What country was Isaac Newton from? Historical formulations of Newton's laws of mechanics. Other scientific developments

Great personality

The life of epochal personalities and their progressor role for many centuries are meticulously studied. They gradually line up in the eyes of posterity from event to event, overgrown with details recreated from documents and all sorts of idle inventions. So is Isaac Newton. A brief biography of this man, who lived in the distant 17th century, can fit only in a book volume the size of a brick.

So, let's begin. Isaac Newton - English (now substitute "great" for each word) astronomer, mathematician, physicist, mechanic. Since 1672 he became a scientist of the Royal Society of London, and in 1703 - its president. The creator of theoretical mechanics, the founder of all modern physics. Described everything physical phenomena based on mechanics; discovered the law of universal gravitation, which explained cosmic phenomena and the dependence of earthly realities on them; tied the causes of tides in the oceans to the movement of the moon around the earth; described the laws of all our solar system. It was he who first began to study the mechanics of continuous media, physical optics and acoustics. Independently of Leibniz, Isaac Newton developed differential and integral equations, revealed to us the dispersion of light, chromatic aberration, tied mathematics to philosophy, wrote works on interference and diffraction, worked on the corpuscular theory of light, theories of space and time. It was he who designed the mirror telescope and organized the coin business in England. In addition to mathematics and physics, Isaac Newton was engaged in alchemy, the chronology of ancient kingdoms, and wrote theological works. The genius of the famous scientist was so far ahead of the whole scientific level seventeenth century that contemporaries remembered him in more as exclusively good man: non-possessive, generous, extremely modest and friendly, always ready to help his neighbor.

Childhood

The great Isaac Newton was born in the family of a small farmer who died three months ago in a small village. His biography began on January 4, 1643, when a very small premature baby was placed in a sheepskin mitten on a bench, from which he fell, hitting hard. The child grew sickly, and therefore uncommunicative, did not keep up with his peers in quick games and became addicted to books. Relatives noticed this and sent little Isaac to school, which he graduated from as the first student. Later, seeing his zeal for learning, they allowed him to study further. Isaac went to Cambridge. Since there was not enough money for education, his student role would have been very humiliating if he had not been lucky with a mentor.

Youth

At that time, poor students could only learn as servants from their teachers. This share fell to the future brilliant scientist. About this period of life and creative ways Newton go all sorts of legends, some of them ugly. The mentor whom Isaac served was the most influential Freemason, who traveled not only throughout Europe, but also in Asia, including the Middle, the Far East, and the Southeast. On one of the trips, as the legend says, he was entrusted with the ancient manuscripts of Arab scientists, whose mathematical calculations we still use. According to legend, Newton had access to these manuscripts, and it was they who inspired many of his discoveries.

The science

In six years of study and service, Isaac Newton went through all the stages of the college and became a master of arts.

During the plague, he had to leave his alma mater, but he did not waste time: he studied physical nature light, built the laws of mechanics. In 1668 Isaac Newton returned to Cambridge and soon received the Lucas Chair in mathematics. She got to him from a teacher - I. Barrow, that very Mason. Newton quickly became his favorite student, and in order to financially provide for the brilliant protégé, Barrow relinquished the chair in his favor. By that time, Newton was already the author of the binomial. And this is only the beginning of the biography of the great scientist. Then there was a life full of titanic mental labor. Newton was always distinguished by modesty and even shyness. For example, he did not publish his discoveries for a long time and was constantly going to destroy first those, then other chapters of his amazing "Beginnings". He believed that he owed everything to those giants on whose shoulders he stands, meaning, probably, the scientists-predecessors. Although who could have preceded Newton, if he literally said the very first and most weighty word about everything in the world.

/brief historical perspective/

The greatness of a real scientist is not in the titles and awards that he is marked or awarded by the world community, and not even in the recognition of his services to Humanity, but in those discoveries and theories that he left to the World. Unique discoveries made for bright life, the famous scientist Isaac Newton is difficult to overestimate or underestimate.

Theories and discoveries

Isaac Newton formulated the main laws of classical mechanics, was opened law of gravity, developed a theory movements of celestial bodies, created fundamentals of celestial mechanics.

Isaac Newton(independently of Gottfried Leibniz) created theory of differential and integral calculus, opened light dispersion, chromatic aberration, studied interference and diffraction, developed corpuscular theory of light, gave a hypothesis that combined corpuscular And wave representations, built mirror telescope.

Space and time Newton considered absolute.

Historical formulations of Newton's laws of mechanics

Newton's first law

Every body continues to be held in a state of rest, or uniform and rectilinear motion, until and insofar as it is compelled by applied forces to change this state.

Newton's second law

In an inertial frame of reference, the acceleration that a material point receives is directly proportional to the resultant of all forces applied to it and inversely proportional to its mass.

The change in momentum is proportional to the applied driving force and occurs in the direction of the straight line along which this force acts.

Newton's third law

An action always has an equal and opposite reaction, otherwise the interactions of two bodies on each other are equal and directed in opposite directions.

Some of Newton's contemporaries considered him alchemist. He was the director of the Mint, established the monetary business in England, headed the society Prior Sion, studied the chronology of ancient kingdoms. He devoted several theological works (mostly unpublished) to the interpretation of biblical prophecy.

Newton's works

- "A New Theory of Light and Colors", 1672 (message to the Royal Society)

- "The movement of bodies in orbit" (lat. De Motu Corporum in Gyrum), 1684

- "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" (lat. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica), 1687

- "Optics or a treatise on the reflections, refractions, bendings and colors of light" (eng. optics or a treatize of the reflections, refractions, inflections and colors of light), 1704

- "On the quadrature of curves" (lat. Tractatus de quadratura curvarum), an appendix to "Optics"

- "Enumeration of lines of the third order" (lat. Enumeratio linearum tertii ordinis), an appendix to "Optics"

- "Universal arithmetic" (lat. Arithmetica Universalis), 1707

- "Analysis using equations with an infinite number of terms" (lat. De analysi per aequationes numero terminorum infinitas), 1711

- "Method of differences", 1711

According to scientists all over the world, Newton's works were far ahead of the general scientific level of his time and were incomprehensible to his contemporaries. However, Newton himself said of himself: I don’t know how the world perceives me, but to myself I seem to be only a boy playing on sea ​​shore who amuses himself by looking from time to time for a pebble more colorful than others, or a beautiful shell, while the great ocean of truth spreads unexplored before me. »

But according to the conviction of no less great scientist, A. Einstein " Newton was the first to attempt to formulate the elementary laws that govern the temporal course of a wide class of processes in nature with a high degree completeness and accuracy" and “… had a deep and strong influence on the worldview as a whole through his works. »

Newton's grave bears the inscription:

“Here lies Sir Isaac Newton, a nobleman who, with an almost divine mind, was the first to prove with the torch of mathematics the movement of the planets, the paths of comets and the tides of the oceans. A diligent, wise and faithful interpreter of nature, antiquity and Holy Scripture, he affirmed the greatness of the Almighty God with his philosophy, and expressed the evangelical simplicity in his temper. Let mortals rejoice that such an adornment of the human race existed. »

Prepared Lazar Model.

NEWTON, ISAAC(Newton, Isaac) (1643-1727) - English mathematician, physicist, alchemist and historian, who laid the foundations of mathematical analysis, rational mechanics and all mathematical natural science, and also introduced fundamental contribution in the development of physical optics.

Isaac (in English his name is pronounced as Isaac) was born in the town of Woolsthorpe in Lincolnshire on Christmas Day, December 25, 1642 (January 4, 1643 according to the new style), after the death of his father. Newton's childhood passed in conditions of material prosperity, but was deprived of family warmth. The mother soon remarried - to an already middle-aged priest from a neighboring town - and moved in with him, leaving her son with his grandmother in Woolsthorpe. Over the next years, the stepfather practically did not communicate with the stepson. It is noteworthy that almost ten years after the death of his stepfather, nineteen-year-old Newton included in his prepared confession for St. Trinity has a long list of their sins and childhood threats to their stepfather and mother to burn down their house. Some modern researchers explain Newton's painful unsociableness and acrimony, which subsequently manifested itself in relations with others, by a mental breakdown in childhood.

Newton received his primary education in the surrounding village schools, and then at the Grammar School, where he studied mainly Latin and the Bible. As a result of the revealed abilities of the son, the mother abandoned the intention to make her son a farmer. In 1661 Newton entered St. Trinity College (Trinity College) of Cambridge University, and three years later received - thanks to the grace of fate mysteriously accompanying him throughout his life - one of the 62 scholarships that gave the right to subsequent admission to membership (Fellows) of the college.

The early period of Newton's amazing creative activity falls on the time of his student days in the terrible plague years of 1665 and 1666, classes at Cambridge were partially suspended. Newton spent much of this time in the countryside. These years include the birth of Newton, who had practically no mathematical training before entering the university, the fundamental ideas that formed the basis of most of his subsequent great discoveries - from elements of the theory of series (including Newton's binomial) and mathematical analysis to new approaches in physical optics and dynamics, including the calculation of the centrifugal force and the emergence of at least a guess about the law of universal gravitation.

In 1667 Newton became a bachelor and junior member of the college, and the next year - a master and senior member of Trinity College. Finally, in the autumn of 1669, he received one of the eight privileged royal chairs of Cambridge - the Lucas Chair of Mathematics, which he inherited from Isaac (Isaac) Barrow, who left it.

According to the charter of the college, its members were required to receive the priesthood. This also happened to Newton. But by this time he had fallen into the most terrible heresy of Arianism for an orthodox Christian: a member of the College of the Holy and Indivisible Trinity doubted the fundamental dogma of the doctrine of the trinity of God. Newton faced the grim prospect of leaving Cambridge. Even the king could not exempt a member of Trinity College from ordination. But it was in his power to allow an exception for a professor who occupied the royal chair, and such an exception for Lucas's chair (formally not for Newton) was legalized in 1675. Thus, the last obstacle to Newton's career at the university was miraculously removed. He acquired a firm position, not being burdened with almost no duties. Newton's overly complex lectures were not a success with students, and in subsequent years the professor sometimes did not find listeners in the audience.

By the end of the 1660s - the beginning of the 1670s, Newton made a reflecting telescope, for which he was awarded election to the Royal Society of London (1672). In the same year, he presented to the Society his research on a new theory of light and colors, which caused a sharp controversy with Robert Hooke (Newton's pathological fear of public discussions that developed with age led, in particular, to the fact that he published Optics only 30 years later, waiting for Hooke's death). Newton owns the concepts of monochromatic light rays and the periodicity of their properties, substantiated by the most subtle experiments, which underlie physical optics.

In the same years, Newton developed the foundations of mathematical analysis, which became widely known from the correspondence of European scientists, although Newton himself did not publish a single line on this subject at that time: Newton's first publication on the foundations of analysis was published only in 1704, and a more complete guide - posthumously (1736).

Ten years after Newton, G. W. Leibniz also came to the general ideas of mathematical analysis, who began publishing his works in this area already in 1684. It should be noted that the subsequently generally accepted Leibniz notation was more practical than Newton's "method of fluxions", having become widespread in the continental Western Europe already in the 1690s.

However, as it finally became clear only in the 20th century, the center of gravity of Newton's interests lay in the 1670s and 1680s in alchemy. He was actively interested in the transmutation of metals and gold from the very beginning of the 1670s.

Newton's outwardly monotonous life in Cambridge was shrouded in a touch of mystery. Almost the only serious violation of her rhythm was the two and a half years devoted in the mid-1680s to writing Mathematical principles of natural philosophy(1687), which laid the foundation not only for rational mechanics, but for the whole of mathematical natural science. During this short period, Newton showed superhuman activity, focusing on creating Began all the creative potential of the genius bestowed upon him. Beginnings contained the laws of dynamics, the law of universal gravitation with effective applications to the motion of celestial bodies, the origins of the doctrine of the motion and resistance of liquids and gases, including acoustics. This work has remained for over three centuries the most remarkable creation of human genius.

History of creation Began remarkable. In the 1660s, Hooke also thought about the problem of universal gravitation. In 1674, he published his insightful ideas about the structure of the solar system, the movement of the planets in which consists of uniform rectilinear motion and motion under the action of a universal mutual attraction between bodies. Hooke soon became secretary of the Royal Society and in the late autumn of 1679, forgetting the previous strife, invited Newton to speak on the laws of motion of bodies and, in particular, on the idea that "the celestial motions of the planets are made up of direct tangential motion and motion due to attraction to the central body" . Three days later, Newton acknowledged Hooke's receipt of his letter, but evaded a detailed answer under far-fetched pretexts. However, Newton made a rash statement, noting that the bodies deviate when falling on the Earth to the east and move along a spiral converging to its center. The triumphant Hooke respectfully pointed out to Newton that bodies do not fall in a spiral at all, but along some kind of ellipsoidal curve. Then Hooke added that the bodies on the rotating Earth do not fall strictly to the east, but to the southeast. Newton responded with a letter striking for his irreconcilable character: “I agree with you,” he wrote, “that a body at our latitude will fall more to the south than to the east ... And also with the fact that if we assume its gravity is homogeneous, then it will not will descend in a spiral to the very center, but will circle with alternate rise and fall ... But ... the body will not describe an ellipsoidal curve. According to Newton, the body will then describe a trajectory like a kind of trefoil, like an elliptical orbit with a rotating line of apsides. Hooke, in his next letter, objected to Newton, pointing out that the apses of the orbit of a falling body would not move. Newton did not answer him, but Hooke, using another pretext, added in his last letter from this cycle: “Now it remains to find out the properties of a curved line ... due to a central attractive force, under the influence of which the speed of deviation from a tangent or uniform rectilinear motion at all distances is inversely proportional to the squares of the distance. And I have no doubt that with the help of your wonderful method you will easily establish what kind of curve it should be and what its properties ... ".

What and in what sequence happened in the next four years, we do not know exactly. Hooke's diaries over the years (as well as many of his other manuscripts) subsequently mysteriously disappeared, and Newton hardly left his laboratory. Frustrated by his oversight, Newton, of course, had to immediately take up the analysis of the problem clearly formulated by Hooke and, probably, soon received his main fundamental results, proving, in particular, the existence of central forces when the area law is observed and the ellipticity of planetary orbits when finding the center of gravity in one of their focuses. On this, Newton apparently considered the development of the foundations he developed later in Beginnings system of the world for himself complete and calmed down on this.

At the beginning of 1684, Robert Hooke had a historic meeting in London with the future royal astronomer Edmund Halley (who is usually called Halley in Russian) and the royal architect Christopher Wren, at which the interlocutors discussed the law of attraction ~ 1/ R 2 and set the task of deriving the ellipticity of the orbits from the law of attraction. In August of that year, Halley visited Newton and asked him what he thought about this problem. In response, Newton said that he already had proof of the ellipticity of the orbits, and promised to find his calculations.

Further events developed from the cinematic for the 17th century. speed. At the end of 1684, Newton sent to the Royal Society of London the first application text of an essay on the laws of motion. Under Halley's pressure, he began to write a large treatise. He worked with all the passion and dedication of a genius, and in the end Beginnings were written in an amazingly short time - from one and a half to two and a half years. In the spring of 1686, Newton presented the text of the first book to London. Began, which contained the formulation of the laws of motion, the doctrine of central forces in connection with the law of areas, and the solution of various problems of motion under the action of central forces, including motion along precessing orbits. In his presentation, he does not even mention the mathematical analysis he created and uses only the theory of limits developed by him and the classical geometric methods of the ancients. No mention of the solar system book one Began also does not contain. The Royal Society, which enthusiastically welcomed Newton's work, was, however, unable to finance its publication: printing Began taken over by Halley himself. Fearing a controversy, Newton changed his mind about publishing a third book. Began devoted to the mathematical description of the solar system. Yet Halley's diplomacy prevailed. In March 1687, Newton sent to London the text of the second book, which expounded the doctrine of the hydroaerodynamic drag of moving bodies and was tacitly directed against Descartes' theory of vortices, and on April 4 Halley received the final third book. Began about the system of the world. July 5, 1687 printing of the entire work was completed. The pace at which Halley carried out the publication Began three hundred years ago, can be fully set as an example for modern publishing houses. Typesetting (from the manuscript!), proofreading and printing of the second and third books Began, which make up slightly more than half of the entire work, took exactly four months.

In preparation Began to press Halley tried to convince Newton of the need to somehow note Hooke's role in establishing the law of universal gravitation. However, Newton limited himself to a very ambiguous reference to Hooke, trying to drive a wedge between Hooke, Halley and Wren with his remark.

Newton's point of view on the role of mathematical proofs in discoveries is, in general, very peculiar, at least when we are talking about his own priority. So, Newton not only did not recognize the merits of Hooke in the formulation of the law of universal gravitation and the formulation of the problem of the motion of the planets, but he believed that those two sentences that we call the first two laws of Kepler belong to him - Newton, since it was he who received these laws as consequences from mathematical theory. To Kepler, Newton left only his third law, which he only mentioned as Kepler's law in Beginnings.

Today we still have to recognize the prominent role of Hooke as Newton's predecessor in understanding the mechanics of the solar system. S.I. Vavilov formulated this idea in the following words: “Write Beginnings in the 17th century no one but Newton could, but it cannot be disputed that the program, the plan Began was first sketched by Hooke.

Having completed the publication Began, Newton seems to have re-enclosed himself in his (al)chemical lab. The last years of his stay in Cambridge in the 1690s were overshadowed by a particularly deep mental depression. Someone then surrounded Newton with care, preventing widespread rumors about his illness, and as a result, little is known about the actual state of affairs.

In the spring of 1696, Newton received the post of Warden of the Mint and moved from Cambridge to London. Here, Newton immediately became actively involved in organizational and administrative activities, under his leadership, in 1696-1698, a huge amount of work was carried out to re-coin the entire English coin. In 1700 he was appointed to the highly paid post of Director (Master) of the Mint, which he held until his death. In the spring of 1703, Robert Hooke, an implacable opponent and antipode of Newton, died. Hooke's death gave Newton complete freedom in the Royal Society of London, and at the next annual meeting, Newton was elected its president, occupying this chair for a quarter of a century.

In London, he approached the court. In 1705 Queen Anne elevated him to a knighthood. Sir Isaac Newton soon became a recognized national pride England. Discussion of its benefits philosophical system over Cartesian and his priority in relation to Leibniz in the discovery of infinitesimal calculus became an indispensable element of conversations in an educated society.

Newton himself in last years devoted much of his life to theology and ancient and biblical history.

He died on March 31, 1727 as a bachelor at the age of 85 in his country house, secretly renouncing the sacrament and leaving a very significant fortune. A week later, his ashes were solemnly placed in a place of honor in Westminster Abbey.

Relatively complete collection Newton's writings were published in London in five volumes (1779-1785). However, his works and manuscripts began to be studied more deeply only from the middle of the 20th century, when 7 volumes of his correspondence were published ( Correspondence, 1959–1977) and 8 volumes of mathematical manuscripts ( Mathematical Papers, 1967–1981). Published in Russian Mathematical principles of natural philosophy Newton (first edition 1915/1916, last edition 1989), his Optics(1927) and Lectures on optics(1945), selected Mathematical work(1937) and Notes on the book« Prophet Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John» (1916).

Gleb Mikhailov

The great English scientist, known to every schoolchild, was born on December 24, 1642, according to the old style, or January 4, 1643 to the present. current biography which originates in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, was born so weak that his for a long time did not dare to baptize. However, the boy survived and, despite poor health in childhood, managed to live to an advanced age.

Childhood

Isaac's father died before he was born. Mother, Anna Ayskow, widowed early, remarried, having given birth to three more children from her new husband. She paid little attention to her eldest son. Newton, whose biography in childhood seemed to be prosperous, suffered greatly from loneliness and lack of attention from his mother.

The boy was more cared for by his uncle, Anna Ayskoe's brother. As a child, Isaac was a withdrawn, silent child, with a penchant for making various technical crafts, such as a sundial.

School years

In 1955, at the age of 12, Isaac Newton was sent to school. Shortly before this

his stepfather dies, and his mother inherits his fortune, immediately reissuing it to his eldest son. The school was in Grantham, and Newton lived with the local apothecary, Clark. During his studies, his outstanding abilities were revealed, but four years later his mother returned the 16-year-old boy home with the aim of entrusting him with the duties of managing the farm.

But Agriculture- it was none of his business. Reading books, writing poetry, constructing complex mechanisms - this was the whole of Newton. It was at this moment that his biography determined its direction towards science. School teacher Stokes, Uncle William and a member of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, Humphrey Babington, combined their efforts to continue the education of Isaac Newton.

Universities

In Cambridge short biography Newton looks like this:

  • 1661 - admission to Trinity College at the University of free education as a student-sizer.
  • 1664 - the successful passing of exams and transfer to the next stage of education as a "schoolboy" student, which gave him the right to receive a scholarship and the opportunity to continue his education further.

At the same time, Newton, whose biography recorded a creative upsurge and the beginning of an independent, got acquainted with Isaac Barrow, a new mathematics teacher who had a strong influence on the hobby

IN total Trinity College was given a long period of life (30 years) and mathematics, but it was here that he made his first discoveries (binomial expansion for an arbitrary rational exponent and expansion of a function into an infinite series) and created, based on the teachings of Galileo, Descartes and Kepler, a universal world system.

Years of great achievements and glory

With the outbreak of the plague in 1665, classes at the college ceased, and Newton left for his estate in Woolsthorpe, where the most significant discoveries were made - optical experiments with the colors of the spectrum,

In 1667, the scientist returned to Trinity College, where he continued his research in the field of physics, mathematics, and optics. The telescope he created caused rave reviews in the Royal Society.

In 1705, Newton, whose photo can be found in every textbook today, was the first to be awarded the title of knight precisely for scientific achievements. Number of openings in different areas science is very large. Monumental works on mathematics, fundamentals of mechanics, in the field of astronomy, optics, and physics turned scientists' ideas about the world upside down.

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Biography, life story of Newton Isaac

Isaac Newton is an English-born scientist, physicist, mathematician and astronomer. Known as the author of the law of universal gravitation, various physical and mathematical theories.

Childhood and youth

Isaac Newton was born December 25, 1642 (January 4, 1643 New Style) to a farmer's family. An event that subsequently had a significant impact on the course community development, took place in the village of Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire. The future great scientist was born in the year when the famous Polish astronomer Galileo Galilei passed away. In addition, at this time the first Civil War in England.

Isaac's father was not destined to see his child - he died before his birth. The boy was born premature and extremely painful. Few believed in his recovery, and this was another blow to the mother. Nevertheless, Isaac not only survived, but also lived a fairly long life. Newton himself believed that this could not have happened without God's help. After all, he came out of his mother's womb around Christmas, which means he was marked with a special sign of fate.

IN early age, according to Newton's contemporaries, he differed from his peers not only in poor health, but also in isolation. The child did not like to communicate with people, he devoted most of his time to reading books. Isaac also liked to make various mechanical devices, such as a mill or a clock.

The boy needed a solid male upbringing and support, and here his mother's brother William Ayskoe turned out to be very useful. Under his patronage, the young man graduated from high school in 1661 and entered Trinity College at Cambridge University, or, as it was also called, Holy Trinity College.

The beginning of the path to glory

It can be said with certainty that it was during this period that Newton's mighty scientific spirit began to take shape, those qualities that allowed him to soon become famous. Even then, in this college student, one could see incredible meticulousness and the desire to get to the bottom of a phenomenon at any cost. If we add to this the existing indifference to worldly glory, we would get a complete portrait of the great scientist.

CONTINUED BELOW


Before ascending to the top of world science, Isaac Newton carefully studied the works of his predecessors. , Rene Descartes, Johannes Kepler - they all inspired Newton for future scientific achievements. It is impossible not to mention also Isaac Barrow, Newton's teacher. The truth is that each of them paved their own weighty path to comprehend the mysteries of the world. Due to various circumstances, these famous scientists could not complete what they started. Newton did it for them, creating on the basis of their ideas a universal system of the world.

Researchers of Newton's work believe that he made the vast majority of his discoveries in the field of mathematics back in student years, in the period from 1664 to 1666. At the same time, the Newton-Leibniz formula, the main theorem of analysis, was born. Then Newton, by his own admission, discovered the law of universal gravitation. However, for this he should be grateful to Kepler, since this law did not appear by itself, but followed from Kepler's third law. At that time, the Newton binomial formula was derived and it was proved that White color is nothing but a collection of other colors.

However, it took time for the world to learn about these amazing discoveries. The reason for this was the character of Newton, who was never in a hurry to show off the results of his labors.

Merit recognition

However, fame still overtook him, and the rumor about the great scientist spread far beyond the borders of his homeland.

In 1668, Newton became a master of Trinity College, and the following year he was elected professor of mathematics. During this period of his scientific activity, Newton conducted numerous experiments on optics and color theory. In addition, alchemy attracted his attention. In the Middle Ages, this occupation was considered pseudoscience, and its adherents were often persecuted. Despite this, Newton experimented with chemical elements with maniacal persistence.

Official recognition came to Isaac Newton in 1672, when he presented to the respectable London public the reflector he had invented. In other words, an optical telescope, thanks to which, over time, humanity learned about unknown galaxies.

Of course, such devices already existed, but Newton's invention was far superior to them in its technical specifications. Again, Newton created a new generation of telescopes as early as 1668. Why didn't you announce it right away? Probably because of his nature. It may well be that the scientist intended first to repeatedly test it in action, improve it if necessary, and only then “declassify”.

No one has ever created anything like this. As a result, the inventor received not only all kinds of praise, but also became a member of the Royal Society, that is, the British Academy of Sciences.

In 1696, a reputable scientist was entrusted with looking after Mint. Close to royal family were seriously concerned about the financial system country and believed that such a person would be able to restore the lost confidence in her. And they didn't fail. It would seem that such work had nothing to do with scientific activity Newton, however, he plunged headlong into the work and was able to successfully carry out the monetary reform.

In 1699, Newton was promoted to Director of the Mint.

In 1703, Isaac Newton was elected president of the Royal Society. He held this post for 20 years.

Two years later he was knighted by the Queen herself. He was awarded a similar title for scientific merit, which had never happened before in the British monarchy. From now on, Isaac Newton received the prefix "sir" to his name, which ordinary citizens could not even dream of.

Private life

Almost nothing is known about her. Perhaps because science did not leave Newton time for anything else. The women did not pay any attention to the scientist, who had an ordinary appearance. True, information has reached our days about one sympathy of Isaac - Miss Storey, with whom he was friends until the end of his days. Newton left no descendants.

Sunset of life

In the final years of his life, the scientist was engaged in writing books. Shortly before his death, due to deteriorating health, he moved from the capital to Kensington, where he lived for only a couple of years. Death came to the great scientist in a dream on March 20 (March 31, New Style), 1727.

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