The year 1638 in

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

and

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

involved some significant events.

Astronomy

* December 21 – Total eclipse of the Moon falls on the same day as the

winter solstice The winter solstice, or hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's geographical pole, poles reaches its maximum axial tilt, tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern Hemisphere, Northern and So ...

, for the first time in the

Common Era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the ...

Geology

* (

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

). * . The epicentre was in Crotone.

Physics

* The final book of the now-blind

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

, '' Discorsi e dimostrazioni matematiche, intorno à due nuove scienze'' is published in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, dealing with the

strength of materials Strength may refer to: Personal trait *Physical strength, as in people or animals *Character strengths like those listed in the Values in Action Inventory *The exercise of willpower Physics * Mechanical strength, the ability to withstand ...

and the motion of objects. In it, he discusses the square–cube law, the law of falling bodies and

infinity Infinity is something which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is denoted by \infty, called the infinity symbol. From the time of the Ancient Greek mathematics, ancient Greeks, the Infinity (philosophy), philosophic ...

. He also discusses his experimental method for measuring the

speed of light The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant exactly equal to ). It is exact because, by international agreement, a metre is defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time i ...

; he has been unable to determine it over a short distance.

Publications

* Publication of '' The Man in the Moone, or the Discovrse of a Voyage thither'' "by Domingo Gonsales" (actually by Francis Godwin, Bishop of Hereford (died 1633)), an early example of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

Births

* January 1 ( NS January 11) – Nicolas Steno, Danish pioneer of

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

(died 1686) * March 28 – Frederik Ruysch, Dutch

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

(died 1731) * April 19 - Niccolao Manucci, Italian physician, writer and traveller (died 1717) * May 11 – Guy-Crescent Fagon, French physician and

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

(died 1718) * June 8 – Pierre Magnol, French

(died 1715) * June 29 - Heinrich Meibom, German physician and scholar (died 1700) * July 22 - Theodor Kerckring, Dutch anatomist and chemical physician (died 1693) * November 21 - Luca Tozzi, Italian physician (died 1717) * November – James Gregory, Scottish

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

(died 1675) * Paolo Falconieri, Florentine

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

(died 1704)

Deaths

* February 26 – Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician (born 1581) * April 15/16 – John Tradescant the elder, English botanist (born c. 1570s) * October 21 – Willem Blaeu, Dutch cartographer (born 1571) * October 29 – Adrian von Mynsicht, German alchemist (born 1603) * December 7 - Epifanio Ferdinando, Italian physician and philosoph (born 1569)

References

{{reflist 17th century in science 1630s in science