Isaac Newton: biography and contributions to science of this researcher

In this biography of Isaac Newton we review the life of one of the most influential scientists

It is amazing to reflect on how a series of individuals are able to change the course of history in a timely manner. This is certainly the case with Isaac Newton, a multidisciplinary thinker who devoted his life to physics, theology, research, alchemy and mathematical calculation.

What would modern science have been without his contributions? What would the world of physics be like today if the work Philosophiæ naturalis principia mathematica, which describes the law of universal gravitation and the foundations of classical mechanics, had never been published?

Undoubtedly, although all human beings are essential to our society in one way or another, there are people who have changed the culture and perception of the world around us. For many scientists, Isaac Newton's magnum opus is considered to be the most important scientific publication in history, which is an understatement to say the least.

Therefore, for any reader eager for scientific knowledge, the approach to the figure of Isaac Newton and his contributions to the world of research is essential. Let's remember: in order to move forward, we have to be clear about where we come from. Therefore, in this article you will find a brief biography of Isaac Newton and an explanation of the most relevant contributions to science of this incredible figure of this incredible figure.

Isaac Newton: the biography of one of the most relevant thinkers in History

Newton was born on January 4, 1643, near the outskirts of the town of Grantham (Lincolnshire, East Midlands, England) where he spent his early years of life. Isaac showed a strong religious spirit during his early life, as demonstrated by a "notebook of sins" he wrote during his youth, which was auctioned in 1936 and acquired by Cambridge University. This is demonstrated by a "notebook of sins" he wrote during his youth, which was auctioned in 1936 and acquired by the University of Cambridge.

As a curiosity, some of the "transgressions" exercised by this young thinker are at least bizarre: spitting water or using the word god openly are two examples of the 57 collected.

We do not want to make a detailed life review of each of the stages of this fascinating figure, as we firmly believe that his works speak for themselves. We will limit ourselves to say that at the age of 18 he entered the University of Cambridge, and at the early age of 26, he succeeded his own master Isaac Barrow in the chair of mathematics at his university of mathematics at his university.

His development as a scientist

After this, in 1672 he joined the Royal Society, a society that brings together leading English scientists, which to this day continues to operate under the name "The Royal Society of London for the Advancement of Natural Science". In 1687, at the request of a friend, he published the treatise Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy or "Philosophiæ naturalis principia mathematica" or "Philosophiæ naturalis principia mathematica". This is undoubtedly one of the most important works in the fields of science in general and physics in history.

Newton held various public positions essential to the leadership of his country, as he was a member of parliament, director of the Mint and even held the position of president of the Royal Society in 1703. Of course, during all these years he shaped a series of essential contributions that we will list below.

At this point, it is essential to make a note: however idolized a figure may be and however powerful his legacy may be, a human being remains just that, an individual. Thus, Newton's life was not free of tribulations and discomforts, for example, in the year 1693 he suffered a stroke, In 1693 he suffered a great psychic crisis, during which he isolated himself and deprived himself of food and sleep. During this period he suffered from depression and recurrent paranoia, which makes many specialists suspect that he seemed to have schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

We are in front of a multifaceted and fascinating person, because despite being an incredible thinker and an unusual mind, Newton did not tolerate criticism, had strong rivalries with other researchers of the time and even wished death to more than one of them. Of course, the personality does not detract from the legitimacy of the work, but we must always remember that we are dealing with human beings, that is, imperfect entities like any of us.

Last years and death

Isaac left this world at the age of 84 (1727) after several kidney problems, due to a nephritic colic. It is noteworthy that, despite his strong rivalries, accusations of plagiarism and overt jealousy with the philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Leibniz, he never lost the respect and devotion of both the people and the scientific community. This culminated in 1705, when he received the title of "Sir" (knighthood) from the hands of Queen Anne.

Contributions to science

Once we have gone through the life of this multifaceted character, it is time to dive into his legacy and work.

1. The law of universal gravitation

Bernard Cohen, a contemporary American historian and scientist, states that "the high point of the Scientific Revolution was Isaac Newton's discovery of the law of universal gravitation. This is not a simple formula, but the understanding of most physical phenomena observable to the human eye.

This is one of the many physical laws formulated in the book "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica", which describes the gravitational interaction between bodies with mass. That is, it establishes a proportional relationship between the gravitational force and the mass of the bodies. To keep things simple: we can state that the force with which two masses attract each other is proportional to the product of their masses divided by the distance separating them squared. Thus, the closer and more massive two bodies are, the more intensely they will attract each other.

2. Newton's 3 laws

The writing space is finite, but Newton's contributions to physics and science in general cannot be counted on two fingers. Therefore, we condense the extreme complexity of the three laws of Newton, we have condensed the extreme complexity of the three laws of classical mechanics also collected in the aforementioned work:

• Law of inertia: a body will remain at rest or in straight motion with constant velocity unless an external force is applied.
• Fundamental law of dynamics: the net force that is applied on a body is proportional to the acceleration it acquires in its trajectory.
• Principle of action and reaction: for every action there is always an opposite and equal reaction.

Although today these postulations may seem to be "commonplace", they were the bases of classical mechanics, which has allowed us to cover from the understanding and manufacture of machines to the understanding of planetary motion, when combined with the law of universal gravitation previously described. The law of universal gravitation, previously described, has been combined with the law of universal gravitation.

3. Other contributions

Despite having presented the most important postulations of Isaac Newton, there are still many other contributions to the world of science by this figure that the general population does not know.

For example, Newton is credited with the invention of infinitesimal calculus (along with the philosopher (along with the aforementioned philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, whom Newton accused of plagiarism). In short, it is an important branch of mathematics focused on the study of change and continuity.

Also, this fascinating thinker is credited with the discovery of refractive scattering, i.e., the decomposition of the white light beam into the different colors that compose it (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet). Thus, Thus, he showed that sunlight is composed of the sum of all colors. Almost nothing.

We have left many more postulations and ideas in the pipeline, but we can summarize Newton's scientific work in the establishment of the foundations of classical mechanics, various works on light and optics and the development of infinitesimal calculus in the mathematical field.

Summary

We are before a true genius and titan of his time, who in addition to carrying out multiple research works essential for scientific development, was a public figure of renown, until he earned the status of knight in 1705.

Despite all his achievements, he was not a human being without faults, and for this reason he was involved in intense controversies and frictions with other thinkers of the time during part of his life. To this we can add a strong theological spirit and the suspicion of various mental disorders, among which are attributed a possible bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Despite being a human being (with the flaws that this entails), the work and legacy of this impressive figure will endure until humanity comes to an end.

Bibliographical references:

• Westfall, R.S., & Devons, S. (1981). Never at rest: A biography of Isaac Newton.
• Marquina, J.E. (2005). The Newtonian construction of universal gravitation. Revista mexicana de física, 51(En1), pp. 45 - 53.
• Law of universal gravitation, concepto.de. Retrieved September 10.
• Newton's Laws: significados.com. Retrieved September 10 https://www.significados.com/leyes-de-newton/#:~:text=The%20three%20laws%20of%20Newton,principle%20of%20activity%20and%20reactivity%20and%20reactivity%20reaction%20.