SIR ISAAC NEWTON - A TRUE GENIUS

As part of this new blog series, I would like to introduce you to some of the greatest scientific minds whose contributions have shaped the world we live in today. It is only fitting to begin this journey with Sir Isaac Newton, a name that needs no introduction in the scientific community.

Newton’s groundbreaking work in classical mechanics, optics, and calculus has laid the foundation for modern physics and mathematics. His laws of motion and universal gravitation not only explained the motion of objects on Earth but also provided the key to understanding the movement of celestial bodies.

Newton’s life and work remain a timeless textbook for science students across generations, inspiring curiosity, critical thinking, and innovation. As we delve deeper into the life and legacy of this scientific giant, let us appreciate how his relentless pursuit of knowledge continues to guide us even today.

Stay tuned as we explore the remarkable story and scientific breakthroughs of Sir Isaac Newton – the Father of Classical Mechanics.

Portrait 1: Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton

EARLY YEARS OF NEWTON

Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe Manor House, London, in the UK. He did not have a happy childhood. His father died young and his mother re-married. When he was 19, he made list of self-confessed sins, of which one was; ''Threatening my father and mother to burn them and the house over them''.

In spite of having bad childhood days, Newton found relief in making windmills and other extraordinary structures at a very young age. When someone who was moved my Newton's genius, asked his mother to send him to Cambridge University for higher studies, she rebuked and stated that she wanted her son to be a farmer. 

However Newton did not want to become a farmer. After a series of talks it was finally decided to sent Newton to Cambridge University London for higher education. But his mother was not ready to yield so easily and she refused to pay for his fees to attend the University. Newton worked hard and earned a scholarship with which he pursued his studies.

 His batchmates were least interested in Science and the subjects that they learnt at the University, instead they found pleasure in singing, dancing, drinking and enjoying. Newton was a puritan and he couldn't digest such practices. This made him an introvert and he began working on his own theories and at the same time focusing on his studies at Cambridge.

Newton learnt the Aristotelian notions of motion which were more irrational, devoid of a scientific base. Newton once said...

   ''

Plato is my friend, Aristotle is my friend but my best friend is truth...

       

Newton and Optics

Newton then went on to publish one of his famous papers, 'Opticks' in the year 1707. In this work mentioned that light is composed of seven principal colours (which we usually abbreviate as VIBGYOR). 

One day he almost blinded himself my looking at the Sun for several hours to see what effect it would have on him. He also conducted a daring experiment by poking his eye with a needle in order to understand how altering the shape of of his eye would change his experiment. 

The following image from the Cambridge Digital Library shows the copy of the manuscript that Newton wrote about this experiment. You can also observe the drawing made by Newton himself, depicting his famous experiment!!!

Figure 1: Newton's handwritten notes demonstrating his 'eye-poking' experiment.

NEWTON AND THE ORIGIN OF CLASSICAL MECHANICS

We often associate Newton with his famous Laws of Motion, his theory of Universal Gravitation and the role he played in the development of infinitesimal calculus. Newton's laws of motion and his theory of gravitation are the base of what is now called the, 'Classical Mechanics'. 

In 1687, Newton published his landmark work, a work so sublime and historic that no other scientific work could ever replace its originality and clarity of words. This landmark work, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, which is Latin for the Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy established 'Classical Mechanics'. This is why Newton is often referred to as the 'Father of Classical Mechanics'.

In this three volume book Newton gave the first precise description about the laws that govern the motion of all bodies on the universe. He also proved that there was a force that existed between all celestial bodies in the universe which he called gravity and postulated his famous 'Universal Law of Gravitation', which is as given below,

      

                                                                                

    "Every object in the universe attracts every other object and this force is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the of the distance between them."

Newton on Alchemy and Religion

It may be hard to believe, but Newton actually wrote more papers on alchemy and theology than on science. Surprising, isn’t it? We’ve always known Newton as a brilliant scientist, but it turns out he was also a passionate alchemist and a dedicated theologian. Newton was more interested in these occult fields. 

However, it should be noted that alchemy was strictly banned in England and in many European countries and if a person was found to be indulged in such activities he would face cruel punishments and in some cases even executions. But this won't slow down Newton. He was interested in alchemy and carried out his experiments undercover in secrecy. Alchemists were primarily concerned with discovering the 'Philosopher's Stone', a mythical alchemical substance which can turn base metals to gold.

Newton was a highly religious person he devoted a great deal of time studying and decoding the Holy Bible.

Newton and his rivalries

Newton-Leibnitz Calculus controversy still remains one of the heated debates in the history of Science. Since Newton was so secretive of his work he kept his greatest breakthroughs to himself and didn't publish them right away and worked out the details by himself. 

At the same time G.W. Leibnitz published his Nova Methodus pro Maximins et Minimis which remains the first published work on calculus. 

Newton accused Leibnitz stating that Leibnitz stole his papers. Many philosophers, mathematicians and scientists supported Newton as he was the President of the Royal Society and using his power suppressed Leibnitz's protests to a great extend.

Newton was involved in a very bitter fight with Robert Hooke over the discovery of the inverse square

law. When Newton published his findings on the theory of light, Robert Hooke questioned his findings as many of the statements made by Newton in his paper were in fact contradicting Hooke's own findings.

More about Newton

In the year 1707, Queen Anne of Great Britain conferred knighthood to Newton, and became Sir Isaac Newton. 

Newton has become the very personification of science, especially physics and has been an inspiration to many including me. 

He was a very hardworking scientist and it is said that he worked for about 20 hours a day, he ate very little and slept for a very small duration of time. 

To conclude, I would like to share with my readers one of Sir Isaac Newton’s most famous quotes — a quote that has deeply inspired me and continues to do so even today. This profound statement reflects Newton’s humility, his relentless curiosity, and his unwavering desire to uncover the mysteries of the Universe:

"I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, diverting myself now and then in finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."

REFERNCES:

1. Wikimedia Commons: Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton by Godfrey Kneller.

2. Cambridge Digital Library: Newton's paper on theory of light depicting the incident of poking his eye with the needles.
3. Different science books and biographies related to Sir Isaac Newton.

4. Some excerpts quoted directly from Wikipedia.

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