It was a period in which there was an epidemic of a genius virus in Europe for scientists, explorers, inventors of many things including mathematics. Among them was Isaac Newton (1642-1727) who co-invented calculus, discovered the Binomial Theorem, and formulated a theory of universal gravitation (Smith). Newton has been regarded for almost 300 years as the founding exemplar of modern physical science, his achievements in experimental investigation being as innovative as these in mathematical research.
Before discussing his three achievements, it is important to note that Newton had some college experience but did his significant work was at home. Newton entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1661. His interest in mathematics began in the autumn of 1663, a date which matches the beginnings of his deep mathematical studies. When the plague forced the University to close in the summer of 1665, he returned to Lincolnshire [where he was born]. For a period of less than two years, Newton began revolutionary advances in mathematics and other areas such as optics, physics, and astronomy (O’Connor and Robertson). It is important to know where most of his discoveries were done in order to understand the reasons behind his inventions.
Newton is generally credited with the generalized binomial theorem which is valid for any exponent. When he started to read the works of Dr. Wallis, Newton was led to consider how “he could interpolate the general values of the areas in the second series…” (“The Life of Isaac Newton”). With this knowledge, he investigated the arithmetical law of the coefficients of the series and obtained a general method of interpolating other series. It later occurred to him that the same process of interpolating series ...
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Works Cited
“Isaac Newton” Bellevue College Inc. n.d. Web. Aug 8 2011. http://scidiv.bellevuecollege.edu/math/newton.html
O’Connor, J. J. and Robertson, E.F. “Sir Isaac Newton.” Mac Tutor History of Mathematics, Inc. Jan 2000. Web. Aug 31 2011.
http://www-history.mcst-andrews.ac.uk/history/Printonly/Newton.html
Smith, George, "Isaac Newton", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/newton/
“The Life of Isaac Newton.” Third Millennium Library. BioHistory. n.d. Web. Aug 31 2011.
http://www.third-millennium-library.com/readinghall/GalleryofHistory/Life_of_Isaac_Newton
Wilkins, D. R. “Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727).” Trinity College Dublin School of Mathematics Inc. n.d. Web. Aug 8 2011. http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistoryMath/People/Newton/RouseBall/RB_Newton.htm
When most people hear the name Isaac Newton, they think of various laws of physics and the story of the apple falling from the tree; in addition, some may even think of him as the inventor of calculus. However, there was much more to Newton’s life which was in part molded by the happenings around the world. The seventeenth century was a time of great upheaval and change around the world. The tumultuousness of this era was due mostly to political and religious unrest which in effect had a great impact on the mathematics and science discoveries from the time Newton was born in 1646 until the early 1700’s.
The Elements of Newton's Philosophy. By Voltaire. (Guildford and London: Billing and Sons Ltd., 1967. Pp xvi, 363.)
Sir Isaac Newton was born in England on December 25, 1642 during the time when studying motion was prevalent. He was known as one of the greatest mathematicians that ever lived. When Sir Isaac Newton matured he attended Free Grammar School and then later went on to Trinity College Cambridge. While he was in college he grew a strong passion for physics, math and astronomy. He received his bachelor and mater degree through his matriculation in college. Also, while in college he grew a passion for the study of motion. Before Isaac was born the study of motion was done by Galileo who discovered the projectile motion causing him to be one of the first scientists to experiment on moving objects. After Galileo’s death, Sir Isaac Newton took on the
Isaac Newton’s story of how an apple falling from a tree that hit his head inspired him to formulate a theory of gravitation is one that all school children grow up hearing about. Newton is arguably one of the most influential scientific minds in human history. He has published books such as Arithmetica Universalis, The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms, Methods of Fluxions, Opticks, the Queries, and most famously, Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia MathematicaHe formulated the three laws of gravitation, discovered the generalized binomial theorem, developed infinitesimal calculus (sharing credit with Gottfried Wilhelm Von Leibniz, who developed the theory independently), and worked extensively on optics and refraction of light. Newton changed the way that people look at the world they live in and how the universe works.
It is very hard and nearly impossible to find someone that had contributed to world’s science as much as Isaac Newton did. His works set the basis for modern world physics and his main work that was published in “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy” is considered one of the most significant books that the world has seen. Newton was without doubt one of the most influential scientists in modern times and he is one of the examples of the scientific enlightenment that occurred in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The evidence that support and served Newton has been collected by scientists and astronomers from different parts of the world. Newton’s work and contribution to the world wouldn’t be possible without the data that has been collected miles from his office in Cambridge. The crossing of ideas as part of the transporting world and the beginning of globally connected society had a major influence on the success of Newton’s Principia. Using Simon Schaffer’s article “Newton on the Beach: The Information Order of Principia Mathematica” and Roger Cotes’s “Preface to Newton’s Principia Mathematica” I will try to show how these crossings of ideas as part of a more globalized world were important aspect in the creation of this enlightened period.
Ball, Rouse. “Sir Isaac Newton.” A Short Account of the History of Mathematics. 4th ed. Print.
Born on January 4, 1643, Isaac Newton is a renowned physicist and mathematician. As a child, he started off without his father, and when he was three years old, his mother remarried and left to live with her second husband. Newton was left in the hands of his grandmother. After getting a basic education at the local schools, he was sent to Grantham, England to attend the King’s School. He lived with a pharmacist named Clark. During his time at Clark’s home, he was interested in his chemical library and laboratory. He would amuse Clark’s daughter by creating mechanical devices such as sundials, floating lanterns, and a windmill run by a live mouse. Isaac Newton’s interest in science at an early age foreshadows how Isaac would be led into the
The day Galileo had slipped from our world Sir Isaac Newton had life breathed into him. Sir Isaac Newton was born on December 25, 1642, at Woolsthorpe. Before he was born his father died, so he was brought up with the scent and presence of his mother, Hannah. Despite this at the age of three his mother married someone else and abandoned him in the care of his grandmother, devastating him and rocking his foundation. He received the basic local education, or elementary, until he was twelve, then he proceeded to attend the King's School in Grantham. In 1661, at the age of nineteen, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge and worked to obtain his Bachelors degree. He then decided to go work for his masters degree, the plague hit Europe in 1666 the University closed. The next eighteen months he spent learning in solitude at his manor. When the College reopens he quickly obtains his Masters. He later becomes a professor for this college for 27 years. During these times he brought to light optics, his discovery of calculus and gravitation. Having learned all this he contributed to the Enlightenment with his discoveries as well as influencing thinkers of the future.
Newton’s inventive years with mathematics were from 1664 to 1696. Even though his companions also had likely various elements of the calculus, Newton summed everything up and included these ideas of his while developing new and more exact methods. The necessary elements of his thought were on hand in three tracts, De analysi (On Analysis), which went unpublished until 1711. In 1671, Newton developed a more absolute account of his course of infinitesimals, which appeared nine years after his death as “Methodus fluxionum et serierum infinitarum”.
...e began by mastering mathematics. He developed calculus in order for him to find the rate of change of objects. He learned about light and colors, which lead to his invention of the refracting telescope. He was the man that finally built a model of astronomy and physics and in doing so, brought together the work of Kepler and Galileo and of course his own findings on gravity (Margaret, 90). Newton was the first scientist ever to be honored with a knighthood for his work (Christianson, 138). Newton saw far, farther than anyone else at this time. He changed the world, and opened people's eyes.
Isaac Newton was born in Lincolnshire, on December 25, 1642. He was educated at Trinity College in Cambridge, and resided there from 1661 to 1696 during which time he produced the majority of his work in mathematics. During this time New ton developed several theories, such as his fundamental principles of gravitation, his theory on optics otherwise known as the Lectiones Opticae, and his work with the Binomial Theorem. This is only a few theories that that Isaac Newton contributed to the world of mathematics. Newton contributed to all aspects of mathematics including geometry, algebra, and physics.
Newton, Isaac. The Correspondence of Isaac Newton. Vol. 7, 1718-1727. Edited by A. Rupert Hall and Laura Tilling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press for the Royal Society, 1977.
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Finally, Isaac Newton’s Theory of Universal Gravitation shows how God designed the universe according to mathematical principles. What fully distinguishes science during the Scientific Revolution from the natural philosophy that dominated the preceding eras was the integration of mathematics into science. After centuries of relegating themselves to mere observation of nature, mathematics offered scientists an invaluable tool. Through the synthesis of mathematics, science gained its most distinguishing fea...
Sir Isaac Newton Jan 4 1643 - March 31 1727 On Christmas day by the georgian calender in the manor house of Woolsthorpe, England, Issaac Newton was born prematurely. His father had died 3 months before. Newton had a difficult childhood. His mother, Hannah Ayscough Newton remarried when he was just three, and he was sent to live with his grandparents. After his stepfather’s death, the second father who died, when Isaac was 11, Newtons mother brought him back home to Woolsthorpe in Lincolnshire where he was educated at Kings School, Grantham. Newton came from a family of farmers and he was expected to continue the farming tradition , well that’s what his mother thought anyway, until an uncle recognized how smart he was. Newton's mother removed him from grammar school in Grantham where he had shown little promise in academics. Newtons report cards describe him as 'idle' and 'inattentive'. So his uncle decided that he should be prepared for the university, and he entered his uncle's old College, Trinity College, Cambridge, in June 1661. Newton had to earn his keep waiting on wealthy students because he was poor. Newton's aim at Cambridge was a law degree. At Cambridge, Isaac Barrow who held the Lucasian chair of Mathematics took Isaac under his wing and encouraged him. Newton got his undergraduate degree without accomplishing much and would have gone on to get his masters but the Great Plague broke out in London and the students were sent home. This was a truely productive time for Newton.