Book biography of isaac newton

Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton

This richly detailed biography captures both the personal life and the scientific career of Isaac Newton, presenting a fully rounded picture of Newton the man, the scientist, the philosopher, the theologian, and the public figure. Professor Westfall treats all aspects of Newton's career, but his account centres on a full description of Newton's achievements in science. Thus the core of the work describes the development of the calculus, the experimentation that altered the direction of the science of optics, and especially the investigations in celestial dynamics that led to the law of universal gravitation.

Isaac Newton

January 26,
After reading Quicksilver, the first book in Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle, I became very interested to learn more about some the historical figures around whom the story revolved – Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle, John Wilkens, Christopher Wren, …, and Isaac Newton, the founders and early members of the Royal Society. Given my interest in physics, optics, and math, especially Isaac Newton.

Fortunately for me, James Gleick’s biography of Newton, simply titled Isaac Newton, was published earlier that year (). Gleick was not new to me – both Chaos: Making a New Science and Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, have a place on my bookshelves – so I had high hopes for his biography of Newton. I was not disappointed.

Chances are you’ve heard of Isaac Newton, if for nothing else than the fact that he came up with the idea of gravity when he saw an apple fall from a tree. (Which, by the way, is a vast oversimplification.) You may have even heard of his 3 laws of motion or that he invented – some might say discovered – the calculus. You may even think that he invented calculus so he could figure out his laws of motion. (As it turns out, he used geom

The best books on Isaac Newton

Before we talk about the books, it might be helpful if you could briefly put Isaac Newton into the context of the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century.  What was Newton’s contribution?

Isaac Newton co-discovered calculus with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. He was the first person to truly quantify the universal law of gravity. He also was the first person to figure out that white light is actually an unaltered mixture of spectral colours. These were all radically new discoveries that completely transformed science.

Beyond that, he instituted the kind of style of doing science that amounted to looking for non-causal explanations, where you simply mathematize the relationships among natural phenomena without speculating about ultimate causes. The classic example is gravitational attraction; Newton resisted others’ attempts to get him to explain the cause of gravity. To him, it was enough to provide the mathematical explanation of it.

The first of the books about Isaac Newton you’ve chosen is a biography, Never at Rest by Richard Westfall. Is this the biography of Newton to read?

It’s a magisterial book. It’s the only treatment of Newt

The Life of Sir Isaac Newton by David Brewster

"The Life of Sir Isaac Newton" by David Brewster is a historical account written in the early 19th century. This biography explores the life, achievements, and legacy of one of the most influential scientists in history, Sir Isaac Newton. It details his early education, various scientific explorations, mathematical innovations, and the considerable impact of his discoveries on the fields of physics and astronomy. At the start of the work, Brewster outlines the immense reputation Newton holds in the scientific community, emphasizing the interest surrounding his life and writings. The narrative begins with Newton’s birth in Woolsthorpe, detailing his childhood experiences and early education. As a young boy, he displayed an insatiable curiosity and inventiveness, making several mechanical devices such as a windmill and a waterclock. Brewster establishes Newton's academic path to Cambridge, where he would later develop his groundbreaking theories on light and gravitation, paving the way for his storied scientific career. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Read now or download (free!)

About this eBook

AuthorB

Biographies you may also like

Music book biography of george duke George Duke made his debut on Elektra in February, with the Latin-flavored Thief In The Night. A second album, simply titled George Duke, was issued in August , followed by .

Heather wahlquist the notebook An epic love story centered around an older man who reads aloud to a woman with Alzheimer's. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life the story about a couple who is Missing: heather wahlquist.

Harman steenwijck biography of christopher Visit Author Central to update your books, profile picture, and biography. Follow Chris Harman and explore their bibliography from 's Chris Harman Author Page.

Kerrie droban biography of mahatma gandhi Insightful, brilliant and unflinching, kerrie's books fascinate and educate, shedding light on america's most inexplicable crimes and deep cover g: mahatma gandhi.

Jamshed cethirakath biography of christopher Christopher Bruce was born on the 3rd of October in England, he started studying dancing at 11 years old, and he began with tap and ballet. After studying at the Rambert School .

Apekz fliptop biography of albert einstein Apekz first appeared at the inaugural Second Sight event, where he took on Harlem in a freestyle battle. He may have lost his FlipTop debut, but he quickly made an epic comeback at Ahon 1, Missing: albert einstein.

Lara fabian et igor krutoy biography Lara Fabian, nacida Lara Crokaert (Etterbeek, 9 de enero de ) Esta gira marcó un fin de ciclo y ya se mencionaba un nuevo proyecto musical de la mano del músico y compositor ruso .