![]() His overwhelming fear of criticism caused him to resist immediate publication of his work. Throughout Newton's career he was torn between his desire for fame and his fear of criticism. Newton was very instrumental in developing techniques to prevent counterfeiting of the English money. He became Master of the Royal Mint in 1699. He became Warden of the Royal Mint in 1696. After suffering a second breakdown in 1693 Newton retired from research. While in London he became more enchanted with the life of politics than the life of research. When William of Orange drove James out of England, Newton was elected to Parliament. The king wanted only Roman Catholics to be in positions of power in government and academia. He became a leader against what he saw as an attack on the university by King James II. Upon regaining his health Newton returned to the university. However, in 1679 his work came to standstill after he suffered a nervous breakdown. His impressive body of work made him a leader in scientific research. The university reopened and Newton took a fellowship in order to obtain his masters degree.Īs the years progressed, Newton completed his work on universal gravitation, diffraction of light, centrifugal force, centripetal force, inverse-square law, bodies in motion and the variations in tides due to gravity. By 1666 he had completed his early work on his three laws of motion. It was during this time that Newton started to pursue his own ideas on math, physics, optics and astronomy. Trinity College was closed due to the highly contagious, deadly disease. The further pursuit of an education was interrupted by the plague. Newton graduated with a bachelors degree in 1665. He became interested in mathematics after buying a book at a fair and not understanding the math concepts it contained. Newton also kept a journal where he was able to express his ideas on various topics. His mother refused to pay for his education so while at college he worked as a servant to pay his way. Though Newton did not excel in school, he did earn the opportunity to attend Trinity College Cambridge where he wanted to study law. Newton's mother remarried and he was left in the care of his grandmother. Wealthy, uneducated farmer who died three months before Newton was born. Isaac Newton was born in 1643 in Woolsthorpe, England. He used the Latin word 'gravitas' (weight) for the effect that would later become gravity and defined the law of universal gravitation.In addition to mathematics, physics and astronomy, Newton also had an interest in alchemy, mysticism and theology. Many of these advancements continue to be the underpinnings of non-relativistic technologies in the modern world. They had a massive contribution during the Industrial Revolution that changed the course of world history, and the laws were not improved upon for more than 200 years. The laws formed the foundation for classical mechanics. The laws explain the relationship between any object, the forces acting upon it and the resulting motion. In the 'Principia' that was published on July 5, 1687, Newton stated and described the three universal laws of motion, which is now known as the 'Newton's laws'. It is known from his notebooks that Newton was grappling in the late 1660s with the idea that terrestrial gravity extends, in an inverse-square proportion, to the Moon however, it took him two decades to develop the full-fledged theory. But it will be a mistake to think that Newton discovered gravity solely because of the apple incident (if it is true). We don't know whether the incident is true or false. ![]() Also, John Conduitt, Newton's assistant at the Royal Mint and husband of Newton's niece, described the incident when he wrote about Newton's life. Many acquaintances of Newton, like William Stukeley, has confirmed the incident, though he never mentioned that the apple actually hit Newton's head as is written in the popular version of the modern age. Voltaire wrote about the incident in his 'Essay on Epic Poetry'. Catherine Barton, Newton's half-niece, narrated the incident to Voltaire after which it became popular. Newton himself admitted many times that he was inspired to formulate the theory of gravitation after he watched an apple fall from a tree. Between 16, he developed the essay 'Of Colours' which he had previously written into a form that was later revised to become Book One of his 'Opticks', and the study was a central activity of the Scientific Revolution.Įven though Sir Isaac Newton propounded many scientific theories, he is best known in popular folklore because of the tale of the apple and the subsequent discovery of gravity.
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