Editing 1638 in science

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The year '''1638 in [[science]]''' and [[technology]] involved some significant events.

==Astronomy==
* December 21 – Total [[eclipse of the Moon]] falls on the same day as the [[winter solstice]], for the first time in the [[Common Era]].

==Geology==
* {{ill|March 27 earthquake in Calabria|it|Terremoto del 27 marzo 1638}} ([[Italy]]).
* {{ill|June 8 earthquake in Calabria|it|Terremoto dell'8 giugno 1638}}. The epicentre was in [[Crotone]].

==Physics==
* The final book of the now-blind [[Galileo Galilei|Galileo]], ''[[Two New Sciences|Discorsi e dimostrazioni matematiche, intorno à due nuove scienze]]'' is published in [[Leiden]], dealing with the [[materials science|strength of materials]] and the [[kinematics|motion of objects]]. In it, he discusses the [[square–cube law]], the [[law of falling bodies]] and [[infinity]]. He also discusses his experimental method for measuring the [[speed of light]]; he has been unable to determine it over a short distance.<ref>{{cite book|author=Galileo Galilei|title=Two New Sciences|location=Madison|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|year=1974|isbn=0-299-06404-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/twonewsciencesin0000gali}}</ref>

==Publications==
* Publication of ''[[The Man in the Moone|The Man in the Moone, or the Discovrse of a Voyage thither]]'' "by Domingo Gonsales" (actually by [[Francis Godwin]], [[Bishop of Hereford]] (died 1633)), an early example of [[science fiction]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Poole|first=William|title=New Worlds Reflected: Travel and Utopia in the Early Modern Period|year=2010|location=Farnham|publisher=Ashgate|isbn=978-0-7546-6647-9|pages=57–70|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B5-fwpWPbVEC|editor=Houston, Chloë|chapter=Kepler's ''Somnium'' and Francis Godwin's ''The Man in the Moone'': Births of Science-Fiction 1593–1638}}</ref>

==Births==
* January 1 (<small>[[Old Style and New Style dates|NS]] January 11</small>) – [[Nicolas Steno]], [[Danes|Danish]] pioneer of [[geology]] (died [[1686 in science|1686]])
* March 28 – [[Frederik Ruysch]], [[Dutch people|Dutch]] [[physician]] and [[anatomist]] (died [[1731 in science|1731]])
* April 19 - [[Niccolao Manucci]], [[Italian People|Italian]] physician, writer and traveller (died [[1717 in science|1717]])
* May 11 – [[Guy-Crescent Fagon]], [[French people|French]] physician and [[botanist]] (died [[1718 in science|1718]])
* June 8 – [[Pierre Magnol]], French [[botanist]] (died [[1715 in science|1715]])
* June 29 - [[Heinrich Meibom (doctor)|Heinrich Meibom]], German physician and scholar (died [[1700 in science|1700]])
* July 22 - [[Theodor Kerckring]], Dutch anatomist and chemical physician (died [[1693 in science|1693]])
* November 21 - [[Luca Tozzi]], Italian physician (died [[1717 in science|1717]])
* November – [[James Gregory (mathematician)|James Gregory]], [[Scottish people|Scottish]] [[mathematician]] and [[astronomer]] (died [[1675 in science|1675]])
* [[Paolo Falconieri]], [[Florence|Florentine]] [[polymath]] (died [[1704 in science|1704]])

==Deaths==
* February 26 – [[Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac]], French mathematician (born [[1581 in science|1581]])
* April 15/16 – [[John Tradescant the elder]], [[English people|English]] botanist (born c. 1570s)
* October 21 – [[Willem Blaeu]], [[Dutch people|Dutch]] [[cartographer]] (born [[1571 in science|1571]])
* October 29 – [[Adrian von Mynsicht]], German alchemist (born [[1603 in science|1603]])
* December 7 - [[Epifanio Ferdinando]], Italian physician and philosoph (born [[1569 in science|1569]])

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1638 in science| ]]
[[Category:17th century in science]]
[[Category:1630s in science]]