Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton

Why do things fall when we drop them? How come we do not float as we would on the moon? Where do the colors of a rainbow come from? How long would it take to drive across Colorado if you are constantly changing speeds? All of these questions can now be answered, largely impart because of the great English philosopher, Sir Isaac Newton. In a time where religion was at war with science, Isaac Newton opened up people's minds to theories and reason. Isaac Newton was to be the starburst of the Enlightenment. He became the foundation of enlightened thought. It was the 17th century, the time of the Scientific Revolution. Many brilliant men contributed to this time, but it was Newton who solidified their thoughts and theories (Margaret, 10). Isaac Newton is one of the most influential people in the world. He not only invented so many new concepts and ideas, but he brought an understanding of the universe that we live in to people across the world. Isaac Newton not only changed the world with the invention of calculus, but also with his theory of light and color, and his invention of physical science and the law of universal gravitation (Margaret, 11).

To begin with, Isaac Newton laid down the foundations for differential and integral calculus. It all began when Newton was enrolled at Cambridge College, the University that helped him along in his studies. Here, he began reading what ever he could find, especially if it had something to do with mathematics. He read books on geometry by Descartes, algebra books by John Wallis, and eventually developed the binomial theorem which was a shortcut in multiplying binomials (Margaret, 46). Newton was 22 at this time and he was already going beyond other people's thinking. At this point however, Newton was interested entirely in the mathematics of motion. If an object moved in a straight line and at a constant speed, then Newton was easily able to find out where it would be at any given time (Margaret, 47). But how was he to figure out where the object would be if it constantly sped up or slowed down? Where would the object be if it traveled around curves? This is the concept of calculus. Using his knowledge of algebra, Newton set out to find the value of an unknown number that kept changing. He did this by figuring out that the integration of a function was simply the inverse of differentiating it. Newton had just developed a method for finding changing and flowing quantities (Margaret, 42). He had just invented calculus. Newton went even further after this. With the use of calculus, he was able to find the area under an open curve known as a hyperbola. He went on to take this answer to 52 decimal places (Margaret, 47). While Isaac Newton was very satisfied with these results, he had other things on his mind, and he continued to amaze the world.

Following his work in calculus, Isaac Newton hardly broke stride. He continued his studies and experiments on lights and colors. In 1665, Newton performed a number of experiments on the composition of light. With his first experiment, Newton bought a prism. He then closed all the curtains so that he was in a darkened room. After the room was dark, he proceeded to let a small stream of light pass through his window shuts and he noticed that the prism broke up the white light into the colors of the rainbow, which were to be called primary colors (Margaret, 54). He then let one of the primary colors pass through a second prism and the color remained unchanged. Isaac Newton now knew that white light was simply a mixture of colors. He found that white light is secondary and is a heterogeneous mixture of refrangable rays, and the separate colors are homogeneous rays that can't be separated any further (Margaret). From these many experiments, Newton finally came to the conclusion that light rays were not actually waves but tiny particles now called photons (Christianson, 65). With his new found knowledge on white light and the colors that are refracted, Isaac Newton went on to solve another problem that he was having. Every time he looked through a telescope, he would see fringes of color around the objects he was looking at. Knowing that the primary colors refract after being separated, Newton placed reflecting mirrors in the telescope instead of lenses. He placed the mirrors at angles in the telescope and then put the eyepiece on the side of the tube so the mirrors would not block the view (Margaret, 61). His reflecting telescope was a huge success. It was small, only eight inches long, and it gave a clearer and larger image that the bigger telescopes of old could not (Christianson, 70). Everyone was so impressed with this new invention, including King Charles II. But the person that benefited the most by this new invention was Newton himself. With this new telescope, he was able to look into space and better understand astronomy, which we all know lead to his brilliant work on gravity.

Some believe that it all began when the apple fell on Isaac Newton's head. However, this just stimulated his thinking. Why did the apple fall down? Why not up or sideways?