Newton's+Big+Brain

Physics: The Discoveries of Isaac Newton
Airiel Ho, Kimberly Pang, Anissa Lye, Rebekah Yeo

A Timeline of Key Events (KIM)

Date || Event || Significance || 25 December 1642 || Birth of Newton || || 1666 || Cambridge closed, due to the fear of the plague, and was forced to return to Woolsthorpe for 18 months || During this time, Newton experienced his first great burst of creative energy - Invented the calculus - Began investigations into the composition of light (optics) - Developed his theories on the law of gravitation || 1666 || Sits in the garden and an apple drops on his head || || 1667 || Newton returns to Cambridge || || 1668 || Built the first reflecting telescope || || 1669 || Became a chair of mathematics in Cambridge || || 1672 || Communicated his first public paper on optics || || 1672 || Elected fellow of the Royal Society || || 1684 – 1686 || Second intense period of creativity || Wrote his famous Principia || 1687 || Complete Principia published || || 1689 || Elected Member of Parliament || || 1693 || Newton suffers mental breakdown || || 1696 || Becomes warden of the Royal Mint || || 1700 || Appointed Master of the Royal Mint || || 1703 || Elected president of the Royal Society  || || 1704 || Publication of Opticks || Revealed Newton’s theories on optics and refraction of light || 1705 || Knighted by Queen Anne || || 1713 || Second edition of Principia published || || 1726 || Third edition of Principia published || || 20 March 1727 || Died || Only scientist to be buried in Westminster Abbey ||

= = = = = http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/newton/timeline.html = = http://www.ctlibrary.com/ch/1991/issue30/3041.html = = http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Newton/RouseBall/RB_Newton.html = = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton#Apple = = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton =

Biological Write-Up (REB)

Sir Isaac Newton was an English experimenter, empiricist and university mathematician. He was born in 1642 in Woolsthorpe, England, which was a sleepy little village, and died in 1727.

He showed little genius until he attended Cambridge University. His first great burst of creative energy came when Cambridge closed in 1666 due to the fear of plague, and thus forced him back to his hometown for 18 months. There, he invented the calculus, a mathematical means of calculating rates of change, and began investigation into the composition of light, and inaugurated his work on the laws of gravitation.

In 1669, he returned to Cambridge, and became chair of Mathematics in 1671. During the second intense period of creativity (1684-1686), he wrote the famous Principia Mathematica.

In 1693, he suffered a nervous breakdown and became warden of the Royal Mint after. Soon, he advanced to master of the mint by 1699 and held that position till his death in 1727.

In 1703 he became President of the Royal Society and was knighted in 1705 for his great achievements. He also was the only scientist to be buried in westminster abbey.

Major Discoveries & Achievements (ANISSA)

Overview **
 * __Sir Isaac Newton’s major discoveries and achievements__ **

Newton had many contributions. Firstly, he ** invented the calculus **, a mathematical means of calculating rates of change and he conceived his 'method of fluxions' (infinitesimal calculus). He also ** offered insights into the universal law of gravity and refined Galileo’s theory of inertia, which had significance in understanding planetary motion .** He is highly acclaimed for the publication of //Principia// (1687), his manuscript on mathematical principles of natural philosophy. Finally, he also ** laid the foundations for his theory of light and colour ** as well as contributed in the calculation of sound waves. Newton’s contributions were of significance in that earth and celestial motion are governed by some laws which helped in understanding the tides. We also recognize that Earth is not a perfect sphere which helps in map-making. Another significance is that he popularized the use of data (empiricism). Finally, Newton seemed to have answered all questions in science. Newton's alchemical studies opened new theoretical avenues. Unlike mechanical philosophy which reduced all phenomena to matter in motion, his alchemical study upheld the possibility that particles experienced attraction and repulsion. He can be credited for the discovery of universal gravitation, which offered an explanation of forces at work. Newton also **described the type of curve seen in a planet’s orbit around the sun as an ellipse.** In 1687, he produced //Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica//. It is arguably **the most important book published in the history of science,** bringing together Galileo’s discoveries about motion on Earth and Kepler’s motion in the heavens. Scientific Achievements **
 * Isaac Newton was a mathematics professor at Cambridge and one of the greatest scientists in history. His genius lay in mathematics, which he believed could describe nature. **

__Mathematics__ : Newton invented the calculus. He **discovered the binomial theorem**, **new methods for expansion of infinite series, and 'direct and inverse method of fluxions**.' Fluxional calculus is a method to treat changing or flowing quantities. Hence, a 'fluxion' represents the rate of change of a 'fluent'--a continuously changing or flowing quantity (e.g. distance, area, length). Newton shares the credit with Gottfried Leibniz for the **development **** of the differential and integral calculus **. He also **developed the so-called "** **Newton's method **** " for approximating the zeroes of a function **, and contributed to the study of power series. He provided an explanation for heavenly motion that was tied to observed properties of motion on Earth, combining both Galileo and Kepler’s theories.  __Planetary Motion:__ Newton provided an explanation for motion throughout the universe. His explanation was based on the idea of inertial movement and gravity. He refined Galileo’s theory of inertia, suggesting that equal and opposite forces of motion were at work when any two objects came into contact. By 1684, Newton **demonstrated the relationship between an inverse square attraction and elliptical orbits.** He believed that, “Every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force varying inversely as the square of the distance between them and directly proportional to the product of their masses.” **This force was universal gravitation. Newton successfully explained this descriptive law, offering an explanation for understanding motion in the heavens and on earth.** His 1687 publication " Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" (usually called the Principia ) is **one of the most influential books in the** history of science. It laid the groundwork for a large portion of classical mechanics. In this work, Newton described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion. His explanations dominated the scientific view of the physical universe for the next 300 years. Newton showed, with everyday occurrences, that the motion of objects on Earth and of <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">celestial bodies are governed by the same set of natural laws. This was achieved by a demonstration of the consistency between <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Kepler's laws of planetary motion and his theory of gravitation, thus removing the last doubts about <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">heliocentrism and advancing the <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">scientific revolution. The Principia (3 basic laws of motion): (1) Every body continues in its state of rest, or uniform motion in a straight line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed on it (inertia). (2) The change in motion is proportional to the motive force impressed and is made in the direction of the straight line in which that force is impressed (F = ma). (3) To every action there is always an opposed and equal reaction. Newton’s laws of motion have assisted engineers in designing machine parts. The push and pull of gravitation have shown that the earth is not spherical, which has altered map making. The mathematics of gravity have also been employed to predict the ebb and flow of tides and instrumental in the maritime trade. Above all, Newton’s explanation of motion have offered an intelligible understanding of heaven and earth and given man greater power over its environment. Newton’s **universal law of gravitation demonstrated that one universal law, once mathematically proven could actually explain all motion in the universe** such as the movements of planets to a falling apple from a tree. <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: lime; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> __Optics__ : Newton also worked on optics. Newton's **main discovery was that visible (white) light is heterogeneous**-- that is, white light is composed of colors that can be considered primary. Through experiments, Newton demonstrated that prisms separate rather than modify white light. Each colour of light was a component of white light and the colours came into focus at different distances. He proved his point by splitting and recombining white light between two prisms. Contrary to the theories of Aristotle and other predecessors, Newton held that white light is secondary and heterogeneous, while the separate colors are primary and homogeneous. Newton also **demonstrated that the colors of the spectrum correspond to an observed and quantifiable 'degree of Refrangibility.**' Newton concluded that white light is a 'Heterogeneous mixture of differently refrangible Rays' and that colors of the spectrum cannot themselves be individually modified, but are 'Original and connate properties.' <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: lime; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> __The Corpuscular Theory__ : The common thinking during the 17th century was that light, like sound, consisted of a wave motion. However, Newton disagreed. **Newton's theory of light was essentially corpuscular, or particulate.** In effect, since light (unlike sound) travels in straight lines and casts a sharp shadow, Newton suggested that light was composed of discrete particles moving in straight lines. Furthermore, since experiment had shown that **the properties of the separate colors of light were constant and unchanging, so too, Newton reasoned, was the stuff of light itself-- particles.** At various points in his career Newton in effect combined the particle and wave theories of light. In his //Opticks// of 1717, Newton considered the possibility of an ethereal substance--an all-pervasive elastic material more subtle than air--that would provide a medium for the propagation of waves or vibrations. Newton rejected the basic wave models of Robert Hooke, the Royal Society’s president which overlooked the subtlety of periodicity. The question of periodicity arose with the phenomenon known as 'Newton's rings.' In book II of the //Opticks//, Newton describes a series of experiments concerning the colors of thin films. His **most remarkable observation was that light passing through a convex lens pressed against a flat glass plate produces concentric colored rings (Newton's rings) with alternating dark rings.** Newton also **built the first practical** **<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">reflecting telescope ** and **developed a theory of** **<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">colour ** based on the observation that a <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">prism decomposes <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">white light into the many colours that form the <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">visible spectrum. In addition, Sir Isaac Newton also **formulated an empirical** **<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">law of cooling **** and studied the <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">speed of sound **. Sources ** Source: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/ufhatch/pages/01-Courses/current-courses/08sr-newton.htm Source: http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdnewt.htm Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton#Fame

Significance & Importance of Major Discoveries & Achievements (AIRIEL)

Sir Isaac Newton made many great discoveries in his time. His Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosphy), Opticks and De anlysi are considered to one of the greatest scientific works ever produced by human intellect. His brilliant and revolutionary contributions to science explained the working of a large part of inanimate nature in mathematical terms and suggested that the remainder might be understood in a similar fashion. By taking known facts, forming a theory which explained them in mathematical terms, deducing consequences from theory and comparing the results wih observed and experimental facts, he united, for the first time, the explanation of physical phenomena with the means of prediction. By beginning with the physical axioms of the laws of motion and gravitation, he converted physics from a mere science of explanation into a general mathmatical system. From the confusion of the accepted theorues of light and colour, his experiments explained the phenomena of colour and anticipated modern developments in light theory. His invention of calculas gave science one of its most versatile and powerful tools.

Newton's fame rests securely on his application of the first mathematical method of the study of nature and his having been the first to bring under one general principle, the law of gravitation- a wide range of natural phenomena. He consolidated the foundations of dynamics as the true basis of a mechanical picture of the universe and made applications chiefly to celestial phenomena, undreamed of before his time. His achievements in the use of infinite series and inferential and integral calculas went so far beyond what had been done before that he is often regarded as the chief discoverer in these fields.

It would be difficult to exaggerate the influence of Newton's work has had on the development on physical science, During the two centuries following the publication of the Principia, there was a great expansion in the range of phenomena that yielded to treatment by the mathematical and dynamic methods intiated by him. Much of this expansion can be described as a sequel to Principia. It was not until early in the twentieth century that the foundations on which Newton's work rests were seen to be in need of drastic revision,a revision which has led to the modern theory of relativity and to the quantum theory. But for systems of ordinary dimensions, involving velocities which do not approach the speed of light, the dynamic principles formulated by Newton nearly three centuries ago are still valid.

Besides his scientific work, Newton left voluminous writings on theology, chronology, alchemy, and chemistry, in all of which he profoundly learnt.

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