Where did Isaac live? Isaac Newton: Great Discoveries

Some people are able to multiply five-digit numbers in their head. Another has difficulty counting change in a store, but can assemble an Apocalypse car from garbage in a garbage dump. A third person can take it out general formula everything - if, of course, the straitjacket is removed from him. And sometimes people are born who are able to write a theory of optics over a cup of tea, develop methods of integral calculus at lunch, and sketch out the laws of gravity before going to bed - and all this in an era when witches were still sometimes burned in public squares, and famous scientists were seriously interested in the occult.

It is difficult to know a lot, it is impossible to know everything. But to make great discoveries in completely different areas of fundamental knowledge and determine the shape of science for hundreds of years to come is almost a miracle. There were few people in the world whose portraits simultaneously hang in school classrooms of mathematics, physics, astronomy and cultural studies. And, perhaps, the main “messiah from science” was Sir Isaac Newton. In 2005, the Royal Society of London held a vote on the candidacy of the most influential physicist in the history of the planet. Newton was considered more important than Einstein.

Taciturn and lonely

In April 1642, the wealthy but completely illiterate farmer Isaac Newton from the small village of Woolsthorpe married the well-educated 19-year-old Anna Ayscough from the village of Market Overton. The happiness of the young did not last long. My husband died in October. And right on Christmas Day, December 25th, Anna gave birth to a boy. He was named after his father - Isaac. These circumstances determined the fate of scientific progress, because if Isaac the elder were alive, he would probably have raised his son as a farmer.

The baby was born premature. According to the mother's recollections, the child was so small that he could fit into a quarter-quart cup. Everyone expected that he would not live even a day. However, despite this, Isaac grew up healthy and lived to be 84 years old.

Three years later, Anna married the wealthy vicar Barnaby Smith, who by that time was 63 years old. She left her son to her parents and moved in with the reverend. His mother’s second marriage “gave” Newton two half-sisters and one half-brother (Mary, Benjamin and Anna). It must be said that their relationship was good - having achieved success, Isaac always helped his step-relatives.

Some researchers believe that young Newton suffered from autism. He spoke little (a quality that continued throughout his life) and became so lost in thought that he forgot to eat. Until the age of seven, he often got stuck repeating the same sentences, which, naturally, did not add friends to the strange boy.

Isaac's extraordinary talents first appeared on a practical basis. He made toys, miniature windmills, kites (he flew lanterns with them and spread rumors about a comet around), made a stone sundial for his house, and also measured the strength of the wind by jumping in its direction and against it.

In 1652, Newton was sent to study at Grantham School. This town was only 5 miles from his home, but Isaac chose to leave his native walls and settled with a Grantham pharmacist, Mr. Clark.

In 1656, the vicar dies and the widow Smith returns to the family estate. It cannot be said that Isaac was happy with her. At the age of 19, he compiled a list of his past youthful sins, where, in particular, he indicated his intention to burn down the vicarage along with his negligent mother. Anna belatedly decided to take part in raising her first child and decided that her son would follow in his father’s footsteps. Isaac was taken out of school, and for some time he diligently dug up the fields of Lincolnshire.

The connection to the land did not last long. Through the efforts of the Reverend William Ayscough (brother of Newton's mother and pastor of a neighboring village), English agriculture lost another bad worker. The uncle noticed the young man’s scientific success and persuaded Anna to send her son to university.

Lonely and brilliant

At first, Newton was a subsidizer - or, more simply put, he paid for his studies by doing housework. In the spring of 1664 he was admitted to Trinity College as a fellow. This gave him access to the huge Cambridge library. The young man greedily devoured the works of Archimedes, Aristotle, Plato, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Descartes - the very giants on whose shoulders, in his own words, he later stood.

Little information has been preserved about his relationships with his classmates. It can be assumed that the reserved Newton, who found himself in the citadel of the science he so adored, avoided the wild life of a student. It is known that he once changed rooms because of his neighbor’s “boisterousness” and settled next to the quiet John Wilkins.

Fascinated by optics, Newton devoted a lot of time to observing atmospheric phenomena- in particular, a halo (a ring around the Sun, for more details see “MF” No. 11 (63), 2008).

A year was enough for Isaac to gain basic knowledge in mathematics, physics and optics. In July 1665, London was struck by a terrible plague epidemic. The number of victims was so great that the university management sent the students home (over the next two years, Cambridge closed and reopened several times).

Newton took a “sabbatical” and returned to his native Woolsthorpe. The calmness of village life had a beneficial effect on Isaac. Noisy students did not distract him from his books, so already in January 1665 he defended his bachelor's degree, and in 1668 he became a master.

It may seem strange, but Newton made major discoveries while still a student at Cambridge. He didn't shout "Eureka!" on every corner and did not seek to popularize his achievements, so Isaac gained world fame only in mature age.

By the age of 23, the young man had mastered the methods of differential and integral calculus, derived Newton’s binomial formula, formulated the fundamental theorem of analysis (later called the “Newton-Leibniz formula”), and discovered the law universal gravity and proved that White color- a mixture of colors.

All this was done with the help short notes in the diaries. Judging by them, Newton's thoughts freely jumped from optics to mathematics and vice versa. The silence of the village provided him with an unlimited amount of time for reflection. He himself explained his success by thinking constantly.

In 1669, the plague subsided. Cambridge came to life again, and Newton was appointed professor of mathematics. At that time, the mathematical sciences also included geometry, astronomy, geography and optics, but Newton's lectures were considered boring and were not in demand among students - he often had to speak to empty benches.

Isaac Newton's short biography is outlined in this article.

Isaac Newton short biography

Isaac Newton- English mathematician, astronomer, physicist, mechanic, who laid the foundations of classical mechanics. He explained the movement celestial bodies– planets around the Sun and the Moon around the Earth. His most famous discovery was the law of universal gravitation

Was born December 25, 1642 years in a farming family in the town of Woolsthorpe near Grantham. His father died before he was born. From the age of 12 he studied at Grantham School. At that time he lived in the house of the pharmacist Clark, which may have awakened in him a craving for chemical sciences

1661 entered Trinity College, Cambridge University as a sponsor. After graduating from college in 1665, Newton received academic degree bachelor's degree 1665–67, during the plague epidemic, was in his native village Woolsthorpe; These years were the most productive in Newton's scientific work.

In 1665-1667, Newton developed ideas that led him to the creation of differential and integral calculus, the invention of a reflecting telescope (made by himself in 1668), and the discovery of the law of universal gravitation. Here he conducted experiments on the decomposition (dispersion) of light. It was then that Newton outlined a program for further scientific growth

In 1668 he successfully defended his master's degree and became a senior member of Trinity College.

In 1889 receives one of the departments at Cambridge University: the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics.

In 1671, Newton built his second reflecting telescope - larger and best quality than the first one. The demonstration of the telescope made a strong impression on his contemporaries, and soon after (in January 1672) Newton was elected a member of the Royal Society of London - the English Academy of Sciences.

Also in 1672, Newton presented his research on a new theory of light and colors to the Royal Society of London, which caused heated controversy with Robert Hooke. Newton had ideas about monochromatic light rays and the periodicity of their properties, substantiated by the finest experiments. In 1687, he published his grandiose work “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy” (“Principles”).

In 1696, Newton was appointed Warden of the Mint by Royal Decree. His energetic reform is quickly restoring confidence in the UK monetary system. 1703 - Newton's election as president of the Royal Society, which he ruled for 20 years. 1703 - Queen Anne knighted Newton for scientific merits. In the last years of his life, he devoted a lot of time to theology and ancient and biblical history.

Sir Isaac Newton. Born December 25, 1642 - died March 20, 1727. English physicist, mathematician, mechanic and astronomer, one of the founders of classical physics. The author of the fundamental work “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy,” in which he outlined the law of universal gravitation and the three laws of mechanics, which became the basis of classical mechanics. He developed differential and integral calculus, color theory, laid the foundations of modern physical optics, and created many other mathematical and physical theories.

Isaac Newton was born in the village of Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire on the eve of civil war. Newton's father, a small but successful farmer Isaac Newton (1606-1642), did not live to see the birth of his son.

The boy was born prematurely and was sickly, so they did not dare to baptize him for a long time. And yet he survived, was baptized (January 1), and named Isaac in memory of his father. Newton considered the fact of being born on Christmas a special sign of fate. Despite poor health in infancy, he lived to be 84 years old.

Newton sincerely believed that his family went back to the Scottish nobles of the 15th century, but historians discovered that in 1524 his ancestors were poor peasants. By the end of the 16th century, the family became rich and became yeomen (landowners). Newton's father left an inheritance of a large sum of 500 pounds sterling at that time and several hundred acres of fertile land occupied by fields and forests.

In January 1646, Newton's mother, Hannah Ayscough (1623-1679), remarried. She had three children with her new husband, a 63-year-old widower, and began to pay little attention to Isaac. The boy's patron was his maternal uncle, William Ayscough. As a child, Newton, according to contemporaries, was silent, withdrawn and isolated, loved to read and make technical toys: a sundial and water clock, a mill, etc. All his life he felt lonely.

His stepfather died in 1653, part of his inheritance went to Newton’s mother and was immediately registered by her in Isaac’s name. The mother returned home, but focused most of her attention on the three youngest children and the extensive household; Isaac was still left to his own devices.

In 1655, 12-year-old Newton was sent to study at a nearby school in Grantham, where he lived in the house of the pharmacist Clark. Soon the boy showed extraordinary abilities, but in 1659 his mother Anna returned him to the estate and tried to entrust part of the management of the household to her 16-year-old son. The attempt was not successful - Isaac preferred reading books, writing poetry, and especially designing various mechanisms to all other activities.

At this time, Stokes turned to Anna, school teacher Newton, and began to persuade her to continue the education of her unusually gifted son; This request was joined by Uncle William and Isaac's Grantham acquaintance (relative of the pharmacist Clark) Humphrey Babington, a member of Trinity College Cambridge. With their combined efforts, they eventually achieved their goal.

In 1661, Newton successfully graduated from school and went to continue his education at Cambridge University.

In June 1661, 18-year-old Newton arrived in Cambridge. According to the charter, he was given an examination of his knowledge of the Latin language, after which he was informed that he had been admitted to Trinity College (College of the Holy Trinity) of the University of Cambridge. More than 30 years of Newton’s life are associated with this educational institution.

The college, like the entire university, was experiencing hard time. The monarchy had just been restored in England (1660), King Charles II often delayed payments due to the university, and dismissed a significant part of the teaching staff appointed during the revolution. In total, 400 people lived at Trinity College, including students, servants and 20 beggars, to whom, according to the charter, the college was obliged to give alms. Educational process was in a deplorable state.

Newton was included in the category of "sizer" students (sizar), from whom tuition fees were not charged (probably on Babington's recommendation). According to the norms of that time, the sizer was obliged to pay for his education by various works at the University, or by providing services to wealthier students. Very little documentary evidence and memories of this period of his life have survived. During these years, Newton's character was finally formed - the desire to get to the bottom, intolerance to deception, slander and oppression, indifference to public fame. He still had no friends.

In April 1664, Newton, having passed the exams, moved to a higher student category of “scholars”, which gave him the right to a scholarship and continued education at college.

Despite Galileo's discoveries, science and philosophy were still taught in Cambridge. However, Newton's surviving notebooks already mention Cartesianism, Kepler and Gassendi's atomic theory. Judging by these notebooks, he continued to make (mainly scientific instruments), and was enthusiastically engaged in optics, astronomy, mathematics, phonetics, and music theory. According to the memoirs of his roommate, Newton devoted himself wholeheartedly to his studies, forgetting about food and sleep; probably, despite all the difficulties, this was exactly the way of life that he himself desired.

The year 1664 in Newton's life was rich in other events. Newton experienced a creative upsurge and began independent scientific activity and compiled a large-scale list (of 45 points) of unsolved problems in nature and human life(Questionnaire, lat. Questiones quaedam philosophicae). In the future, similar lists appear more than once in his workbooks. In March of the same year, lectures began at the college's newly founded (1663) mathematics department by a new teacher, 34-year-old Isaac Barrow, a major mathematician, Newton's future friend and teacher. Newton's interest in mathematics increased sharply. He made the first significant mathematical discovery: binomial expansion for an arbitrary rational exponent (including negative ones), and through it he came to his main mathematical method- expansion of a function into an infinite series. At the very end of the year, Newton became a bachelor.

The scientific support and inspiration for Newton's work were the physicists: Galileo and Kepler. Newton completed their work by combining them into a universal system of the world. Other mathematicians and physicists had a lesser but significant influence: Fermat, Huygens, Wallis and his immediate teacher Barrow.

In Newton's student notebook there is a program phrase: “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.”.

On Christmas Eve 1664, red crosses began to appear on London houses - the first marks of the Great Plague Epidemic. By summer, the deadly epidemic had expanded significantly. On 8 August 1665, classes at Trinity College were suspended and the staff disbanded until the end of the epidemic. Newton went home to Woolsthorpe, taking with him the main books, notebooks and instruments.

These were disastrous years for England - a devastating plague (a fifth of the population died in London alone), a devastating war with Holland, and the Great Fire of London. But a significant part of their scientific discoveries Newton did the “plague years” in solitude. From the surviving notes it is clear that the 23-year-old Newton was already fluent in the basic methods of differential and integral calculus, including series expansion of functions and what was later called the Newton-Leibniz formula. After conducting a series of ingenious optical experiments, he proved that white color is a mixture of the colors of the spectrum.

But his most significant discovery during these years was law of universal gravitation. Later, in 1686, Newton wrote to Halley: “In papers written more than 15 years ago (I cannot give the exact date, but, in any case, it was before the start of my correspondence with Oldenburg), I expressed the inverse quadratic proportionality of the gravitational force of the planets to the Sun depending on the distance and calculated the correct the relationship between the earth's gravity and the conatus recedendi [striving] of the Moon towards the center of the Earth, although not entirely accurate".

The inaccuracy mentioned by Newton was caused by the fact that Newton took the dimensions of the Earth and the magnitude of the acceleration of gravity from Galileo’s Mechanics, where they were given with a significant error. Later, Newton received more accurate data from Picard and was finally convinced of the truth of his theory.

Well known legend that Newton discovered the law of gravitation by observing an apple falling from a tree branch. For the first time, “Newton’s apple” was briefly mentioned by Newton’s biographer William Stukeley (book “Memoirs of the Life of Newton”, 1752): “After lunch it settled warm weather, we went out into the garden and drank tea in the shade of the apple trees. He [Newton] told me that the idea of ​​gravity came to him while he was sitting under a tree in the same way. He was in a contemplative mood when suddenly an apple fell from a branch. “Why do apples always fall perpendicular to the ground?” - he thought."

The legend became popular thanks to Voltaire. In fact, as can be seen from Newton's workbooks, his theory of universal gravitation developed gradually.

Newton Isaac. Newton's apple of discord

Another biographer, Henry Pemberton, gives Newton's reasoning (without mentioning the apple) in more detail: "by comparing the periods of the several planets and their distances from the sun, he found that... this force must decrease in quadratic proportion as the distance increases." In other words, Newton discovered that from Kepler’s third law, which relates the orbital periods of planets to the distance to the Sun, it follows precisely the “inverse square formula” for the law of gravity (in the approximation of circular orbits). Newton wrote out the final formulation of the law of gravitation, which was included in textbooks, later, after the laws of mechanics became clear to him.

These discoveries, as well as many of the later ones, were published 20-40 years later than they were made. Newton did not pursue fame.

In 1670 he wrote to John Collins: “I see nothing desirable in fame, even if I were capable of earning it. This would perhaps increase the number of my acquaintances, but this is exactly what I try most to avoid.”

Your first treatise(October 1666), which outlined the basics of the analysis, he did not publish; it was found only 300 years later.

In March-June 1666, Newton visited Cambridge. However, in the summer a new wave of plague forced him to go home again. Finally, early in 1667, the epidemic subsided, and Newton returned to Cambridge in April. On October 1 he was elected a fellow of Trinity College, and in 1668 he became a master. He was allocated a spacious separate room to live in, assigned a salary (2 pounds per year) and was given a group of students with whom he conscientiously studied standard academic subjects for several hours a week. However, neither then nor later did Newton become famous as a teacher; his lectures were poorly attended.

Having strengthened his position, Newton traveled to London, where shortly before, in 1660, the Royal Society of London was created - an authoritative organization of prominent scientific figures, one of the first Academies of Sciences. The publication of the Royal Society was the journal Philosophical Transactions.

In 1669, mathematical works using expansions in infinite series began to appear in Europe. Although the depth of these discoveries could not be compared with Newton's, Barrow insisted that his student fix his priority in this matter. Newton wrote a brief but fairly complete summary of this part of his discoveries, which he called "Analysis using equations with an infinite number of terms". Barrow sent this treatise to London. Newton asked Barrow not to reveal the name of the author of the work (but he still let it slip). “Analysis” spread among specialists and gained some fame in England and abroad.

In the same year, Barrow accepted the king's invitation to become a court chaplain and left teaching. On 29 October 1669, the 26-year-old Newton was elected as his successor, professor of mathematics and optics at Trinity College, with a high salary of £100 per annum. Barrow left Newton an extensive alchemical laboratory; During this period, Newton became seriously interested in alchemy and conducted a lot of chemical experiments.

At the same time, Newton continued experiments in optics and color theory. Newton studied spherical and chromatic aberration. To reduce them to a minimum, he built a mixed reflecting telescope: a lens and a concave spherical mirror, which he made and polished himself. The project for such a telescope was first proposed by James Gregory (1663), but this plan was never realized. Newton's first design (1668) was unsuccessful, but the next one, with a more carefully polished mirror, despite its small size, provided a 40-fold magnification of excellent quality.

Rumors about the new instrument quickly reached London, and Newton was invited to show his invention to the scientific community.

At the end of 1671 - beginning of 1672, a demonstration of the reflector took place before the king, and then at the Royal Society. The device received universal rave reviews. The practical importance of the invention probably also played a role: astronomical observations served to precise definition time, which in turn was necessary for navigation at sea. Newton became famous and in January 1672 was elected a member of the Royal Society. Later, improved reflectors became the main tools of astronomers, with their help the planet Uranus, other galaxies, and red shift were discovered.

At first, Newton valued his communication with colleagues from the Royal Society, which included, in addition to Barrow, James Gregory, John Wallis, Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle, Christopher Wren and other famous figures of English science. However, tedious conflicts soon began, which Newton really did not like. In particular, a noisy controversy erupted over the nature of light. It began with the fact that in February 1672 Newton published in the Philosophical Transactions detailed description his classical experiments with prisms and his theory of color. Hooke, who had previously published his own theory, stated that he was not convinced by Newton's results; he was supported by Huygens on the grounds that Newton's theory "contradicts generally accepted views." Newton responded to their criticism only six months later, but by this time the number of critics had increased significantly.

An avalanche of incompetent attacks left Newton irritated and depressed. Newton asked the secretary of the Oldenburg Society not to send him any more critical letters and made a vow for the future: not to get involved in scientific disputes. In his letters, he complains that he is faced with a choice: either not to publish his discoveries, or to spend all his time and energy repelling unfriendly amateurish criticism. In the end he chose the first option and announced his resignation from the Royal Society (8 March 1673). It was not without difficulty that Oldenburg persuaded him to stay, but scientific contacts with the Society were kept to a minimum for a long time.

In 1673 there were two important events. First: returned to Trinity by royal decree old friend and Newton's patron, Isaac Barrow, now as master ("master") of the college. Second: Newton, known at that time as a philosopher and inventor, became interested in Newton’s mathematical discoveries.

Having received Newton's 1669 work on infinite series and studied it deeply, he then independently began to develop his own version of analysis. In 1676, Newton and Leibniz exchanged letters in which Newton explained a number of his methods, answered Leibniz's questions, and hinted at the existence of even more common methods, not yet published (meaning general differential and integral calculus). The Secretary of the Royal Society, Henry Oldenburg, persistently asked Newton to publish his mathematical discoveries on analysis for the glory of England, but Newton replied that he had been working on another topic for five years and did not want to be distracted. Newton did not respond to Leibniz's next letter. The first brief publication on Newton's version of analysis appeared only in 1693, when Leibniz's version had already spread widely throughout Europe.

The end of the 1670s was sad for Newton. In May 1677, 47-year-old Barrow died unexpectedly. In the winter of the same year, a strong fire broke out in Newton's house, and part of Newton's manuscript archive burned down. In September 1677, the secretary of the Royal Society, Oldenburg, who favored Newton, died, and Hooke, who was hostile to Newton, became the new secretary. In 1679, mother Anna became seriously ill; Newton, leaving all his affairs, came to her, took an active part in caring for the patient, but the mother’s condition quickly deteriorated, and she died. Mother and Barrow were among the few people who brightened up Newton's loneliness.

In 1689, after the overthrow of King James II, Newton was first elected to Parliament from Cambridge University and sat there for little more than a year. The second election took place in 1701-1702. There is a popular anecdote that Newton took the floor to speak in the House of Commons only once, asking that the window be closed to avoid a draft. In fact, Newton carried out his parliamentary duties with the same conscientiousness with which he treated all his affairs.

Around 1691, Newton became seriously ill (most likely, he was poisoned during chemical experiments, although there are other versions - overwork, shock after a fire, which led to the loss of important results, and age-related ailments). Those close to him feared for his sanity; the few surviving letters of his from this period do indicate mental disorder. Only at the end of 1693 did Newton's health fully recover.

In 1679, Newton met at Trinity an 18-year-old aristocrat, a lover of science and alchemy, Charles Montagu (1661-1715). Newton probably made a strong impression on Montagu, because in 1696, having become Lord Halifax, President of the Royal Society and Chancellor of the Exchequer (that is, the Minister of the Exchequer of England), Montagu proposed to the King appoint Newton as superintendent of the Mint. The king gave his consent, and in 1696 Newton took this position, left Cambridge and moved to London. From 1699 he became the manager (“master”) of the Mint.

To begin with, Newton thoroughly studied the technology of coin production, put the paperwork in order, and redid the accounting over the past 30 years. At the same time, Newton energetically and skillfully contributed to Montagu's monetary reform, restoring confidence in the English monetary system, which had been thoroughly neglected by his predecessors.

In England during these years, almost exclusively inferior coins were in circulation, and in considerable quantities counterfeit coins were in circulation. Trimming the edges of silver coins became widespread. Now the coins began to be produced on special machines and there was an inscription along the rim, so that criminal grinding of the metal became almost impossible.

Over the course of 2 years, the old, inferior silver coin was completely withdrawn from circulation and re-minted, the production of new coins increased to keep up with the need for them, and their quality improved. Previously, during such reforms, the population had to change old money by weight, after which the volume of cash decreased both among individuals (private and legal) and throughout the country, but interest and loan obligations remained the same, which is why the economy began stagnation. Newton proposed exchanging money at par, which prevented these problems, and the inevitable shortage of funds after this was made up for by taking loans from other countries (most of all from the Netherlands), inflation dropped sharply, but the external public debt grew by the middle of the century to levels unprecedented in the history of England sizes. But during this time, noticeable economic growth occurred, because of it, tax contributions to the treasury increased (equal in size to those of France, despite the fact that France was inhabited by 2.5 times more people), due to this, the national debt was gradually paid off.

However, an honest and competent person at the head of the Mint did not suit everyone. From the very first days, complaints and denunciations rained down on Newton, and inspection commissions constantly appeared. As it turned out, many denunciations came from counterfeiters, irritated by Newton's reforms.

Newton, as a rule, was indifferent to slander, but never forgave if it affected his honor and reputation. He was personally involved in dozens of investigations, and more than 100 counterfeiters were tracked down and convicted; in the absence of aggravating circumstances, they were most often sent to the North American colonies, but several leaders were executed. The number of counterfeit coins in England has decreased significantly. Montagu, in his memoirs, highly appreciated the extraordinary administrative abilities shown by Newton and ensured the success of the reform. Thus, the reforms carried out by the scientist not only prevented an economic crisis, but also, after decades, led to a significant increase in the country’s well-being.

In April 1698, the Russian Tsar Peter I visited the Mint three times during the “Great Embassy”. Unfortunately, the details of his visit and communication with Newton have not been preserved. It is known, however, that in 1700 a monetary reform similar to the English one was carried out in Russia. And in 1713, Newton sent the first six printed copies of the 2nd edition of the Principia to Tsar Peter in Russia.

Newton's scientific triumph was symbolized by two events in 1699: the teaching of Newton's world system began at Cambridge (from 1704 at Oxford), and the Paris Academy of Sciences, the stronghold of his Cartesian opponents, elected him as a foreign member. All this time Newton was still listed as a member and professor of Trinity College, but in December 1701 he officially resigned from all his posts at Cambridge.

In 1703, the President of the Royal Society, Lord John Somers, died, having attended the meetings of the Society only twice during the 5 years of his presidency. In November, Newton was elected as his successor and ruled the Society for the rest of his life - more than twenty years.

Unlike his predecessors, he was personally present at all meetings and did everything to ensure that the British Royal Society took pride of place in scientific world. The number of members of the Society grew (among them, in addition to Halley, one can highlight Denis Papin, Abraham de Moivre, Roger Coates, Brooke Taylor), interesting experiments were carried out and discussed, the quality of journal articles improved significantly, financial problems were mitigated. The society acquired paid secretaries and its own residence (on Fleet Street); Newton paid the moving expenses out of his own pocket. During these years, Newton was often invited as a consultant to various government commissions, and Princess Caroline, future queen Great Britain, spent hours talking with him in the palace on philosophical and religious topics.

In 1704 it was published (first on English language) monograph “Optics”, which determined the development of this science until early XIX century. It contained an appendix “On the quadrature of curves” - the first and fairly complete presentation of Newton’s version of mathematical analysis. In fact, this is Newton's last work on the natural sciences, although he lived for more than 20 years. The catalog of the library he left behind contained books mainly on history and theology, and it was to these pursuits that Newton devoted the rest of his life.

Newton remained the manager of the Mint, since this post, unlike the position of superintendent, did not require much activity from him. Twice a week he went to the Mint, once a week to a meeting of the Royal Society. Newton never traveled outside of England.

Newton - a dark heretic

In 1705, Queen Anne knighted Newton. From now on he is Sir Isaac Newton. For the first time in English history, the title of knight was awarded for scientific merit; the next time it happened was more than a century later (1819, in reference to Humphry Davy). However, some biographers believe that the queen was guided not by scientific, but by political motives. Newton acquired his own coat of arms and a not very reliable pedigree.

In 1707, a collection of Newton's lectures on algebra, called “Universal Arithmetic,” was published. The numerical methods presented in it marked the birth of a new promising discipline - numerical analysis.

In 1708, an open priority dispute with Leibniz began, in which even the reigning persons were involved. This quarrel between two geniuses cost science dearly - the English mathematical school soon reduced activity for a whole century, and the European school ignored many of Newton’s outstanding ideas, rediscovering them much later. Even Leibniz's death did not extinguish the conflict.

The first edition of Newton's Principia has long been sold out. Newton's many years of work to prepare the 2nd edition, revised and expanded, was crowned with success in 1710, when the first volume of the new edition was published (the last, third - in 1713).

The initial circulation (700 copies) turned out to be clearly insufficient; there were additional printings in 1714 and 1723. When finalizing the second volume, Newton, as an exception, had to return to physics to explain the discrepancy between theory and experimental data, and he immediately made a major discovery - hydrodynamic compression of the jet. The theory now agreed well with experiment. Newton added an Instruction to the end of the book with a scathing critique of the “vortex theory” with which his Cartesian opponents tried to explain the motion of the planets. To the natural question “how is it really?” the book follows the famous and honest answer: “I still have not been able to deduce the cause... of the properties of the force of gravity from phenomena, and I do not invent hypotheses.”

In April 1714, Newton summarized his experience of financial regulation and submitted his article “Observations Concerning the Value of Gold and Silver” to the Treasury. The article contained specific proposals for adjusting the cost precious metals. These proposals were partially accepted, and this had a beneficial effect on the British economy.

Shortly before his death, Newton became one of the victims of a financial scam by a large trading company. South Seas", which enjoyed the support of the government. He purchased the company's securities for a large sum, and also insisted on their acquisition by the Royal Society. On September 24, 1720, the company bank declared itself bankrupt. Niece Catherine recalled in her notes that Newton lost more than 20,000 pounds, after which he declared that he could calculate the movement of celestial bodies, but not the degree of madness of the crowd. However, many biographers believe that Catherine did not mean a real loss, but a failure to receive the expected profit. After the company's bankruptcy, Newton offered to compensate the Royal Society for the losses from his own pocket, but his offer was rejected.

Newton devoted the last years of his life to writing the Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms, which he worked on for about 40 years, as well as preparing the third edition of the Principia, which was published in 1726. Unlike the second, the changes in the third edition were minor - mainly the results of new astronomical observations, including a fairly comprehensive guide to comets observed since the 14th century. Among others, the calculated orbit of Halley's comet was presented, the reappearance of which at the indicated time (1758) clearly confirmed the theoretical calculations of the (by then deceased) Newton and Halley. The circulation of the book for a scientific publication of those years could be considered huge: 1250 copies.

In 1725, Newton's health began to deteriorate noticeably, and he moved to Kensington near London, where he died at night, in his sleep, on March 20 (31), 1727. He did not leave a written will, but shortly before his death he transferred a significant part of his large fortune to his closest relatives. Buried in Westminster Abbey.

Legends and myths about Newton:

Several common legends have already been cited above: “Newton’s apple,” his only parliamentary speech.

There is a legend that Newton made two holes in his door - one larger, the other smaller, so that his two cats, large and small, could enter the house on their own. In fact, Newton never owned cats or other pets.

Another myth accuses Newton of destroying the only portrait of Hooke, once kept in the Royal Society. In reality, there is not a single piece of evidence to support such an accusation. Allan Chapman, Hooke's biographer, argues that no portrait of Hooke existed at all (which is not surprising, given the high cost of portraits and Hooke's constant financial difficulties). The only source of assumption about the existence of such a portrait is the mention of the German scientist Zechariah von Uffenbach, who visited the Royal Society in 1710, about the portrait of a certain “Hoock”, but Uffenbach did not speak English and, most likely, had in mind the portrait of another member of the society, Theodor Haack (Theodore Haak). Haack's portrait actually existed and has survived to this day. An additional argument in favor of the opinion that there never was a portrait of Hooke is the fact that Hooke's friend and secretary of the Society Richard Waller published a posthumous collection of Hooke's works in 1705 with excellent quality illustrations and detailed biography, but without Hooke's portrait; all other works of Hooke also do not contain a portrait of the scientist.

Newton is credited with an interest in astrology. If there was one, it quickly gave way to disappointment.

From the fact of Newton's unexpected appointment as governor of the Mint, some biographers conclude that Newton was a member of the Masonic lodge or other secret society. However, no documentary evidence in favor of this hypothesis has been found.

Newton's works:

"New Theory of Light and Colors" - 1672
“Motion of bodies in orbit” - 1684
“Mathematical principles of natural philosophy” - 1687
"Optics or a treatise on reflections, refractions, bendings and colors of light" - 1704
“On the quadrature of curves” - appendix to “Optics”
“Enumeration of lines of third order” - appendix to “Optics”
"Universal Arithmetic" - 1707
"Analysis by means of equations with an infinite number of terms" - 1711
"Method of Differences" - 1711

"Lectures on Optics" - 1728
"System of the World" - 1728
"Brief Chronicle" - 1728
"Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms" - 1728
“Notes on the Book of the Prophet Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John" - 1733
"Method of Fluxions" - 1736
"Historical Tracing of Two Notable Distortions Holy Scripture" - 1754.

Isaac Newton was born on January 4, 1642 in Woolsthorpe, England. The boy was born in a small village into the family of a small farmer who died three months before the birth of his son. The boy was born prematurely and turned out to be sickly, so they did not dare to baptize him for a long time. And yet he survived, was baptized, and was named Isaac in memory of his father. Newton considered the fact of being born on Christmas a special sign of fate. Despite poor health in infancy, he lived eighty-four years.

When the child was three years old, his mother remarried and left, leaving him in the care of his grandmother. Newton grew up unsociable and prone to daydreaming. He was attracted to poetry and painting. Away from his peers, he made paper kites, invented a windmill, a water clock, and a pedal carriage.

Interest in technology forced Newton to think about natural phenomena and study mathematics in depth. After serious preparation, Isaac Newton entered Cambridge in 1660 as a Subsizzfr, the so-called poor students who were obliged to serve members of the college, which could not but burden Newton.

In six years, Isaac Newton completed all the college degrees and prepared all his further great discoveries. In 1665, Newton became a Master of Arts. In the same year, when the plague epidemic was raging in England, he decided to temporarily settle in Woolsthorpe.

It was there that the scientist began to actively study optics; the search for ways to eliminate chromatic aberration in lens telescopes led Newton to research into what is now called dispersion, that is, the dependence of the refractive index on frequency. Many of the experiments he conducted, and there are more than a thousand of them, have become classics and are repeated to this day in schools and institutes.

The leitmotif of all research was the desire to understand the physical nature of light. At first, Newton was inclined to think that light was a wave in the all-pervading ether, but later abandoned this idea, deciding that the resistance from the ether should noticeably slow down the movement of celestial bodies. These arguments led Newton to the idea that light is a stream of special particles, corpuscles, emitted from a source and moving in a straight line until they encounter obstacles.

The corpuscular model explained not only the straightness of the propagation of light, but also the law of reflection. This assumption was that light corpuscles, approaching the surface of water, for example, should be attracted by it and therefore experience acceleration. According to this theory, the speed of light in water should be greater than in air, which conflicted with later experimental data.

The formation of corpuscular ideas about light was clearly influenced by the fact that at that time the work that was destined to become the main great result of Newton’s work had already been largely completed: the creation of a unified physical picture of the World based on the laws of mechanics formulated by him.

This picture was based on the idea of ​​material points, physically infinitesimal particles of matter and the laws governing their movement. It was the clear formulation of these laws that gave Newtonian mechanics completeness. The first of these laws was, in fact, the definition of inertial reference systems: it is in such systems that material points that do not experience any influences move uniformly and rectilinearly.

The second law of mechanics plays a central role. It states that the change in quantity, motion of the product of mass and speed per unit time is equal to the force acting on a material point. The mass of each of these points is a constant value. In general, all these points “do not wear out,” as Newton put it, each of them is eternal, that is, it can neither arise nor be destroyed. Material points interact, and the quantitative measure of the impact on each of them is force. The problem of figuring out what these forces are is the root problem of mechanics.

Finally, the third law, the law of “equality of action and reaction,” explained why the total momentum of any body that does not experience external influences remains unchanged, no matter how its constituent parts interact with each other.

Having set the task of studying various forces, Isaac Newton himself gave the first brilliant example of its solution, formulating the law of universal gravitation: the force of gravitational attraction between bodies whose dimensions are significantly smaller than the distance between them is directly proportional to their masses, inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them and directed along the straight line connecting them. The law of universal gravitation allowed Newton to give a quantitative explanation of the movement of the planets around the Sun and the Moon around the Earth, and to understand the nature of sea tides.

This could not fail to make a huge impression on the minds of researchers. A program for a unified mechanical description of all natural phenomena: both “earthly” and “heavenly” long years established herself in physics. Moreover, for many physicists over the course of two centuries, the very question of the limits of applicability of Newton's laws seemed unjustified.

In 1668, Isaac Newton returned to Cambridge and soon received the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics. This chair was previously occupied by his teacher Isaac Barrow, who gave the chair to his favorite student in order to provide for him financially. By that time, Newton was already the author of the binomial and the creator of the fluxion method, what is now called differential and integral calculus.

In general, this period became the most fruitful in Newton’s work: in seven years, from 1660 to 1667, his main ideas were formed, including the idea of ​​the law of universal gravitation. Not limiting himself to theoretical research alone, Isaac Newton in the same years designed and began to create a reflecting telescope.

This work led to the discovery of what were later called interference "lines of equal thickness". Newton, realizing that the “quenching of light by light” was manifested here, which did not fit into the corpuscular model, tried to overcome the difficulties that arose here by introducing the assumption that corpuscles in light move in waves, “tides.”

The second of the telescopes produced served as the occasion for Newton's presentation as a member of the Royal Society of London. When a scientist refused membership, citing a lack of funds to pay membership fees, it was considered possible, given his scientific merits, to make an exception for him, exempting him from paying them.

Being a very cautious person by nature, Isaac Newton, against his will, sometimes found himself drawn into discussions and conflicts that were painful for him. Thus, his theory of light and colors, outlined in 1675, caused such attacks that Newton decided not to publish anything on optics while Hooke, his most bitter opponent, was alive.

Newton also had to take part in political events. From 1688 to 1694, the scientist was a member of parliament. By that time, his main work, “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy,” was published, the basis of the mechanics of all physical phenomena, from the movement of celestial bodies to the propagation of sound. For several centuries to come, this program determined the development of physics, and its significance has not been exhausted to this day.

Constant enormous nervous and mental stress led to the fact that in 1692 Newton fell ill with a mental disorder. The immediate impetus for this was a fire in which all the manuscripts he prepared were lost.

The constant oppressive feeling of material insecurity was undoubtedly one of the reasons for Newton’s illness. Therefore, the position of Warden of the Mint, while retaining his professorship at Cambridge, was of great importance to him. Zealously starting work and quickly achieving noticeable success, in 1699 he was appointed director. It remained impossible to combine this with teaching, and Newton moved to London.

At the end of 1703, Isaac Newton was elected president of the Royal Society. By that time, Newton had reached the pinnacle of fame. In 1705, he was elevated to knighthood, but, having a large apartment, six servants and a wealthy family, the scientist remains lonely. The time of active creativity is over, and Newton limits himself to preparing the edition of “Optics”, the republication of “Principles” and the interpretation of “Holy Scripture”. He owns the interpretation of the Apocalypse, an essay about the prophet Daniel.

Isaac Newton died on March 31, 1727 at his home in London. Buried in Westminster Abbey. The inscription on his grave ends with the words: “Let mortals rejoice that such a decoration lived among them.” human race" Every year, on the birthday of the great Englishman, the scientific community celebrates Newton Day.

Works of Isaac Newton

"A New Theory of Light and Colors", 1672 (communication to the Royal Society)
“Motion of Bodies in Orbit” (lat. De Motu Corporum in Gyrum), 1684
“Mathematical principles of natural philosophy” (lat. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica), 1687
“Optics or a treatise of the reflections, refractions, inflections and colors of light,” 1704
“On the quadrature of curves” (lat. Tractatus de quadratura curvarum), appendix to “Optics”
“Enumeration of lines of the third order” (lat. Enumeratio linearum tertii ordinis), appendix to “Optics”
“Universal Arithmetic” (lat. Arithmetica Universalis), 1707
“Analysis by means of equations with an infinite number of terms” (lat. De analysi per aequationes numero terminorum infinitas), 1711
"Method of Differences", 1711

"Lectures on Optics" (eng. Optical Lectures), 1728
“The System of the World” (Latin: De mundi systemate), 1728
“A Short Chronicle” (eng. A Short Chronicle from the First Memory of Things in Europe, to the Conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great), 1728 (this is a synopsis of the “Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms”, French translation the draft version was published even earlier, in 1725)
The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms, 1728
“Notes on the Book of the Prophet Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John" (eng. Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John), 1733, written around 1690
“Method of Fluxions” (Latin Methodus fluxionum, English Method of Fluxions), 1736, written in 1671
An Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture, 1754, written 1690

Canonical editions

Classic complete edition of Newton's works in 5 volumes in the original language:

Isaac Newtoni. Opera quae existant omnia. - Commentariis illustravit Samuel Horsley. - Londini, 1779-1785.

Selected correspondence in 7 volumes:

Turnbull, H. W. (Ed.),. The Correspondence of Sir Isaac Newton. - Cambridge: Cambr. Univ. Press, 1959-1977.

Translations into Russian

Newton I. General Arithmetic or Book on Arithmetic Synthesis and Analysis. - M.: Publishing house. USSR Academy of Sciences, 1948. - 442 p. - (Classics of science).
Newton I. Notes on the book of the prophet Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John. - Petrograd: New Time, 1915.
Newton I. Corrected chronology of ancient kingdoms. - M.: RIMIS, 2007. - 656 p.
Newton I. Lectures on optics. - M.: Publishing house. USSR Academy of Sciences, 1946. - 298 p.
Newton I. Mathematical principles of natural philosophy / Translation from Latin and notes by A.N. Krylova. - M.: Nauka, 1989. - 688 p.
Newton I. Mathematical works. - M.-L.: ONTI, 1937.
Newton I. Optics or treatise on reflections, refractions, bendings and colors of light. - M.: Gostekhizdat, 1954.
Danilov Yu. A. Newton and Bentley // Questions of the history of natural science and technology. - M., 1993. - No. 1. This is a translation of four letters from Newton from the collection of his correspondence: “The Correspondence of Isaac Newton”, Cambridge, 1961. Vol. 3 (1688-1694).

Great personality

The lives of epoch-making personalities and their progressive role have been meticulously studied over many centuries. They gradually build up in the eyes of descendants from event to event, overgrown with details recreated from documents and all sorts of idle inventions. So is Isaac Newton. short biography This man, who lived in the distant 17th century, can only be contained in a book volume the size of a brick.

So, let's begin. Isaac Newton - English (now substitute “great” for each word) astronomer, mathematician, physicist, mechanic. In 1672 he became a scientist of the Royal Society of London, and in 1703 - its president. Creator of theoretical mechanics, founder of all modern physics. Described all physical phenomena based on mechanics; discovered the law of universal gravitation, which explained cosmic phenomena and the dependence of earthly realities on them; tied the causes of tides in the oceans to the movement of the Moon around the Earth; described the laws of our entire solar system. It was he who first began to study the mechanics of continuous media, physical optics and acoustics. Independently of Leibniz, Isaac Newton developed differential and integral equations, discovered the dispersion of light, chromatic aberration, tied mathematics to philosophy, wrote works on interference and diffraction, worked on the corpuscular theory of light, theories of space and time. It was he who designed the reflecting telescope and organized the coin business in England. In addition to mathematics and physics, Isaac Newton studied alchemy, the chronology of ancient kingdoms, and wrote theological works. The genius of the famous scientist was so far ahead of everyone scientific level seventeenth century, that his contemporaries remembered him to a greater extent as an exceptionally good person: non-covetous, generous, extremely modest and friendly, always ready to help his neighbor.

Childhood

The great Isaac Newton was born into the family of a small farmer who died three months ago in a small village. His biography began on January 4, 1643 with the fact that a very small premature baby was placed in a sheepskin mitten on a bench, from which he fell, hitting him hard. The child grew up sickly and therefore unsociable, following his peers in quick games I couldn’t keep up and became addicted to books. Relatives noticed this and sent little Isaac to school, where he graduated as the first student. Later, seeing his zeal for learning, they allowed him to continue studying. Isaac entered Cambridge. Since there was not enough money for training, his role as a student would have been very humiliating if he had not been lucky with his mentor.

Youth

At that time, poor students could only study as servants from their teachers. This is the fate that befell the future brilliant scientist. There are all sorts of legends, some of them ugly, about this period in Newton’s life and creative path. The mentor whom Isaac served was an influential Freemason who traveled not only throughout Europe, but also throughout Asia, including the Middle East, the Far East, and the Southeast. On one of his trips, as the legend says, he was entrusted with ancient manuscripts of Arab scientists, whose mathematical calculations we still use today. According to legend, Newton had access to these manuscripts, and they inspired many of his discoveries.

The science

Over six years of study and service, Isaac Newton went through all the stages of college and became a Master of Arts.

During the plague epidemic, he had to leave his alma mater, but he did not waste time: he studied the physical nature of light, built the laws of mechanics. In 1668, Isaac Newton returned to Cambridge and soon received the Lucasian chair of mathematics. He got it from his teacher, I. Barrow, that same Mason. Newton quickly became his favorite student, and in order to financially provide for his brilliant protégé, Barrow abandoned the chair in his favor. By that time, Newton was already the author of the binomial. And this is only the beginning of the biography of the great scientist. What followed was a life full of titanic mental labor. Newton was always modest and even shy. For example, he did not publish his discoveries for a long time and was constantly planning to destroy one or another chapter of his amazing “Principles.” He believed that he owed everything to those giants on whose shoulders he stood, meaning, probably, his predecessor scientists. Although who could precede Newton if he literally said the very first and most weighty word about everything in the world.