In science, Francesco Sagredo (1571-1620) was an Italian scientist and diplomat notable for his interest in physics of temperature and magnets for and support of Galileo Galilei.
Overview
Sagredo, supposedly, was extremely interested in the magnet experiments of William Gilbert. [3]
Sagredo added a scale to Galileo's thermoscope to enable the quantitative measurement of temperature. [4]
In 1613, Sagredo gave the first definition of a thermometer, which he defined as an ‘instrument for measuring heat’, in his description of the device his friend and mentor Italian scientist Galileo Galilei had invented in 1592. [1] Sagredo used the device for measuring the difference in temperature between air, snow, and ice.
Name
In various publications, Sagredo is referred to by at least nine different variants: ‘Francesco Sagredo’, ‘Giovanni Sagredo’, ‘Gian Francesco Sagredo’, 'Gioan Francesco Sagredo', ‘Gianfrancesco Sagredo’, ‘Giovan Francesco Sagredo’, Giovan-francesco Sagredo’, or ‘Giovanni Francesco Sagredo’, ‘Count Sagredo’, variations which seems to depend on the English translator. In his 1632 Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, according to a translation by Stillman Drake, Galileo was said to have commented: “Many years ago I was often to be found in the marvelous city of Venice, in discussions with Signore Giovanni Francesco Sagredo, a man of noble extraction and trenchant wit.” [2] The shortened usage-in-text name Francesco Sagredo, found in common usage as early as 1879, seems outnumber other variants; moreover, the middle and last name seem to be the only thing consistent regarding written reference to him; whereas, the first name is found in over five different inflections.
References
1. Thims, Libb. (2010). “Hot Sex, Cold Sex, Ambient Sex” (press release), Journal of Human Thermodynamics, 6: 47-58, Jul 18.
2. Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems – Wikipedia.
3. Giovanni Francesco Sagredo (Italian → English) – Wikipedia.
4. Drinkwater, J.E. (1832). Life of Galileo Galilei (pg. 41). Publisher.
Further reading
● Galileo, Galileo and Galilei, Polissena. (1870). The Private Life of Galileo (Gioan Francesco Sagredo, pg. 18). MacMillan.
● Bolton, Henry C. (1900). Evolution of the Thermometer, 1592-1743 (Francesco Sagredo, pgs. 15-19). Chemical Publishing Co.
● Reston, James. (2000). Galileo: A Life (Gianfrancesco Sagredo, pg. 48). Beard Books.
● Muller, Ingo. (2007). A History of Thermodynamics - the Doctrine of Energy and Entropy (Gianfrancesco Sagredo, pg. 3). New York: Springer.
External links
● Giovannni Francesco Sagredo – Wikipedia.
