These ideas are still taught today because the "still adequately account for most problems of motion" (Noble 724). Jay Pasachoff claims that Newton revolutionized astronomy by setting "modern physics on its feet by deriving laws showing how objects move on the Earth and in space" (Pasachoff 41). Simplistically, this is the train of thought that birthed the law of gravity. Newton was the first person to ever realize the "universality" (41) of gravity. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this creation involves that fact that in order for this new law of gravity to work, Newton had to invent calculus. His brilliance lies in the fact that he was able to connect the fact that the same force that forced objects to the ground was the same force that moved objects in space. He was able to comprehend how the moon was "falling" toward the earth. Newton developed his law of motion around the ideas that were already advanced by Galileo and others. This law states that objects tend to remain at rest or in uniform motion unless another outside force changes its state. Amazingly, this idea goes back to Aristotle who thought that forces must be applied to objects continuously to keep them in motion. We have all heard of inertia and it is often referred to as Newton's first law. Newton's second law of motion states that strength of a force is equal to the amount of mass involved multiplied by the acceleration it experiences. Newton's third law is also something we are very familiar with even today. It states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. An example of how this law works can be seen with the forces that make a jet propel. The most fascinating aspect of Newton's laws is that while they make sense of gravity, they do not completely define it. Noble maintains that scientifically, no schema explains everything and this is why gravity, while...

Other Newton ideas include removing the "ancient commonsense notion that colors were modifications of white light" (Boorstin 404). This and other such "elegantly simple experiments" (405) "reduced the 'qualitative' differences of color to quantitative differences" (405). This is significant because it represents a model of Newton's experimental method, which is how he chose to describe the system of the world. This description would turnout to be something grand in scope and creativity but it would hold the key to many answers to the universe's biggest mysteries.
Isaac Newton's contributions to match and science cannot be overlooked. He is by far the greatest mind of his day. While we often consider Einstein to be the greatest mind of the twentieth century, we must never forget that he would have never achieved what he did without the previous work of Newton. Newton was responsible for taking that first leap that paved the way for what we now call physics. Boorstin maintains that Newton was an "effective apostle of the bright light of mathematics precisely because he was so acutely aware of the enshrouding darkness" (Boorstin 407). This darkness enchants some and inspires others. Newton could grasp ideas about nature that seemed too slippery for everyone else.

Works Cited

Boorstin, Daniel. The Discoverers. New York: Random House. 1983.

Craig, Virginia. "Biography: Isaac Newton." The American Mathematical Monthly. 8.8. 1901. JSTOR Resource Database. Information Retreived October 5, 2008.

Noble, Thomas, et al. Western Civilization: The Continuing Experience. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1994.

Pasachoff, Jay. Astronomy: From the Earth to the Universe.…