Isaac Newton was born on either 4 January 1643 or Christmas day 1642 in England. About three months prior to his birth, his father had died, and Isaac was a very premature baby. When Isaac was only three years old, his mother married into money, and went to live in the next village with her elderly clergyman husband. Isaac was left behind to live with his grandmother. Eight years later, when Isaac was eleven, his mother returned from the next village with three small children, presumably fathered by her second late husband. When Isaac turned 13, he went away to grammar school and housed with an apothecary. This man taught him a love of chemicals and young Master Newton was intrigued by the work that he saw being done around him. The family plan for him was that, at age seventeen, he would return to the farm and look after the family; however, he turned out to be a complete failure in this endeavor.
Because he was such a horrible farmer, Newton's uncle suggested the he instead attend university at Trinity College, Cambridge. He did well in school and paid tuition for his first three years by waiting tables and cleaning rooms for the faculty and some of the richer students. In 1664 he was elected a scholar, an honor which guaranteed him four years of financial support, but in the summer of 1665, the plague that was spreading across Europe reached Cambridge causing a wide epidemic, and the school was closed down, which forced him to return home. At home he spent two years researching problems that concerned mathematics and physics, especially the law of gravitation and some of his work on optics. He was always hesitant to publish anything though, until he started to get nervous about others publishing what he already had discovered.
In the summer of 1667 Newton returned to Cambridge, and at this point his scientific career took flight.
Scientific Career ⁶ ⁸
Upon returning to Cambridge, Newton read the newly published work of Nicolas Mercator which talked about ways to deal with infinite series. As soon as he read this, he did his own writing which went even further into the topic with much more extensive research. One of Newton's friends started discussing Newton and his ideas with a famous mathematician in London, and once Newton was comfortable, he gave his name and became recognized in the mathematics community for his ideas. This was a major stepping stone for Isaac Newton.
His first major public scientific discovery was the invention, modeling, and building of the reflecting telescope. The discovery itself was very important, but what is also truly spectacular is the fact that he completely constructed this telescope by himself. He built his own tools, crafted the tube, and even ground his own mirrors for the project. The reason that the reflecting telescope is superior to the lens telescope is because mirrors could focus the light more, thus creating a sharper image. Because this was such a huge advance in telescope technology, this project earned him the honor of becoming a member of the Royal Society.
Replica of Newton's Telescope
Later on in the 1670's Isaac Newton became very interested in theology and studied deep into Hebrew and Christian theology. After researching both classical and contemporary sources, Newton was convinced that the modern church had strayed from the true teachings of Christ, and said that he couldn't take holy orders. However, to be a fellow of the Trinity Church, he was required to take holy orders. Because he was so valuable though, King Charles II made a very specific exception for Newton and stated that only the Lucasian professor is not required to take holy orders. Today, the Lucasian professor is Stephen Hawking.
In 1684 there were three members of the Royal Society arguing over how the gravitational force of the sun effected the planets and their elliptical orbits. One of the men, Edmond Halley, brought the problem to Isaac Newton at Cambridge, and Newton said that he had solved this four years prior, but couldn't find the proof among his papers. After three months of working on the problem, he sent improved papers to Halley, then continued to research this puzzling problem far more in depth. This research culminated in 1686 when Newton published Principia, a book which completely altered the view that men had of the universe. Once this book was published, Newton became very famous. He then left Cambridge for London where he was appointed Master of Mint. He took this job very seriously and attacked it with incredible energy. He even pursued people who were counterfeiting money.
The main ideas presented in Principia deal with gravity, the subject for which Newton is most famous. Everyone has heard the story of Newton sitting under the apple tree and seeing the apple fall, but where did he go from this idea. After seeing the apple fall from the tree, Newton started to realize that it must be drawn to the earth by something, gravity. He also understood that this force must apply to other objects farther from earth as well, even something as far away as the moon. This picture offers a good example of what Newton was envisioning when he was thinking about gravity and earth.
This picture helps to explain what Newton was thinking about gravity and the earth. What it depicts is someone firing a high powered rifle off the top of an incredibly huge mountain (completely hypothetical size and situation). As the person fires the rifle with more power, or throws a rock or whatever, the parabolic paths begin to flatten out. They continue to do this until the curvature of the earth has to be taken into account to figure out where the object would land. Newton theorized, and was correct that, a certain velocity will actually cause the object to continue curving around the earth, and escape the gravitation force that would pull it to the ground, causing the object to orbit around the earth. Newton was obviously correct with this model, if he hadn't been there would be no way for us to put satellites in space, or for the moon to orbit the earth, or for us to send a manned space shuttle into orbit. It would all be impossible⁸. In Principia, Newton also described his three laws of motion which are: 1. an object in motion or at rest will remain doing so unless acted upon by an outside force, 2. F = Mass * Acceleration, and 3. For every reaction or force there is an equal and opposite reaction or force⁶.
-Newton was a poor student in school until a bully hit him, Newton then challenged him to a fight despite being smaller. He won, and decided to be better at school as well so worked much harder.
-Isaac's father was almost completely illiterate, he could hardly even write his name.
-Isaac Newton loved to color, even his walls and ceiling were covered with colorings.
-Newton was knighted because of his political activities
-Some say that he was an Arian, a follower of a secret religion which did not believe in the Holy Trinity.
-He was born so premature you could fit him in a quart jug
Isaac Newton
Personal Life ⁷ ⁸
Isaac Newton was born on either 4 January 1643 or Christmas day 1642 in England. About three months prior to his birth, his father had died, and Isaac was a very premature baby. When Isaac was only three years old, his mother married into money, and went to live in the next village with her elderly clergyman husband. Isaac was left behind to live with his grandmother. Eight years later, when Isaac was eleven, his mother returned from the next village with three small children, presumably fathered by her second late husband. When Isaac turned 13, he went away to grammar school and housed with an apothecary. This man taught him a love of chemicals and young Master Newton was intrigued by the work that he saw being done around him. The family plan for him was that, at age seventeen, he would return to the farm and look after the family; however, he turned out to be a complete failure in this endeavor.
Because he was such a horrible farmer, Newton's uncle suggested the he instead attend university at Trinity College, Cambridge. He did well in school and paid tuition for his first three years by waiting tables and cleaning rooms for the faculty and some of the richer students. In 1664 he was elected a scholar, an honor which guaranteed him four years of financial support, but in the summer of 1665, the plague that was spreading across Europe reached Cambridge causing a wide epidemic, and the school was closed down, which forced him to return home. At home he spent two years researching problems that concerned mathematics and physics, especially the law of gravitation and some of his work on optics. He was always hesitant to publish anything though, until he started to get nervous about others publishing what he already had discovered.
In the summer of 1667 Newton returned to Cambridge, and at this point his scientific career took flight.
Scientific Career ⁶ ⁸
Upon returning to Cambridge, Newton read the newly published work of Nicolas Mercator which talked about ways to deal with infinite series. As soon as he read this, he did his own writing which went even further into the topic with much more extensive research. One of Newton's friends started discussing Newton and his ideas with a famous mathematician in London, and once Newton was comfortable, he gave his name and became recognized in the mathematics community for his ideas. This was a major stepping stone for Isaac Newton.
His first major public scientific discovery was the invention, modeling, and building of the reflecting telescope. The discovery itself was very important, but what is also truly spectacular is the fact that he completely constructed this telescope by himself. He built his own tools, crafted the tube, and even ground his own mirrors for the project. The reason that the reflecting telescope is superior to the lens telescope is because mirrors could focus the light more, thus creating a sharper image. Because this was such a huge advance in telescope technology, this project earned him the honor of becoming a member of the Royal Society.
Later on in the 1670's Isaac Newton became very interested in theology and studied deep into Hebrew and Christian theology. After researching both classical and contemporary sources, Newton was convinced that the modern church had strayed from the true teachings of Christ, and said that he couldn't take holy orders. However, to be a fellow of the Trinity Church, he was required to take holy orders. Because he was so valuable though, King Charles II made a very specific exception for Newton and stated that only the Lucasian professor is not required to take holy orders. Today, the Lucasian professor is Stephen Hawking.
In 1684 there were three members of the Royal Society arguing over how the gravitational force of the sun effected the planets and their elliptical orbits. One of the men, Edmond Halley, brought the problem to Isaac Newton at Cambridge, and Newton said that he had solved this four years prior, but couldn't find the proof among his papers. After three months of working on the problem, he sent improved papers to Halley, then continued to research this puzzling problem far more in depth. This research culminated in 1686 when Newton published Principia, a book which completely altered the view that men had of the universe. Once this book was published, Newton became very famous. He then left Cambridge for London where he was appointed Master of Mint. He took this job very seriously and attacked it with incredible energy. He even pursued people who were counterfeiting money.
The main ideas presented in Principia deal with gravity, the subject for which Newton is most famous. Everyone has heard the story of Newton sitting under the apple tree and seeing the apple fall, but where did he go from this idea. After seeing the apple fall from the tree, Newton started to realize that it must be drawn to the earth by something, gravity. He also understood that this force must apply to other objects farther from earth as well, even something as far away as the moon. This picture offers a good example of what Newton was envisioning when he was thinking about gravity and earth.
This picture helps to explain what Newton was thinking about gravity and the earth. What it depicts is someone firing a high powered rifle off the top of an incredibly huge mountain (completely hypothetical size and situation). As the person fires the rifle with more power, or throws a rock or whatever, the parabolic paths begin to flatten out. They continue to do this until the curvature of the earth has to be taken into account to figure out where the object would land. Newton theorized, and was correct that, a certain velocity will actually cause the object to continue curving around the earth, and escape the gravitation force that would pull it to the ground, causing the object to orbit around the earth. Newton was obviously correct with this model, if he hadn't been there would be no way for us to put satellites in space, or for the moon to orbit the earth, or for us to send a manned space shuttle into orbit. It would all be impossible⁸. In Principia, Newton also described his three laws of motion which are: 1. an object in motion or at rest will remain doing so unless acted upon by an outside force, 2. F = Mass * Acceleration, and 3. For every reaction or force there is an equal and opposite reaction or force⁶.
Some Fun Facts ⁵
-Newton was a poor student in school until a bully hit him, Newton then challenged him to a fight despite being smaller. He won, and decided to be better at school as well so worked much harder.-Isaac's father was almost completely illiterate, he could hardly even write his name.
-Isaac Newton loved to color, even his walls and ceiling were covered with colorings.
-Newton was knighted because of his political activities
-Some say that he was an Arian, a follower of a secret religion which did not believe in the Holy Trinity.
-He was born so premature you could fit him in a quart jug
Resources
5. http://www.angelfire.com/crazy3/isaac_newton/funfacts.html6. http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Newton.html
7. http://www.newton.ac.uk/newtlife.html
8. http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/lectures/newton.html