Notes on Newton

There is a statue of Sir Isaac Newton in the chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge. When translated from the Latin, the inscription at its base reads Newton Who surpassed all men in genius. The poet Alexander Pope, who lived at the same time as Newton, wrote Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night; God said, 'Let Newton be!' and all was light.
Who was Isaac Newton and how did he work? What do we know about this man whose ideas underpin much of the physics and maths we study today?

Isaac Newton was born at just past midnight on Christmas Day 1642 in Lincolnshire. His father, an illiterate farmer, had died three months earlier and Isaac was born prematurely. He was so small he could fit into a quart pot ( a jug holding just over a litre) and was not expected to survive his first day. But survive he did and when Isaac was just three his mother remarried, leaving him in the family home to be brought up by his grandmother. He hated his stepfather - but he also died when Isaac was only 10 and his mother returned to the family home, with three more children and a library of books.

At the age of twelve Isaac finally went to school where he became fluent in Latin, although he learnt no maths and no science. He wasn't popular at school because he quickly became so much better than all his classmates, and he made few friends. When he was 17 the family stopped his schooling and tried to persuade him to take over his father's farm. Newton was a dreadful farmer , because he would read and study while the animals escaped and the fields were neglected!

It wasn't long before Newton's uncle and school master persuaded his mother that university was the place for her son, and at 18 years of age off he went to Cambridge.
Newton made only one friend during his time at Cambridge, sharing his rooms for twenty years with patient, hardworking John Wickins. Once at university, Newton certainly worked. He taught himself mathematics because he needed it to understand a book on astronomy he had bought. He quickly discovered both a great love for the subject and an enormous ability.

Newton was a law unto himself. He kept large amounts of his work to himself for years because he was worried about publishing it and being criticised - he couldn't stand criticism. He would attack anyone who didn't agree with him and hid many of his ideas away from other people. He had few friends - but gave a number of young mathematicians and scientists time and financial support. He suffered from depression at times, and yet could be delightful. He didn't believe in Christianity, yet for years was supposed to be training to be ordained as a priest. He lived for 85 years and died in agony from stones in his bladder. He refused the last sacrament on his deathbed, but is buried in state in Westminster Abbey.

Newton led an amazingly varied life. He:

• discovered the nature of light and colour
• produced the universal theory of gravity
• changed ideas about space
• developed the laws of motion
• developed whole areas of mathematics including calculus
• disagreed violently with the deeply held religious beliefs of the day - in particular he did not believe in the Holy Trinity
• was an enthusiastic alchemist who - amongst many other feats - tasted almost all of the known heavy metals (which we now know are poisonous!)
• reformed the Royal Mint

ctivity 1

ctivity 2

Newton, light and controversy