Category: Scientists & Inventions

Isaac Newton was appointed as the warden of the Royal Mint in 1696. He received the position on the recommendation of Charles Montague, a well-known politician of the time. The prestigious post was intended as a reward for Newton’s scientific achievements. Newton took up the position at a crucial time as England was in the…

Isaac Newton became the president of the Royal Society in 1703. The 60-year-old Newton undertook responsibilities with his characteristic determination and energy. In the preceding years the Society had a series of politicians as its presidents. They were not concerned about the Society’s aims and the weekly meetings were no longer based on the scientific…

Newton was invited to join the Royal Society in early 1672. The Society had distinguished personalities such as Robert Boyle and Christopher Wren as its members at the time. Newton had seen the invitation to join as a great honour. He found a rival of his rank at the Society. It was Robert Hooke, who…

The Royal Society was the leading national organization for the promotion of scientific research in Britain. It is also the oldest national scientific society in the world. The origin of the society can be traced back to November 28, 1660, when twelve men met. They decided to set up a College for promoting ‘Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall…

Newton was a mathematics professor at Trinity College, Cambridge. But he was not a successful teacher. Newton preferred to spend his time alone in the laboratory, which he built himself, or in the small garden outside his rooms. Only a few students attended his classes and fewer still understood what he said. A secretary later…

The English version of Opticks: or A Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light was published in 1704. A Latin translation of the book appeared in 1706. This is Newton’s second major book on physical science. It analyses the fundamental nature of light. The book covers discoveries and theories concerning light and…

Astronomer Edmond Halley persuaded Newton to expand his studies. Halley was the driving force behind the publication. He acted as a critic as well as supporter for this work. Edmond Halley even convinced Newton to allow him to edit the Principia. Halley covered the various expenses, corrected the proofs himself, and ultimately got Philosophiae Naturalis…

Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Latin for Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) is often simply referred to as Principia. This work in three books, written by Isaac Newton in Latin was first published on 5 July 1687. In retrospect, its publication was a landmark event in the development of modern physics and astronomy. Newton published two…

The significance of the Newtonian reflector does not lie in the discovery of new celestial bodies or celestial phenomena. Newton neither discovered the moons around Jupiter like Galileo nor did he plot the return of a comet – like Halley. However, the Newtonian reflector and Newton’s theory of universal gravitation made an invaluable contribution: they…

The first successful practical reflecting telescope was built by Newton. Until then telescopes were large unwieldy instruments. The design of the telescope was recast by Newton on the basis of his theory of optics. He used mirrors instead of lenses and the result was a new telescope 10 times smaller than the traditional ones. Earlier…