Final answer:
In the Scientific Revolution, new technology and mathematics were critical in forming new scientific understandings. Mathematicians like Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton used mathematics to challenge old worldviews, and mechanical engineers applied math and science to innovate devices.
Step-by-step explanation:
New technology and mathematics played pivotal roles in the Scientific Revolution, drastically changing the way people understood the world. Mathematics became the language through which scientists could describe and predict the workings of the natural world. Technological advancements made during the Renaissance supplemented this by improving devices that aided exploration and scientific observation.
Three significant mathematicians who contributed to the Scientific Revolution were:
- Nicolaus Copernicus: His heliocentric model of the solar system, which placed the sun at the center rather than Earth, challenged centuries-old geocentric beliefs. Copernicus relied on mathematical calculations to support his revolutionary theory.
- Johannes Kepler: Kepler's laws of planetary motion substantiated the Copernican system and were derived from rigorous mathematical analysis. His work illustrated the predictive power of mathematics in astronomy.
- Isaac Newton: Perhaps the most influential of all, Newton invented calculus, which became fundamental in physics and engineering. His laws of motion and universal gravitation described the physical universe in precise mathematical terms.
Galileo Galilei also used mathematics to understand physical space and motion, bridging earlier contributions by Copernicus and Kepler with the later work by Descartes, Newton, and Leibniz.
Engineering disciplines, like mechanical engineering, played a role in creating new devices. A mechanical engineer would use math and science to design, analyze, and manufacture machinery, a fundamental aspect of modernization during the Scientific Revolution.
The enlightenment was directly influenced by the Scientific Revolution, where critical exploration and the robust exchange of ideas, powered by the order and rationality established in scientific thought, shaped new intellectual frontiers.