Scientific Revolution: Part 3

   The late 17th century saw the arrival of Sir Isaac Newton, history's greatest scientist. Newton is most famous for his three laws of motion, the three laws we always learn in school: 1) An object at rest will stay at rest unless a force is applied against it, 2) F (force) = m (mass) x a (acceleration), and 3) For every action, there is an equal, but opposite reaction. These three laws plus his law of gravitation formed the staple of classical mechanics and is still used today. In 1687, his greatest achievement and one of science's most influential books was published, Philosophiæ  Naturalis Principia Mathematica. In it were his three laws and his law of universal gravitation. The success of Principia earned him a spot of fame among scientists of the era. Having already attained the prestigious Lucasian Chair of Mathematics, he was considered a chief authority of the sciences at the time.

   Newton is also famous for his development of calculus, although it was also founded independently by Gottfried Leibniz. Furthermore, we are all familiar with the story of Newton's observations of apples falling from trees motivating him to formulate his law of universal gravitation. This story is considered to be true by most historians, so you can tell that to your friends the next time they claim it's just a legend. After Newton formulated his law, heliocentrism started to become accepted fact by the public. Newton showed through his formulas how the Earth orbited the Sun, seemingly placing the Sun in the center of the universe. But Newton himself noted how the center of gravity seemed to be slightly off of where it was expected to be. Regardless, he viewed this center as unchanging and never moving, but it was still troubling that it was not located in the dead center of the Sun.This was of course accounted for by the tug of the other planets on the Sun, displacing it from its true center, just as the Earth's barycenter (the center of mass between two or more objects) between it and the Moon is located away from the center in the mantle or outer core.

   Newton became a superstar of science for his work. Every educated child can at least tell you he was a really smart scientist. Alexander Pope once wrote:

 Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night;

God said "Let Newton be" and all was light.

   So, the scientific revolution comes to a conclusion here. Newton's influence on our technology has had tremendous impacts on us, his three laws being largely responsible for the impending Industrial Revolution. Anyways, that's the story. On a more personal matter, I may be out for up to a week, I am currently in the middle of a move and I need to get back in the rhythm of things. Next post, I'm hoping for some talks about electricity and magnetism, along with some contributing scientists like Faraday, Clerk-Maxwell, Edison, and Tesla. Until then, salutations!