BEAUTIFUL MINDS : 2. THE BEGINNING ( AN INTELECTUAL REVOLUTION IN THE CLASSICAL GREECE )

I think that the majority of scientists and specially physicists will agree that physics is the oldest and the most basic pure science. the birth of  the philosophy of physics was the first sign to the human intellectual maturity, and the greek civilization was the right place since greece at this time was exceptionally stable despite the political disputes between the city-states of athens, sparta and thebes, This stability and wealth allowed the arts and philosophy to prosper, with Homeric poets and talented playwrights sharing the intellectual sphere with some of the greatest philosophers that the world has ever known. The ancient Greeks refused to accept various supernatural explanations for natural phenomena because they believed that the universe was harmonious, perfect, and governed by elegant laws that could be understood using logical explanations. During the classical period in Greece (6th,5th and 4th centuries) BC, natural philosophy slowly developed into an exciting field of study.

The origin of all matter, the basic element the world was built of, was one of the subjects addressed by the classical greece philosophers, and THALES (624-546) BC is the first who proposed the 'water' as the first element and the origin of all elements.

The principle of change, the basic law governing the univers, was the idea of HERACLITUS (535-575) BC this observation made him the first physicist to address the role of time in the physical systems.

Atomism is a theory developed by LEUCIPPUS (lived in the 5th centery) who were the first to anounce that everything is composed entirely of a very small indivisible elements that he called ATOMOS, LEUCIPPUS also adamantly opposed the idea of direct divine intervention in the univers, proposing instead that natural phenomena had natural cause.

ARISTOTLE (384-322) BC promoted the concept that observation of physical phenomena could ultimately lead to the discovery of the natural laws governing them. he also attempted to explain ideas such as motion and gravity by replacing THALES's theorem with the theory of four elements, he believed that all matter was made up of four basic elements: earth, water, air, and fire.




The Greek mathematician ARCHIMEDES (287–212 BCE) – generally considered to be the greatest mathematician of antiquity.
ARCHIMEDES developed elaborate systems of pulleys to move large objects with a minimum of effort.
He even tore apart the arguments of Aristotle and his metaphysics, pointing out that it was impossible to separate mathematics and nature and proved it by converting mathematical theories into practical inventions. he also developed the principles of equilibrium states and centers of gravity, ideas that would influence the well known scholars, Galileo, and Newton.

ARISTARCHUS (310 – 230) BC presented an explicit argument for a heliocentric model of the Solar system, for placing the Sun, not the Earth, at its centre. Seleucus of Seleucia, a follower of Aristarchus' heliocentric theory, stated that the Earth rotated around its own axis, which, in turn, revolved around the Sun. Though the arguments he used were lost, Plutarch stated that Seleucus was the first to prove the heliocentric system through reasoning.


Hipparchus (190–120 BCE), focusing on astronomy and mathematics, used sophisticated geometrical techniques to map the motion of the stars and planets, even predicting the times that Solar eclipses would happen. In addition, he added calculations of the distance of the Sun and Moon from the Earth, based upon his improvements to the observational instruments used at that time.