Galileo's Telescope is a wonder in Call to Power II. It provides the same bonus to the host city's science output as five Scientists. It requires Optics and never becomes obsolete.
Gameplay[]
Galileo's ingenious adaptation of existing telescope technology led to revolutionary new breakthroughs in science and learning. The empire that builds this wonder experiences an increase in Science.
Great Library entry[]
Contrary to popular belief, Galileo Galilei, the noted Italian astronomer and physicist, did not invent the telescope. In 1609, he caught wind of a device in the Netherlands that could show distant things as though they were close by. Galileo quickly figured out the secret of the invention and made his own three-powered spyglass from lenses purchased at a spectacle maker's shop. Though others did the same, what distinguished Galileo was that he figured out ways to improve the instrument. After teaching himself the art of lens grinding, he created increasingly powerful telescopes, and in August of that year he presented an eight-powered instrument to the Venetian Senate. They awarded him a life tenure and doubled his salary, making him one of the highest paid professors at the University of Padua, where he taught from 1592 until 1610.
In late 1609, he developed a telescope that magnified up to 20 times. With it, he observed the heavens and drew the phases of the moon. He discovered the moon's surface was not smooth, as most thought, but rough and uneven. In 1610, he discovered several of Jupiter's moons and realized that his telescope showed many more stars than were visible to the naked eye. He was an adherent of the Copernican heliocentric view of the universe, which stated that the Earth and other planets revolved around the sun. This earned him enemies in Rome, as Copernicanism was considered heretically inconsistent with Holy Scripture. A poorly executed Inquisition procedure against other adherents of Copernicanism forced Galileo to recant his assertions. Despite the official reprimand, his alliances with wealthy and powerful Tuscan and Florentine enabled him to continue working. His pioneering work in astronomy resonated for centuries, in the sciences of optics, navigation, astronomy and physics. Galileo's contribution to the human understanding of the universe could not be overstated.
Videos[]
Call to Power 2 - Galileo's Telescope
See also[]
- Galileo's Telescope in other games