What country was Isaac Newton from? Illness and death. Newton - a dark heretic

Sir Isaac Newton. Born December 25, 1642 - died March 20, 1727. English physicist, mathematician, mechanic and astronomer, one of the founders of classical physics. The author of the fundamental work “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy,” in which he outlined the law of universal gravitation and the three laws of mechanics, which became the basis of classical mechanics. He developed differential and integral calculus, color theory, laid the foundations of modern physical optics, and created many other mathematical and physical theories.

Isaac Newton was born in the village of Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, on the eve of the Civil War. Newton's father, a small but successful farmer Isaac Newton (1606-1642), did not live to see the birth of his son.

The boy was born prematurely and was sickly, so they did not dare to baptize him for a long time. And yet he survived, was baptized (January 1), and named Isaac in memory of his father. Newton considered the fact of being born on Christmas a special sign of fate. Despite poor health in infancy, he lived to be 84 years old.

Newton sincerely believed that his family went back to the Scottish nobles of the 15th century, but historians discovered that in 1524 his ancestors were poor peasants. By the end of the 16th century, the family became rich and became yeomen (landowners). Newton's father left an inheritance of a large sum of 500 pounds sterling at that time and several hundred acres of fertile land occupied by fields and forests.

In January 1646, Newton's mother, Hannah Ayscough (1623-1679), remarried. She had three children with her new husband, a 63-year-old widower, and began to pay little attention to Isaac. The boy's patron was his maternal uncle, William Ayscough. As a child, Newton, according to contemporaries, was silent, withdrawn and isolated, loved to read and make technical toys: a sundial and water clock, a mill, etc. All his life he felt lonely.

His stepfather died in 1653, part of his inheritance went to Newton’s mother and was immediately registered by her in Isaac’s name. The mother returned home, but focused most of her attention on the three youngest children and the extensive household; Isaac was still left to his own devices.

In 1655, 12-year-old Newton was sent to study at a nearby school in Grantham, where he lived in the house of the pharmacist Clark. Soon the boy showed extraordinary abilities, but in 1659 his mother Anna returned him to the estate and tried to entrust part of the management of the household to her 16-year-old son. The attempt was not successful - Isaac preferred reading books, writing poetry, and especially designing various mechanisms to all other activities.

At this time, Stokes, Newton's school teacher, approached Anna and began to persuade her to continue the education of her unusually gifted son; This request was joined by Uncle William and Isaac's Grantham acquaintance (relative of the pharmacist Clark) Humphrey Babington, a member of Trinity College Cambridge. With their combined efforts, they eventually achieved their goal.

In 1661, Newton successfully graduated from school and went to continue his education at Cambridge University.

In June 1661, 18-year-old Newton arrived in Cambridge. According to the charter, he was given an examination of his knowledge of the Latin language, after which he was informed that he had been admitted to Trinity College (College of the Holy Trinity) of the University of Cambridge. More than 30 years of Newton’s life are associated with this educational institution.

The college, like the entire university, was experiencing hard time. The monarchy had just been restored in England (1660), King Charles II often delayed payments due to the university, and dismissed a significant part of the teaching staff appointed during the revolution. In total, 400 people lived at Trinity College, including students, servants and 20 beggars, to whom, according to the charter, the college was obliged to give alms. The educational process was in a deplorable state.

Newton was included in the category of "sizer" students (sizar), from whom tuition fees were not charged (probably on Babington's recommendation). According to the norms of that time, the sizer was obliged to pay for his education by various works at the University, or by providing services to wealthier students. Very little documentary evidence and memories of this period of his life have survived. During these years, Newton's character was finally formed - the desire to get to the bottom, intolerance to deception, slander and oppression, indifference to public fame. He still had no friends.

In April 1664, Newton, having passed the exams, moved to a higher student category of “scholars”, which gave him the right to a scholarship and continued education at college.

Despite Galileo's discoveries, science and philosophy were still taught in Cambridge. However, Newton's surviving notebooks already mention Cartesianism, Kepler and Gassendi's atomic theory. Judging by these notebooks, he continued to make (mainly scientific instruments), and was enthusiastically engaged in optics, astronomy, mathematics, phonetics, and music theory. According to the memoirs of his roommate, Newton devoted himself wholeheartedly to his studies, forgetting about food and sleep; probably, despite all the difficulties, this was exactly the way of life that he himself desired.

The year 1664 in Newton's life was rich in other events. Newton experienced a creative surge, began independent scientific activity and compiled a large-scale list (of 45 points) of unsolved problems in nature and human life(Questionnaire, lat. Questiones quaedam philosophicae). In the future, similar lists appear more than once in his workbooks. In March of the same year, lectures began at the college's newly founded (1663) mathematics department by a new teacher, 34-year-old Isaac Barrow, a major mathematician, Newton's future friend and teacher. Newton's interest in mathematics increased sharply. He made the first significant mathematical discovery: the binomial expansion for an arbitrary rational indicator(including negative ones), and through him he came to his main mathematical method - the expansion of a function into an infinite series. At the very end of the year, Newton became a bachelor.

The scientific support and inspiration for Newton's work were the physicists: Galileo and Kepler. Newton completed their work by combining universal system peace. Other mathematicians and physicists had a lesser but significant influence: Fermat, Huygens, Wallis and his immediate teacher Barrow.

In student notebook Newton has a program phrase: “In philosophy there can be no sovereign except truth... We must erect gold monuments to Kepler, Galileo, Descartes and write on each one: “Plato is a friend, Aristotle is a friend, but the main friend is truth.”.

On Christmas Eve 1664, red crosses began to appear on London houses - the first marks of the Great Plague Epidemic. By summer, the deadly epidemic had expanded significantly. On 8 August 1665, classes at Trinity College were suspended and the staff disbanded until the end of the epidemic. Newton went home to Woolsthorpe, taking with him the main books, notebooks and instruments.

These were disastrous years for England - a devastating plague (a fifth of the population died in London alone), a devastating war with Holland, and the Great Fire of London. But Newton made a significant part of his scientific discoveries in the solitude of the “plague years.” From the surviving notes it is clear that the 23-year-old Newton was already fluent in the basic methods of differential and integral calculus, including series expansion of functions and what was later called the Newton-Leibniz formula. After conducting a series of ingenious optical experiments, he proved that White color there is a mixture of colors of the spectrum.

But his most significant discovery during these years was law of universal gravitation. Later, in 1686, Newton wrote to Halley: “In papers written more than 15 years ago (I cannot give the exact date, but, in any case, it was before the start of my correspondence with Oldenburg), I expressed the inverse quadratic proportionality of the gravitational force of the planets to the Sun depending on the distance and calculated the correct the relationship between the earth's gravity and the conatus recedendi [striving] of the Moon towards the center of the Earth, although not entirely accurate".

The inaccuracy mentioned by Newton was caused by the fact that Newton took the dimensions of the Earth and the magnitude of the acceleration of gravity from Galileo’s Mechanics, where they were given with a significant error. Later, Newton received more accurate data from Picard and was finally convinced of the truth of his theory.

Well known legend that Newton discovered the law of gravitation by observing an apple falling from a tree branch. For the first time, “Newton’s apple” was briefly mentioned by Newton’s biographer William Stukeley (book “Memoirs of the Life of Newton”, 1752): “After lunch it settled warm weather, we went out into the garden and drank tea in the shade of the apple trees. He [Newton] told me that the idea of gravity came to him while he was sitting under a tree in the same way. He was in a contemplative mood when suddenly an apple fell from a branch. “Why do apples always fall perpendicular to the ground?” - he thought."

The legend became popular thanks to Voltaire. In fact, as can be seen from Newton's workbooks, his theory of universal gravitation developed gradually.

Newton Isaac. Newton's apple of discord

Another biographer, Henry Pemberton, gives Newton's reasoning (without mentioning the apple) in more detail: "by comparing the periods of the several planets and their distances from the sun, he found that... this force must decrease in quadratic proportion as the distance increases." In other words, Newton discovered that from Kepler’s third law, which relates the orbital periods of planets to the distance to the Sun, it follows precisely the “inverse square formula” for the law of gravity (in the approximation of circular orbits). Newton wrote out the final formulation of the law of gravitation, which was included in textbooks, later, after the laws of mechanics became clear to him.

These discoveries, as well as many of the later ones, were published 20-40 years later than they were made. Newton did not pursue fame.

In 1670 he wrote to John Collins: “I see nothing desirable in fame, even if I were capable of earning it. This would perhaps increase the number of my acquaintances, but this is exactly what I try most to avoid.”

He did not publish his first scientific work (October 1666), which outlined the fundamentals of analysis; it was found only 300 years later.

In March-June 1666, Newton visited Cambridge. However, in the summer a new wave of plague forced him to go home again. Finally, early in 1667, the epidemic subsided, and Newton returned to Cambridge in April. On October 1 he was elected a fellow of Trinity College, and in 1668 he became a master. He was allocated a spacious separate room to live in, assigned a salary (2 pounds per year) and was given a group of students with whom he conscientiously studied standard academic subjects for several hours a week. However, neither then nor later did Newton become famous as a teacher; his lectures were poorly attended.

Having strengthened his position, Newton traveled to London, where shortly before, in 1660, the Royal Society of London was created - an authoritative organization of prominent scientific figures, one of the first Academies of Sciences. The publication of the Royal Society was the journal Philosophical Transactions.

In 1669, mathematical works using expansions in infinite series began to appear in Europe. Although the depth of these discoveries could not be compared with Newton's, Barrow insisted that his student fix his priority in this matter. Newton wrote a brief but fairly complete summary of this part of his discoveries, which he called "Analysis using equations with an infinite number of terms". Barrow sent this treatise to London. Newton asked Barrow not to reveal the name of the author of the work (but he still let it slip). “Analysis” spread among specialists and gained some fame in England and abroad.

In the same year, Barrow accepted the king's invitation to become a court chaplain and left teaching. On 29 October 1669, the 26-year-old Newton was elected as his successor, professor of mathematics and optics at Trinity College, with a high salary of £100 per annum. Barrow left Newton an extensive alchemical laboratory; During this period, Newton became seriously interested in alchemy and conducted a lot of chemical experiments.

At the same time, Newton continued experiments in optics and color theory. Newton studied spherical and chromatic aberration. To reduce them to a minimum, he built a mixed reflecting telescope: a lens and a concave spherical mirror, which he made and polished himself. The project of such a telescope was first proposed by James Gregory (1663), but this plan was never realized. Newton's first design (1668) was unsuccessful, but the next one, with a more carefully polished mirror, despite its small size, provided a 40-fold magnification of excellent quality.

Rumors about the new instrument quickly reached London, and Newton was invited to show his invention to the scientific community.

At the end of 1671 - beginning of 1672, a demonstration of the reflector took place before the king, and then at the Royal Society. The device received universal rave reviews. The practical importance of the invention probably also played a role: astronomical observations served to accurately determine time, which in turn was necessary for navigation at sea. Newton became famous and in January 1672 was elected a member of the Royal Society. Later, improved reflectors became the main tools of astronomers, with their help the planet Uranus, other galaxies, and red shift were discovered.

At first, Newton valued his communication with colleagues from the Royal Society, which included, in addition to Barrow, James Gregory, John Wallis, Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle, Christopher Wren and other famous figures of English science. However, tedious conflicts soon began, which Newton really did not like. In particular, a noisy controversy erupted over the nature of light. It began when, in February 1672, Newton published a detailed description of his classical experiments with prisms and his theory of color in the Philosophical Transactions. Hooke, who had previously published his own theory, stated that he was not convinced by Newton's results; he was supported by Huygens on the grounds that Newton's theory "contradicts generally accepted views." Newton responded to their criticism only six months later, but by this time the number of critics had increased significantly.

An avalanche of incompetent attacks left Newton irritated and depressed. Newton asked the secretary of the Oldenburg Society not to send him any more critical letters and made a vow for the future: not to get involved in scientific disputes. In his letters, he complains that he is faced with a choice: either not to publish his discoveries, or to spend all his time and energy repelling unfriendly amateur criticism. In the end he chose the first option and announced his resignation from the Royal Society (8 March 1673). It was not without difficulty that Oldenburg persuaded him to stay, but scientific contacts with the Society were kept to a minimum for a long time.

Two important events occurred in 1673. First: by royal decree, Newton's old friend and patron, Isaac Barrow, returned to Trinity, now as the head ("master") of the college. Second: Newton, known at that time as a philosopher and inventor, became interested in Newton’s mathematical discoveries.

Having received Newton's 1669 work on infinite series and studied it deeply, he then independently began to develop his own version of analysis. In 1676, Newton and Leibniz exchanged letters in which Newton explained a number of his methods, answered Leibniz's questions, and hinted at the existence of even more common methods, not yet published (meaning general differential and integral calculus). The Secretary of the Royal Society, Henry Oldenburg, persistently asked Newton to publish his mathematical discoveries on analysis for the glory of England, but Newton replied that he had been working on another topic for five years and did not want to be distracted. Newton did not respond to Leibniz's next letter. The first brief publication on Newton's version of analysis appeared only in 1693, when Leibniz's version had already spread widely throughout Europe.

The end of the 1670s was sad for Newton. In May 1677, 47-year-old Barrow died unexpectedly. In the winter of the same year, a strong fire broke out in Newton's house, and part of Newton's manuscript archive burned down. In September 1677, the secretary of the Royal Society, Oldenburg, who favored Newton, died, and Hooke, who was hostile to Newton, became the new secretary. In 1679, mother Anna became seriously ill; Newton, leaving all his affairs, came to her, took an active part in caring for the patient, but the mother’s condition quickly deteriorated, and she died. Mother and Barrow were among the few people who brightened up Newton's loneliness.

In 1689, after the overthrow of King James II, Newton was first elected to Parliament from Cambridge University and sat there for little more than a year. The second election took place in 1701-1702. There is a popular anecdote that Newton took the floor to speak in the House of Commons only once, asking that the window be closed to avoid a draft. In fact, Newton carried out his parliamentary duties with the same conscientiousness with which he treated all his affairs.

Around 1691, Newton became seriously ill (most likely, he was poisoned during chemical experiments, although there are other versions - overwork, shock after a fire, which led to the loss of important results, and age-related ailments). Those close to him feared for his sanity; the few surviving letters of his from this period do indicate mental disorder. Only at the end of 1693 did Newton's health fully recover.

In 1679, Newton met at Trinity an 18-year-old aristocrat, a lover of science and alchemy, Charles Montagu (1661-1715). Newton probably made a strong impression on Montagu, because in 1696, having become Lord Halifax, President of the Royal Society and Chancellor of the Exchequer (that is, the Minister of the Exchequer of England), Montagu proposed to the King appoint Newton as superintendent of the Mint. The king gave his consent, and in 1696 Newton took this position, left Cambridge and moved to London. From 1699 he became the manager (“master”) of the Mint.

In England during these years, almost exclusively inferior coins were in circulation, and in considerable quantities counterfeit coins were in circulation. Trimming the edges of silver coins became widespread. Now the coins began to be produced on special machines and there was an inscription along the rim, so that criminal grinding of the metal became almost impossible.

Over the course of 2 years, the old, inferior silver coin was completely withdrawn from circulation and re-minted, the production of new coins increased to keep up with the need for them, and their quality improved. Previously, during such reforms, the population had to change old money by weight, after which the volume of cash decreased both among individuals (private and legal) and throughout the country, but interest and loan obligations remained the same, which is why the economy began stagnation. Newton proposed exchanging money at par, which prevented these problems, and the inevitable shortage of funds after this was made up for by taking loans from other countries (most of all from the Netherlands), inflation dropped sharply, but external state debt grew by the middle of the century to dimensions unprecedented in the history of England. But during this time there was noticeable economic growth, because of which tax contributions to the treasury increased (equal in size to those of France, despite the fact that France had 2.5 times the population more people), due to this, the national debt was gradually paid off.

Newton, as a rule, was indifferent to slander, but never forgave if it affected his honor and reputation. He was personally involved in dozens of investigations, and more than 100 counterfeiters were tracked down and convicted; in the absence of aggravating circumstances, they were most often sent to the North American colonies, but several leaders were executed. The number of counterfeit coins in England has decreased significantly. Montagu, in his memoirs, highly appreciated the extraordinary administrative abilities shown by Newton and ensured the success of the reform. Thus, the reforms carried out by the scientist not only prevented an economic crisis, but also, decades later, led to a significant increase in the country’s well-being.

In April 1698, the Russian Tsar Peter I visited the Mint three times during the “Great Embassy”. Unfortunately, the details of his visit and communication with Newton have not been preserved. It is known, however, that in 1700 a monetary reform similar to the English one was carried out in Russia. And in 1713, Newton sent the first six printed copies of the 2nd edition of the Principia to Tsar Peter in Russia.

Newton's scientific triumph was symbolized by two events in 1699: the teaching of Newton's world system began at Cambridge (from 1704 at Oxford), and the Paris Academy of Sciences, the stronghold of his Cartesian opponents, elected him as a foreign member. All this time Newton was still listed as a member and professor of Trinity College, but in December 1701 he officially resigned from all his posts at Cambridge.

Unlike his predecessors, he was personally present at all meetings and did everything to ensure that the British Royal Society took pride of place in scientific world. The number of members of the Society grew (among them, in addition to Halley, one can highlight Denis Papin, Abraham de Moivre, Roger Coates, Brooke Taylor), held and discussed interesting experiments, the quality of journal articles has improved significantly, and financial problems have been alleviated. The society acquired paid secretaries and its own residence (on Fleet Street); Newton paid the moving expenses out of his own pocket. During these years, Newton was often invited as a consultant to various government commissions, and Princess Caroline, the future Queen of Great Britain, spent hours talking with him in the palace on philosophical and religious topics.

In 1704 it was published (first on English language) monograph “Optics”, which determined the development of this science until early XIX century. It contained an appendix “On the quadrature of curves” - the first and fairly complete presentation of Newton’s version mathematical analysis. In fact, this is Newton's last work on the natural sciences, although he lived for more than 20 years. The catalog of the library he left behind contained books mainly on history and theology, and it was to these pursuits that Newton devoted the rest of his life.

Newton remained the manager of the Mint, since this post, unlike the position of superintendent, did not require much activity from him. Twice a week he went to the Mint, once a week to a meeting of the Royal Society. Newton never traveled outside of England.

Newton - a dark heretic

In 1705, Queen Anne knighted Newton. From now on he is Sir Isaac Newton. For the first time in English history the title of knight was awarded for scientific merits; the next time it happened was more than a century later (1819, in reference to Humphry Davy). However, some biographers believe that the queen was guided not by scientific, but by political motives. Newton acquired his own coat of arms and a not very reliable pedigree.

In 1707, a collection of Newton's lectures on algebra, called “Universal Arithmetic,” was published. The numerical methods presented in it marked the birth of a new promising discipline - numerical analysis.

In 1708, an open priority dispute with Leibniz began, in which even the reigning persons were involved. This quarrel between two geniuses cost science dearly - the English mathematical school soon reduced activity for a whole century, and the European school ignored many of Newton’s outstanding ideas, rediscovering them much later. Even Leibniz's death did not extinguish the conflict.

The first edition of Newton's Principia has long been sold out. Newton's many years of work to prepare the 2nd edition, revised and expanded, was crowned with success in 1710, when the first volume of the new edition was published (the last, third - in 1713).

The initial circulation (700 copies) turned out to be clearly insufficient; there were additional printings in 1714 and 1723. When finalizing the second volume, Newton, as an exception, had to return to physics to explain the discrepancy between theory and experimental data, and he immediately made a major discovery - hydrodynamic compression of the jet. The theory now agreed well with experiment. Newton added an Instruction to the end of the book with a scathing critique of the “vortex theory” with which his Cartesian opponents tried to explain the motion of the planets. To the natural question “how is it really?” the book follows the famous and honest answer: “I still have not been able to deduce the cause... of the properties of the force of gravity from phenomena, and I do not invent hypotheses.”

In April 1714, Newton summarized his experience of financial regulation and submitted his article “Observations Concerning the Value of Gold and Silver” to the Treasury. The article contained specific proposals for adjusting the cost of precious metals. These proposals were partially accepted, and this had a beneficial effect on the British economy.

Shortly before his death, Newton became one of the victims of a financial scam by a large trading company, the South Sea Company, which was supported by the government. He purchased the company's securities for a large sum, and also insisted on their acquisition by the Royal Society. On September 24, 1720, the company bank declared itself bankrupt. Niece Catherine recalled in her notes that Newton lost more than 20,000 pounds, after which he declared that he could calculate the movement celestial bodies, but not the degree of madness of the crowd. However, many biographers believe that Catherine did not mean a real loss, but a failure to receive the expected profit. After the company's bankruptcy, Newton offered to compensate the Royal Society for the losses from his own pocket, but his offer was rejected.

Newton devoted the last years of his life to writing the Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms, which he worked on for about 40 years, as well as preparing the third edition of the Principia, which was published in 1726. Unlike the second, the changes in the third edition were minor - mainly the results of new astronomical observations, including a fairly comprehensive guide to comets observed since the 14th century. Among others, the calculated orbit of Halley's comet was presented, the reappearance of which at the indicated time (1758) clearly confirmed the theoretical calculations of the (by then deceased) Newton and Halley. The circulation of the book for a scientific publication of those years could be considered huge: 1250 copies.

In 1725, Newton's health began to deteriorate noticeably, and he moved to Kensington near London, where he died at night, in his sleep, on March 20 (31), 1727. He did not leave a written will, but shortly before his death he transferred a significant part of his large fortune to his closest relatives. Buried in Westminster Abbey.

Legends and myths about Newton:

Several common legends have already been cited above: “Newton’s apple,” his only parliamentary speech.

There is a legend that Newton made two holes in his door - one larger, the other smaller, so that his two cats, large and small, could enter the house on their own. In fact, Newton never owned cats or other pets.

Another myth accuses Newton of destroying the only portrait of Hooke, once kept in the Royal Society. In reality, there is not a single piece of evidence to support such an accusation. Allan Chapman, Hooke's biographer, argues that no portrait of Hooke existed at all (which is not surprising, given the high cost of portraits and Hooke's constant financial difficulties). The only source of assumption about the existence of such a portrait is the mention of the German scientist Zechariah von Uffenbach, who visited the Royal Society in 1710, about the portrait of a certain “Hoock”, but Uffenbach did not speak English and, most likely, had in mind the portrait of another member of the society, Theodor Haack (Theodore Haak). Haack's portrait actually existed and has survived to this day. Further support for the view that there never was a portrait of Hooke is the fact that Hooke's friend and Secretary of the Society Richard Waller published a posthumous collection of Hooke's works in 1705 with excellent quality illustrations and a detailed biography, but without a portrait of Hooke; all other works of Hooke also do not contain a portrait of the scientist.

Newton is credited with an interest in astrology. If there was one, it quickly gave way to disappointment.

From the fact of Newton's unexpected appointment as governor of the Mint, some biographers conclude that Newton was a member of the Masonic lodge or other secret society. However, no documentary evidence in favor of this hypothesis has been found.

Newton's works:

« New theory light and flowers" - 1672
“Motion of bodies in orbit” - 1684
“Mathematical principles of natural philosophy” - 1687
"Optics or a treatise on reflections, refractions, bendings and colors of light" - 1704
“On the quadrature of curves” - appendix to “Optics”
“Enumeration of lines of third order” - appendix to “Optics”
"Universal Arithmetic" - 1707
"Analysis by means of equations with an infinite number of terms" - 1711
"Method of Differences" - 1711

"Lectures on Optics" - 1728
"System of the World" - 1728
« Brief chronicle" - 1728
"Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms" - 1728
“Notes on the Book of the Prophet Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John" - 1733
"Method of Fluxions" - 1736
"A Historical Tracing of Two Notable Corruptions of the Holy Scriptures" - 1754.

Newton proposed his own version of biblical chronology, leaving behind significant amount manuscripts on these issues. In addition, he wrote a commentary on the Apocalypse. Newton's theological manuscripts are now kept in Jerusalem, in the National Library.

Amazing coincidences

The gravitational constant is 6.67∙10 -11 N∙m 2 /kg 2 and its order of numbers coincides with the time when an apple supposedly fell on Newton around 1666 - 1667.

Quotes

"If I saw further than others, it was because I stood on the shoulders of giants."
“How did these discrepancies come together?”
"Genius is the patience of thought concentrated in a certain direction."
“I don’t invent hypotheses.”
“Be courageous and loyal to the laws, and then the melon will be able to suffer defeat.”
“I look upon myself as a child who, playing on the seashore, found a few smoother pebbles and more colorful shells than others could manage, while the immeasurable ocean of truth lay unexplored before my eyes.”

Sir Isaac Newton(English) Sir Isaac Newton, December 25, 1642 - March 20, 1727 according to the Julian calendar, which was in force in England until 1752; or January 4, 1643 - March 31, 1727 Gregorian calendar) - English physicist, mathematician and astronomer, one of the founders of classical physics. The author of the fundamental work “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”, in which he outlined law of universal gravitation and the three laws of mechanics, which became the basis of classical mechanics. He developed differential and integral calculus, color theory and many other mathematical and physical theories.

Biography

early years

Woolsthorpe. The house where Newton was born.

Isaac Newton, the son of a small but prosperous farmer, was born in the village of Woolsthorpe. Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire), in the year of Galileo's death and on the eve of the Civil War. Newton's father did not live to see his son born. The boy was born prematurely and was sickly, so they did not dare to baptize him for a long time. Yet he survived, was baptized (January 1), and named Isaac in honor of his late father. Newton considered the fact of being born on Christmas a special sign of fate. Despite poor health in infancy, he lived to be 84 years old.

In January 1646, Newton's mother, Anne Ayscough Hannah Ayscough) got married again; She had three children from her new husband, a 63-year-old widower, and began to pay little attention to Isaac. The boy's patron was his maternal uncle, William Ayscough. As a child, Newton, according to contemporaries, was silent, withdrawn and isolated, loved to read and make technical toys: a sundial and water clock, a mill, etc. All his life he felt lonely.

In 1655, Newton was sent to study at a nearby school in Grantham, where he lived in the house of the apothecary Clark. Soon the boy showed extraordinary abilities, but in 1659 his mother Anna returned him to the estate and tried to entrust part of the management of the household to her 16-year-old son. The attempt was unsuccessful - Isaac preferred reading books and constructing various mechanisms to all other activities. At this time, Newton's school teacher Stokes approached Anna and began to persuade her to continue the education of her unusually gifted son; This request was joined by Uncle William and Isaac's Grantham acquaintance (relative of the pharmacist Clark) Humphrey Babington, a member of the Cambridge Trinity College. With their combined efforts, they eventually achieved their goal. In 1661, Newton successfully completed school and went to continue his education at Cambridge University.

Trinity College (1661-1664)

Trinity College Clock Tower

In June 1661, 19-year-old Newton arrived in Cambridge. According to the charter, he was given an examination of his knowledge of the Latin language, after which he was informed that he had been admitted to Trinity College (College of the Holy Trinity) of the University of Cambridge. More than 30 years of Newton’s life are associated with this educational institution.

The college, like the entire university, was going through a difficult time. The monarchy had just been restored in England (1660), King Charles II often delayed payments due to the university, and dismissed a significant part of the teaching staff appointed during the years of the revolution. In total, 400 people lived at Trinity College, including students, servants and 20 beggars, to whom, according to the charter, the college was obliged to give alms. The educational process was in a deplorable state.

Newton was classified as a "sizer" student. sizar), from whom tuition fees were not charged (probably on Babington's recommendation). Very little documentary evidence and memories of this period of his life have survived. During these years, Newton's character was finally formed - scientific meticulousness, the desire to get to the bottom of things, intolerance to deception, slander and oppression, indifference to public fame. He still had no friends.

In April 1664, Newton, having passed the exams, moved to a higher student category of “scolers” ( scholars), which made him eligible for a scholarship to continue his studies at college.

Despite Galileo's discoveries, science and philosophy at Cambridge were still taught according to Aristotle. However, Newton's surviving notebooks already mention Galileo, Copernicus, Cartesianism, Kepler and Gassendi's atomic theory. Judging by these notebooks, he continued to make (mainly scientific instruments), and was enthusiastically engaged in optics, astronomy, mathematics, phonetics, and music theory. According to the memoirs of his roommate, Newton devoted himself wholeheartedly to his studies, forgetting about food and sleep; probably, despite all the difficulties, this was exactly the way of life that he himself desired.

Isaac Barrow. Statue at Trinity College.

The year 1664 in Newton's life was rich in other events. Newton experienced a creative surge, began independent scientific activity and compiled a large-scale list (of 45 points) of unsolved problems in nature and human life ( Questionnaire, lat. Questions quaedam philosophicae ). In the future, similar lists appear more than once in his workbooks. In March of the same year, lectures began at the college's newly founded (1663) mathematics department by a new teacher, 34-year-old Isaac Barrow, a major mathematician, Newton's future friend and teacher. Newton's interest in mathematics increased sharply. He made the first significant mathematical discovery: binomial expansion for an arbitrary rational exponent (including negative ones), and through it he came to his main mathematical method - the expansion of a function into an infinite series. Finally, at the very end of the year, Newton became a bachelor.

The scientific support and inspiration for Newton's work were the physicists: Galileo, Descartes and Kepler. Newton completed their work by combining them into a universal system of the world. Other mathematicians and physicists had a lesser but significant influence: Euclid, Fermat, Huygens, Wallis and his immediate teacher Barrow. In Newton's student notebook there is a program phrase:

In philosophy there can be no sovereign except truth... We must erect gold monuments to Kepler, Galileo, Descartes and write on each one: “Plato is a friend, Aristotle is a friend, but the main friend is truth.”

"The Plague Years" (1665-1667)

These were disastrous years for England - a devastating plague (a fifth of the population died in London alone), a devastating war with Holland, and the Great Fire of London. But Newton made a significant part of his scientific discoveries in the solitude of the “plague years.” From the surviving notes it is clear that the 23-year-old Newton was already fluent in the basic methods of differential and integral calculus, including the series expansion of functions and what was later called Newton-Leibniz formula. After conducting a series of ingenious optical experiments, he proved that white is a mixture of colors. Newton later recalled these years:

At the beginning of 1665 I found the method of approximate series and the rule for transforming any power of a binomial into such a series... in November I received the direct method of fluxions [differential calculus]; in January of the following year I received the theory of colors, and in May I began the inverse method of fluxions [integral calculus] ... At this time I was experiencing the best time of my youth and was more interested in mathematics and philosophy than at any time later.

But his most significant discovery during these years was law of universal gravitation. Later, in 1686, Newton wrote to Halley:

In papers written more than 15 years ago (I cannot give the exact date, but in any case it was before the beginning of my correspondence with Oldenburg), I expressed the inverse quadratic proportionality of the gravitational force of the planets to the Sun depending on the distance and calculated the correct ratio of the earth's gravity and conatus recedendi [striving] of the Moon towards the center of the Earth, although not entirely accurately.

The revered descendant of "Newton's Apple Tree". Cambridge, Botanic Garden.

The inaccuracy mentioned by Newton is caused by the fact that Newton took the dimensions of the Earth and the magnitude of the acceleration of gravity from Galileo’s Mechanics, where they are given with a significant error. Later, Newton received more accurate data from Picard and was finally convinced of the truth of his theory.

There is a well-known legend that Newton discovered the law of gravity by observing an apple falling from a tree branch. The “Newton’s apple” was first briefly mentioned by Newton’s biographer William Stukeley, and this legend became popular thanks to Voltaire. Another biographer, Henry Pemberton, gives Newton's reasoning (without mentioning the apple) in more detail: "by comparing the periods of the several planets and their distances from the sun, he found that ... this force must decrease in quadratic proportion as the distance increases." In other words, Newton discovered that from Kepler's third law, which connects the orbital periods of planets with the distance to the Sun, follows precisely the “inverse square formula” for the law of gravity (in the approximation of circular orbits). Newton wrote out the final formulation of the law of gravitation, which was included in textbooks, later, after the laws of mechanics became clear to him.

These discoveries, as well as many of the later ones, were published 20-40 years later than they were made. Newton did not pursue fame. In 1670 he wrote to John Collins: “I see nothing desirable in fame, even if I were capable of earning it. This would probably increase the number of my acquaintances, but this is exactly what I try to avoid most.” He did not publish his first scientific work (October 1666), which outlined the fundamentals of analysis; it was found only 300 years later.

Beginning of scientific fame (1667-1684)

Newton in his youth

In March-June 1666, Newton visited Cambridge. The brave souls who remained in college, as it turned out, did not suffer either from the plague or even from the then popular anti-plague medicines (including ash bark, strong vinegar, alcoholic drinks and strict diet). However, in the summer a new wave of plague forced him to go home again. Finally, early in 1667, the epidemic ended and Newton returned to Cambridge in April. On 1 October he was elected a fellow of Trinity College, and in 1668 he became a master. He was given a spacious separate room to live in, a good salary was assigned, and a group of students was assigned to him, with whom he conscientiously studied standard academic subjects for several hours a week. However, neither then nor later did Newton become famous as a teacher; his lectures were poorly attended.

In 1669, mathematical works using expansions in infinite series began to appear in Europe. Although the depth of these discoveries could not be compared with Newton's, Barrow insisted that his student fix his priority in this matter. Newton wrote a brief but fairly complete summary of this part of his discoveries, which he called “Analysis by Equations with an Infinite Number of Terms.” Barrow sent this treatise to London. Newton asked Barrow not to reveal the name of the author of the work (but he still let it slip). “Analysis” spread among specialists and gained some fame in England and abroad.

In the same year, Barrow accepted the king's invitation to become a court chaplain and left teaching. On October 29, 1669, Newton was elected as his successor, professor of mathematics and optics at Trinity College. Barrow left Newton an extensive alchemical laboratory; During this period, Newton became seriously interested in alchemy and conducted a lot of chemical experiments.

Newton reflector

At the same time, he continued experiments in optics and color theory. Newton investigated spherical and chromatic aberration. To reduce them to a minimum, he built a mixed reflecting telescope: a lens and a concave spherical mirror, which he made and polished himself. The project for such a telescope was first proposed by James Gregory (1663), but this plan was never realized. Newton's first design (1668) was unsuccessful, but the next one, with a more carefully polished mirror, despite its small size, provided a 40-fold magnification of excellent quality.

Rumors about the new instrument quickly reached London, and Newton was invited to show his invention to the scientific community. At the end of 1671 - beginning of 1672, a demonstration of the reflector took place before the king, and then at the Royal Society. The device received universal rave reviews. Newton became famous and in January 1672 was elected a member of the Royal Society. Later, improved reflectors became the main tools of astronomers, with their help the planet Uranus, other galaxies, and red shift were discovered.

At first, Newton valued his communication with colleagues from the Royal Society, which included, in addition to Barrow, James Gregory, John Wallis, Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle, Christopher Wren and other famous figures of English science. However, tedious conflicts soon began, which Newton really did not like. In particular, a noisy controversy erupted over the nature of light. As early as February 1672, Newton published in the Philosophical Transactions a detailed description of his classical experiments with prisms and his theory of color. Hooke, who had already published his own theory, stated that he was not convinced by Newton's results; he was supported by Huygens on the grounds that Newton's theory "contradicts generally accepted views." Newton responded to their criticism only six months later, but by this time the number of critics had increased significantly. Particularly active was a certain Linus from Liege, who attacked the Society with letters containing completely absurd objections to Newton's results.

An avalanche of incompetent attacks left Newton irritated and depressed. He regretted that he had trustingly disclosed his discoveries to his fellow scientists. Newton asked the secretary of the Oldenburg Society not to send him any more critical letters and made a vow for the future: not to get involved in scientific disputes. In his letters, he complains that he is faced with a choice: either not to publish his discoveries, or to spend all his time and energy repelling unfriendly amateur criticism. In the end he chose the first option and announced his resignation from the Royal Society (8 March 1673). It was not without difficulty that Oldenburg persuaded him to stay. However, scientific contacts with the Society are now reduced to a minimum.

Two important events occurred in 1673. First: by royal decree, Newton's old friend and patron, Isaac Barrow, returned to Trinity, now as a leader (“master”). Second: Leibniz, known at that time as a philosopher and inventor, became interested in Newton’s mathematical discoveries. Having received Newton's 1669 work on infinite series and studied it deeply, he then independently began to develop his own version of the analysis. In 1676, Newton and Leibniz exchanged letters in which Newton explained a number of his methods, answered Leibniz's questions, and hinted at the existence of even more general methods, not yet published (meaning general differential and integral calculus). The Secretary of the Royal Society, Henry Oldenburg, persistently asked Newton to publish his mathematical discoveries on analysis for the glory of England, but Newton replied that he had been working on another topic for five years and did not want to be distracted. Newton did not respond to Leibniz's next letter. The first brief publication on Newton's version of analysis appeared only in 1693, when Leibniz's version had already spread widely throughout Europe.

The end of the 1670s was sad for Newton. In May 1677, 47-year-old Barrow died unexpectedly. In the winter of the same year, a strong fire broke out in Newton's house, and part of Newton's manuscript archive burned down. In 1678, the secretary of the Royal Society, Oldenburg, who favored Newton, died, and Hooke, who was hostile to Newton, became the new secretary. In 1679, mother Anna became seriously ill; Newton came to her and took an active part in caring for the patient, but her mother’s condition quickly deteriorated and she died. Mother and Barrow were among the few people who brightened up Newton's loneliness.

"Mathematical principles of natural philosophy" (1684 -1686)

Title page of Newton's Principia

The history of the creation of this work, along with Euclid's Elements, one of the most famous in the history of science, began in 1682, when the passage of Halley's comet caused a rise in interest in celestial mechanics. Edmond Halley tried to persuade Newton to publish his “general theory of motion,” which had long been rumored in the scientific community. Newton refused. He was generally reluctant to be distracted from his research for the painstaking task of publishing scientific works.

In August 1684, Halley came to Cambridge and told Newton that he, Wren and Hooke had discussed how to derive the ellipticity of the orbits of planets from the formula for the law of gravitation, but did not know how to approach the solution. Newton reported that he already had such a proof, and in November he sent Halley the finished manuscript. He immediately appreciated the significance of the result and the method, immediately visited Newton again and this time managed to persuade him to publish his discoveries. December 10, 1684 in the minutes Royal Society there was a historical record:

Mr. Halley... recently saw Mr. Newton in Cambridge, and he showed him an interesting treatise "De motu" [On Motion]. According to the wishes of Mr. Halley, Newton promised to send the said treatise to the Society.

Work on the book took place in 1684 -1686. According to the recollections of Humphrey Newton, a relative of the scientist and his assistant during these years, at first Newton wrote “Principia” in between alchemical experiments, to which he paid the main attention, then he gradually became carried away and enthusiastically devoted himself to working on the main book of his life.

The publication was supposed to be carried out with funds from the Royal Society, but at the beginning of 1686 the Society published a treatise on the history of fish that was not in demand, and thereby depleted its budget. Then Halley announced that he would bear the costs of publication himself. The Society gratefully accepted this generous offer and, as partial compensation, provided Halley with 50 free copies of a treatise on the history of fish.

Newton's work - perhaps by analogy with Descartes' "Principles of Philosophy" (1644) - was called "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" (lat. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica ), that is, on modern language, “Mathematical foundations of physics.”

On April 28, 1686, the first volume of "Mathematical Principles" was presented to the Royal Society. All three volumes, after some editing by the author, were published in 1687. The circulation (about 300 copies) was sold out in 4 years - very quickly for that time.

A page from Newton's Principia (3rd ed., 1726)

Both the physical and mathematical level of Newton's work are completely incomparable with the work of his predecessors. It lacks Aristotelian or Cartesian metaphysics, with its vague reasoning and vaguely formulated, often far-fetched “first causes.” natural phenomena. Newton, for example, does not proclaim that the law of gravity operates in nature, he strictly proves this fact, based on the observed picture of the movement of the planets and their satellites. Newton's method is to create a model of a phenomenon, “without inventing hypotheses,” and then, if there is enough data, to search for its causes. This approach, which began with Galileo, meant the end of old physics. A qualitative description of nature has given way to a quantitative one - a significant part of the book is occupied by calculations, drawings and tables.

In his book, Newton clearly defined the basic concepts of mechanics, and introduced several new ones, including such important physical quantities as mass, external force and momentum. Three laws of mechanics are formulated. A rigorous derivation from the law of gravity of all three Kepler laws is given. Note that hyperbolic and parabolic orbits of celestial bodies unknown to Kepler were also described. Truth heliocentric system Newton does not directly discuss Copernicus, but implies; it even estimates the deviation of the Sun from the solar system's center of mass. In other words, the Sun in Newton’s system, unlike Keplerian’s, is not at rest, but obeys general laws movements. The general system also included comets, the type of orbits of which caused great controversy at that time.

The weak point of Newton's theory of gravity, according to many scientists of that time, was the lack of explanation of the nature of this force. Newton outlined only the mathematical apparatus, leaving open questions about the cause of gravity and its material carrier. For the scientific community, brought up on the philosophy of Descartes, this was an unusual and challenging approach, and only the triumphant success of celestial mechanics in the 18th century forced physicists to temporarily reconcile with Newtonian theory. The physical basis of gravity became clear only more than two centuries later, with the advent of General theory relativity.

Mathematical apparatus and general structure Newton built his books as close as possible to the then standard of scientific rigor - Euclid's Elements. He deliberately did not use mathematical analysis almost anywhere - the use of new, unusual methods would have jeopardized the credibility of the results presented. This caution, however, devalued Newton's method of presentation for subsequent generations of readers. Newton's book was the first work on new physics and at the same time one of the last serious works using old methods of mathematical research. All of Newton's followers already used the powerful methods of mathematical analysis he created. The largest direct successors of Newton's work were D'Alembert, Euler, Laplace, Clairaut and Lagrange.

1687-1703

The year 1687 was marked not only by the publication of the great book, but also by Newton’s conflict with King James II. In February, the king, consistently pursuing his line for the restoration of Catholicism in England, ordered the University of Cambridge to give a master's degree to the Catholic monk Alban Francis. The university leadership hesitated, not wanting to irritate the king; Soon a delegation of scientists, including Newton, was summoned for reprisals before Judge Jeffreys, known for his rudeness and cruelty. George Jeffreys). Newton opposed any compromise that would impair university autonomy and persuaded the delegation to take a principled stand. As a result, the vice-chancellor of the university was removed from office, but the king’s wish was never fulfilled. In one of his letters these years, Newton outlined his political principles:

Every honest person, according to the laws of God and man, is obliged to obey the lawful orders of the king. But if His Majesty is advised to demand something that cannot be done by law, then no one should suffer if such a demand is neglected.

In 1689, after the overthrow of King James II, Newton was first elected to Parliament from Cambridge University and sat there for little more than a year. The second election took place in 1701-1702. There is a popular anecdote that he took the floor to speak in the House of Commons only once, asking that the window be closed to avoid a draft. In fact, Newton carried out his parliamentary duties with the same conscientiousness with which he treated all his affairs.

In 1679, Newton met at Trinity an 18-year-old aristocrat, a lover of science and alchemy, Charles Montagu (1661 -1715). Newton probably made a strong impression on Montagu, because in 1696, having become Lord Halifax, President of the Royal Society and Chancellor of the Exchequer (that is, the Minister of the Exchequer of England), Montagu proposed to the King that Newton be appointed Warden of the Mint. The king gave his consent, and in 1696 Newton took this position, left Cambridge and moved to London. From 1699 he became the manager (“master”) of the Mint.

To begin with, Newton thoroughly studied the technology of coin production, put the paperwork in order, and redid the accounting over the past 30 years. At the same time, Newton energetically and skillfully contributed to Montagu's monetary reform, restoring confidence in the English monetary system, which had been thoroughly neglected by his predecessors. In England during these years, almost exclusively inferior coins were in circulation, and in considerable quantities counterfeit coins were in circulation. Trimming the edges of silver coins became widespread. Now the coins began to be produced on special machines and there was an inscription along the rim, so that criminal grinding of the metal became impossible. Over the course of 2 years, the old, inferior silver coin was completely withdrawn from circulation and re-minted, the production of new coins increased to keep up with the need for them, and their quality improved. Inflation in the country has dropped sharply.

However, an honest and competent person at the head of the Mint did not suit everyone. From the very first days, complaints and denunciations rained down on Newton, and inspection commissions constantly appeared. As it turned out, many denunciations came from counterfeiters, irritated by Newton's reforms. Newton, as a rule, was indifferent to slander, but never forgave if it affected his honor and reputation. He was personally involved in dozens of investigations, and more than 100 counterfeiters were tracked down and convicted; in the absence of aggravating circumstances, they were most often sent to the North American colonies, but several leaders were executed. The number of counterfeit coins in England has decreased significantly. Montagu, in his memoirs, highly appreciated the extraordinary administrative abilities shown by Newton and ensured the success of the reform.

In April 1698, the Russian Tsar Peter I visited the Mint three times during the “Great Embassy”; Unfortunately, the details of his visit and communication with Newton have not been preserved. It is known, however, that in 1700 a monetary reform similar to the English one was carried out in Russia. And in 1713, Newton sent the first six printed copies of the 2nd edition of the Principia to Tsar Peter in Russia.

Newton’s scientific triumph was symbolized by two events in 1699: the teaching of Newton’s world system began at Cambridge (from 1704 at Oxford), and Paris Academy of Sciences, the stronghold of his Carthusian opponents, elected him as its foreign member. All this time Newton was still listed as a member and professor of Trinity College, but in December 1701 he officially resigned from all his posts at Cambridge.

In 1703, the President of the Royal Society, Lord John Somers, died, having attended the meetings of the Society only twice during the 5 years of his presidency. In November, Newton was elected as his successor and ruled the Society for the rest of his life - more than twenty years. Unlike his predecessors, he was personally present at all meetings and did everything to ensure that the British Royal Society took an honorable place in the scientific world. The number of members of the Society grew (among them, in addition to Halley, one can highlight Denis Papin, Abraham de Moivre, Roger Coates, Brooke Taylor), interesting experiments were carried out and discussed, the quality of journal articles improved significantly, financial problems were mitigated. The society acquired paid secretaries and its own residence (on Fleet Street); Newton paid the moving expenses out of his own pocket. During these years, Newton was often invited as a consultant to various government commissions, and Princess Caroline, the future Queen of Great Britain, spent hours talking with him in the palace on philosophical and religious topics.

Last years

One of the last portraits of Newton (1712, Thornhill)

In 1704, the monograph “Optics” was published (first in English), which determined the development of this science until the beginning of the 19th century. It contained an appendix “On the quadrature of curves” - the first and fairly complete presentation of Newton’s version of mathematical analysis. In fact, this is Newton's last work on the natural sciences, although he lived for more than 20 years. The catalog of the library he left behind contained books mainly on history and theology, and it was to these pursuits that Newton devoted the rest of his life. Newton remained the manager of the Mint, since this post, unlike the position of superintendent, did not require much activity from him. Twice a week he went to the Mint, once a week to a meeting of the Royal Society. Newton never traveled outside of England.

In 1705, Queen Anne knighted Newton. From now on he Sir Isaac Newton. For the first time in English history, the title of knight was awarded for scientific merit; the next time this happened was more than a century later (1819, in relation to Humphry Davy). However, some biographers believe that the queen was guided not by scientific, but by political motives. Newton acquired his own coat of arms and a not very reliable pedigree.

In 1707, a collection of Newton's mathematical works, Universal Arithmetic, was published. The numerical methods presented in it marked the birth of a new promising discipline - numerical analysis.

In 1708, an open priority dispute with Leibniz began (see below), in which even the reigning persons were involved. This quarrel between two geniuses cost science dearly - the English mathematical school soon withered for a whole century, and the European one ignored many of Newton’s outstanding ideas, rediscovering them

There is probably not a single person in the world who does not know who Isaac Newton is. One of the world's most outstanding scientists, who made discoveries in several fields of science at once, giving rise to scientific directions in mathematics, optics, astronomy, one of the founding fathers classical physics. So, who is Isaac Newton? Today it is widely known short biography and his discoveries.

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The story of a scientist and explorer

One could say about him in the words of the poet Nikolai Tikhonov: “I should make nails out of these people. There couldn’t be any stronger nails in the world.” Born before his due date, very small and weak, he lived 84 years in perfect health, until a ripe old age, devoting wholeheartedly to the development of science and engaging in government affairs. Throughout his life, the scientist adhered to firm moral principles, was a model of honesty, did not strive for publicity and fame. Even the will of King James II did not break him.

Childhood

The scientist considered his birth on the eve of Catholic Christmas to be a special sign of providence. After all, he managed to accomplish his greatest discoveries. Like a new star of Bethlehem, he illuminated many directions in which science subsequently developed. Many discoveries have been made thanks to the planned they are on their way.

Newton's father, who seemed eccentric and strange person, never found out about the birth of his son. A successful farmer and good owner, who lived only a few months before the birth of his son, left the family a significant farm and money.

From his youth, having had a tender affection for his mother all his life, Isaac could not forgive her decision to leave him in the care of his grandparents after she married for the second time. Autobiography, compiled by him back in adolescence, tells about impulses of despair and children's plans for revenge on their mother and stepfather. He could only trust paper with the story of his emotional experiences; in life, the famous scientist was closed, didn't have close friends and was never married.

At the age of 12 he was sent to Grantham School. His closed and unsociable disposition, as well as his internal focus, turned his peers against him. From childhood, the future scientist preferred studying the natural sciences to boyish pranks. He read a lot, was interested in designing mechanical toys, and solved math problems. A conflict situation with classmates prompted the proud Newton to become best student schools.

Studying at Cambridge

Having been widowed, Newton's mother really hoped that her 16-year-old son would begin to help her with farming. But with common effort the school teacher, the boy's uncle and especially Humphrey Babington, a member of Trinity College, managed to convince her of the need for further education. In 1661, Newton took the exam in Latin language And enters Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. It was in this institution that for 30 years he studied science, conducted experiments and made world discoveries.

Instead of paying for his studies at the college, where the young man first lived as a student-sizer, he had to carry out some errands for richer students and other economic work around the university. Just 3 years later, in 1664, Newton passed the exams with honors and received an advanced student category, as well as the right not only to free education, but also for a scholarship.

His studies fascinated and inspired him so much that, according to the recollections of his classmates, he could forget about sleep and food. Still engaged in mechanics and designed various things and tools, was interested in mathematical calculations, astronomical observations, research in optics, philosophy, even music theory and history.

Deciding to devote his years of life to science, he gives up love and plans to start a family. The young pupil of the pharmacist Clark, who has school years He lived, also did not marry, and retained a tender memory of Newton throughout his life.

First steps in scientific activity

The year 1664 was an inspiring year for the young scientist. He compiles a “Questionnaire” of 45 scientific problems and sets himself the goal of solving them all.

Thanks to the lectures of the famous mathematician I. Barrow, Newton made his first discovery of the binomial expansion, which allowed him to subsequently develop the method of differential calculus, which is used today in higher mathematics. He passes the exam successfully and receives a bachelor's degree.

Even the plague epidemic of 1665 - 1667 could not stop this inquisitive mind and force him to sit idle. During the rampant illness, Newton went home, where he continued to engage in scientific activities. Here, in the privacy of home, he does most their great discoveries:

establishes basic methods of types of calculus - integral and differential;
deduces the theory of color and gives rise to the development of optical science;
finds a method for finding roots of quadratic equations;
derives a formula for the expansion of an arbitrary natural power of a binomial.

Important! The famous apple tree, the observations of which helped in the discovery, was preserved as a memorial bench for the scientist.

Major discoveries

Isaac Newton a brief description of his activities. He was not just a genius, a famous scientist, but a person with diverse interests in many areas of science and technology. What is he famous for and what did he discover? A keen mathematician and physicist, he was equally well versed in both the exact sciences and the humanities. Economics, alchemy, philosophy, music and history - in all these areas the genius of his talent worked. That's just short description great discoveries of Isaac Newton:

developed a theory of the movement of celestial bodies - determined that the planets revolve around;
formulated three important laws of mechanics;
developed the theory of light and color shades;
built the world's first mirror;
discovered the Law of Gravity, thanks to which he became famous.

According to existing legend, Newton discovered the famous law while observing apples falling from an apple tree in his garden. Biographer of the famous scientist William Stukeley describes this moment in a book dedicated to the memories of Newton, which was published in 1752. According to Stukeley, it was an apple falling from a tree that gave him the idea of attraction of cosmic bodies and gravity.

“Why do apples fall perpendicular to the ground?” - thought Newton and, reflecting, deduced new law. In the garden of the University of Cambridge, students revere and carefully care for a tree considered to be a descendant of the same “Newton’s apple tree”.

The falling of the apple served only as an impetus for the famous discovery. Newton walked towards him long years, studying the works Galileo, Bullialda, Hooke, other astronomers and physicists. The scientist considered Keller’s Third Law to be another impulse. Is it true, modern interpretation He compiled the Law of Universal Gravitation a little later, when he studied the laws of mechanics.

Other scientific developments

Classical mechanics is based on Newton’s Laws, the most important in the field of mechanics, and were formulated in scientific work on mathematics and principles of philosophy, published in 1687:

the first Law of uniform motion in a straight line if no other forces act on the body;
the second Law is , which in differential form describes the influence of acting forces on acceleration;
the third Law is about the force of interaction between two bodies at a certain distance.

Currently these Newton's laws are an axiom.

Astronomy

At the end of 1669, the scientist received one of the most prestigious positions in the world at Trinity College, the named Lucasian professor of mathematics and optics. In addition to a £100 salary, bonuses and scholarships, there is the opportunity to devote more time own scientific research activities. Doing experiments in optics and the theory of light, Newton creates his first reflecting telescope.

Important! The improved telescope became the main instrument for astronomers and navigators of the time. With its help, the planet Uranus was discovered and other galaxies were discovered.

Studying celestial bodies Through his reflector, the scientist deduced the theory of celestial bodies and determined the movement of planets around the Sun. Using Your Reflector Calculations and Applying them to Bible Study scientific approach, made my own message about the end of the world. According to his calculations, this event will take place in 2060.

Government activities

1696 The great scientist holds the position of keeper of the Mint and moved to London, where he lived until 1726. Having carried out financial accounting and established order in the documentation, he becomes Montagu's co-author on carrying out monetary reform.

During the period of his activity, a branch network of the Mint was created, and the production of silver coins increased several times. Newton introduces technology, allowing you to get rid of counterfeiters.

1699 Becomes manager of the Mint. In this post he continues to fight counterfeiters. His actions as manager were as brilliant as during his scientific career. Thanks to the reforms carried out in England economic crisis was averted.

1698 A report on Newton's economic reform was presented. While in England, Tsar Peter met with the famous professor three times. In 1700, a monetary reform similar to the English one was carried out in Russia.

1689 -1690. He was a representative of Cambridge University in the country's parliament. From 1703 to 1725 he served as President of the Royal Society.

Attention! In 1705, Queen Anne of Great Britain knighted Isaac Newton. This was the only time in English history that knighthood was awarded for scientific achievements.

Biography of Newton, his discoveries

The life of the great scientist Isaac Newton

Completion of life's journey

The last months of his life the professor lived in Kensington. The great scientist died on March 20, 1727. He died in his sleep and was buried on the grounds of Westminster Abbey in the tomb of the kings and most prominent people of England. All the townspeople came to say goodbye to their famous contemporary. Funeral procession headed the Lord Chancellor himself, followed in the funeral procession by British ministers.

The English physicist Sir Isaac Newton, whose brief biography is provided here, became famous for his numerous discoveries in the field of physics, mechanics, mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy.

Inspired by the works Galileo Galilei, Rene Descartes, Kepler, Euclid and Wallis, Newton made many important discoveries, laws and inventions, which modern science still relies on.

When and where was Isaac Newton born?

Isaac Newton House

Sir Isaac Newton (Sir Isaac Newton, years of life 1643 - 1727) was born on December 24, 1642 (January 4, 1643 new style) in the country-state of England, Lincolnshire, in the city of Woolsthorpe.

His mother went into labor prematurely and Isaac was born premature. At birth, the boy turned out to be so physically weak that they were afraid to even baptize him: everyone thought that he would die without living even a couple of years.

However, such a “prophecy” did not prevent him from living to old age and becoming a great scientist.

There is an opinion that Newton was Jewish by nationality, but this is not documented. It is known that he belonged to the English aristocracy.

I. Newton's childhood

The boy never saw his father, also named Isaac (Newton Jr. was named after his father - a tribute to memory), - he died before he was born.

The family later had three more children, whom the mother, Anna Ayscough, gave birth to from her second husband. With their appearance, few people were interested in the fate of Isaac: the boy grew up deprived of love, although the family was considered prosperous.

His uncle William on his mother’s side made more efforts in raising and caring for Newton. The boy's childhood can hardly be called happy.

Already at an early age, Isaac showed his talents as a scientist: he spent a lot of time reading books and loved making things. He was withdrawn and uncommunicative.

Where did Newton study?

In 1655, a 12-year-old boy was sent to school in Grantham. During his training, he lived with a local pharmacist named Clark.

IN educational institution abilities in the field of physics, mathematics, and astronomy appeared, but mother Anna took her son out of school after 4 years.

16-year-old Isaac was supposed to manage the farm, but he didn’t like this arrangement: the young man was more drawn to reading books and inventing.

Thanks to his uncle, schoolmaster Stokes and a teacher from Cambridge University, Isaac was reinstated into the ranks of the school's students to continue his educational activities.

In 1661, the guy entered Trinity College, Cambridge University for free education. In 1664 he passed the exams, which transferred him to the status of a student. From this moment on, the young man continues his studies and receives a scholarship. In 1665 he was forced to quit studying due to the closure of the university for quarantine (plague epidemic).

Around this period he created his first inventions. Afterwards, in 1667, the young man was reinstated as a student and continued to gnaw on the granite of science.

A significant role in Isaac Newton's passion for the exact sciences is played by his mathematics teacher Isaac Barrow.

It is curious that in 1668 the mathematical physicist received the title of master and graduated from the university, and almost immediately began giving lectures to other students.

What did Newton discover?

The scientist's discoveries are used in educational literature: both in school and university, and in a wide variety of disciplines (mathematics, physics, astronomy).

His main ideas were new for that century:

His most important and significant discoveries were made between 1665 and 1667, during the bubonic plague in London. The University of Cambridge was temporarily closed and its teaching staff disbanded due to the raging infection. The 18-year-old student left for his homeland, where he discovered the law of universal gravitation, and also conducted various experiments with the colors of the spectrum and optics.
Among his discoveries in the field of mathematics are 3rd order algebraic curves, binomial expansion and methods for solving differential equations. Differential and integral calculus were developed almost at the same time as Leibniz, independently of each other.
In the field of classical mechanics, he created an axiomatic basis, as well as such a science as dynamics.
It is impossible not to mention the three laws, where their name “Newton’s laws” comes from: the first, second and third.
The foundation was laid for further research in astronomy, including celestial mechanics.

Philosophical significance of Newton's discoveries

The physicist worked on his discoveries and inventions from both a scientific and religious point of view.

He noted that he wrote his book “Principles” not in order to “belittle the Creator,” but still emphasized his power. The scientist believed that the world was “quite independent.”

He was a supporter of Newtonian philosophy.

Books by Isaac Newton

Newton's published books during his lifetime:

"Method of differences".
"Enumeration of lines of third order."
"Mathematical principles of natural philosophy."
"Optics or a treatise on the reflections, refractions, bendings and colors of light."
"A New Theory of Light and Colors."
"On the quadrature of curves."
"Motion of bodies in orbit."
"Universal Arithmetic".
"Analysis using equations with an infinite number of terms."

"Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms" .
"The World System".
"Method of fluxions ».
Lectures on optics.
Notes on the book of the prophet Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John.
"Brief Chronicle".
"A Historical Tracing of Two Notable Corruptions of Holy Scripture."

Newton's inventions

He began taking his first steps in invention as a child, as mentioned above.

In 1667, all the university teachers were amazed by the telescope he created, which was invented by the future scientist: it was a breakthrough in the field of optics.

In 1705, the Royal Society awarded Isaac a knighthood for his contributions to science. Now he was called Sir Isaac Newton, he had his own coat of arms and a not very reliable pedigree.

His inventions also include:

A water clock powered by the rotation of a wooden block, which in turn vibrates from falling drops of water.
A reflector, which was a telescope with a concave lens. The device gave impetus to research into the night sky. It was also used by sailors to navigate the high seas.
Windmill.
Scooter.

Personal life of Isaac Newton

According to contemporaries, Newton's day began and ended with books: he spent so much time reading them that he often forgot to even eat.

The famous scientist had no personal life at all. Isaac was never married; according to rumors, he even remained a virgin.

When did Sir Isaac Newton die and where is he buried?

Isaac Newton died on March 20 (March 31, 1727 - new style date) in Kensington, UK. Two years before his death, the physicist began to have health problems. He died in his sleep. His grave is in Westminster Abbey.

A few not so popular facts:

An apple did not fall on Newton's head - this is a myth invented by Voltaire. But the scientist himself really sat under the tree. Now it is a monument.
As a child, Isaac was very lonely, as he was all his life. Having lost her father early, her mother focused entirely on her new marriage and three new children, who were quickly left without a father.
At the age of 16, his mother took her son out of school, where he began to show extraordinary abilities at an early age, so that he began managing the farm. The schoolteacher, his uncle and another acquaintance, a member of Cambridge College, insisted on the boy returning to school, from which he successfully graduated and entered the university.
According to the recollections of classmates and teachers, Isaac spent most of his time reading books, forgetting to even eat and sleep - this was the life he most desired.
Isaac was the keeper of the British Mint.
After the death of the scientist, his autobiography was released.

Conclusion

Sir Isaac Newton's contribution to science is truly enormous, and it is quite difficult to underestimate his contribution. His discoveries to this day are the foundations of modern science as a whole, and his laws are studied in school and other educational institutions.

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