Scientific Revolution Discoveries

Why This Matters

The Scientific Revolution wasn't just a series of "eureka" moments—it was a fundamental transformation in how Europeans understood knowledge itself. On the AP European History exam, you're being tested on how these discoveries challenged traditional authority (especially the Church and Aristotelian philosophy), established new methods of inquiry that would fuel the Enlightenment, and shifted power toward those who could master empirical observation and mathematical reasoning. The exam loves to connect these scientific breakthroughs to broader themes: the decline of religious authority, the rise of secular thinking, the emergence of a new intellectual elite, and the foundations of modern state power.

Don't just memorize who discovered what—know what each discovery challenged and what it enabled. Copernicus matters because he defied Church-backed cosmology; Newton matters because he created a unified system that made the universe seem knowable through reason alone. These discoveries gave Enlightenment thinkers the confidence to apply rational methods to government, economics, and society. When you see an FRQ about intellectual change or challenges to traditional authority, the Scientific Revolution is your foundation.

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Challenging the Cosmos: The New Astronomy

The most dramatic confrontation between new science and old authority came in astronomy. By mathematically demonstrating that Earth was not the center of the universe, these thinkers undermined centuries of Church-endorsed cosmology and opened the door to a mechanistic view of nature.

Heliocentric Model (Copernicus)

• Sun-centered universe—Copernicus proposed in De Revolutionibus (1543) that the Sun, not Earth, occupied the center of the cosmos
• Direct challenge to geocentrism supported by both Aristotelian philosophy and Church teaching, which placed humanity at creation's center
• Cautious revolution—Copernicus delayed publication until his death, recognizing the explosive implications for religious authority

Laws of Planetary Motion (Kepler)

• Elliptical orbits—Kepler's three laws replaced the ancient assumption of perfect circular motion with mathematically precise ellipses
• Variable planetary speed—demonstrated that planets move faster when closer to the Sun, destroying the idea of uniform celestial motion
• Mathematical foundation for celestial mechanics that would later enable Newton's synthesis of physics and astronomy

Telescope and Observations (Galileo)

• Technological innovation—improved the telescope to achieve 20x magnification, transforming astronomy from theoretical to observational science
• Jupiter's moons provided direct evidence that not everything orbited Earth, powerfully supporting heliocentric theory
• Church confrontation—Galileo's trial (1633) and forced recantation became the defining symbol of science versus religious authority

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The Mathematical Universe: Physics and Mechanics

Newton and his predecessors didn't just describe nature—they quantified it. The development of mathematical laws governing motion and matter suggested that the universe operated like a machine, predictable and knowable through reason alone.

Laws of Motion and Universal Gravitation (Newton)

• Three laws of motion described the relationship between force and movement, applicable to everything from falling apples to orbiting planets
• Universal gravitation ($F = G\frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2}$) unified celestial and terrestrial physics under one mathematical framework
• Newtonian synthesis became the model for Enlightenment thinking—if the physical universe followed rational laws, perhaps society could too

Calculus (Newton and Leibniz)

• Mathematical tool for change—independently developed methods for analyzing continuous change and motion ($\frac{dy}{dx}$)
• Priority dispute between Newton and Leibniz sparked one of history's most famous intellectual controversies
• Practical applications in physics, engineering, and astronomy made calculus essential for technological advancement

Air Pump and Vacuum (Boyle)

• Experimental proof of vacuum existence challenged Aristotle's claim that "nature abhors a vacuum"
• Boyle's Law ($PV = k$) mathematically described the inverse relationship between gas pressure and volume
• Empirical chemistry—shifted study of matter from alchemical speculation to measurable, repeatable experimentation

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The Living World: Biology and Medicine

The new scientific methods weren't limited to physics and astronomy. Empirical observation and experimentation transformed understanding of living organisms, challenging ancient medical theories and revealing an invisible microscopic world.

Circulation of Blood (Harvey)

• Heart as pump—Harvey demonstrated through dissection and experiment that blood circulates continuously through the body
• Overthrew Galen whose 1,400-year-old theory claimed the liver continuously produced new blood that was "consumed" by organs
• Empirical anatomy established observation and experimentation as superior to ancient textual authority in medicine

Microscope and Microorganisms (Leeuwenhoek)

• Simple microscope achieving 270x magnification revealed a previously invisible world of "animalcules"
• First observations of bacteria, protozoa, and sperm cells fundamentally expanded what counted as "life"
• Founded microbiology—though the connection between microorganisms and disease wouldn't be made for two more centuries

Classification of Species (Linnaeus)

• Binomial nomenclature (Genus species) created a universal naming system still used today
• Hierarchical taxonomy organized all living things into kingdom, class, order, genus, and species
• Rational ordering of nature reflected Enlightenment confidence that the natural world could be systematically understood and categorized

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The Method Behind the Revolution

Perhaps the Scientific Revolution's most lasting contribution wasn't any single discovery but the way of thinking it established. The development of systematic methods for investigating nature created a template that Enlightenment thinkers would apply to government, economics, and society.

Scientific Method (Bacon and Descartes)

• Inductive reasoning (Bacon)—knowledge should build from specific observations to general principles, not from inherited authority
• Deductive reasoning (Descartes)—systematic doubt and mathematical logic could establish certain knowledge ("I think, therefore I am")
• Complementary approaches that together established experimentation and rational analysis as the foundations of legitimate knowledge

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two discoveries most directly challenged Church-endorsed cosmology, and how did their approaches differ (theoretical vs. observational)?

2. How did Newton's work represent a "synthesis" that connected earlier discoveries by Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo?

3. Compare Bacon's and Descartes' contributions to the scientific method—what did each emphasize, and why did science ultimately need both approaches?

4. If an FRQ asked you to explain how the Scientific Revolution laid the groundwork for Enlightenment political thought, which three discoveries or thinkers would you use, and why?

5. What do Harvey's work on blood circulation and Galileo's astronomical observations have in common in terms of how they challenged traditional knowledge?