The Galileo Thermometer – Beautiful Science

Galileo Galilei was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who had  a major role in the scientific revolution of the sixteenth century.  He was the first to discover that the density of liquid changes as a result of increasing or decreasing temperatures.

Image Credit Flickr User Tadek

Image Credit Flickr User Giant Gingko

The thermometer named after him is made up of a sealed glass cylinder.  Inside there is a clear liquid and a series of bulbs.  Each bulb has a weight attached to it.  As the temperature changes, they rise and fall depending of a number of mathematical principles.  Yet the Galileo Thermometers has an aesthetic that goes beyond its function – it is a beautiful object in its own right.

The Story of Physics

If you want a brief history of physics (hopefully in animated form) then you have come to the right place.  This very cool video directed by Åsa Lucander and narrated by Dara O Briain gives you a pithy and humorous take on what has happened so far.

From Galileo through Newton to Einstein and beyond The Story of Physics gives you (almost) everything you ever wanted to know but were way too bored at school to ask… There's even a cameo by that darned cat...