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1
Q

Newton’s Legacy

A

Mainly, Theology, Alchemy, but today he’s known as hero of Scientific Movement, physics

Born year Gal died
->succeedor in mathematics + nature
Killed Aristotelean thought
->his model becomes it

2
Q

Early Life

A

Premature farmer baby
->disliked family, no social skills
Studies at King’s College Cambridge
->learns in Scholastic

Comes home, Plague
->but eventually returns

Transitions to Arts

  • > becomes Lucasian Professor of Mathematics
  • > must lecture weekly - chose Optics!
3
Q

Opticks

A

(Actual publication comes much later)

Light, not vision is the question
->Newton asks how white light gets colour on material

Prevailing theory: White light = pure light
->not yet altered, impressed by colours

Knows objects have refractive indices, Snell

  • > suggests each colour has own refractive index
  • > and each material reflects different amounts each col
  • > key step is in splitting, THEN RECOMBINING light

So it’s the light joining and splitting, not the prism impressing qualities

Also worked on telescopes

  • > solved Chromatic Abberation with mirrors > glass
  • > telescope makes it to King, who wants Newton in RS
  • > encourages him to publish
Hooke criticises him
  ->"derivative" of his own microscopes
  ->disagrees with light being a constitution
Newton withdraws, since he's a recluse
  ->swears to never publish
  ->continues theology, alchemy
4
Q

Alchemy

A

Experiment to make substances more valuable

  • > chemists are experimental, not concerned with origin
  • > chemist = pharmacist, follow recipes to make products

Newton was an alchemist

  • > reads obscure works (really strange wording)
  • > understand true nature of world & reality
    • > not so much about making gold

Alchemists:

1) Wrote in flowery vague language with strange terminology
2) Though ancients had ultimate alchemical knowledge
- >Greek, Roman poems were actually encoded formulae
- >they went deeeep into their mythology
- >seek Phil Stone in their writing
- >Ancients had “true philosophy, true theology”

His work was not “good science” or following good principles as we know today

5
Q

Theology

A

Jesus was not divine

  • > unsupported by 1st testament
  • > a heretic! Kept it to himself

Widely disagreed with views, but he kept them

SACRED/TRUE THEOLOGY

  • > “The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended”
    • > tried to correct dates of prophecies
  • > concerned with end of world
    • > 2016, comet hits sun, giant solar flare
  • > like humanism, glorify the Ancients
  • > MODERN CHURCH IS CORRUPTION OF FAITH
    • > true faith is found back in Adam & Eve’s time

He really thought he could reconstruct the Ancient’s sacred, perfect knowledge

  • > but Fermat, Keppler too…
  • > just speculatively reconstructing them
6
Q

Physics

A

Principia?

  • > Halley asks him what orbits would look like, if inverse squared to distance
  • > Why ellipses? Wanted to show from inverse square law
  • > Newton sends short write up to Halley, who pushes him to publish

Principia - Begins with the 3 Laws

1) Inertia (EZ)
2) F = ma (EZ)
3) equal and opposite force (NEW shocker)

Then goes on to show Universal Gravitation
->holds for any pair!!!!!
->same motion in heaven and earth!!!! No realms!
Literally a rock star after Principia

7
Q

Newton’s Reception

A

Elevates to head of RS, King of Science
->only legit if you’re with Newton

Hooke goes off again, derivative
->Newton just slaps him down, doesn’t even respond
Publishes Opticks after Hooke dies
->includes Calc
->another rivalry with Leibniz, who disagrees with Grav too

Newton thought Calculus was Ancient Knowledge though
->no big deal, neither of us invented it
->thought the ancients just preferred geometric proofs, so he used it too for Principia
Creates a committee to investigate, then clears his name himself.

8
Q

Occult Properties in Newton?

A

Revised Principia to say he “feigns no hypotheses”

  • > though includes 31 questions at the end
  • > 31: but don’t bodies have action at a distance though?
9
Q

Newton’s Legacy

A

It’s important to say how, before why.
->1st priority is describe events

Recall: Only efficient causes for Descartes!

Allows subsequent scientists to only worry about how

  • > And Faraday, Einstein can go describe
  • > Others can go later and find why
  • > like Pythagoreans, finding math comes first