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Biography of Sir Isaac Newton Essay

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Isaac Newton is considered by many to be one of the most influential people in human history. Born on January 4th 1643 (New Style calendar, December 25th 1642 on the Old Style) at Woolsthorpe Manor in Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, Isaac Newton was involved in the fields of physics, math, astronomy, among other fields. Best known in the Physics community for his three laws of motion as well as his description of universal gravitation, he was also responsible for much during his life. Born three months after the death of his father, a farmer also named Isaac Newton, he was born prematurely. He was a small child and not expected to survive.

When Newton was three, his mother remarried and moved in with her new husband, Reverend Barnabus …show more content…

From 1670 to 1672, Newton lectured on optics. During this period he investigated the refraction of light. It was during this research that he discovered that colours are the result of objects interacting with already coloured light, as opposed to the object creating the light itself. This became known as Newton’s Theory of Colour. It is through this work that he was able to produce the first reflecting telescope, completed in late 1668.
In 1679, Newton returned to his work on celestial mechanics. This renewed interest was triggered by a brief exchange of letters in 1679-1680 with Robert Hooke (of Hooke’s Law). The appearance of a comet in the winter of 1680-1681 further encouraged Newton’s re-emerging interest in astronomy. Newton then determined that the elliptical form of planetary orbits would result from a centripetal force inversely proportional to the square of the radius vector, later known as Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation.
On July 5th 1687, Newton first published Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Latin for "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy") a three book compilation with the encouragement and financial help of Edmond Halley. It was in this work that Newton stated the laws that he is best known for, and that were responsible for a significant leap forward in science, the three laws on motion, universal gravitation, and gravitas (weight, the effect later known as gravity) among many other things, such as the speed

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