Cameron Miranda
Isaac Newton is often credited with discovering the laws of gravity, but there have been numerous theories of gravitation since ancient times. The first extant sources discussing such theories are found in ancient Greek philosophy. This work was furthered through the Middle Ages by Indian, Islamic, and European scientists, before gaining great strides during the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution—culminating in the formulation of Newton's law of gravity in 1687.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Isaac Newton |
| Birth year | 1643 |
| Birthplace | Lincolnshire, England |
| Law of gravity publication year | 1687 |
| Law of gravity publication title | Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) |
| Known for | Calculus, optics, light, motion, mathematics |
| Law of gravity | Describes gravity as a force by stating that every particle attracts every other particle in the universe with a force that is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers of mass |
| Law of gravity superseded by | Albert Einstein's theory of relativity |
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What You'll Learn
Isaac Newton's discovery
Isaac Newton is credited with discovering gravity and the laws of motion that underpin much of modern physics. Born in 1643 in Lincolnshire, England, Newton grew up in a turbulent time in English history, marked by civil war and the bubonic plague. Despite his premature birth, Newton grew into a massive intellect, formulating theories on gravitation, light, motion, mathematics, and more.
Newton's discovery of gravity is often attributed to an incident involving an apple tree in his mother's garden at Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire. According to the story, in the late summer of 1665 or 1666, Newton observed an apple fall from the tree, prompting him to question the nature of gravitation. This led to his formulation of the theory of universal gravitation, which describes gravity as a force between particles in the universe, with every particle attracting every other particle proportionally to their masses and the distance between them.
Newton's theory of gravitation was a significant advancement in our understanding of the universe, and it is known as the "first great unification." It unified the previously described phenomena of gravity on Earth with known astronomical behaviors. Newton's work in this field was published in his book "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" (Latin for "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy"), often referred to as "Principia," in 1687.
In addition to his work on gravity, Newton made significant contributions to other fields. He co-developed calculus with German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz, creating techniques that remain fundamental in mathematics and science. Newton's interest in optics led him to propose that white light is a combination of light from all the colors of the rainbow, accurately explaining chromatic aberration in telescopes. He designed a reflecting telescope that utilized mirrors instead of lenses, resulting in crisper and more accurate images. Newton's contributions to science and mathematics have left a lasting impact on our understanding of the world and continue to influence modern discoveries.
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The apple story
The story of how Isaac Newton formulated his theory of gravity is one of the most famous tales in the history of science. According to legend, Newton was sitting under an apple tree when an apple fell and hit him on the head, leading him to suddenly devise the law of gravity. However, this story is likely an exaggerated version of what actually happened.
The first written account of the apple incident was recorded by John Conduitt, Newton's half-nephew by marriage, in 1726, the year of Newton's death. Conduitt's notes state that Newton first conceived of his theory of gravity by observing an apple fall from a tree:
> "He first thought of his system of gravitation which he hit upon by observing an apple fall from a tree."
Other accounts suggest that Newton was sitting in his garden at Woolsthorpe Manor when he observed the apple fall. Newton himself recounted the story to several contemporaries, including Voltaire, John Conduitt, Catherine Barton (his niece), William Stewkeley (a friend and antiquarian), and Christopher Dawson (a Cambridge student).
While the exact details of the apple story may be unclear, it is generally believed that Newton's observation of a falling apple prompted him to question why the apple fell straight down, rather than sideways or upward. This led him to propose that the force causing the apple to fall—which he termed "gravity"—was the same force that keeps the moon and planets in their orbits.
Newton's law of universal gravitation, published in his work "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" in 1687, describes gravity as a force by stating that every particle attracts every other particle in the universe with a force that is proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This law marked a significant advancement in our understanding of the universe, unifying terrestrial gravity with astronomical behaviours.
Today, Newton's apple tree still stands at Woolsthorpe Manor, serving as a reminder of the power of curiosity and the impact of questioning conventional ideas.
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Newton's scientific rival, Robert Hooke
Isaac Newton is often credited with discovering the laws of gravity after seeing an apple fall from a tree. Newton himself recounted this story to several people, who recorded it for posterity. Newton's law of universal gravitation describes gravity as a force stating that every particle attracts every other particle with a force proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the distance between them.
However, Newton's scientific rival, Robert Hooke, penned the words often attributed to Newton: "All celestial bodies whatsoever have an attraction or gravitating power towards their own centres." Hooke did so in 1670, decades before Newton started telling the apple story. This has led some historians to suspect that Newton deliberately made up the story of the apple to back his claim. Hooke was a brilliant scientist who made several discoveries and even showed Newton to be wrong on a point concerning falling bodies. Hooke pioneered the experimental method and discovered many elements of gravitational theory first, yet he was largely erased from history by Newton, who outlived him by 25 years and edited history in his favour.
Hooke and Newton's rivalry began in 1672 when Newton submitted his first paper to the Royal Society, in which he claimed light was a particle, contradicting Hooke's wave theory of light. Hooke launched the most scathing attacks on Newton's paper, and their correspondence became increasingly acrimonious, igniting a major rivalry. This tension exploded when Newton published his Principia in 1687, containing his Law of Universal Gravitation. Hooke was one of the key figures behind this idea in the 1670s, suggesting that planets were attracted to the Sun and that this force of attraction increased with proximity.
Hooke was also a longtime president of the Royal Society, and some say Newton, who succeeded him, went to great lengths to tarnish his predecessor's reputation. The only portrait of Hooke was removed from the Royal Society during Newton's presidency, and it is believed that Newton ordered its destruction. As Newton's influence grew, Hooke's legacy deteriorated, with a narrative forming that he was a bitter scientist trying to take credit from others. Newton's famous quote, "If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants," was likely a passive-aggressive attack on Hooke, who was significantly shorter.
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Gravitation theories since ancient times
The first extant sources discussing theories of gravitation are found in ancient Greek philosophy. The ancient atomist Leucippus (5th century BC) proposed that the cosmos was created when a large group of atoms came together and swirled as a vortex. Greek philosopher Aristotle (4th century BC) found that objects immersed in a medium tend to fall at speeds proportional to their weight. He also taught that there is no effect or motion without a cause, and the cause of the downward natural motion of heavy bodies was related to their nature (gravity).
In the 1st century BC, Vitruvius understood that objects fall based on their specific gravity, and that gravity is not dependent on a substance's weight but rather on its "nature". The ancient Greek philosopher Archimedes discovered the centre of gravity of a triangle. He postulated that if two equal weights did not have the same centre of gravity, the centre of gravity of the two weights together would be in the middle of the line that joins their centres of gravity.
In the Middle Ages, Indian, Islamic, and European scientists furthered the work of the ancient Greeks. In the 6th century AD, Byzantine Alexandrian scholar John Philoponus modified the Aristotelian concept of gravity with the theory of impetus. In 628 CE, the Indian mathematician and astronomer Brahmagupta proposed the idea that gravity is an attractive force that draws objects to the Earth. Bhāskara II (c. 1114 – c. 1185), another Indian mathematician and astronomer, describes gravity as an inherent attractive property of Earth.
In the 14th century, the Merton School developed the mean speed theorem, which was proved by Nicole Oresme (c. 1323–1382) and would be influential in later gravitational equations. Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) wrote that the "mother and origin of gravity" is energy. He describes two pairs of physical powers that stem from a metaphysical origin and have an effect on everything: abundance of force and motion, and gravity and resistance.
In 1638, Galileo proved that the distance travelled by a falling object is proportional to the square of the time elapsed. He also broke with Aristotelian philosophy by regarding inertia as persistence of motion, not a tendency to come to rest. Newton (1717) and Leonhard Euler (1760) proposed a model in which the aether loses density near mass, leading to a net force acting on bodies. Newton was the first to develop a quantitative theory of gravity, stating that the force of attraction between two bodies is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Newton's theory of gravity was superseded by Albert Einstein's theory of relativity in the early 20th century.
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Einstein's theory of relativity
Isaac Newton is often credited with discovering the laws of gravity after seeing an apple fall from a tree. Newton's law of universal gravitation describes gravity as a force stating that every particle attracts every other particle in the universe with a force that is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centres of mass.
In the early 20th century, Albert Einstein's theory of relativity superseded Newton's theory. The theory of relativity encompasses two interrelated physics theories: special relativity and general relativity. Special relativity was proposed and published in 1905, while general relativity was published in 1915.
Special relativity is a theory of the structure of spacetime. It is based on two postulates that are contradictory in classical mechanics. The laws of physics are the same for all observers in any inertial frame of reference relative to one another (the principle of relativity). The speed of light in a vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of their relative motion or the motion of the light source. Special relativity argued that space and time are inextricably connected.
General relativity is a theory of gravitation. It fuses the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time into the four-dimensional fabric of spacetime. In general relativity, the effects of gravitation are ascribed to spacetime curvature instead of to a force. Gravitational waves are one manifestation of this theory.
In Einstein's theory, energy and momentum distort spacetime in their vicinity, and other particles move in trajectories determined by the geometry of spacetime. This allowed a description of the motions of light and mass that was consistent with all available observations.
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Frequently asked questions
Isaac Newton is credited with formulating the laws of gravity in 1665 or 1666 after he saw an apple fall from a tree and asked why it fell straight down.
Newton's laws of gravity state that every particle attracts every other particle in the universe with a force that is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centres of mass.
Newton's theory of gravity was considered a scientific law until it was superseded by Albert Einstein's theory of relativity in the early 20th century. Newton's theory described gravity as a force that acts instantaneously over a distance, resulting in a pull between any two objects in the universe.
Yes, theories of gravitation have a long history, with the first extant sources found in ancient Greek philosophy. Indian, Islamic, and European scientists further developed these ideas through the Middle Ages and Renaissance, with notable contributions from scholars such as Aristotle, Vitruvius, and John Philoponus.
