answersLogoWhite

0

Pascal's work in the fields of the study of hydrodynamics and hydrostatics centered on the principles of hydraulic fluids. His inventions include the hydraulic press (using hydraulic pressure to multiply force) and the syringe. By 1646, Pascal had learned of Evangelista Torricelli'sexperimentation with barometers. Having replicated an experiment which involved placing a tube filled with Mercury upside down in a bowl of mercury, Pascal questioned what force kept some mercury in the tube and what filled the space above the mercury in the tube. At the time, most scientists contended that, rather than a vacuum, some invisible matter was present. This was based on the Aristotelian notion that creation was a thing of substance, whether visible or invisible; and this substance was forever in motion. Furthermore, "Everything that is in motion must be moved by something," Aristotle declared.[12] Therefore, to the Aristotelian trained scientists of Pascal's time, a vacuum was an impossibility. How so? As proof it was pointed out:

  • Light passed through the so-called "vacuum" in the glass tube.
  • Aristotle wrote how everything moved, and must be moved by something.
  • Therefore, since there had to be an invisible "something" to move the light through the glass tube, there was no vacuum in the tube. Not in the glass tube or anywhere else. Vacuums-the absence of any and everything-were simply an impossibility. !!
User Avatar

Wiki User

9y ago

Still curious? Ask our experts.

Chat with our AI personalities

DevinDevin
I've poured enough drinks to know that people don't always want advice—they just want to talk.
Chat with Devin
ViviVivi
Your ride-or-die bestie who's seen you through every high and low.
Chat with Vivi
TaigaTaiga
Every great hero faces trials, and you—yes, YOU—are no exception!
Chat with Taiga

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: How did Blaise Pascal's inventions help us today?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp