What innovations do we owe to Isaac Newton, the famed mathematician an astrophysicist? As we shall see, some of them characterize the world we live in today. First, however, a little biography of the great (and weird) scientist is necessary beforehand.

On January 4, 1643, Isaac Newton was born prematurely and was given only a day to survive. In 1659, when he was sixteen years old, his mother desired that he work on the family farm, and he withdrew from school against his will.

Isaac Newton enrolled at Cambridge in 1661, and in exchange for free education, he ended up emptying his classmates' nightclubs. He returned to Cambridge as a teacher in 1670. His pupils respect him yet mock his antisocial behavior. Indeed, Isaac Newton is a reticent communicator who hardly seldom laughs.

His mother passes away, and his alchemy laboratory explodes. Then, He has a nervous breakdown and has been suffering from paranoia and hallucinations for months.

Isaac Newton was elected president of the Royal Society in 1703. His coworkers adore his job, but he despises it due to his unusual nature.

Isaac Newton perished on March 20, 1727, suffering from gout and lung illness. He is buried in the nave of Westminster Abbey, which he despises almost as much as the Church's dogmas.

His successor at Cambridge, William Whiston, characterizes her as "the most unpleasant, careful, and suspicious person I have ever known."

Isaac Newton's contributions to the advancement of science and technology can be summarized as follows:

The telescope

Newton transformed astronomical observation in 1668 when he invented the mirror telescope, which was far more efficient than the equipment available. Newton's telescope produces a crisper image and concentrates light via a mirror, allowing for the observation of less brilliant and distant stars. The predecessor of today's super-telescopes investigates the galaxy's depths.

Newton's law of universal gravitation

Newton establishes that all bodies — whether an apple falling from a branch or planets orbiting the Sun — obey the same rule of motion. In 1687, he published the first mathematical model of gravity, laying the groundwork for Newtonian mechanics' growth. Engineers frequently utilize the latter, particularly to determine the trajectories of spacecraft.

The calculus of infinitesimals

In 1669, this mathematician pioneered a method for computing the tangent of a curve (differential calculus) and the area delimited by it (integral calculus). These are the two areas of infinitesimal calculus that Newton, Leibniz, and Fermat all share. Without this field of mathematics, space exploration and navigation would be impossible.

Modern money

Newton used an iron hand to destroy a network of counterfeiters after being appointed to run the British Mint in 1696. He was the one who advocated adding grooves to the coins' edges. Thus, they could no longer be scraped for the precious metal to be quietly collected and utilized to create new coins by counterfeiters. Our coins retain these grooves.

Cat doors

A misanthrope, Isaac Newton would prefer to be surrounded by animals over humans. According to folklore, he popularized the cat door by making holes in the doors at his house and Cambridge University and equipping them with little gates to allow the cats to go freely.

more @via sparknotes.

Category
Country

Similar Articles