Why is Sir Isaac Newton Essay Example for Free

Why is Sir Isaac Newton Essay Why pick a scientist over someone who has contributed to any other field of endeavour? Look at the evidence: here is a person who discovered the universal law of why what goes up must come down, the explanation of the colours of a rainbow; and a method of calculation with applications in far reaching areas that affect our lives today. Newton is best known for formulating a universal law of gravitation, however it is unlikely that his ideas stemmed solely from the well-known story of an apple falling on his head whilst sat under a tree. His mathematical researches into planetary motion drew him to the conclusion that that the force of attraction that held planets in their orbits, and the Moon in its orbit around Earth, varied inversely with the square of their distance from the sun. In other words, the nearer you are to a planet the greater its force of gravitational pull. This was his fundamental law of gravitation. He discovered that the force of gravity affected all objects in the universe. His laws of motion can be summarised as follows: 1) Everything preserves its motion in a straight line unless its deflected from that course by a force. 2) The rate at which a body travels is in proportion to the force applied on it. 3) To every action there is an opposite and equal reaction These laws held true for many years and it was only until Einstein, in the twentieth century, proposed his theory of relativity that we were to have a more accurate picture of how the universe behaves. Newton is said to have invented the Calculus. The calculus, most simply put, is a way of finding the area under a curve drawn on a graph and the gradients of tangents drawn at any point on that curve. Why is this useful? Well, this allows us to find out rates, areas and volumes by what is known as differentiation and integration. For instance, if you wanted to find out how quickly your reconditioned MK1 Ford Cortina with go-faster stripes accelerated to 0-60 mph in, you could set up an experiment to plot the distance travelled by the car accelerating from a stand-still to its top speed against time. If you used differentiation on a corresponding curve drawn on a graph, you could find the speed of the car at any given time. Furthermore, if you used differentiation again, you could determine its acceleration. Alternatively, you could set up an experiment to measure the cars speed against time, if you were to find the area under the resultant curve using integration, you would be able to establish the distance travelled. Apart from measuring the performance of tasteful 70s automobiles, the calculus can be applied to more significant things like ascertaining reaction rates of chemicals, or discovering where the greatest stresses and strains are likely to be caused on a bridge. In the field of optics, Newton discovered that if a beam of sunlight were passed through a glass prism it would reveal rays forming a spectrum of colours, like that of a rainbow. He concluded that white light was composed of many different types of rays which when refracted at slightly different angles would produce a different spectral colour. He made this observation when using a refracting telescope and witnessed that the lenses were not clear but had an abnormal colour. It also led him to invent a reflecting telescope that did not display this aberration. But what of Newtons character: He typified the mathematical genius. He was obsessive by nature; at times toiling sixteen-hour days on work that would change the course of history. Anecdotes abound about his absent-mindedness, especially when entertaining friends (which he did rarely), where he would excuse himself to get more wine or run a similar errand, and would not return for some time because he had been busily working on some mathematical problem that had been troubling him, oblivious of his guests. He is someone who overcame adversity, probably being plagued with depression for most of his life, which resulted in him suffering two mental breakdowns. Despite his achievements he remained a modest man saying once: If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants. During his lifetime he never married, although one could argue that he was married to his work. He summed up his scientific endeavour and cosmic curiosity when he innocently remarked. I know not what I appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me. Greatness but touched with humility, a lifetimes work that has had an enormous impact on the development of mankind and a single-minded pursuit to uncover the secrets of the universe: Surely Newton is the greatest Briton of all time.