Giovanni Battista Baliani
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Battista Baliani (1582 – 1666) was an Italian mathematician, physicist and astronomer.
. He was governor of Savona
in 1647–1649 and captain of the Republic of Genoa
's archers. For some 25 years, he held a correspondence with Galileo Galilei
about the time's most innovative scientific theories and experiments.
At Savona, from the Priamar Fortress
, he repeated Galileo's experiment of the Tower of Pisa, obtaining more precise measures which allowed him to underline the effect of air attrition. He also conducted an experiment to show the heat generated on a pot, full of water which he had boil after rotating it at high speed.
His main work is entitled De motu naturali gravium, fluidorum et solidorum ("About the motion of bodies, fluids and solids"), published in 1638; in it, he was the first to enunciate the law of acceleration of a body and to distinguish between mass and weight. He also studied tides, supporting Galileo's theory that they were generated by the Earth's motion around the Moon. His arguments published by Giovanni Battista Riccioli
in his Almagestum novum (1651) and later resumed by John Wallis and Isaac Newton
.
Baliani died at Genoa in 1666.
Biography
He was born in GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
. He was governor of Savona
Savona
Savona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea....
in 1647–1649 and captain of the Republic of Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
's archers. For some 25 years, he held a correspondence with Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
about the time's most innovative scientific theories and experiments.
At Savona, from the Priamar Fortress
Priamar Fortress
The Priamar Fortress is a fortress occupying the hill with the same name above the port of Savona, Liguria, northern Italy.-History:...
, he repeated Galileo's experiment of the Tower of Pisa, obtaining more precise measures which allowed him to underline the effect of air attrition. He also conducted an experiment to show the heat generated on a pot, full of water which he had boil after rotating it at high speed.
His main work is entitled De motu naturali gravium, fluidorum et solidorum ("About the motion of bodies, fluids and solids"), published in 1638; in it, he was the first to enunciate the law of acceleration of a body and to distinguish between mass and weight. He also studied tides, supporting Galileo's theory that they were generated by the Earth's motion around the Moon. His arguments published by Giovanni Battista Riccioli
Giovanni Battista Riccioli
Giovanni Battista Riccioli was an Italian astronomer and a Catholic priest in the Jesuit order...
in his Almagestum novum (1651) and later resumed by John Wallis and Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
.
Baliani died at Genoa in 1666.