Galileo’s Water Pump
NARRATOR: This is the story of air. A story about how our conception of air evolved into the concept of gases. It is a story about how we discovered that air was not an element and how this shaped our understanding of science. How it led us to a new way of thinking and living. For this, I would like you to get to know Galileo, the scientist who started this all! Let’s welcome him!
GALILEO: Thanks. It is a pleasure to be here!
NARRATOR: I was about to say that, but anyways let us get started for real! So, can you tell us how this all started?
GALILEO: Yeah, sure! It started with a simple water pump invented by me. You may know that it was one of the few crucial inventions of the 16th century.
NARRATOR: Inventions! Like…?
GALILEO: Like the telescope, the thermometer, water pump…
NARRATOR: Water pump, that’s strange. I never heard of it.
GALILEO: You must be thinking that I am joking, but it is true.
NARRATOR: Hmm. So let us start our journey about air with this water pump.
GALILEO: Sure. In 1592, I got appointed as a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Padua. It was a time when Venice ruled Padua and regulated its university. I made many good friends with its aristocrats and became a frequent visitor to the Arsenal.
NARRATOR: The Arsenal? It sounds as if it was an important place.
GALILEO: Yes, it was. It was the place where Venetian ships were fitted-out. And shipping was a crucial human activity at that time. After all, the power and prosperity of any country depended on international trade.
NARRATOR: Yeah.
GALILEO: Also, it had been a place of practical invention and innovation for centuries.
NARRATOR: Oh!
GALILEO: I had always been interested in mechanical things, and it was here that I learned a lot about shipbuilding. Soon my talent was noticed, and I was hired as a consultant for placing oars in galleys.
NARRATOR: Wow! That was cool.
GALILEO: Hmm. Working on this problem, I invented a device for raising water using one horse and got it patented.
NARRATOR: Ok.
GALILEO: It was one of the first water pumps.
NARRATOR: And it became the basis of modern pumps.
GALILEO: Hmm… Ok!
NARRATOR: Yes. You will be delighted to know that now it is known as Galileo’s Water Pump.
GALILEO: Oh really!
NARRATOR: Yeah! But how does this pump work?
GALILEO: I was not sure about it. Yet I believed it was due to the piston attached to the pump, located above the liquid source. And moving it up created a temporary vacuum above the liquid. Now since nature abhors a vacuum, it cannot exist. Thus, this space is soon filled with water from the underground source, lifting the water.
NARRATOR: What do you mean by nature abhors a vacuum?
GALILEO: By that, it means that nature hates a vacuum, and it cannot exist. At that time, it was a common belief. Moreover, this idea was suggested by Aristotle.
NARRATOR: Aristotle! But what has he got to do with this?
GALILEO: Yeah! Aristotle! He was a profound thinker. Though it was some 2000 years ago, his ideas prevailed. I grew up reading about him and his works. It was his idea that nature would not create nothingness.
NARRATOR: Oh!
GALILEO: So I got convinced that it was the vacuum that made the pump work. But then something happened that made me doubt it.
NARRATOR: What was it?
GALILEO: It was the problem with the pump. Let me tell you this one. You will love it.
NARRATOR: Oh yeah! Sure!