A new exhibit has been unveiled for the world premiere of the Artisans of Florence\’s Galileo: Scientist, Astronomer, Visionary exhibition that may be able to answer that question.
Galileo\’s revolutionary ideas were well ahead of his time. His astronomical discoveries demonstrated that the Earth revolves around the Sun as it spins on its own axis and his Pendulum Laws led to the first clocks and the birth of experimental science.
Imagine Galileo\’s delight if he were able to fast forward a few hundred years to the Paris observatory in 1851 to see a marvelous demonstration by French Physicist Léon Foucault. Foucault was able to demonstrate the Earth\’s rotation to astonished crowds by setting an enormous pendulum in motion.
As the Foucault Pendulum swings back and forth it slowly rotates around the room, or at least that\’s how it appears to us mere Earthbound mortals! In actual fact, we are not observing the pendulum rotate around the room, we are watching the Earth rotate around the pendulum!
You really have to see it to believe it! But if you aren\’t able to make it to beautiful New Zealand for the world premiere of the Galileo exhibition in February 2021 you can watch this great time-lapse demonstration by Environmental Scientist Kurtis Baute.
