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

2012/05/21 by Christopher M. Graney, Graney, Christopher M.
Physics and Astronomy · #Experimental and Theoretical Physics Studies #FOS: Physical sciences #History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph) #physics.hist-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1205.4663

arxiv created 2012/05/21 · openalex publication_date 2012/05/21 · arxiv updated 2012/05/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

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".

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