Nature and Natures laws lay hid in Night

Nature, and Nature’s laws lay hid in Night. God said, Let Newton be! and All was Light. Alexander Pope • Newton – A quick biography Born: 4 Jan 1643 in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire Died: 31 March 1727 in London Dates from “corrected” Gregorian calendar (1752) Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge at a time when all studies were ecclesiastical. But much of his great work was done back home in Lincolnshire during the Plague of 1666.

The World before Newton • Little progress in western world since Aristotle and the ancient Greeks – Force required to maintain motion. – Natural case is at rest • A world of alchemy, magic and lack of precision e. g. – Cubit distance elbow to finger – Maths was basically only geometry – Postal address on a letter from Newton: "To Mr Henry Oldenburge at his house about the middle of the old Palmail in St Jamses Fields in Westminster". Newton made the revolution to modern science based on experimental results, rigorous mathematics. Newton by William Blake

Newton- Interests & Achievements • Devised Calculus – Independently by Leibnitz – Newton first - but didn’t publish • Principia Mathematica – Most influential physics book – Newton’s laws, and theory of gravity – Also published “Opticks” • Alchemy – Scientific study in un-scientific discipline – Poisoned himself with mercury • Religion – Disbelieved in trinity • Master of the Royal Mint Newton’s death mask in Hunterian

A complication: what do we mean by mass ? • Newton’s 2 nd law F = m. I a m. I is inertial mass • Law of Gravity m. G, MG is gravitational mass - like electric charge for gravity Are these the same ? • Yes, but that took another 250 years till Einstein’s theory of relativity to explain!