Evangelista Torricelli

Author(s): Philip J. Robinson

Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Mathematical Gazette, Vol. 78, No. 481 (Mar., 1994), pp. 37-47
Published by: The Mathematical Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3619429 .
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 TORRICELLI
EVANGELISTA 37

EvangelistaTorricelli
PHILIPROBINSON

This article provides a brief introductionto Evangelista Torricelli

and to one aspect his work. It is divided into three parts. Part 1 gives
some biographical details and a short survey of his work and
achievements. Part 2 is concerned with a geometrical approachtowards
the study of projectilesas seen in Torricelli'searly work De motu. Part 3
shows how Torricelli applied his projectile studies to practical ballistic
problems.

1. Biography
EvangelistaTorricelliis perhapsmost widely known as the inventor
of the barometerbut his contributionsin mathematicsand physics were
quite extensive. He was born in October 1608 into a family of modest
means in Faenza, a town close to Bologna and famous for its ceramics.
Torricelli was born into a period of great change in scientific thinking:
the Renaissancehad revived the study of the ancients and the humanities
and Torricellireceived an educationwhich was to be of great importance
in his work on geometryand on the makingof the man himself. His early
educationwas due to the Jesuit fathers.In 1627 he moved to Rome where
he continued his studies with Benedetto Castelli, a leading scholar and
renowned pupil of Galileo. In Rome Torricelli became a fellow student
of BonaventuraCavalieri with whom he developed a strong friendship.
He remainedin Rome for a period of fourteenyears duringwhich he was
intensely involved in study, teaching and research.Much of the work he
did in this period was to be useful later, but one work standsout and was
to bring him fame. This was entitled De motu dei corpi naturalmente
discendenti. In April 1641 whilst travelling from Venice to Rome,
Castelli broke his journey with a visit to Galileo in Florence. Following
his vicissitudes with the inquisition,the old and almost blind Galileo was
a virtualprisonerat his house at Arcetri.Castelli had with him a copy of
De motu and read it to Galileo who was greatly impressed. Acting on
Castelli's advice, Galileo invited Torricelli to join him in Florence as
secretary and assistant. Due to the death of his mother Torricelli was
unable to travel to Florence immediatelyand did not join his masteruntil
late in 1641. Torricelli was not to spend much time with Galileo
however, as the great man died on 7 January 1642. Somewhat
disheartened Torricelli was on the point of returning to Rome when
Ferdinado II of Tuscany declared him to be Galileo's successor and
appointedhim to the chair of mathematicsat the Uniersity of Pisa. The

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38 THE MATHEMATICALGAZEITlE

appointmentfirst of all as Galileo's assistantand then his successor gives

us a good idea of Torricelli's ability and his standing in the scientific
community.
Torricelli's work De motu gravium naturaliter descendentium et
projectorum libro duo (Florence 1644) brought up to date existing
studies on projectiles. It should be remembered that the study of
projectileswas closely relatedto the study of the parabolaand Torricelli's
mastery of the parabola led him to the results published in De motu.
Book two of De motu deals with projectiles in a vacuum and it
demonstratedthose properties already indicated by Galileo, as well as
furtherideas. He showed also that an object projectedat an angle to the
horizontal traces out a parabolawhich has a maximum range when the
angle of projectionis 45?, a result alreadyfound intuitively and noted by
Tartaglia.Perhapshis most notable achievementin the field of projectiles
was to establish for the first time the idea of an envelope: projectiles sent
out at the same angle and the same speed in all directions trace out
parabolaswhich are all tangent to a common paraboloid.This envelope
became known as the parabola di sicurezza. Also in De motu Torricelli
gave a set of firing tables for artillery:tables giving ranges and heights
for varying angles of projection. The accuracy of the tables was
establishedby the Accademia del Cimentoallowing for a degree of error
caused by air resistance, by carrying out a bombardment of the
abandonedfortressat Livomo on the Italiancoast.
Much of our knowledge of Torricelli'swork is due to the voluminous
correspondencehe had with Frenchand Italianmathematicianswho held
him in high esteem and the wide influence he had over his
contemporarieswas mainly due to this correspondence,for he published
very little. His majorwork in geometry is Opera Geometrica which was
published in 1644. He carried out investigations on the rectification of
curves and in particularhe made studies of spirals and the cycloid. In
1647 Torricelli was preparingto publish a furthervolume of geometry
when he was laid low by a fever from which he never recovered.
Torricelli'spopularfame rests with the invention of the barometer,
originally called Torricelli'stube until given its modem name by Manetti
in 1676. The experiments were actually carried out by Viviani who
constructedfive tubes to measure accurately the atmosphericpressure.
Some of these tubes may be seen at the Science Museumin Florence.
Torricelli also concerned himself with mechanics, hydrodynamics
and the productionof high quality lenses, which was surroundedby a
certainamountof mystery [1].
Educated with a rigorous classicism in both literature and
mathematics, Torricelli was familiar with the works of Euclid,
Apollonius, Ptolemy and, above all, Archimedes.His outputin geometry

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EVANGELISTA
TORRICELLI 39

can be divided into two phases. The first phase may be regarded as a
preparatoryperiod which did not last much beyond 1641, the year he
joined Galileo in Florence. Belonging to that first period are his
pamphlets on Solidi spherali, Contatti and the major part of the
propositions and sundry problems which were gathered together by
Viviani after Torricelli'sdeath. This early work owes much to the study
of the classics. The second phase in Florence led to the publication of
Opera Geometrica. As a colleague and friend of Cavalieri it is natural
that he should have been involved with the method of indivisibles. The
method was first developed by Cavalieri although Kepler had worked
with a similarmethod which he discussed in Stereometria.In 1629 when
Cavalieri sought the chair of mathematicsat the University of Bologna,
he presented a treatise on indivisibles. Cavalieri's work was later
published in 1635 with the title Geometria Indivisibilus nova quadum
ratione promota. The method producedsound results but was flawed in
that it made assumptionscontraryto Euclideanthinking.Thus lines were
assigned widths and planes became thick, albeit with dimensions so
small as to be indivisible. The flaw in the method was the lack of a clear
idea of a limit, a problem that would not be overcome until the final
Newtonian synthesis. Torricelli was at first sceptical of the method and
insisted on checking all results with the full rigour of classical methods.
Once convinced of its efficacy however, he went on to develop the
method of indivisible curves. The application of this method allowed
Torricelli to determine the volume of "solidi infinitamente estesi in
lunghezza e superficiale, avente volume finite" (solids with infinite
dimensions and surface area, having finite volumes). This work was
developed independently by Torricelli although he may have been
preeededby Fermatand Roberval.

2. De motu
In this section we examine Torricelli'swork on projectile motion as
given in his treatiseDe motu Proiectorum(Liber Secvndvs). In all there
are thirty seven propositionsfor which Torricelli in his customarystyle,
gives much praise and credit to Galileo. Certainly,it is an extension of
Galileo's fundamentalwork on projectiles but a numberof novel results
are due to Torricelli alone and the rigorous treatment applied by
Torricelliput Galileo's work on a firm basis. It is not the intentionhere to
go throughall the propositionsbut ratherto examine some key ideas. The
diagrams shown are the originals from Torricelli's treatise. The basic
assumptionsin the work are that the motion of a projectile undernatural
motion is a parabolaand that air resistanceis neglected. The directionof
motion at the initial point of the motion is tangentto the parabola.In his
preambleTorricelligives this as the directionof the axis of the barrelof

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40 THEMATHEMATICAL
GAZEI'I'E

an artillerypiece.
In reading the work of Galileo and Torricelli one often meets the
concept of impetus. Its meaning changes with circumstancesbut means
neither velocity or acceleration, but rather that which produces it.
Torricelli's geometric approach was able to use such a loose idea by
representing a falling body by a straight line. The length of the line
representedthe velocity or the speed of the body and was proportional
also to the time of the motion. Given the same impetus at the end of the
path as it received at the beginning, the body would be reflected back
over the same path or trajectory.A body dropped from rest would not
have received an impetus but would possess such a quality by virtue of
its position, which is the idea of potential energy. Torricelli had a clear
intuitive idea of potentialenergy as can be seen from the theoremin fluid
mechanics which bears his name [2]. The notion of potential was not
new. Over one hundred years earlier Tartaglia in his Nova Scientia
(1537) wrote: "A heavy body hastens towards its properrest, which is
the centre of the world and if it comes from a place which is more distant
from this centreit will travelmore quickly in approachingit" [3].
Torricelli argues ad absurdumthat if a mass projectedfrom point A
rises to point B, then if it had the same vertical speed at B as it had at A
then it would rise to C where AC = 2AB (fig.1).He extends this property
to the case of general motion (fig.2) and shows thatBH = 2BC. Torricelli
demonstratesin propositioniii, in a more directmannerthanGalileo, that
the pathof a projectileis a parabola.(fig.3)

.-C -
Gaul.,i
fcbelio B/ ?>

2,~ vt it,;b E .....-

:
FIGURE1. FIGURE2.

FIGURE3.

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EVANGELISTA
TORRICELLI 41

As the body moves through equal horizontal distances in equal

times, it falls throughdistancesLC, ID, ME andBF. Similartrianglesand
subtractionwill show that NE, ID, OC and HA are in the ratio 1:4:9:16,
thus demonstratingthat the curve is a parabola.The analysis proceeds
beyond the vertex of the parabola and also traces back the path of a
projectilegiven partof its trajectory(figs. 4 & 5).

FIGURE4. FIGURE5.

An importantelement in the work of Torricelli is the sublimitus or

sublimate.This is the difference between the maximumheight attainable
by a projectile and its actual height. Although first defined by Galileo,
Torricelli uses the sublimate to better advantage.He develops this idea
and brings it to bear on the very elegant propositionix, which states that
given the speed and the angle of projectionit is possible to determinethe
entiremotion of the projectile(fig. 6).

FIGURE6.

The construction is as follows: draw AB to represent the initial

impetus of the particleand draw semicircle with AB as diameter.Draw a

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42 THEMATHEMATICAL
GAZEllIE

line to representthe direction of motion at A, which cuts the circle at F

and line DL, parallel to AB, at I. A horizontalline drawn throughF cuts
AB at E and DL at G. DG is then the vertex of the parabola or the
maximumpoint attainedby the projectile.
The method leads easily into a number of variations on a theme,
depending on the initial data. Propositionsx and xi show that given the
speed and and the maximium height or the speed and the range of the
projectile,the rest of the motion may be determined(fig.7).

FIGURE
7. 8.
FIGURE

Similarlyprop.xii allows the complete motion to be determinedfrom

the range and the initial directionof motion (fig.8), and prop.xiii (fig.9)
follows easily enough with the range given by four times the distance
BC. Prop.xiv similarly shows that all propertiesmay be found given the
maximumheight obtainedand the base, equal to four times BC (fig.10).

FIGURE A9.
FA
FIGURE9. FIGURE10.

The propositions continue to explore a series of fundamental

propertiesleading to the interestingresult of propositionxxx. This says
that all possible paths of projectilesin a plane for a given initial speed are
tangentto and boundedby a common parabola(fig. 11). Draw semi circle
ADB based on diameter AB (impetus). Draw parabolaBC which has
focus at A. Draw in parabolaAE with angle of projectiongiven by line
AD. Join BE and produceto point L on parabolaBC. Draw the horizontal
throughL so that it cuts parabolaAE at point P. Torricelliproposed that
parabolaAPE touches the point L, when continued.

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EVANGELISTATORRICELLI 43

A
FIGURE11.

d,pvarUklediametroc d i d&caturq.pa4llel
alia
diametr,e f; Dico efe vt c fdd fa, ia fb d b.e
Efiteim c dd b e lngitdae vt d a Adaep te /
st/, velvt c d ad fe potei.4 *Sont ergocontin _
b Iterm ef, vt ca d af it cd Ad
cd, fe,bc.
e,cvd fe adbe d;&didtendovtcfad fa,i ir
fb d b e . .od erat&c.
mdanenteeademfigura6 'demonflratio3e,
difkiprodvcaitmrela a b tlfq;in h,&6io /
gawfh, quod &
fbh, a d prlUela txms. y
DemoffrAtm vt c ffd f a ia/
teimse
f'e fb ad be, haeft c h, adhd. ae /
fb .ardk crit ifiad.
a

FIGURE12.

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44 THEMATHEMATICAL
GAZEI
IE

Torricelli shows that BF2 = AF.FM and PN2/LN2 = BF2/(AF.FM).

Thus PN = LN and L must be on both parabolas.ParabolaAPE therefore
touches parabola BLC. He does this by using lengths which are in
constantproportion(we would thinkof y2 = 4ax) and equatingequivalent
lengths.
Further propositions yield some important results regarding an
inclined plane, which are given further treatmentby Torricelli in his
notes for the range tables (fig.12). The range over plane AH is sought.
We have a gun with horizontalrangeAC. Draw vertical CD to meet line
of fire at H. Draw HF parallel to AD. The vertical cuts AH at B. The
range on the plane is AB [4].

3. La Squadra
The basic instrumentfor deciding angles of projectionfor required
ranges was invented by the Brescian mathematicianTartaglia (1500?-
1577). It was called the quadrant(la squadra) and had been in use for a
hundredyears It had two unequal legs joined by a quartercircle, which
was divided into twelve equal parts,beginningwith 1. at the smallest leg.

FIGURE13.

These divisions or points (punti)were furthersubdividedinto twelve

partscalled minutes(minuti).Torricelliexplains that the points are not in
proportionto the ranges. Point number6 gives 4000 paces or geometers
steps (passi) and point one gives 666 instead of 1032. That is, increasing
the angle of inclination by equal numbers does not double the range.
Torricelliadaptedthe standardsquadraso that it would work in this way:
doubling the numberof points doubles the range. To do this he used a
semi circle instead of a quadrantand divided it into a series of points
with unequal intervals, which are decided by the range requiredrather
than the angle of inclinationof the gun barrel.Fig.13 shows the standard
quadrantand fig. 14 shows how Torricelliadaptedit. Semi-circle AFC is
drawnon to the quadrant.AG is divided into six parts(punti)andeach of
these subdividedinto twelve furtherparts(minuti).

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EVANGELISTA
TORRICELLI 45

FIGURE 14.

Proposition ix gives the reasoning behind Torricelli'sadaptation:If

the line of fire is AO then the range of the shot is given by four times SO.
Torricelli continues with detailed explanations of how the graduations
should be used with the tables.

tBIo *o se 0o So Go r* o Io o10 R . Io . o 190 o. v

C_ t iiE
AJeu'inr c sT wiwlqn

FIGURE 15.

Torricelliproposedthe manufactureof a new instrumentbased upon

propositionix. The new model is in the form of a semi-circle. (fig.15 &
16). The instrumentis placed in the barreland a plumb line from B gives
the line BF. The circumferenceis divided into ninety equal parts, each
equal to a two degree interval of arc. Clearly, BF gives the angle of
elevation of the barrel. The line AB is proportionalto the impetus of the

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46 THEMATHEMATICAL
GAZE'TE
o gdf,come neia/t,eg
te figur, IAfqlddri fiopr- L
detta ab c d. inbocc di
v, pez, c af.qln,q,fi \t
fia, e cafchiil?iomb6xx'lpi
to f delfemicircosla fb di
ui in 9o.parti egMAli. E
certoprimieramt?, che l'a
co b f nmsiratele,a4jne
delpezuoe afopra'orizox
<r 3u
te. imperochehaendo now s /
co lediultfonedelfemicir.
coloin g o. parti folamente
Ja4ltAtoogri duegradiper
che
v/olo, abbiamaftitto
tarco b f j mifmrad dl',a
golo b a f, cio? d
della ele atnpedelperofoptral'mor4ioxte;qfm
le orZontefardfempreo linea a f. Dic d;dpig, chef n9iif*
seremo fhe A line, a b. dimetro del fm tcircolof I'mp i
dd?lpropof/?aatiglieri, oero l*met dclmPfno ssr; 1l4
xea f h ,perpendicolare Idiametru,fardqwa rta parte deil
ampli:tdie , o lunghe7zxAdel ire; l4 b b .far r1dltezZaf?re.
madcllapaabola ; a h ,farj lakb(imit.s 1x b f ./ar/ itesm
t 0dwryioat delfiro.
FIGURE16.
G
G g cht

projectile or half the maximum range possible. FH will be a quarterof

the range and BH the maximum height attainable for the angle of
projection BAF. Then AH represents the sublimita. BF will be
proportionalto the time taken for the projectile to pass through the
horizontalplane containingthe point of projection.The semi-circle ABF
is similar to figure BIL and so the results follow immediately.Torricelli
furtherpoints out thatif the instrumentis constructedfor a particulartype
of artillerypiece, it is sufficient to find the maximumrange possible and
calibratethe instrumentaccordingly.Torricellipublishedtables of ranges
and altitudes to accompanyhis new squadrathus making it of practical
use to gunners.As stated above, the tables were tested by the Accademia
del Cimentowho were satisfied with the tables. Renieri however, testing
the tables in Genoa, wrote to Torricelli expressing his disappointment.
Torricelli always maintained that De motu was a purely mathematical
work based on Galileo's laws of acceleration and inertia. If practical
results were not satisfactory then a seperate theory regarding all the

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EVANGELISTATORRICELLI 47

practical problems of ballistics would be necessary. His considerations

had been purely mathematical. Professional gunners however, were
satisfied with the tables and an improvement in an instrumentfunda-
mental to theirart with the result thatTorricelli'scontributionto ballistics
became the standardmodel until well into the eighteenthcentury[5].
TabMaconti:ner .klitudines , &fxwblih'ites Semiparabolrumrqu.
rum am?1t10nes 00:44J s fint. T4r6ium[fdic?feper 0ooo0. SUxt Aism,.~titud;u /euje* i1ag elI1u oa~
m~Jenmm .f ..1 $o
J,m1refum/fewuffe: T ,,ng,uwromplens o m elewwao.
rT
GRAD. ALTITV- I$VIMI. IGRAD. AUITrV- SYDIL SWI.?
Irilua. DO TAs,._ 1131*1 ~?LJaDO- i TAS ALT& IV]L
GRRAD. GlAD. ALT!.
Icem&TVDO. MIT. malar. TVDO. M IT.
0 00 1nt2a112 2.3 z2121 1779
46 69 17025 1919
i 87 :86450 24 2226 11230
47 5362 4663 70 737 1820
2 175 143186 1072:
25. 2332
4 S55534502 7't 4521722
3 :62 95406 26 10252
:439 49 -375S432246 72 15388 6z5
4 350 7-L,P03 .27 2548 9813 5o0. '5959 4196 73 6354 (129
5 437; 57150 28 :2659 9404 4049 74 17437 1434
'St 6175
6 5za 47572 2.9 2773 9030
52 6400 39o6 75 18660 340
7 614 40722 30 2887, 866o
8635 3768 76 20054 1247
53
8 703 35577 31 3004 832,
6882 3633 77 1154
54' 21657
9 791 312569 32 3124 o002
55 7141 3501 78 23523 0o63
o 8-82 2356 33 3347 7699 972
56 7413 3373 79 25723
11 971 25723
5 34 3373 7413 882
37 7699 3247 8o 28356

58 8002 3,124 8f 31369 792

t13 :.1 54, 2165:7 36 4~ 6883-
88

35577 703
6-
/ ;

';21
3.63 i

59 3004 52
s4 124.7 2'054 17 3768 6635 60 8660 2887 83 40722 6z4
.1 1"340 866o 38. 3906. 6400 6s 902 1 2-772 84 1475 72 5 251

'143+ 17437 39, '4049 6175 62 94042.659 Sy 5 7150o 437

'7",52 1,6354 4o0 4196' :9g9' 63 9813 2548 86 715031 350
.- ,g ; s6a. ~:15388 42 4346' 575:2 2439 87 262
64 10252 95406
X9I2.. 43521 4 9502 55-3
4-. 65 10723 2332 88 143186 175
:o ,82o 13737 43 4663 5 362 66 1 4 230 2226
89 286450 87
j 'a~. "19ac9 123075 44, 4828, , 78 67 1779 2122 3
V,.375; "45 500.0 *
, 68 12375 :o203 19 g 11*14. oo
Dd : 7'bola

References
1. "Sulle date della nascita e della morte di Evangelista Torricelli". G.B. Laochini.
Toricelliana. Faenza 1946 (pp.67-76) published by the Commissione per le onoranze a
EvangelistaTorricelli III centenariodella scoperta del barometro."I meriti di Evangelista
Torricelicome fisico". A.Natucci. Torricelliana(pp.77-92) "La vita e l'operadi Evangelista
Torricelli".B.Segre. Archimede.Anno x, n.4,1958.
[1] "In che cosa poteva consistere "1Isegreto delli occhiali" di Evangelista Torricelli".
V.Ronchi. Torricelliana(pp.7 - 20)
2. De motuProiectorun (LiberSecundus).E.Torricelli.Florence 1644.
[2] A History of Mechanics. R.Dugas. Dover. p.147. Torricelli'stheorem: the speed of a
liquid flowing from an orifice near the bottomof a vessel is proportionalto the depth of the
liquid.
[3] A History of Mechanics R.Dugas. Dover. p.95
[4] Ballistics in the SeventeenthCentury.A.R.Hall. CambridgeU.P. 1951
3. De motuproiectorun (LiberSecundus) . La Squadra.E.Torricelli.Florence 1644.
[5] As for [4].

PHILIPJ. ROBINSON
SigtunaskolanHumanistiskaLroverket,Box 8 Sigtuna s-193 21 Sweden

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