Group+3

__HISTORY AA__

Topic: Physics- The discoveries of Isaac Newton
Group Members: Koh Wei Yi, Tan Yen Jee, Goh Yue Shan, Mok Yuin Teng, Ho Ying Qin __A. A Timeline of Key Events__ **//1665-1667//** - Newton established the fundamentals of calculus (Newton calls it 'the method of series and fluxions'), setting down the basic rules of differentiation and integration in a paper of October 1666 - Demonstrated the heterogeneity of white light through its separation by refraction - Nearly blinded himself by conducting optical experiments on his own eyes - The sight of a falling apple in a Woolsthorpe orchard - or so Newton is said to have claimed decades later - focused his attention on the subject of gravity - Realized that the force required to keep the moon in orbit round the earth (as stated by Kepler in his Third Law) is of the same kind as that operating in terrestrial gravity - Newton's theory of universal gravitation was not fully worked out for another twenty years

**//1667-1668//** - Made Fellow of Trinity College [This required him to subscribe to the beliefs of the Church of England (including the doctrine of the Trinity), to take a vow of celibacy, and to promise to take holy orders within seven years of receiving his MA*)] - Awarded an MA
 * MA: A degree

**//1668-1669//** - Installed elaborate experimental apparatus in his rooms, adding two furnaces for (al)chemical experiments - Constructed the first functioning reflecting telescope (from a design by David Gregory)

**//1669//** - Wrote 'De analysi per aequationes numero terminorum infinitas' ('On Analysis by Infinite Series'), another milestone on the road to calculus - Newton became Lucasian Professor in October. Barrow and the mathematician and publisher John Collins urged Newton to publish his work on calculus, but he was reluctant - As his pupil, Newton prepared Barrow's //Lectiones opticae// (Optical Lectures) for publication, despite being well aware that his own unpublished optical discoveries are far in advance of Barrow's and contradict many of his conclusions

**//1671//** - Barrow persuaded Newton to allow him to demonstrate the telescope to the Royal Society, where it caused a sensation - Newton wrote De methodis serierum et fluxionum (On the Method of Series and Fluxions), expounding the principles of calculus, though this was not published until 1736

**//1672//** - Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in January - Newton's 'Theory about Light and Colors' published in the Royal Society's journal, //Philosophical Transactions// - Critical reactions from various quarters, and especially from Robert Hooke, infuriated Newton making him reluctant to publish further work

**//1673//** - Concentrated on his alchemical studies

**//1675//** - Sent a 'Hypothesis' concerning the causes of light and colours to the Royal Society - This was closely related to an alchemical essay, 'Of natures obvious laws and processes in vegetation', written (but not disclosed) by Newton at about the same time - Relations with Hooke worsened - Hooke believed that Newton’s 'Hypothesis' contained a number of ideas Hooke had already put forward in his //Micrographia// (1665). Greenwich Observatory, an astronomical observatory was founded in Britain for navigational purposes in 1675 by Charles II at Greenwich, England, with John Flamsteed as the first Astronomer Royal. Its main contributions have been in navigation, timekeeping, determination of star positions, and almanac publication.

**//1679-1680//** - Correspondence with Hooke about the path of falling bodies provided Newton with the key dynamic concepts of inertia and centripetal attraction

**//1681//** - Correspondence with Flamsteed about the comets of November and December 1680 - Newton came to agree with Flamsteed that they were the same, further developing his gravitational theory

**//1686//** - Fully formulated his theory of universal gravitation: every object in the universe attracts and is attracted to every other object

- Largely at Halley's urging and at Halley's expense, published //Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy)//, his masterwork on mechanics, fluids and gravity - Though many were unconvinced by Newton's theory of gravity, the book established his reputation as one of the greatest mathematicians of his day
 * //1687//**

- Pressed for data on the moon's motion, which Newton still cannot satisfactorily explain in terms of his gravitational theory
 * //1694//**

**//1696//** - Newton wrote (but did not publish) the essay 'Praxis', the most substantial of his alchemical works - Did not continue his experiments, although he continued to collect books and manuscripts

**//1699//** - Fatio published a work asserting Newton's discovery of calculus and implying that Leibniz stole the idea from him (though Newton himself acknowledged in the Principia that Leibniz had reached at least some of the same conclusions independently)

- Elected as President of the Royal Society
 * //1703//**

**//1704//** - Published //Opticks//, his second masterpiece, written in English, setting out the principles of refraction and arguing for the corpuscular nature of light

**//1706//** - Publication of //Optice//, a Latin translation of the //Opticks//

//-// Publication of the 1712 calculus report as //Commercium epistolicum ... de analysi promota// (//Correspondence ... Relating to the Progress of Analysis)// - Second edition of the //Principia// - The 1714 reprinting of //Opticks// was supplemented by two mathematical treatises, //Tractatus de Quadratura Curvarum// (on the theory of fluxtions applied to the quadrature of curves) and //Enumeratio Linearum Tertii Ordinis//
 * //1713//**

**//1715//** - Devoted almost an entire issue of the //Philosophical Transactions// to 'An Account of the Book entitled //Commercium Epistolicum//', his own anonymous review of his own report on the calculus controversy

**//1716//** - Drew up a summary of his theories on ancient chronology at the request of Princess Caroline of Wales, asking her to keep the manuscript to herself (which she did not)

- Second English edition of the //Opticks//
 * //1718//**

//-// Third English edition of the //Opticks//
 * //1721//**


 * //1727//**
 * Died

B. __Who were the persons involved? Provide a brief biographical write-up about them.__

Sir Isaac Newton (1643 - 1727) Isaac Newton was an English mathematician and physicist, was one of the foremost scientific intellects of all time. A graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, he developed an intense interest in mathematics and the laws of nature. This ultimately resulted in the publication of two of his most famous works: //Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica// (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) in 1687, and //Opticks// in 1704. Newton is most well known for his contributions to the field of classical mechanics, universal gravitation, infinitesimal calculus, optics, and the binomial series.

Robert Hooke (1635- 1703) Robert Hooke was a British scientist who made many contributions to many fields, including mathematics, optics, mechanics, architecture and astronomy. He is well known for the Hooke’s Law, which is his law of elasticity, and his work in microscopy. While he was in the Royal Society, he was involved in a dispute with Newton over the latter’s theory that light was made up of particles as well as over Newton’s //Principia//. Despite that, Hooke made significant discoveries in microscopy, including the coining of the term ‘cell’.

Johannes Kepler (1571- 1630) Johannes Kepler is chiefly known for Kepler’s law of planetary motion and Kepler’s conjecture, which helped pave the way for the work of Isaac Newton. He was previously a worker of Tycho Brahe, a Danish nobleman known for his work in Astronomy, and an advisor to Emperor Rudolph II.

Galileo Galilei (1564- 1642) Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist who did groundbreaking research in Physics, which helped pave the way for the work of Isaac Newton. He also advocated the Copernican Theory, which landed himself in some trouble with the Catholic Church.

Issac Barrows (1630- 1677) Issac Barrows was an English mathematician, credited for his works in the fundamental theorem of calculus. He was Newton’s teacher and had many private discussion with him, which influenced Newton’s works greatly.

John Flamsteed (1646-1719) John Flamsteed was an English Astronomer, and the first Astronomer Royal. He published his star catalogue //Historia Coelestis Britannica,// which listed more stars and their positions more accurately than any publication before. Before the completion of his observations, Newton pushed for their immediate publication, despite Flamsteed’s struggle to withhold them until completion, much to his displeasure. Flamsteed later burnt 300 of the 400 copies of the preliminary version of //Historia Coelestis Britannica// that Newton and Halley had published earlier.

Edmond Halley (1656 - 1742) Edmond Halley was an English astronomer and physicist. He had been influenced by Flamsteed to begin a project to compile a list of stars in the Southern Hemisphere, after which he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. He had tried to deduce a theoretical orbit that would match the observed planetary movement, which he later discovered Newton had already found. At Halley’s expense, Newton’s //Principia// was published. He made other significant contributions to the field of astronomy, and later succeeded Flamsteed as Astronomer Royal.

Gottfried Leibniz (1646- 1716) Gottfried Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician, who occupies a grand place in the history of philosophy and mathematics. He had been accused of stealing calculus from Newton, although it was later found that there were differences between the two. Leibniz also argued against Newton that space, time and motion were relative, and not absolute.

C. __What were the major discoveries and achievements?__


 * Laws of Motion**
 * Greatest contribution to science was set of universal laws. **Newton's laws of motion** described how the mysterious attractive forces affect all matters on the universe works. Newton’s laws are three physical laws that form the basis for classical mechanics. These laws describe the relationship between the forces acting on a body and the motion of that body. They were first compiled by Sir Isaac Newton in his work //Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica//, first published on July 5, 1687.[2] Newton used them to explain and investigate the motion of many physical objects and systems.[3] For example, in the third volume of the text, Newton showed that these laws of motion, combined with his law of universal gravitation, explained Kepler's laws of planetary motion.
 * The great insight Newton had was to bring Galileo and Kepler together and to realise that the same thing that made things fall on earth was the same thing that made planets go around the sun. (Newton discovered that the same forces that governed an apple was the same forces that governed the moon. The moon was in free fall around the earth, the earth is in free fall around the moon)

**Newton’s work on Optics** **Newton upheld the importance of empirical data and observation** **Invention of Calculus**
 * Newton improved ordinary prisms in order to understand the nature of light and color. He made 2 important discoveries, that each ‘color’ of light was a component of white light, and that the colors came into focus at different distances. Not only could he prove his point by splitting and recombining white light between 2 prisms, he was also able to build a new lens for telescopes that focused the colors accurately and produced much clearer images.
 * Like Francis Bacon, Newton believed that one must observed phenomena before attempting to explain them. The final test for any theory or hypothesis for him was whether it described what was actually observed. Such ‘new ways of knowing’ led to the emergence of the Scientific Method, where scientists used no data except the results of strict observation, and scientific reasoning uncovered the laws, principles or patterns that emerged from these observations.
 * Newton invented Calculus, a mathematical means of calculating rates of change. It is concerned with comparing quantities which vary in a //non-linear// way. It is used extensively in science and engineering since many of the things we are studying (like velocity, acceleration, current in a circuit) do not behave in a simple, linear fashion. If quantities are continually changing, we need calculus to study what is going on. Calculus was also used in Newton’s laws of motion and gravitation.

**Newton wrote his famous ‘Principia’**
 * The //Principia// states Newton's laws of motion, forming the foundation of classical mechanics, also Newton's law of universal gravitation, and a derivation of Kepler's laws of planetary motion (which Kepler first obtained empirically). The //Principia// is "justly regarded as one of the most important works in the history of science". The French mathematical physicist Alexis Clairaut assessed it in 1747: "The famous book of //mathematical Principles of natural Philosophy// marked the epoch of a great revolution in physics.”

**Overview:**
 * In 1687, Newton finished his greatest work, //Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica// (//The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy//), the last "great" work in the western intellectual tradition to be published in Latin. It was this work, commonly called the //Principia//, which secured Newton's place as one of the greatest thinkers in the intellectual history of Europe. The //PRINCIPIA// is a dense work, but not totally incomprehensible. He wanted to explain why the planets were held in their orbits -- he wanted to know why an apple fell to the earth. His answer was, of course, gravity. Newton not only described the laws which explained gravity, he also invented the calculus to explain the laws of gravity.
 * Thanks to Newton, the western intellectual tradition would now include a concrete and scientific explanation of the motion of the heavens.

__D. Why were these discoveries and achievements important and/or significant?__

Newton's theory of gravitation and laws of mechanics described, for the first time, a natural world governed by immutable physical laws. In addition to creating a conceptual framework that underlay the practice of science until the twentieth century, Newton's understanding of the world in terms of natural laws profoundly impacted the history of ideas and the practice of philosophy in the modern era. By demonstrating that a comprehensive mechanical description of the world that explained matter and motion in terms of mathematics was actually possible, Newton helped to make the explanation of the motion of the heavens concrete, irrefutable and scientific. He further developed and refined the method of observation and experiment that had already established itself in the seventeenth century, by carefully checking and rechecking his work and by creating experimental verifications of his various theories. Even for those people who could not understand Newtonian physics or mathematics, Newton had an amazing impact, since he had offered unquestionable proof that Nature had an order and meaning that was not based on faith but on human Reason. With Newton, we find the important combination of two important concepts –Nature and Reason. Newton’s Principia effectively sounded the death knell of the old description of the universe and laid the basis for a modern approach. His was perhaps the greatest individual contribution to a rich and innovative period of scientific development. His scientific discoveries and his spirit (together with the ideas of Francis Bacon and John Locke) dominated the thought of the 18th century – a century the thinkers of the period itself called the Age of Enlightenment. It was Newton's conception of the Universe based upon Natural and rationally understandable laws that became one of the seeds for Enlightenment ideology. For example, Locke and Voltaire applied concepts of Natural Law to political systems advocating intrinsic rights; the physiocrats and Adam Smith applied Natural conceptions of psychology and self-interest to economic systems and the sociologists criticized the current social order for trying to fit history into Natural models of progress. Newton’s discoveries and achievements were significant as they helped the western intellectual tradition to include a firm belief in the idea of human progress, that man's history could be identified as the progressive unfolding of man's capacity for perfectibility. Man the believer was now joined by man the knower. It was man's destiny to both know the world, and create that world. However, it also showed man to be merely a small part of a larger divine plan. Man no longer found himself at the center of the universe – he was now simply a small part of a much greater whole.

Resources: __[] [|http://www..ltrc.mcmaster.ca/newton/timelines.htm] [] [|http://www.clas..ufl.edu/users/ufhatch/pages/13-NDFE/newton/05-newton-timeline-m.htm] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []__ [|www.wikipedia.org] [] [] __SecondaryIII History 2010 RGS notes The History Guide__ __- []__ __Wikipedia - Isaac Newton - [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton__] Sir Isaac Newton - [|http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Newton/RouseBall/RB_Newton.html__]__