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arXiv · 1702.05211

Measure of the Heart: Santorio Santorio and the Pulsilogium

Richard de Grijs·Daniel Vuillermin
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Abstract

In 1626, the Venetian physician Santorio Santorio published the details of his pulsilogium, a stop clock that could accurately measure one's pulse rate. He applied Galileo Galilei's insights that the frequency of a pendulum's oscillation is inversely proportional to the square root of its length. Santorio's inventions emerged at a time when the natural world and our solar system were beginning to be mapped in remarkable detail. Santorio was a true representative of his era, a period in which scientific developments came in rapid succession and measurements to support hypotheses became the norm.

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Richard de Grijs, Daniel Vuillermin. 2017-02-17. Measure of the Heart: Santorio Santorio and the Pulsilogium. https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.05211

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