Sarah Petrillo

Physical Science
Essay
January 8, 2013

Isaac Newton was a brilliant man. He learned from others and diligently studied their
work. Newton spent hours upon hours experimenting and discovering new ideas. He
accomplished much in the eighty five years he roamed this planet. He wrote books and made
discoveries that changed the way scientists thought. He developed theories and laws, co-invented
calculus, and was the first to build a practical telescope. Newton was a modest, peace loving
man. He hated fighting and never married. He was highly respected and admired, and he was
knighted before his death.
Isaac Newton was born Christmas Day, 1642. He was a child prodigy, showing signs of
brilliance early on in life. He had a generally good home life, though his father died while he was
still a child. His mother remarried, but young Newton hated his stepfather so much that he
threatened to burn down the house. At age nineteen, Newton began attending Cambridge
University. After graduating, Newton taught at Cambridge until the age of thirty eight. He
labeled this period of his life as the prime of my age for invention. It was at Cambridge that
Newton wrote his first book, Principa, which compiled his findings in geometry. Newton moved
to London twenty years after leaving Cambridge. There he wrote Optics, was knighted, and
became the Master of The Royal Mint.
Isaac Newton wrote two major books in his lifetime, Mathematical Principles of Natural
Philosophy (Principa) and Optics. Principa discussed analytical geometry. Newton presented his
mathematical ideas of diffentiation, the process of finding a derivative, and integration, its
reverse. Newton presented his methods of fluxions, their inverses, and the flow of magnitude.
Newton preferred classical Greek geometry and visualized his mathematics with analogies such
as flowing. His other book, Optics, was written as Newton was delving into the world of color.
He discovered that white light was a combination of every color of light, and that a rainbow
appeared when these colors separated. Newton perfected his theories through studying math,
physics, and the works of Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke. Newton also learned to measure
color. This could be done through measuring films of light. These light films are similar to soap
bubbles or oil on water.
Newton is most famous for his scientific laws. He discovered three laws concerning
motion and one concerning gravity. Newton was inspired to learn about gravity when he watched
an apple fall from a tree. He wondered why the ground attracted the apple and found gravity to
be the answer. He also formulated three laws. The first law is commonly known as inertia.
Inertia is the tendency of an object in rest to stay in rest and an object in motion to stay in motion
until another force acts on the object. The second law describes how force added to an object can
change that objects velocity. The forced needed to change the velocity of an object can be
determined by multiplying the objects mass by its acceleration. Newtons third law states that
for every action there is an equal and opposite reactive force.
Newton went above and beyond what was required of him, especially concerning
education. Newton spent much of his time studying both in college and independently. That
studying led to discoveries and inventions of his own. He created practical inventions and wrote
highly sophisticated books. He achieved a great reputation among his peers. The world
recognized Newton as a brilliant man and respected his discoveries. Newton valued his time,
and people today value all the time he put into his work. His discoveries helped to invent many
modern technologies, including planes, rockets, and space ships. People today can learn from
both Newtons discoveries and his dedication.