Beyond Galileo: A translation of Giovanni Battista Riccioli's experiments regarding falling bodies and "air drag", as reported in his 1651 Almagestum Novum

TL;DR

This paper translates Riccioli's 1651 experiments on falling bodies and air resistance, providing historical insight and showing his conclusions align with modern physics understanding.

Contribution

It presents the first translation and analysis of Riccioli's early experiments on air drag, highlighting their relevance to contemporary physics.

Findings

Riccioli's experiments predate modern air resistance studies

His conclusions align with current understanding of air drag

Provides historical context for physics of falling bodies

Abstract

The Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Riccioli is commonly credited with performing the first precise experiments to determine the acceleration of a freely falling body, but he also went further, experimentally investigating what today would be called the effect of "air drag" on falling bodies. This paper consists of a translation of those experiments, with a brief analysis and commentary. Riccioli arrived at conclusions consistent with modern understanding of "air drag".