvius Facts