Galileo's Leaning Lab?
Myth: that he dropped objects from the Leaning Tower
For centuries, many writers have claimed that Galileo dropped objects from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, publicly proving that Aristotle’s theory of falling bodies was false.
This story started in the 1650s, by Galileo’s first biographer, Vincenzio Viviani. It has been echoed by countless many physicists, such as Leon Lederman, and by also authoritative historians, such as Antonio Favaro, Stillman Drake, and Domenico Bertoloni Meli.
Yet, in 1935 the story was critiqued by Lane Cooper, who wasn't a historian or a physicist, but just a professor of English.
In my 2011 book, I analyzed primary sources which prove that Galileo didn't do it.
Galileo's writings do not claim that he dropped anything from the Leaning Tower. Nobody claimed to have seen Galileo do it either. Viviani’s claim that Galileo wrote it in The Two New Sciences is false. Moreover, objects dropped from the Leaning Tower do not land at the same instant, contrary to Viviani’s mistaken claim.
“Galileo and the Leaning Tower of Pisa,” in Science Secrets: The Truth about Darwin’s Finches, Einstein’s Wife, and Other Myths (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011), 1-12.
You may also like:
“Einstein and the Clock Towers of Bern,” in Science Secrets: The Truth about Darwin’s Finches, Einstein’s Wife, and Other Myths (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011), 164-171.
“Bruno, Galileo, Einstein: The Value of Myths,” American Physical Society Annual Conference, San Antonio, March 2, 2015.
“The Evolution of Myths in History of Science: Galileo, Darwin, Einstein,” University of Minnesota, History of Science Colloquium, Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 23, 2011.
“The Evolution of Myths in the History of Science,” Reiter’s Books, Washington, D.C., July 17, 2011.
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Alberto Martinez is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. As a professor at UT Austin, he investigates the history of science, especially Einstein and relativity theory, history of math, historical myths, and Giordano Bruno and Galileo. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
He also researches myths in political news media, The Eyes of Texas, and episodes in the history of money and corruption.
Now, he's finishing writing a novel about Albert Einstein.