Question

The age of european exploration fueled a great deal of scientific research, especially in astronomy and mathematics. What advances in science and technology resulted from the demands of expanding industries?

Answer 1

During the modern era, scientific and technological advances were deeply linked to military needs and the development of the industry. In this sense, the military demands for better cannons, guns, and artillery technology boosted the study of physical laws of motion developed by Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton, among many other scientists.

Also, in order to understand the motion of heavenly bodies, which was very helpful to predict eclipses and the passage of comets, a necessary knowledge for navigation, scientists were trying to figure out new mathematical tools that could explain that motion. For that reason, Isaac Newton developed infinitesimal calculus, a formidable mathematical study that revolutionized modern mathematics. These studies helped him to decipher the law of gravity, which explains the motion of the Moon, of the Earth and the planets around the Sun, the passage of comets, and the tidal forces.

Moreover, the expanding industries were demanding new sources of energy and faster means of transport, and that demand pushed the development of steam power, which in turn was used to invent the railway, the hallmark of the first stage of the Industrial Revolution.