Italian astronomer and mathematician who was the first to use a telescope to study the stars; demonstrated that different weights descend at the same rate; perfected the refracting telescope that enabled him to make many discoveries (1564-1642)
"After reading about Galileo, I realized how revolutionary it was for an astronomer to point a simple tube at the sky and change our understanding of the universe forever."
The CGS unit of acceleration, equal to 1 centimetre per second per second (1 centimeter per second squared, 1cm/s^2). Symbol: Gal
"The seismograph recorded the ground shaking at a rate of two gals during the minor tremor."
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), an Italian thinker and key figure in the scientific revolution who improved the telescope, made astronomical observations, and put forward the basic principle of relativity in physics.
"Many modern telescopes are named after Galileo because he was the first person to use a lens to observe distant stars and planets."