In 1666, Newton began contributing to the field of optics, first by observing that color was a property of light by measuring it through a prism. These discoveries represented a huge leap forward for the fields of math, physics, and astronomy, allowing for calculations that more accurately modeled the behavior of the universe than ever before. He also shares credit with Gottfried Leibniz for the development of calculus. In terms of mathematics, he contributed to the study of power series, generalized the binomial theorem to non-integer exponents, developed Newton’s method for approximating the roots of a function, and classified most of the cubic plane curves. This in turn helped convince most Continental European scientists of the superiority of Newtonian mechanics over the earlier system of Descartes. This theory would later be vindicated by the measurements of Maupertuis, La Condamine, and others. a sphere that experienced flattening at the poles. Shape of the Earth:Īdditional contributions include his prediction that the Earth was likely shaped as an “oblate spheroid” – i.e.
However, Newton himself described the incident, and contemporaries of his defend this assertion. where he watched an apple fall from a tree – the story is considered apocryphal by modern sources who argue that he came to his conclusions over time. Though Newton’s inspiration for his theories on gravity are often attributed to the “Apple Incident” – i.e. Sapling of the reputed original tree that inspired Sir Isaac Newton to consider gravitation.
His work also demonstrated that the motion of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies could be described by the same principles. This effectively removed the last doubts about the validity of the heliocentric model of the cosmos which argued that the Sun (not the Earth) was at the center of the planetary system. Newton would go on to use these principles to account for the trajectories of comets, the tides, the precession of the equinoxes, and other astrophysical phenomena. The formula for this theory can be expressed as: According to his calculations, this force is proportional to the product of the two masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. He also formulated his law of Universal Gravitation in the Principia, which states that every point mass attracts every single other point mass by a force pointing along the line intersecting both point. The third and final law states that “for every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction”. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.” The second law states that acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass – ergo, the greater the mass of the object, the greater the force required to accelerate it. The first law, known as the “law of inertia”, states that: “An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. Image Credit: William Blake Archive/Wikipedia William Blake’s Newton (1795), depicting him as a divine geometer. In it, he formulated his Three Laws of Motion, which were derived from Johann Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion and his own mathematical description of gravity. But what exactly did he discover? Newton’s Three Laws of Motion:įor starters, his magnum opus – Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (“Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”), which was first published in 1687 – laid the foundations for classical mechanics. And because of his extensive contributions, Sir Isaac Newton is regarded as one of the most influential scholars in the history of science. In fact, the term “Newtonian” came to be used by subsequent generations to describe bodies of knowledge that owed their existence to his theories. From this, he established a legacy that would dominate the sciences for the next three centuries.
In his time, he played a vital role in the Scientific Revolution, helping to advance the fields of physics, astronomy, mathematics and the natural sciences. Isaac Newton – who lived from December 25th, 1642, to March 20th, 1727 – was an English scientist, mathematician, and “natural philosopher”.