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Sir Isaac Newton was an English physicist and a mathematician who was also one of the greatest scientists that ever lived. In the branch of physics, he discovered the three laws of motion and was the first person to explain gravitation, defining the nature of mass, force, weight and acceleration. To truly understand Sir Isaac Newton we must first look back at his childhood. Newton was born in the country of Lincolnshire, England on January 4th, 1643. His father died just months before he was even born and when he was only three years old, his mother had left him in the care of his grandmother. He soon got interested in building different things such as water clocks, a model mill powered by a mouse as well as countless numbers of drawings and diagrams. When he was 12 years old, he began to attend King’s School but, his schooling did not last for long. His mother took him out of school with the intention of making him into a farmer. Newton’s childhood was anything but, happy and throughout his life he occasionally fell into violent attacks against friends and enemies. However, things changed when Newton’s uncle recognized his skills and managed to get him back to school to prepare for university entrance. In 1661 he managed to get into Cambridge University.
University Years
When Sir Isaac Newton was in the university he kept a journal where he was able to express his ideas on different topics. He became very interested in math after he bought a book at a fair and did not understand the math concepts in it. Newton graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1665. However, the continuation of his education was interrupted by the plague. It was because of this, he spent 18 months back in Lincolnshire. During this time Newton started to follow his own ideas on math, physics, optics, and astronomy. In mathematics, Newton made his “method of fluxion” (infinitesimal calculus), as well as laid the foundations for his theory of light and color, and achieved significant understanding into the problem of planetary motion. When the university opened again in 1667 his math professor, Isaac Barrow, was really impressed with his work. In 1668 Newton received his master’s degree and became the Professor of Mathematics. It was said that the previous professor, Isaac Barrow, resigned the job to make way for Newton.
Newton remained at Cambridge almost 30 years. These were Newton’s most productive years. He worked day and night in his chemical laboratory, on theological and mystical speculations. His contributions during 1669 and early 1770s were mostly related to optics. He put forward a theory of colors. He had also constructed a reflected telescope which magnified objects 40 times. It was because of this invention he was honored by The Royal Society which he was a member of in 1672. Later on in 1687, he published his legendary publication “Philosophiae Nutralis Pricncipia Mathematica”, which introduced the world to the three laws of motion and the universal principle of gravitation. Newton’s Pricncipia is generally reckoned the single most important scientific book ever written.
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After the Principia came out, Newton became bored with Cambridge and his scientific professorship. In 1703, he was elected president of the Royal Society and in 1704 he summed up his life’s work on light in Optics. It was because of his amazing work Newton was knighted by Queen Anne. In his later years he made revisions of the Principia and on March 20th, 1727 he had died. Newton was buried in Westminster Abbey which was an occasion that made Voltaire (French Writer) state that England honored a mathematician as other nations honored a king. Newton’s accomplishments were so amazing that they are still recognized to this day. It is to his honor, we use the SI unit force called newton.
Later Years
In the field of science the work that he did was one of the greatest contributions ever made by an individual. Although his career was long, there were four discoveries that were considered to be his most important. These were his work on the nature of gravity, his famous Laws of Motion, his massive work on light and color, and his creation of the reflecting telescope. However, out of all these contributions, the most important contribution he has made would be his famous Laws of Motion. This is because it ties into almost everything we see in everyday life. His laws tell us how water flows, how buildings don’t fall, how cars work and basically how everything moves around us. If it was not for Newton discovering his laws then, the world would be very different. We would not be able to understand how many things work and probably not have a countless number of things that we have today. Here is a simple example from everyday life where we use Newton’s law. For a car to move there must be friction between the wheels and the ground. The wheels apply a force on the ground because they are spinning and the ground uses a reaction force on the wheels. It is this force which pushes the car forward. This means every time you drive somewhere you could thank Newton’s law of action and reaction. With Newton’s second law we are able to understand a relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. This law can also help us determine many things in our daily lives. In conclusion, Newton’s contribution to the revolution of the scientific world was tremendous. He impacted many scientists ideas and teachings that kids today learn. He had a huge contribution to the development of science and humans.
