Issac Newton Essay, Research Paper

In the year 1642 the people of Europe would have never thought that when Isaac Newton was born he would become one of the smartest men of his time. Through his 84 years on earth this man would discover gravity and write the principia, one of the most famous books to date. Newton didn’t discover gravity but he discovered that it was and still is everywhere on earth at all times.

A falling apple had posed a very difficult question in Newton’s mind, the question of whether the force exerted by the Earth is making the apple fall. And if that same force was the same force that made the Moon “fall” towards the Earth. Which meant he thought the moon was in an elliptical orbit around the Earth. Until 1684 Newton thought his calculation were correct, but with the trading of letters with Robert Hooke he was proved wrong. In that same year, Edmund Halley visited Newton to try to answer some planetary questions. To Mr. Halley’s surprise, Newton told him that the force between Sun and planets was causing an elliptical orbit. He knew this according to the inverse square law of attraction.. He later sent a letter on the subject to Halley. And after long talk Halley talked Newton into writing about his findings. And after much arguing between Newton and Hooke, who strongly requested Newton give him credit for discovering the inverse-square law of attraction, Newton’s book was published in 1687 under the title of Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica.

This important work, which was unpublished for years, named Newton as the greatest of all physical scientists. With the writing of the Principia Newton had rewritten the whole science of moving bodies. Newton’s three “laws of motion” Formed a basis of all further work. The three laws stated that: I. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it. II. The relationship between an object’s mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors (as indicated by their symbols being displayed in slant bold font); in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector. And III. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. (/csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/newton3laws.html)

Book I of the Principia states the foundations of the science of mechanics, bringing light upon the mathematics of orbital motion round centers of force. Newton discovered gravitation as the main force controlling the motions of the celestial bodies. He never found its cause.

Book II demonstrates the theory of fluids: Newton solves problems of liquids in movement and of motion through fluids. From the density of air he calculated the speed of sound waves.

Book III shows the law of gravitation at work in the universe: Newton shows this by the revolutions of the six known planets, including the Earth, and their satellites. However, he could never quite understand the difficult theory of the Moon’s motion. He calculated the relative masses of heavenly bodies from their gravitational forces. He explained tidal ebb and flow and the precession of the equinoxes from the forces exerted by the Sun and Moon. He was able to do all this by exact computation. (Encarta, Isaac Newtown)

Isaac Newton is considered one of the smartest men to have lived for a reason. He taught the world how things move and why things are held back because of gravity. Today his findings are still being taught in schools worldwide. Know to be the father of physical science he can be found in books all the way to rap songs. Born in 1642 and deceased in 1727 this man most defiantly changed the way we look at our world.