Contributions by Nicolás Copernicus 

one of the Most important scientists in history , Span many fields of knowledge,
although most studies of the character commonly revolve only around heliocentric
theory.

From the heliocentrismo came a radical change in the way of understanding the
universe and gave rise to the so-called"Scientific Revolution,"whose implications
have been fundamental to understand the modern world.

Nicholas Copernicus (Mikolaj Kopernik) was born in what is now Poland on

February 19, 1473. He grew up in a wealthy family in the city of Torun. Technically
Copernicus was of German descent, so his mother tongue was German, although
the circumstances of his life indicate that he also spoke Polish.

When his father died, Copernicus was 10 years old and his uncle Lucas Watzenrode,
Bishop of Warmia, took over the education of his nephew. He sent it to the
University of Krakow in 1491 and, having finished his studies, took the vows as
canon of the cathedral of Frombork.

This decision allowed him to continue his studies, as a member of the church, he
had access to the most prestigious universities in Italy: Bologna, Padua and Ferrara,
where he studied astronomy, medicine and canon law, respectively.

His revolutionary ideas in the field of astronomy were embodied in his work De
revolutionibus orbium coelestium  ( On the revolutions of the celestial spheres  ) Written
in 1530, but decided not to publish it until a few months before his death, which
occurred in May 1543.

In this work can be found much of the contributions of Copernicus in physics and
astronomy, although the impact of this character is not limited to these fields of
knowledge.

You may also like The contributions of Kepler .

10 great contributions of Copernicus to

science
1- Heliocentric model of the universe
The most recognized and revolutionary contribution of Nicholas Copernicus is
undoubtedly the theory of heliocentrism. Up to this point, Ptolemy's model had
been followed, which proposed that the earth was the center of the universe
( Geocentrism ).

Copernicus proposed a model of a spherical universe, in which both the Earth and
the planets and stars revolved around the Sun. This contribution of Copernicus to
science is perhaps the most revolutionary in the history of mankind, A paradigm
shift for the sciences.

And it is that from that moment, the science began to be based on observations
and mathematical measurements, and is not beliefs and simple theoretical
affirmations.

2- Dominance of ancient languages

The rise of the Greek Renaissance came to Copernicus early, and in Bologna he
began to learn it in 1492. He translated into Latin the letters of the seventh-century
Byzantine philosopher Theophilus of Simocatta, printed in 1509, This is your only
previous publication to De revolutionibus orbium coelestium  .

It is important to note that Copernicus' acquisition of a good reading level was

critical for his studies in astronomy, since most of the works of Greek astronomers,
including Ptolemy, had not yet been translated into Latin, the Which were written.

Moreover, it is noteworthy that this knowledge of Greek allowed him to reinterpret

Aristotle .

3- Changing the theory of gravity

The fact that the center of the universe was the earth implied that the center of
gravity of the universe was the earth; And this could be corroborated with the
physical phenomena that occurred here.

If the center of gravity is no longer the earth, why then do things within the earth
fall to its center? Copernicus's response to this was one of his great contributions to
the world of science:
All matter has gravity, and the heavy matter will attract and be attracted by similarly
heavy matter, just as the smaller matter will be attracted to the larger matter.

In this way, the small things that are on the earth, are attracted to the earth. For
example, the moon, being smaller than the earth, revolves around it, and the earth,
being smaller than the sun, does the same. Copernicus explains his idea of gravity
as follows:"All celestial bodies are centers of attraction of matter."

4- Definition of the Gregorian calendar

Copernicus helped in the revision of the Julian calendar, which was the official
calendar since the fourth century. Pope Leo X asked the astronomer to participate
in the reform that took place between 1513 and 1516.

Nicholas Copernicus was based on his heliocentric model of the universe to solve
the problems presented by the previous calendar, but it was not until the year 1582
that all the changes came into effect in the Gregorian calendar. It is in this way that
Copernicus contributed to establishing the precision of the time that passes on
Earth.

5- Theory of the three movements

His model of the universe implied that Earth possesses three movements: rotation,
translation and a conical oscillation motion of its own axis. The first has a duration
of one day, the second of a year, and the third occurs also in a year progressively.

This latter movement is what modern eyes may seem strange. But it was the way in
which Copernicus explains the variation of temperature in the different seasons of
the year.

6- Order of alignment of the planets

The translation movement causes the order in which the celestial spheres are
arranged to be the following:

The supreme and immovable sphere is the Sun, which contains all things situated
in the universe. In the farthest orbit is Saturn, then comes Jupiter and Mars is
nearer.

In the next orbit moves on the Earth, then Venus and finally Mercury. The Moon
revolves around the center of the Earth, and moves with the Earth, as an epicycle.
7- The retrograde movement of the planets
This order indicates that one planet surpasses another in the speed of translation
according to the size of the circles.

Thus Saturn takes about thirty years to complete a cycle; Jupiter, twelve years old;
Mars, two and a half years, and Earth, one year; Venus, nine months and Mercury,
three.

In this way, Copernicus explains the retrograde movement of other celestial

spheres whose time of translation is greater to the Earth, since, by difference of
speeds, the Earth surpasses several times to the other planets, but the observer
perceives of these last ones a trajectory In the opposite direction.

8- Amount of water on Earth

The astronomer proposed that the amount of water has to be less than the land. At
that time it was believed that there was ten times more water than land.

It was then explained that the earth's rotation (as a disk) was due to the fact that
the center of gravity and center of magnitude did not coincide and were two forces
that sought balance and this generated movement.

This also used to explain why there are mountains and valleys, cavities and
protuberances on the surface of the Earth.

However, through geometry, Copernicus demonstrated that, since the earth is a

sphere, necessarily the center of gravity and the center of its mass are coincident
and, at the same time, he came to the conclusion that the quantity of water does
not May be greater than that of earth, because the heavy matter is conglomerated
around the center of gravity and light on the outside.

Thus, if the amount of water exceeds the amount of land, the water would cover
the entire surface of the earth.

9- Relationship between philosophy and natural

sciences
Nicholas Copernicus provided fundamental knowledge about the relationship
between mathematics and the natural world.
Some historians of science seem to ignore the fundamental role of mathematics,
and it is often said that the philosophical and scientific thought of the sixteenth
century is based on heliocentrism as if it were not a natural consequence.

However, it can not be ignored that heliocentrism, besides solving an astronomical

problem, was solved with a mathematical technique.

10- Theory of price increase

Copernicus became interested in monetary matters when King Sigismund I of
Poland asked him to make a proposal to reform the currency of his community.

Copernicus's analysis showed that it is impossible to have two types of currency in

one government, one more valuable to foreign trade, and another less valuable to
local transactions (as Sigismund suggested).

He then formulated the"quantity theory of money"which stipulates that prices vary

proportionately with the supply of money in society. He explained this before the
term"inflation"was invented

In very simple terms, for Copernicus one should avoid putting too much money into
circulation, because the supply of money determines the value of the coin, the
more money the value of the coin is reduced. This is the main and direct cause for
prices of goods to increase.

CONCLUSIONS
As it has been seen, with his model of the universe, Nicholas Copernicus
revolutionized the way of seeing the sky. However, his studies also implied
observing the reality in a different way, since the man ceased to feel the center
cosmos and happened to be a more creation of the divinity.

The fundamental change that was generated at the social level was that both his
astronomical advances as the mathematicians led to the scientific revolution that
would end up separating the church from the academy during the modern era.

Not to mention the influence that his research has had on the most renowned
scientists to date.
Among the main Charles Darwin's contributions , Highlights the evolution of
living beings from their approach to evolutionary theory grounded in natural
selection.

In this way, Darwin argued that all species come from the same common ancestor,
with which they still share certain characteristics.

Charles Darwin is known as the father of evolution thanks to his contributions to

establish a single logical theory of evolution.

His theory helped to remove the old conventions and beliefs which indicated that
the formation of several species was the product of a supernatural phenomenon
caused by a higher being (Wood, 2005).

Darwin's evolutionary theory served science to give a more rational explanation of

the formation and existence of new species. This was explained by the concept of
natural selection, where several species with a common ancestor can only survive
when they adapt to the medium, even when the conditions of the medium change.

Natural selection was explained by Darwin as the ability of organisms to change

over time to adapt to the environment.

Those whose variations are insignificant will be less likely to adapt, while organisms
whose variations give them a reproductive advantage will be the survivors.

Darwin did not invent any theory, he simply discovered multiple phenomena as
scientific and naturalistic. As author, it had a significant impact on science and the
way it is understood biology and the world. He developed and proposed an
evolutionary theory that greatly affected the way life is understood by science
(Byjus, 2015).

10 Darwin's Fundamental Contributions to

Science
1- Your trips on the Beagle to investigate species
Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England in 1809. When he was 16 years
old he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh for two years, until he
realized that this was not his vocation. This was how he turned to theological
education and graduated in 1831 as a theologian.

HMS Beagle
From August 1831 to 1836 Darwin participated as a naturalist on a scientific voyage
aboard the HMS Beagle, in which he traveled the world in an attempt to study
various aspects of science and the natural world.

Darwin contributed in numerous studies during his stay in the ship, focusing mainly
on plants, animals and the natural aspects of the earth.

A few years after starting the trip, he published his first major work on his findings,
called Beagle Travel Zoology (Your Dictionary, 2017).

2- The origin of species

In his first work, Darwin was already roughly implying some of his later
contributions to science.

However, his theories and discoveries would not come to the public until 1859.
Until now, Darwin had developed what would later be known as"Theory of
Darwinian evolution."

In 1859, Darwin's most famous work (The Origin of Species through Natural
Selection) was published. In this book he illustrated the theory by which he would
finally be recognized.

His argument was in essence that all species of living beings, including humans,
develop and adapt over time, being modified to adapt to new lifestyles and
environments.

He no longer considered life as part of different ancestral lines, but as part of a

single biological tree that branches out again and again.
In this way, it can be explained why all living beings share similar characteristics
originating from the same ancestor. Darwin knew that if the reproduction of
species occurred without supervision, and grew geometrically, the world would be
overpopulated in future generations.

Darwin thought that if the world was not overpopulated it was because some
species disappeared and others prevailed in time.

This theory was given the name of natural selection, indicating that the stronger
species are more likely to survive, while the weaker species and less likely to adapt
tend to disappear (Darwin, 1998).

3 - Theory of evolution
To begin with, there is an important difference between evolution and the
proposed theories to explain the causes and mechanisms of it.

Evolution is defined as the genealogical connection existing between all living

organisms, based on their descent from a common ancestor. This statement is
based on the evidence.

First, there is the direct evidence of human observation and manipulation of

species of domestic animals and plants for hundreds of years, with the aim of
domesticating certain wild species and developing better crops, showing the
existence of small gradual changes over time .

This can be seen clearly in the birds studied by Darwin in the Galapagos Islands,
which had changes in the form of the peak due to general conditions of the
environment, the availability of food and the presence of other animal species and
of bacteria in the environment .

Biological changes occurring in species can be recorded and tracked in fossil

findings. In this way, paleontologists have found multiple evidences and examples
of sequential changes in the form of our ancestors in vast lines of time (Stark
Effects, 2017).

Finally, the theory of evolution can be evidenced when common characteristics are
found between different species, all coming from a common ancestor.

On some occasions, these similarities can only be explained as lags or vestiges that
remained in the species. In this way, Darwin believed that humans have a number
of physical characteristics that are only possible because they come from a
common ancestor: fish.

Since Darwin's time, multiple mechanisms involved within the evolutionary process
have been studied. In this way, you can see how they have had several mutations
that have contributed to the process of natural selection taking place.

4- Natural Selection
Natural selection is the name given to the obvious process that indicates that some
organisms are more likely to survive than others. This is due to a reproductive
advantage that ensures the permanence of the species in future generations.

However, these advantages generally take place spontaneously and not by choice
of organisms.

Darwin's research on natural selection during his voyage allowed him to approach
his theory of evolution.

He examined all areas he visited, including South America, the Galapagos Islands,
Africa, and the islands of the Pacific Ocean, always keeping a record of his
observations (Browne, 1996).

Darwin was able to observe many natural phenomena such as earthquakes,

erosions, volcanic eruptions, among others. In this way, he could propose the
following ideas about the theory of natural selection:

Adaptation of species
All species are in a constant process of evolution over time. As the environment
changes, the needs of organisms also change and they adjust to their new
environments in order to survive.

This phenomenon of changes within a certain margin of time with the aim of
surviving is known as adaptation.

According to Darwin's theory, only species with superior changes could survive,
while the others were doomed to disappear. These changes do not necessarily
imply an improvement of the species, they simply give them an advantage in order
to survive in a given environment.
Common Ancestor
Almost all organisms share a common ancestor. According to Darwin, all organisms
shared a single common ancestor that over time evolved in different ways,
branching out the species.

In this way, Darwin's theory of evolution supports the divergent and convergent
theories of evolution.

Evolution Process
Darwin believed that evolution is a slow and gradual process that takes place over a
long period of time (billions of years).

Biological change from one generation to another within the same species can take
millions of years, as it is a slow process of adaptation and stabilization.

Types of natural selection

Natural selection according to Darwin takes place in four different ways, as follows:

Variation
The changes accumulated over a period of time in an organism, usually giving way
to the birth of a new species.

Heritage
Variations or changes are passed over generations, leading to the specific
development of species.

High population growth margin

This allows the existence of a greater number of organisms with reproductive
possibilities within an environment that allows it. When a species can not
reproduce within a given environment, it is doomed to extinction .
Survival and differential reproduction
The higher variations or changes lead to the survival of a particular organism and
the lower variations lead to extinction. The higher variations are those that are
inherited during reproduction.

6- Other contributions of Charles Darwin to science

Darwin's studies of nature and the physical process of evolution of organisms
explain the diversity that can be seen in all existing forms of life. These studies have
given science the basis and tools to delve deeper into the issue of species evolution.

During the time of Darwin, the idea of variations of the species was not known.
Since then, different scientists have discovered the molecular basis for the
transmission of genetic characteristics and variations.

In this way, it can be said that Darwin is the father of modern biology, having
implemented a single logical theory that could explain the existence of different
living organisms.

On the other hand, Darwin laid the groundwork for explaining the existence of the
world as we know it today, when speaking of a natural physical process in which the
members of a given population can vary their characteristics over time.

This has allowed the study of diseases and migratory phenomena of species
(College Term Papers, 1969).
SIGMUND FREUD
One of the things often forgotten about Freud is that he popularized the idea of
the unconscious.

Many psychological concepts rest on the idea that not all we think we do and think is based
on conscious reasoning.

One example is anchoring, where you can influence numerical guesses by talking about
numbers in an unrelated area to increase or decrease guessed values.

A different one is how just the labcoat is enough for people to trust authority as in the
Milgrim Experiment.

Yet another example is how you can prime people to be more conservative when asking
them questions simply by asking them questions in a room with a nasty smell.

For all faulty things Freud has thought his most important contribution to psychology has in
my opinion been the paradigm shift he contributed to towards researching the impact of
the unconscious

Through the development of a novel observational method, Sigmund Freud made possible the
collection of reliable data about man's inner life. The scientific hypotheses he formulated about
these formed the initial version of psychoanalysis. Many of these first thoughts have had to be
revised in the light of subsequent scientific findings about the operations of the central nervous
system, but even these refuted propositions often had much heuristic value. Despite the passage
of a whole century, many Freudian hypotheses have retained their scientific standing. Most
important among these was Freud's realization that human thought is usually unconscious. His
understanding of the role of the automatic repetition of basic patterns of behavior, of the fateful
consequences of early childhood emotional vicissitudes in structuring enduring mental
dispositions, and of the distinction between two distinct modes of thinking are the most
significant among his many contributions. Freud's revolution may be viewed as the discovery of
a way of locating in the mind objective entities which can be studied like physical things. If
Freud's is representative of scientific revolutions, perhaps what Thomas Kuhn has described as a
change of paradigm might generally consist of the demonstration of new entities. This particular
revolution occurred in the setting of a prevalent concern about the entities underlying all of the
sciences. Because of his genius for structural thought, Freud was able to respond satisfactorily to
a challenge that all the sciences were facing. It is that common challenge rather than a popular
exemplary model, such as mechanics or hydraulics, that shaped Freud's theory.