Isaac Newton was born into a farmer's family in the village of Wilsthorpe, Lincolnshire, in eastern England, off the coast of the North Sea. Having successfully completed school in the city of Grantham, the young man entered Trinity College, Cambridge University. Among the famous graduates of the college are the philosopher Francis Bacon, Lord Byron, the writer Vladimir Nabokov, the kings of England Edward VII and George VI, and Prince Charles of Wales. Interestingly, Newton became a bachelor in 1664, having already made his first discovery. With the outbreak of the plague, the young scientist went home, but in 1667 he returned to Cambridge, and in 1668 he became Master of Trinity College. On next year 26-year-old Newton became professor of mathematics and optics, replacing his teacher Barrow, who was appointed royal chaplain. In 1696, King William III of Orange appointed Newton as keeper of the Mint, and three years later as manager. In this position, the scientist actively fought against counterfeiters and carried out several reforms, which over the decades led to an increase in the country's prosperity. In 1714, Newton wrote the article “Observations Concerning the Value of Gold and Silver,” thereby summarizing his experience of financial regulation in government office.
Fact
Isaac Newton never married.

14 Major Discoveries of Isaac Newton

1. Newton's binomial. Newton made his first mathematical discovery at the age of 21. As a student, he derived the binomial formula. Newton's binomial is a formula for decomposing an arbitrary polynomial natural degree binomial (a + b) to the power n. Everyone today knows the formula for the square of the sum a + b, but in order not to make a mistake in determining the coefficients when increasing the exponent, Newton's binomial formula is used. Through this discovery, the scientist came to his other important discovery - the expansion of a function into an infinite series, later called the Newton-Leibniz formula.
2. Algebraic curve of 3rd order. Newton proved that for any cube (algebraic curve) it is possible to select a coordinate system in which it will have one of the types indicated by him, and also divided curves into classes, genera and types.
3. Differential and integral calculus. Newton's main analytical achievement was the expansion of all possible functions into power series. In addition, he created a table of antiderivatives (integrals), which was included almost unchanged in all modern textbooks mathematical analysis. The invention allowed the scientist, in his words, to compare the areas of any figures “in half a quarter of an hour.”
4. Newton's method. Newton's algorithm (also known as the tangent method) is an iterative numerical method for finding the root (zero) of a given function.

5. Color theory. At the age of 22, as the scientist himself put it, he “received the theory of colors.” It was Newton who first divided the continuous spectrum into seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. The nature of color and experiments with the decomposition of white into 7 component colors, described in Newton’s “Optics,” formed the basis for the development of modern optics.

6. The law of universal gravitation. In 1686, Newton discovered the law of universal gravitation. The idea of ​​gravity had been expressed before (for example, by Epicurus and Descartes), but before Newton, no one had been able to mathematically connect the law of gravity (a force proportional to the square of the distance) and the laws of planetary motion (that is, Kepler's laws). Newton was the first to guess that gravity acts between any two bodies in the Universe, that the movement of a falling apple and the rotation of the Moon around the Earth are controlled by the same force. Thus, Newton's discovery formed the basis of another science - celestial mechanics.

7. Newton's first law: Law of inertia. The first of three laws underlying classical mechanics. Inertia is the property of a body to maintain its speed of motion unchanged in magnitude and direction when no forces act on it.

8. Newton's second law: Differential law of motion. The law describes the relationship between the force applied to the body (material point) and the subsequent acceleration.

9. Newton's third law. The law describes how two material points interact and states that the force of action is opposite in direction to the force of interaction. In addition, force is always the result of the interaction of bodies. And no matter how bodies interact with each other through forces, they cannot change their total momentum: this follows the Law of Conservation of Momentum. Dynamics based on Newton's laws is called classical dynamics and describes the motion of objects with speeds ranging from fractions of millimeters per second to kilometers per second.

10. Reflecting telescope. An optical telescope in which a mirror is used as a light-gathering element, despite small sizes, gave 40x magnification high quality. Thanks to his invention in 1668, Newton gained fame and became a member of the Royal Society. Later, improved reflectors became the main tools of astronomers, with their help, in particular, the planet Uranus was discovered.
11. Mass. Mass as a scientific term was introduced by Newton as a measure of the amount of matter: before that, natural scientists operated with the concept of weight.
12. Newton's pendulum. A mechanical system of several balls suspended on threads in one plane, oscillating in this plane and striking each other, was invented to demonstrate energy conversion various types into each other: kinetic into potential or vice versa. The invention went down in history as Newton's Cradle.
13. Interpolation formulas. Formulas of computational mathematics are used to find intermediate values ​​of a quantity from an existing discrete (discontinuous) set of known values.
14. “Universal arithmetic.” In 1707, Newton published a monograph on algebra, and thus made a major contribution to the development of this branch of mathematics. Among the discoveries of Newton's work: one of the first formulations of the fundamental theorem of algebra and a generalization of Descartes' theorem.

One of Newton's most famous philosophical sayings:

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 Life and Discoveries of Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton (1642-1727) the greatest scientist who had the greatest influence on the development of science was born in Woolsthorpe, England, on Christmas Day 1642 (the year of Galileo's death).

Like Mohammed, Newton was born after the death of his father. Already as a child he showed an inclination towards mechanics and was very skillful. Although Isaac was a smart child, he didn't try very hard at school and didn't particularly stand out. IN adolescence his mother took him out of school, hoping that her son would successfully study agriculture. Fortunately, she did not lose faith in his abilities, and, at the age of eighteen, Isaac entered Cambridge University. There he quickly learned what was then known in the fields of mathematics and natural sciences, and even did his own research.

At the age of 21 to 27, Newton laid the foundations of his theories, which revolutionized world science. The middle of the 17th century was a time of rapid scientific development. The invention of the telescope at the beginning of the century opened new era in astronomy. The English philosopher Francis Bacon and the French philosopher Rene Descartes called on European scientists to no longer refer to the authority of Aristotle, but to engage in their own experiments.

Galileo put this call into practice. His observations using a telescope revolutionized the astronomical understanding of the time, and his mechanical experiments established what is known as the first law of Newtonian mechanics.

Other great scientists, such as Harvey with his discoveries in the field of blood circulation and Kepler, who described the laws of planetary motion around the Sun, also gave science many new important information. But in general, pure science remained an arena of mind games, and there was as yet no evidence that science, combined with technology, could change the entire life of people, as Francis Bacon predicted.

Although Copernicus and Galileo debunked some of the erroneous concepts of ancient scientists and made great contributions to a better understanding of the laws of the universe, the fundamental principles that could connect disparate facts and make scientific prediction possible had not yet been formulated. It was Newton who created such a unifying theory and paved the way that science has followed to this day.

Newton was generally reluctant to publish the results of his research, and although his main concepts were formulated by 1669, much was not published until much later.

The first work in which he made his discoveries public was his astonishing book on the nature of light.

After conducting a series of experiments, Newton came to the conclusion that ordinary white light is a mixture of all the colors of the rainbow. He also made a thorough analysis of the laws of reflection and refraction of light. Based on knowledge of these laws, in 1668 he created the first refracting telescope - a telescope of the same type that is now used in the main astronomical observatories.

Newton reported on these, as well as his other experiments and discoveries, at a meeting of the British Royal Scientific Society when he was 29 years old. Even Isaac Newton's achievements in optics would have ensured his inclusion in our list, but his discoveries in mathematics and mechanics were much more significant.

His main contribution to mathematics was the discovery of integral calculus (during the period when he was twenty-three to twenty-four years old). This invention was not just the seed from which modern technology grew mathematical theory; Without this method, most of the achievements of modern science would be impossible.

But Newton's main discoveries were made in the field of mechanics. Galileo discovered the first law of motion of bodies not subject to the influence of external (extraneous) forces.

In practice, of course, all objects are subject to some external forces, and the question of the movement of objects under these circumstances is the most important question of mechanics. This problem was solved by Newton, who discovered the famous second law of mechanics, in fact, the most fundamental of the laws of classical physics.

This second law, expressed mathematically by the formula

states that acceleration is equal to force divided by the mass of the object. To the two laws of mechanics, Newton added the famous third law, which states that every action causes an equal reaction, and also (the most famous) the law of universal gravitation.

These four laws of mechanics constitute unified system, with the help of which it is possible to study, in fact, all macroscopic mechanical systems, from the oscillations of a pendulum to the movement of planets around the Sun.

Newton not only formulated these laws of mechanics, but himself, using mathematical methods, showed how these laws can be used to solve current problems.

Knowledge of Newton's laws allows one to solve an extremely wide range of scientific and technical problems. During his lifetime, these laws found their most striking application in the field of astronomy. In 1687, he published his great work, The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, usually referred to simply as the Principia, where he formulated the laws of mechanics and the law of universal gravitation.

Newton showed that, using these laws, the motion of the planets around the Sun could be predicted quite accurately. The fundamental problem of astronomical dynamics - the problem of predictability of the movement of celestial bodies - was solved by Newton with the help of one magnificent move. That is why he is often called a great astronomer.

What is our assessment of Newton's scientific merits based on? If you look through the indexes of scientific encyclopedias, you can find more references to Newton and his discoveries than to any other scientist.

We must also take into account what Leibniz, also a great scientist, wrote about Newton, with whom Newton sharply polemicized: “If we talk about mathematics from the beginning of the world until the time of Newton, then he did more for this science than all the others.” Great French scientist Laplace called "Principles" "the greatest work of human genius." The greatest genius Lagrange also considered Newton, and Ernst Mach wrote in 1901 that “from that time on, all achievements in mathematics were simply the development of the laws of mechanics based on Newton’s ideas.”

In such brief overview, like ours, it is impossible to talk in detail about all of Newton's achievements, although his more private achievements also deserve attention. newton astronomy universal gravity

Thus, Isaac Newton made significant contributions to thermodynamics and acoustics, formulated the most important principle of conservation of energy, created his famous binomial theorem, and made significant contributions to astronomy and cosmogony. But, recognizing Newton as the greatest of the geniuses who had the greatest influence on world science, one can still ask why he is placed here before such outstanding politicians as Alexander the Great or Washington, or the greatest religious leaders such as Christ or Buddha.

My opinion: despite all the significance of political or religious changes, most people in the world lived in exactly the same way both 500 years before Alexander and 500 years later. Exactly the same daily life most people in 1500 AD was almost the same as 1500 BC.

Meanwhile, since 1500, with the development and rise of modern science, revolutionary changes have occurred in people's lives, in their work, nutrition, clothing, leisure activities, etc. No less changes occurred in philosophy, in religious thinking, in politics and economics Newton, a brilliant scientist, had the greatest influence on the development of modern science, and therefore deserves one of the most honorable places (second in importance) in any list of the most influential historical figures .

Newton died in 1727 and was the first scientist to be buried in Westminster Abbey.

The great English physicist Isaac Newton was born on December 25, 1642, on Christmas Day in the village of Woolsthorpe in Lincolnshire. His father died before the child was born, his mother gave birth to him prematurely, and the newborn Isaac was amazingly small and frail. Isaac was raised in his grandmother's house. At the age of 12 he attended public school in Grantham and was a weak student. But he showed an early inclination towards mechanics and invention. So, as a boy of 14 years old, he invented a water clock and a type of scooter. In his youth, Newton loved painting, poetry, and even wrote poetry. In 1656, when Newton was 14 years old, his stepfather, Rev. Smith, died. The mother returned to Woolsthorpe and took Isaac to her place to help with business. At the same time, he turned out to be a poor assistant and preferred to study mathematics rather than agriculture. His uncle once found him under a hedge with a book in his hands, busy solving a mathematical problem. Struck by such a serious and active direction, yet so young man, he persuaded Isaac's mother to send him to study further.
On June 5, 1660, when Newton was not yet 18 years old, he was admitted to Trinity College. Cambridge University was at that time one of the best in Europe. Newton paid attention to mathematics, not so much for the sake of the science itself, with which he was still little familiar, but because he had heard a lot about astronomy and wanted to check whether this mysterious wisdom was worth studying? Little is known about Newton's first three years at Cambridge. In 1661 he was a “subsizzar”, the name given to poor students whose duties included serving the members of the college. Only in 1664 did he become a real student.
In 1665 he received the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts. It is quite difficult to decide the question of when the first scientific discoveries Newton. We can only state that it is quite early. In 1669 he received the Lucasian chair of mathematics, which had previously been occupied by his teacher Barrow. At this time, Newton was already the author of the binomial and the fluxion method, studied the dispersion of light, designed the first reflecting telescope, and approached the discovery of the law of gravitation. Newton's teaching load consisted of one hour of lectures per week and four hours of rehearsals. As a teacher he was not popular and his lectures on optics were poorly attended.
The reflecting telescope (second, improved) designed in 1671 was the reason for Newton being elected a member of the Royal Society of London on January 11, 1672. At the same time, he refused membership, citing lack of cash to pay membership fees. The Council of the Society considered it possible to make an exception and, in view of his scientific merits, exempted him from paying fees.
His fame as a scientist gradually grew. But Newton was no stranger to social activities. In the rather difficult political situation of that time, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge played a significant role. For defending the position of the university's independence from royal power, he was proposed as a candidate and elected to parliament. In 1687, his famous “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy” were published. At the same time, in 1692 an event occurred that shocked him so much nervous system, that for 2 years with some intervals ϶ᴛᴏᴛ great man showed signs of obvious mental disorder and there were periods when he experienced attacks of real, so-called quiet insanity, or melancholy. As another great scientist of that time, Christiaan Huygens, testifies (in a letter dated May 22, 1694): “The Scotsman Doctor Colm informed me that the famous geometer Isaac Newton fell into insanity a year and a half ago, partly from excessive work, partly as a result of grief caused him by the fire that destroyed him chemical laboratory and many important manuscripts. Then his friends took him for treatment and, confining him in a room, forced him to take medications, willy-nilly, from which his health improved so much that now he is beginning to understand his book “Principles...”. Fortunately, the illness passed without a trace.
Newton was already 50 years old. Despite his enormous fame and the brilliant success of his book, he lived in very cramped circumstances, and, sometimes, he was simply in need. In 1695, his financial situation, however, changed. Newton's close friend Charles Montagu achieved one of the highest positions in the state: he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. Through him, Newton received the position of superintendent of the mint, which brought in 400-500 pounds of annual income. Under his leadership, in 2 years, the entire coinage of England was minted. In 1699 he was appointed director of the mint (12-15 thousand pounds). He left the department and moved to London permanently. In 1703, Newton was elected president of the Royal Society. In 1704, his second most important book was published. "Optics". In 1705, Queen Anne elevated him to knighthood, he occupies a rich apartment, keeps servants, and has a carriage for trips. On March 20, 1727, at the age of 85, Isaac Newton died and was magnificently buried in Westminster Abbey. A medal was struck in Newton’s honor with the inscription: “Happy is he who knows the reasons.”

Newton's main discoveries

Discovery of calculus (analysis) of infinitesimals (differential and integral calculus).
A successor to Barrow, his teacher in mathematics, Newton introduces the concepts of fluent and fluxions. Fluent is a current, variable value. All fluents have one argument - time. Fluxion is the derivative of the fluent function with respect to time, that is, fluxion is the rate of change of fluent. Fluxions are approximately proportional to fluent increments, occurring in equal, very short periods of time.
A method was given for calculating fluxions (finding derivatives), based on the method of expansion into infinite series. Along the way, many problems were solved: finding the minimum and maximum of a function, determining the curvature and inflection points, calculating the areas closed by curves. Newton also developed the technique of integration (by expanding expressions into infinite series).
It is clear how much Newton mastered the images of continuous motion when creating mathematical analysis. His uniformly current independent variable is, as a rule, time. Fluents are variable quantities, for example, a path, that change depending on time. Fluxions are the rates of change of these quantities. Fluents are designated by the letters x, y..., and fluxions by the same letters with dots above them.
Independently of Newton, the famous German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) came to the discovery of differential and integral calculus. There was even a lawsuit between them and their followers about the priority of opening the analysis. As it turned out later, the International Commission to Resolve the Dispute was headed by Newton himself (secretly) and it recognized his priority. Subsequently it turned out that the Leibniz school developed more nice option analysis, but in Newton’s version the “physicality” of the method is more pronounced and important. In general, both Leibniz and Newton worked independently, but Newton completed the work earlier and Leibniz published earlier. Nowadays, analysis mainly uses Leibniz's approach, including his infinitesimal numbers, the separate existence of which Newton did not consider.
Optical research.
Newton made great achievements in this area of ​​physics. “Optics” is one of his main works.
The main merit was the study of the dispersion (decomposition) of light in a prism and the establishment of the complex composition of light: “Light consists of rays of different refrangibility.” The refractive index depends on the color of light. Newton conducted the famous experiment with crossed prisms, which showed that the decomposition of white light into the colors of the rainbow is not a property of the glass prism, but a property of the light itself. Monochromatic light was highlighted. The main thing is that the color of a beam is its original and unchangeable property. “Every homogeneous light has its own color, corresponding to the degree of its refraction, and such color cannot change during reflections and refractions,”
The reflecting telescope created by Newton is a consequence of Newton’s conviction in the fundamental irremovability of chromatic aberration of lenses due to the dispersion of light in them. Newton stated that the dispersion is the same for all substances.
Newton studies the colors of thin films. Invents a remarkable arrangement of lenses, which is now known as the installation for obtaining Newtonian rings, both in reflected and transmitted light. He found that the squares of the diameters of the rings increase in arithmetic progression odd or even numbers. Thus, he contributed to the study of the phenomenon of interference of light. In the last part of Optics, Newton describes some diffraction phenomena.
In the field of establishing the nature of light, Newton was a supporter of the corpuscular theory. Actually, he substantiated it, as opposed to Huygens' wave theory.
Gravity
Newton began to study the problem of gravitation in the same years 1665-66 as he studied optics and mathematics. At first, he interprets the presence of gravity with the theory of the ether in the Cartesian spirit. The qualitative picture suggested the law of dependence of the force of gravity on distance in inverse proportion to the square of the latter. From here it was not far to the conclusion that the Moon is held in its orbit by the action of the earth's gravity, weakened in proportion to the square of the distance. It was possible to calculate the tension of the gravitational field in lunar orbit and compare it with the magnitude of the centripetal acceleration. The first calculations showed discrepancies. But more accurate measurements of the Earth's radius carried out by Picard made it possible to obtain a satisfactory agreement. The Moon, of course, is continuously falling towards the Earth, while simultaneously moving away from it in a uniform tangential motion.
Further, from Kepler's laws, Newton, through mathematical analysis, comes to the conclusion that the force that holds the planets in orbit around the Sun is the force of mutual gravity, which decreases in proportion to the square of the distance.
The law of gravity remained a hypothesis (experimental proof was obtained only in the 18th century), but Newton, having repeatedly tested it in astronomy, no longer doubted it. Now the law of gravity is represented by a compact formula: F=G m_1 m_2 /(r^2) . This law gave the dynamic basis to all celestial mechanics. More than 200 years theoretical physics and astronomy were considered in accordance with this law until quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity arose. Newton believed it to be derived purely inductively. He himself found action at a distance meaningless, but refused to publicly discuss the nature of gravity. At the conclusion of “Principles...” Newton makes the following statement: “moving bodies experience no resistance from the omnipresence of God,” i.e. God is a mediator of action at a distance. “I still could not deduce the reason ... for these properties of the gravitational force from the phenomena, but I do not invent hypotheses.”
"Mathematical principles of natural philosophy"
The pinnacle of Newton's scientific creativity was precisely this work, after the publication of which he largely moved away from scientific works. The greatness of the author’s plan, which subjected the system of the world to mathematical analysis, and the depth and rigor of the presentation amazed his contemporaries /2/.
Newton's preface (there is also a preface by Cotes, his student) casually sketches out the program mechanical physics: “We propose this work as the mathematical foundations of physics. The whole difficulty of physics, as will be seen, is to recognize the forces of nature from the phenomena of motion, and then to explain other phenomena using these forces (thus, in books 1 and 2, the law of action of central forces is derived from observable phenomena, and in the third, the found law is applied to the description of the world system). It would be desirable to deduce from the principles of mechanics the rest of the phenomena of nature, reasoning in a similar way, for many things force me to assume that all phenomena are determined by certain forces with which the particles of bodies, due to reasons as yet unknown, either tend to each other and interlock into regular figures, or they mutually repel and move away from each other.”
“Principles...” begin with the “Definitions” section, where definitions of the amount of matter, inertial mass, centripetal force and some others are given. The section concludes with “Instructions”, where the definition of space, time, place, and movement is given. Next comes the section on the axioms of motion, where Newton’s famous 3 laws of mechanics, the laws of motion and the immediate consequences of them are given. Consequently, we are observing a certain imitation of Euclid’s “Principles...”.
Next, “Beginnings...” is divided into 3 books. The first book is devoted to the theory of gravity and movement in the field of central forces, the second - to the doctrine of environmental resistance. In the third book, Newton outlined the established laws of motion of the planets, the Moon, the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, gave a dynamic interpretation of the laws, outlined the “method of fluxions,” and showed that the force that attracts a stone to the Earth is no different in nature from the force that keeps the Moon in orbit , and the weakening of attraction is associated only with an increase in distance.
Thanks to Newton, the Universe began to be perceived as a well-oiled clockwork mechanism. The regularity and simplicity of the basic principles that explained all observed phenomena were regarded by Newton as proof of the existence of God: “Such a most graceful conjunction of the Sun, planets and comets could not have happened except by the intention and in the power of a wise and powerful being. This one rules everything not as the soul of the world, but as the ruler of the Universe, and according to his dominion he should be called the Lord God Almighty.”
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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 and various physical and mathematical theories.

Childhood and youth

Isaac Newton was born on December 25, 1642 (January 4, 1643 New Style) in a farmer's family. An event that subsequently had a significant impact on the course of social development occurred in the village of Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire. The future great scientist was born the same year that 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 for his mother. However, 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 at 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 solid male upbringing and support, and his mother’s brother William Ayscough came in handy here. Under his patronage, the young man graduated from school in 1661 and entered Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, or, as it was also called, the College of the Holy Trinity.

The beginning of the path to glory

It is safe to say that it was during this period that Newton’s powerful scientific spirit began to take shape, the qualities that allowed him to soon become famous. Even then, in this college student one could discern incredible meticulousness and the desire to get to the bottom of any phenomenon at any cost. If we add to this the sheer indifference to worldly fame, we would get a complete portrait of a 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. One cannot fail to mention Isaac Barrow, Newton's teacher. The truth is that each of them paved their own significant path to understanding the mysteries of the world. In force various circumstances these famous scientists were unable to complete what they started. Newton did it for them, creating based on their ideas universal system peace.

Researchers of Newton's work believe that he made the vast majority of his discoveries in the field of mathematics during his student years, in the period from 1664 to 1666. At the same time, the Newton-Leibniz formula, the main theorem of analysis, was born. At the same time, 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 on its own, but followed from Kepler’s third law. At that time, the “Newton binomial” formula was derived and it was proven that white is nothing more than 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 brag about the results of his work.

Recognition of merit

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

In 1668, Newton became 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 in optics and color theory. In addition, alchemy caught his attention. In the Middle Ages, this activity was considered a pseudoscience, and its adherents were often persecuted. Despite this, Newton conducted experiments with chemical elements with manic persistence.

Official recognition came to Isaac Newton in 1672, when he presented the reflector he had invented to the respectable London public. 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 significantly surpassed them in its technical characteristics. Again, Newton created a new generation of telescope back in 1668. Why didn’t you immediately announce this? Probably due to my character. It may well be that the scientist first intended to test it in action many times, improve it if necessary, and only then “declassify it.”

No one has created anything like this during this time. As a result, the inventor not only received 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 overseeing the Mint. Those close to the royal family were seriously concerned about the state of the country's financial system and believed that such a person would be able to restore the trust they had lost in it. And they were right. It would seem that such work had nothing to do with scientific activities Newton, however, he plunged into his work and was able to successfully carry out monetary reform.

In 1699, Newton received the post of 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 received the title of knight from the queen herself. He was awarded this title for scientific merits, 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.

Privacy

Almost nothing is known about her. Perhaps because his studies in 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 of Isaac’s crushes - 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.

Newton was born into a farmer's family, but he was lucky good friends and he was able to escape from rural life into a scientific environment. Thanks to this, a great scientist appeared who was able to discover more than one law of physics and astronomy and formulate many important theories in the branches of mathematics and physics.

Family and childhood

Isaac was the son of a farmer from Woolsthorpe. His father was from poor peasants who, by chance, acquired land and thanks to this succeeded. But his father did not live to see Isaac's birth - and died a few weeks before. The boy was named after him.

When Newton was three years old, his mother remarried - to a wealthy farmer almost three times her age. After the birth of three more children in a new marriage, his mother’s brother, William Ayscough, began to study Isaac. But Uncle Newton could not give at least any education, so the boy was left to his own devices - he played with mechanical toys he made with his own hands, and besides, he was a little withdrawn.

Isaac's mother's new husband lived with her for only seven years and died. Half of the inheritance went to the widow, and she immediately transferred everything to Isaac. Despite the fact that the mother returned home, she paid almost no attention to the boy, since the younger children demanded him even more, and she had no assistants.

At the age of twelve, Newton went to school in the neighboring town of Grantham. To avoid having to travel several miles home every day, he was placed in the house of a local pharmacist, Mr. Clarke. At school, the boy “blossomed”: he greedily grasped new knowledge, the teachers were delighted with his intelligence and abilities. But after four years, the mother needed an assistant and she decided that her 16-year-old son would be able to handle the farm.

But even after returning home, Isaac is in no hurry to decide economic problems, but reads books, writes poetry and continues to invent various mechanisms. Therefore, friends turned to his mother to return the guy to school. Among them was a teacher at Trinity College, an acquaintance of the same pharmacist with whom Isaac lived during his studies. Through common efforts Newton went to study at Cambridge.

University, plague and discovery

In 1661, the guy successfully passed the Latin exam, and he was enrolled in the College of the Holy Trinity at the University of Cambridge as a student who, instead of paying for his studies, carried out various assignments and works for the benefit of his alma mater.

Since life in England in those years was very difficult, it was not best thing Things were the same in Cambridge. Biographers agree that it was the years in college that strengthened the scientist’s character and his desire to get to the essence of the subject through his own efforts. Three years later he had already achieved a scholarship.

In 1664, Isaac Barrow became one of Newton's teachers, who instilled in him a love of mathematics. During those years, Newton made his first discovery in mathematics, now known as Newton's Binomial.

A few months later, studies at Cambridge were stopped due to the plague epidemic that was spreading in England. Newton returned home, where he continued his scientific works. It was in those years that he began to develop the law, which has since received the name Newton-Leibniz; in his home, he discovered that white color is nothing more than a mixture of all colors, and called the phenomenon “spectrum.” It was then that he discovered his famous law of universal gravitation.

What was a feature of Newton's character, and was not very useful for science, was his excessive modesty. He published some of his research only 20-30 years after their discoveries. Some were found three centuries after his death.

In 1667, Newton returned to college, and a year later he became a master and was invited to work as a teacher. But Isaac didn’t really like lecturing, and he wasn’t particularly popular among his students.

In 1669, various mathematicians began to publish their versions of infinite series expansions. Despite the fact that Newton developed his theory on this topic many years ago, he never published it anywhere. Again, out of modesty. But his former teacher, and now friend Barrow, persuaded Isaac. And he wrote “Analysis using equations with an infinite number of terms,” where he briefly and essentially outlined his discoveries. And although Newton asked not to give his name, Barrow could not resist. This is how scientists around the world first learned about Newton.

In the same year he takes over from Barrow and becomes professor of mathematics and optics at Trinity College. And since Barrow left him his laboratory, Isaac is interested in alchemy and conducts many experiments on this topic. But he did not abandon research with light. So, he developed his first reflecting telescope, which gave a magnification of 40 times. The king's court became interested in the new development, and after a presentation to scientists, the mechanism was assessed as revolutionary and very necessary, especially for sailors. And Newton was admitted to the Royal Scientific Society in 1672. But after the first controversy about the spectrum, Isaac decided to leave the organization - he was tired of disputes and discussions, he was used to working alone and without unnecessary fuss. He was barely persuaded to remain at the Royal Society, but the scientist’s contacts with them became minimal.

The birth of physics as a science

In 1684-1686, Newton wrote his first great printed work, “The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.” He was persuaded to publish it by another scientist, Edmond Halley, who first proposed developing a formula for elliptical motion in the orbit of planets, using the formula of the law of gravity. And then it turned out that Newton had already decided everything long ago. Halley did not back down until he extracted a promise from Isaac to publish the work, and he agreed.

It took two years to write it, Halley himself agreed to finance the publication, and in 1686 it finally saw the world.

In this book, the scientist first used the concepts of “external force”, “mass” and “momentum”. Newton gave three basic laws of mechanics and drew conclusions from Kepler's laws.

The first edition of 300 copies was sold out in four years, which by the standards of that time was a triumph. In total, the book was republished three times during the scientist’s lifetime.

Recognition and success

In 1689 Newton was elected Member of Parliament at the University of Cambridge. A year later it is sorted out a second time.

In 1696, thanks to the assistance of his former student, and now President of the Royal Society and Chancellor of the Exchequer Montagu, Newton became keeper of the Mint, for which he moved to London. Together they put the affairs of the Mint in order and carry out monetary reform with the reminting of coins.

In 1699, the Newtonian system of the world began to be taught in his native Cambridge, and five years later the same course of lectures appeared in Oxford.

He was also accepted into the Paris Scientific Club, making Newton an honorary foreign member of the society.

Last years and death

In 1704, Newton published his work On Optics, and a year later Queen Anne knighted him.

The last years of Newton's life were spent reprinting the Principia and preparing updates for subsequent editions. In addition, he wrote “Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms.”

In 1725, his health seriously deteriorated and he moved from bustling London to Kensington. He died there, in his sleep. His body was buried in Westminster Abbey.

• Newton's knighthood was the first time in English history that a knighthood had been awarded for scientific merit. Newton acquired his own coat of arms and a not very reliable pedigree.
• Towards the end of his life, Newton quarreled with Leibniz, which had a detrimental effect on British and European science in particular - many discoveries were not made because of these quarrels.
• The unit of force was named after Newton International system units (SI).
• The legend of Newton's apple spread widely thanks to Voltaire.