In the Age of Enlightenment, one of the most illustrious mathematicians arose. Born in December 25, 1642 in Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, Lincolnshire, England, Sir Isaac Newton was destined for a multitude of achievements. Newton was born without his biological dad present and with a remarried mother. However, he was well taken care of by his grandmother, without his mother stepfather present in the majority of his childhood.
His separation from his mother created a general hatred toward his stepfather and a development of many psychotic habits. Newton was regarded to be irrationally violent as a young man and never truly had strong relations with his mother. In his collegiate years he attended Trinity College in Cambridge in which he invested his time learning the course of study related to Aristotle.
In addition, he became involved in astronomy, physics, calculus and more while being taught under the philosopher René Descartes. Through his rigorous self studies Newton was able to make a massive impact on the scientific and mathematic world.
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Isaac Newton made multiple contributions to math and science that still hold value today. One of these contributions include the modern telescope. Newton was able to alter previous “refracting telescopes” that were deemed inefficient due to its lens that would cause out of focus spots in the view. To fix this issue, Newton used trial and error which led him to take advantage of mirrored lenses with small mirrors that could reflect an image to the viewer. This method was not only more powerful than previous lenses but also much more efficient due to its smaller size. This development ultimately was the foundation for the future of telescopes.
Newton’s studies of light helped pave the way for our current understanding of rainbows. Through his vigorous studies on light, he was able to disprove the common belief from Aristotle that colors came solely from light or dark. His most developed experiment consisted of him shining white light through a prism in a dark room. In this experiment, a color spectrum resulted (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet). He concluded that the combination of white light and sunlight created the colors that we now associate with the rainbow.
The laws of motion can be well credited to Newton. In Newton’s book Principa, he established the foundation for the three laws of motion. The first law of inertia helps us understand that something at rest or in motion will remain in its state unless acted upon by an external force. The second law of acceleration gives us the equation Force=mass(acceleration). This law also helps explain why the heavier an object is, the more force is required for it to be moved.
The third law of action and reaction establishes the concept that for every action or force there is an equal and opposite reaction attributed to it. In addition to the three laws he also founded the law of universal gravitation. Although it is unsure to be true, his discovery of this law is attributed to his experience of watching an apple fall from a tree.
According to this law, every particle on Earth attracts each other with a force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. With these four laws, Newton helped contribute to the base of modern physics which are still used today.
Isaac Newton was arguably the main contributor to the discovery of Calculus. Through his already developed understanding of physics and motion, he was able to build what calculus is today. Calculus fundamentally consists of the study of the rate of change over time. An example of this is the use of a slope of a curve in which the slope can differentiate depending on what point of the curve you are at. By doing this you can find the rate at which the slope changes, which in our class can be recognized as finding the derivative of a function( measure of the rate of the value of the y variable in relation to the x variable)
Isaac Newton’s unusual manners ultimately helped drive him to his many mathematical and scientific contributions that we recognize today as substantial and efficient. His laws of motion, studies of light, mathematics and more all shapes the future of the math and science world we now live in today.
