Have You Thought of Torricelli Lately?
MARCH 2013
Evangelista Torricelli was born on October 15 in 1608 in Faenza in the Province of Ravenna in Northern Italy. Torricelli came from a very poor family, however, his parents recognized his talents and sent him to his uncle, Jacobo, a monk, to be properly educated. He entered a Jesuit College in 1624 to study Math and Philosophy and then was sent to Rome to study science under the Benedictine monk Benedetto Castelli.
Torricelli was big fan of Galileo early in his career and ended up being his transcriber during the last three months of Galileo’s life. He is probably most famous for inventing the mercury barometer while trying to assist the Grand Duke of Tuscany raise water to a height of 12 meters with a suction pump. Water can only be raised 10 meters with suction due to the atmospheric pressure. Torricelli reasoned that mercury, being 14 times more dense than water would rise only 1/14 the height (76 cm). Another of Torricelli also had the distinction of giving the first scientific explanation for the cause wind. Unfortunately, he died at a rather young age in 1647 from typhoid fever.
sources:
wikipedia: Torricelli
Evangelista Torricelli was born on October 15 in 1608 in Faenza in the Province of Ravenna in Northern Italy. Torricelli came from a very poor family, however, his parents recognized his talents and sent him to his uncle, Jacobo, a monk, to be properly educated. He entered a Jesuit College in 1624 to study Math and Philosophy and then was sent to Rome to study science under the Benedictine monk Benedetto Castelli. Torricelli was big fan of Galileo early in his career and ended up being his transcriber during the last three months of Galileo’s life. He is probably most famous for inventing the mercury barometer while trying to assist the Grand Duke of Tuscany raise water to a height of 12 meters with a suction pump. Water can only be raised 10 meters with suction due to the atmospheric pressure. Torricelli reasoned that mercury, being 14 times more dense than water would rise only 1/14 the height (76 cm). Another of Torricelli also had the distinction of giving the first scientific explanation for the cause wind. Unfortunately, he died at a rather young age in 1647 from typhoid fever.
sources:
wikipedia: Torricelli
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