Newton, Sir Isaac

Newton, Sir Isaac

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British Mathematician, Physicist, and Astronomer 1642–1727

Many consider Isaac Newton to be among the best mathematicians who ever lived, and some scholars consider him the best mathematician to date. But in addition to his mathematical prowess, his insight into the physical world was no less a part of his greatness. Newton invented and applied a broad range of mathematics both to describe natural phenomena as well as to gain a deeper insight into it. He is also considered to be one of the greatest physicists who ever lived. Probably the only other man in history who could rival Newton's contributions to both mathematics and physics was the Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes (287 b.c.e.–212 b.c.e.).

Newton was born Christmas Day, 1642, on a farm in Woolsthorpe, England. Newton does not seem to have enjoyed a happy childhood. His father had died three months before he was born. While still a small boy, his mother remarried and Isaac was reared for some time by a grandmother. Nevertheless, Newton showed some academic promise, and he entered Trinity College at age 18. It is thought that his education there was initially leading to a law degree. Newton did not distinguish himself academically, but his thirst for knowledge can be seen in this excerpt from his college notes: "Plato is my friend, Aristotle is my friend, but my best friend is truth." Eventually an interest in mathematics was sparked, and Newton read both contemporary books on mathematics as well as classical works like Euclid's Elements.

Newton quickly went from reading about mathematics to developing it. By age 23, Newton had devised the binomial theorem and formed a framework for what is known today as differential calculus . At about this time Newton left for home because the bubonic plague had closed Trinity College. Over the next year or so Newton further developed his calculus, laid the foundation for his theory of gravitation, and performed optical experiments. The latter led Newton to pronounce that white light is actually composed of a combination of many colors.

The invention of infinitesimal calculus, what he termed as the "method of fluxions," is Newton's greatest claim to fame. (Somewhat later than Newton, but independently, Gottfried Wilhem Liebniz [1646–1716] also developed an infinitesimal calculus.) Infinitesimal calculus encompasses differential calculus and integral calculus. Newton was the first to understand that although the purpose of each seems quite different, differentiation and integration are inverse procedures of one another.

In his book The Method of Fluxions and Infinite Series, Newton considered the curve generated by a point in motion. Given an arbitrary curve formed in this way, Newton used his methods of "fluxions," now called differentiation, to find (calculate) the tangent and radius of curvature at any point on that curve. Newton went on to produce many simple analytical methods to solve apparently unrelated problems, such as finding the areas of various figures, the lengths of curves, and the maxima and minima of functions.

Though so many of his discoveries were of great importance to science and the world at large, Newton was reluctant to publish his findings. For example, his book The Method of Fluxions and Infinite Series, though written in 1671, was not published until 1736, well after his death. Fortunately, Newton's friend Edmund Halley encouraged Newton to write and publish (at Halley's expense) the Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), which includes the formulation of Newton's three laws of motion and his Universal Theory of Gravitation. The Principia, as it is widely known, became Newton's masterpiece, and it made him internationally prominent.

see also Archimedes; Calculus; Euclid and His Contributions; Limit.

Philip Edward Koth with

William Arthur Atkins

Bibliography

Eves, Howard, An Introduction to the History of Mathematics, 4th ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976.

Internet Resources

Sir Isaac Newton. School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, University of St Andrews, Scotland. <http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Newton.html>.