Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton’s description of the forces that govern the Universe made him one of the most influential scientists of all time.

The GENIUS who laid down the laws of gravity and motion

Newton conducted many experiments at his home, Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire.

Early beginnings

Born in England in 1643, Isaac Newton had a lonely childhood. His mother wanted him to become a farmer, but Newton was more interested in designing devices such as sundials and clocks. In 1661, he began studying at the University of Cambridge. During the GREAT PLAGUE, the university was closed, and Newton was forced to return home.

Who came before…

In 1543, Polish astronomer

nicolaus copernicus published his book in which he argued that the Sun, and not

Earth, was the centre of the Solar System. Did you know? Newton believed that experimentation was more important than reading books.

In the early 1600s, German astronomer Johannes Kepler observed that the planets orbited the Sun in ellipses, not circles. He also found that the planets moved faster when closer to the Sun.

Newton’s time at home was productive. When he saw an APPLE fall from a tree, he started thinking about the force that brought it down. He developed his theory of gravity – which explains why objects fall to Earth and why Earth orbits the Sun. In 1687, Newton published Principia Mathematica, which set out his THREE LAWS OF MOTION. These explained what makes an object move or stop; what makes it move faster or slower, or change direction; and how for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Newton’s reflecting telescope

By the way… I was a keen alchemist, and spent years experimenting in my quest for the mythical philosopher’s stone, believed to turn metal to gold.

Flashes of brilliance

Newton developed a type of mathematics called CALCULUS. He was also the first to prove that light is composed of different colours when he passed sunlight through a prism (a triangular glass block). In 1668, he designed a powerful reflecting telescope that used mirrors instead of lenses.

Who came after…

French physicist Émilie du Châtelet worked on the translation of Newton’s work Principia Mathematica, and tested his theories during the 1740s. Newton’s work transformed science. He introduced the concept of gravity and explained the forces that make the H ow he ch a n g e d the world Universe work.

German physicist Albert einstein published his general theory of relativity in 1916. His theories changed people’s understanding of time, space, matter, and energy.