Isaac Newton Essay, Research Paper
Isaac Newton
By: Mary
Isaac Newton was a well-known English scientist. He accomplished a lot
during his time and influenced the world a great deal. He is considered to
have contributed more to science than any other person. His life can be
divided into three periods. The first one was his early childhood, he second
was the time of his accomplishments, and the third is his later life. Isaac
Newton was born on December 25, 1642 in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire,
England. His family was poor and his parents farmed for a living. His father
died three months before he was born. His mother later remarried a minister
and Newton went to stay with his grandmother. He attended a grammar
school at the age of eleven, but did not do well. His teachers said that he did
not pay attention. His mother then decided to pull him out of school and put
him in charge of her properties. Newton decided that he did not want to do
this, and, with the help of his uncle, Newton convinced his mother to let him
return to school. Stokes, the headmaster of the school, saw that Newton had
potential, therefore, he put extra time into tutoring, guiding and mentoring
Newton (O?Connor & Robertson 1-2). Newton entered Cambridge College
on June 5, 1661. He was older than most of the students there and entered
as a sizar (a student who received money for college expenses in exchange
for being a servant to other students). He wanted to major in law. At
Cambridge he studied the philosophies of Aristotle and many other
philosophist. During his third year he learned about the philosophies of
Descartes, Gassending, but mostly of Boyle. He also read book about
Copernicus and his relation to astronomy as well as Galileo and Kepler.
Newton became fascinated by the ideas of these scientists. He began
recording his thought in a book, which was called Quaestiones Quaedam
Philosophicae. He received his bachelor?s degree in April 1665 (O?Connor
& Robertson 2-3). Newton made many accomplishments during his lifetime.
His major accomplishments in the fields of math, physics, and optics are well
known. For his accomplishment in math, he is considered to have invented
Calculus. Although his works of Calculus were not published before a man
name Leibniz, but Newton is still considered as the inventor of Calculus.
Newton discovered the Binomial Theorem, which was used for fractional
powers (Weinstein 2). He also developed many analytical ways to solve
many problems such as: find areas, tangents, lengths of curves, and the
maxima and minima of functions (O?Connor & Robertson 3). As
mathematician, Newton and Leibniz invented differential calculus. He also
calculated a formula for finding the velocity of sound in a gas, which was later
corrected by Laplace (Chew 1). Newton made many contributions to the
field of physics. He developed the three laws of motion. The first was the law
of inertia. This law stated that objects in motion would continue to move in
that direction at a constant velocity unless an outside force acts upon it. His
second law stated that for every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction. Finally, his third law sate that forces causes masses to accelerate.
As the acceleration increases the force increases as well. They are directly
proportion to each other. Newton is considered to come up with the theory
of universal gravitation. This is not totally true, but he did contribute to it.
Newton made a huge impact on theoretical astronomy. He defined the laws
of motion and universal gravitation, which he used to predict precisely the
motions of stars, and the planets around the sun. Using his discoveries in
optics Newton constructed the first reflecting telescope (Chew1). Other
accomplishments
law about centrifugal force on body that is moving in a circular path. He did
not totally understand the idea of circular motion. In 1666 Newton?s main
idea was that the Earth?s gravity influenced the moon, therefore
counterbalancing it?s centrifugal force. From this and Kelpler?s law of
planetary motion, Newton came up with the inverse-square law (O?Connor
& Robertson 5). Newton made many accomplishments to the physics field.
Newton wrote many books during his time. One of his most famous was
Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Newton had a mental
breakdown in 1675 and was still recovering in 1679. His friend, a man by the
name of Halley, was interested in orbits and; therefore, he convinced Newton
to publish his works. From August 1684 to the spring of 1686, Newton
devoted his time into doing this. Finally, in 1687, a book was published called
Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. There were three parts to this
book. The first contained definitions and talked about the three laws of
motion. The three laws that were discussed are the law of inertia, the law of
action and reaction, and the theory of how acceleration was proportion to
force. The second part contained Newton?s new scientific theory, and the
third part included an explanation for why tides occur and the theory of lunar
motion. The book also contained his set of four rules for scientific reasoning.
The first one is ?we are to admit no more causes of natural things such as are
both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.? The second rule was
?the same natural effects must be assigned to the same causes.? The third rule
stated, ? qualities of bodies are to be esteemed as universal,? and the fourth
rule stated, ? propositions deduced from observation of phenomena should
be viewed as accurate until other phenomena contradict them,? (Weinstein
1-2). Newton followed these four rules when conducting experiments and
investigating. Newton wrote another famous book in 1704 called Optics. In
this book Newton talked about how he observed that white light could be
separated by a prism into a spectrum of different colors. Each of the colors
would have a different refractivity. He performed many experiments at
Cambridge. In one of his experiments he found out that the image that a prism
produced was not circular like current theories of light required, but was
oval-shaped. In this experiment, he observed a half-red, half-blue string
through a prism and saw the ends were disjointed. He observed Newton?s
rings, which was actually a materialization of the wave nature of light. Newton
did not believe in the materialization of the wave nature of light. He believed
that light has to move faster in medium when it is refracted. Newton?s
discoveries about light were a major contribution to the science field
(Weinstein 2). Newton spent most of his later portion of his life devoted to
alchemical researches and trying to date events in the Bible. He was
appointed Warden of the British Mint in 1695 and was knighted by Queen
Anne (Weinstein 3). He died in 1727 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
He is the first scientist with this honor. After his death, it was discovered that
he had extremely large amounts of mercury in his body. Many say this could
be a result of his alchemical pursuits (Weinstein 3). He is considered to be
one of the most influential scientists who ever lived. His accomplishments in
mathematics, optics, and physics laid the fundamentals for modern science
and changed the world.
Chew, Robin. ?Isaac Newton.?
http://www2.lucidcafe.com/lucidcafe/library/95dec/newton.html December
1995. O?Connor JJ & Robertson, E F. ?Isaac Newton.?
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