Sir Isaac Newton
By: Joanne Kwan
College Now Course - SCI 1
Newton was an intelligent man of science. He is well known for writing the Philosophiae Naturalis Primipia Mathematica on universal gravitation and the three laws of motion. The first law of motion states,
"every object persists in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless
it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed on it." This means that an
object will not change its path unless another object interferes with its direction.
The second law, "Force is equal to the change in momentum per change in time", is
simply mass equals force times acceleration. Finally, "For every action, there is
an equal and opposite reaction." These concepts have been taught in eleventh grade
physics and have been reinforced in the current College Now Science class. The latter,
however, showed that Newton was responsible for more than defining the system of physics.
"Newton is a versatile man", said Mr. Valente, my College Now science teacher.. He
was a physicist, mathematician, astronomer, alchemist, and philosopher. In viewing
an informative television broadcasting, I learned that he was responsible for inventing
calculus. Since my junior year, my high school pre-calculus teacher told the class
about the influence Newton had on the subject, but I had previously not known that
he was the creator of a whole new language. Not only did Newton keep his work a secret,
he also made his own telescope using mirrors instead of lenses. His small and durable
instrument was able to rid the problem of a strange colored glow that existed around
celestial objects when observed with earlier telescopes. Through this, he defined
diffraction of white light through prisms and refraction of light traveling through
denser objects.
Once I learned of Newton's genius, it was easy to believe in his accomplishments.
It was hard however, to find that the scientist also took part in alchemy. He was
an extremely religious man who believed in experimenting with chemicals. Many times,
his friends felt he had gone mad because of his change in character. No one knew about
his little secret because he gave up alchemy after a long sickness. People still wonder
what he was trying to discover, and where he was going with his work. Scientists research
the history of Newton by reproducing his concoctions, in hope of learning more about
the mysterious man.
Newton must be the single most influential and intelligent man in the history of the
world. He was way ahead of his time in thought and creation. Today, we still use calculus,
and teach his laws. We can use his methods as a basis to mechanics, optics, and other
fields of study. Through the College Now class, I learned more about Sir Isaac Newton
than I ever would in a regular high school classroom. In the discussions and movie
selections, I was able to obtain a more in depth understanding of his work as well
as his character.
