Image Credit: Michael Taylor
“Rational Mechanics will be the science of motions resulting from any forces whatsoever, and of the forces required to produce any motions, accurately proposed and demonstrated… And therefore we offer this work as mathematical principles of philosophy. For all the difficulty of philosophy seems to consist in this—from the phenomena of motions to investigate the forces of Nature, and then from these forces to demonstrate the other phenomena” — Isaac Newton, preface to Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica
“While acceptance of Newton’s theories was not immediate, by the end of a century after publication in 1687 no one could deny that (out of the ‘Principia’) “a science had emerged that, at least in certain respects, so far exceeded anything that had ever gone before” — G E Smith, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2008 Edition), E N Zalta (ed.).
On this day, 323 years ago in 1687, physics was born. Isaac Newton published Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (“the mathematical principles of natural philosophy”). The Principia states Newton’s laws of motion, classical mechanics, the Law of universal gravitation, and a derivation of Kepler’s laws of planetary motion (which Kepler first obtained empirically). For me Newton is the father of physics. In the days before the Principia, it was all about natural philosophy. Natural philosophy was empiricial study of nature and the physical universe. In short, it is what we now call experimental physics, observational astronomy and physical chemistry. I find it amazing that the modern notion of science and scientists goes back only to the 19th century. For example, Webster’s 9th New Collegiate Dictionary dates the origin of the word “scientist” to 1834. Until the Principia, natural philosophers studied physics, astronomy and chemistry. You can browse his complete works at The Newton Project housed by the University of Sussex. Newton wrote and transcribed about a million words on the subject of alchemy, of which only a tiny fraction has today been published. You can find his alchemical manuscripts here.
Image Credit: Charles Paolino
Newton “the astronomer” was raised to cult status when pictured with his telescope and orbits of the planets on the back of the old one pound note.
Image Credit: University of Houston
Most children remember him from the story of the apple that fell on his head from a tree inspiring him to think up gravity. The original tree, now part of the National Trust was an variety of cooking apple called the Flower of Kent and continues to grow in the garden of Woolsthorpe Manor, near Grantham. The original tree fell over in 1820 but rooted where the trunk touched the ground. It’s descendents by vegetative propagation are now planted and growing in Trinity College, Cambridge, the Botanical Gardens of the University of Tokyo and MIT (where it just sprouted its first apple):
Image Credit: National Trust (UK)
Isaac Newton, like Albert Einstein, devoted his life to the decoding of the secrets of nature. He quantified gravitational attraction, discovered that white light is actually a mixture of 7 immutable spectral colors, and formulated calculus. Before calculus there was no modern physics. Through the Principia, he turned “natural philosophy” into a “science” overnight. Only history will judge the true significance of his work. It is a tribute to him that physicists, philosophers, physical chemists, alchemists, theologians and astronomers all claim him as theirs. He is no ones. He just is. There may be many dark secrets about him waiting to be revealed as NOVA believe. But, whatever, you’re take on Newton, today for me is a great day in our history. Let us enjoy an apple and remember him and that we stand on the shoulders of giants. That way we will see a little more of nature.
