Vincenzo Viviani | |
|---|---|
 Vincenzo Viviani | |
| Born | April 5, 1622 |
| Died | September 22, 1703 (aged 81) Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany |
| Nationality | Tuscan |
| Known for | Viviani's theorem Viviani's curve |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematician andphysicist |
| Academic advisors | Galileo Galilei Evangelista Torricelli |
| Notable students | Isaac Barrow |
Vincenzo Viviani (April 5, 1622 – September 22, 1703) was an Italianmathematician andscientist. He was a pupil ofTorricelli andGalileo.[1]
Vincenzo Viviani was born in Florence to the nobles Jacopo di Michelangelo Viviani and Maria Alamanno del Nente. While attending a Jesuit school Viviani studied thehumanities. Following the study of humanities, Viviani turned tomathematics. He studiedgeometry under the instruction of Galilean follower Clemente Settimi.[2] It was through Clemente that Viviani would gain recognition and meet Clemente's instructor, Tuscan Courtmathematician Famiano Michelini.[2] In 1638, Michelini initiated theGrand Duke Ferdinand II de’ Medici's interest in Viviani and arranged their introduction inLivorno where Viviani would demonstrate his abilities. The Grand Duke offered Viviani a monthly salary to continue his education and introduced him toGalileo, whose deteriorating health required a capable and competent assistant.[2] Later that year, Viviani was able to expand his knowledge over thephilosophy of nature while assisting Galileo onTwo new sciences, in which Galileo studied theacceleration offree bodies along aninclined plane.[2] Their frequent exchange over the subject inspired Galileo to elaborate on the mathematical theory and complete his demonstration on free bodies that would establish its connection to nature. Viviani would later use similar applications of mathematics in nature during a collaboration withNicolaus Steno.[3]
In 1639, Viviani moved to Galileo's home inArcetri to assist him in his studies before they were joined byEvangelista Torricelli in 1641.[4] Apart from being Galileo's disciple, Viviani became a pupil of Evangelista Torricelli and worked onphysics and geometry.[1] Viviani was the last disciple of Galileo until Galileo's death in 1642.[3][5][1]
After Torricelli's 1647 death, Viviani was appointed to fill his position at theAccademia dell'Arte del Disegno in Florence. Viviani was also one of the first members of the Grand Duke's experimental academy, theAccademia del Cimento, when it was created a decade later.[1]
Apart from his own career and endeavors, Viviani worked throughout his life to preserve the contributions and life of Galileo.[4] In 1654, CardinalLeopoldo de’ Medici tasked Viviani with gathering material in order to write a biography about Galileo's life and work.[6][4] Carlo Manolessi also recruited Viviani to assist him and others in creating a compilation of Galileo's work and coordinating the frontispiece for Galileo's publication.[6]
From 1655 to 1656, Viviani edited the first edition of Galileo's collected works.[1] Viviani tried to publish an account of the life of Galileo, but claimed that his efforts were halted by theCatholic church although this claim has been challenged.[7]
One of the primary interests of Viviani was the study of the mathematics of the ancients. Viviani spent much of his life restoring the works ofAristaeus the Elder and Apollonius.
In 1660, Viviani andGiovanni Alfonso Borelli conducted an experiment to determine the speed ofsound. Timing the difference between the seeing the flash and hearing the sound of acannon shot at a distance, they calculated a value of 350 meters per second (m/s), considerably better than the previous value of 478 m/s obtained byPierre Gassendi.[1] The currently accepted value is 331.29 m/s at 0 °C or 340.29 m/s at sea level. It has also been claimed that in 1661 he experimented with the rotation ofpendulums, 190 years before the famous demonstration byFoucault. Specifically, during experiments with a pendulum, he observed it to veer to one side. He did not make a connection with the rotation of Earth. As it was an unwanted effect, he eliminated it by hanging the pendulum with two ropes.[8][9]
By 1666, Viviani started to receive many job offers as his reputation as a mathematician grew. That same year,Louis XIV of France offered him a position at theAcadémie Royale andJohn II Casimir of Poland offered Viviani a post as hisastronomer. Fearful of losing Viviani, the Grand Duke appointed him First Mathematician of the Tuscan Court.[2] The position was previously held by Galileo, whose death resulted in Torricelli's appointment to the position, followed by Viviani years after Torricelli's death. Viviani accepted this post and turned down his other offers.[1] From 1666 to 1667, Viviani guidedNicolaus Steno on the geometrical propositions ofanatomical figures anddissections ofsharkmuscle fibers.[3] The shark dissection figures inElementorum myologiae specimen, seu musculi descriptio geometri demonstrated the possible functions of anatomical structures by combining anatomy with geometry while observingmuscle contractions.[3]
In 1687, he published a book onengineering,Discorso intorno al difendersi da' riempimenti e dalle corrosione de' fiumi.[1]
Upon his death, Viviani left an almost completed work on the resistance of solids, which was subsequently completed and published byLuigi Guido Grandi.[1]
In 1737, the Church finally allowed Galileo to be reburied in a grave with an elaborate monument. The monument that was created in the church ofSanta Croce was constructed with the help of funds left by Viviani for that specific purpose. Viviani's own remains were moved to Galileo's new grave as well.[1]
Thelunar craterViviani is named after him.
InFlorence, Viviani had Galileo's life and achievements written inLatin on the façade of his palace, on huge stone scrolls. The palace was then renamedPalazzo dei Cartelloni.
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