Isaac Newton (1642-1727)

Isaac Newton as a Probabilist

In 1693, Isaac Newton answered a query from Samuel Pepys about a problem involving dice. Newton’s analysis is discussed and attention is drawn to an error he made. On November 22, 1693, Samuel Pepys wrote a letter to Isaac Newton posing a problem in probability. Newton responded with three letters, first answering the question briefly, and then offering more information as Pepys pressed for cla...

Isaac Newton on Mathematical Certainty and Method

Isaac Newton and the astronomical refraction.

In a short interval toward the end of 1694, Isaac Newton developed two mathematical models for the theory of the astronomical refraction and calculated two refraction tables, but did not publish his theory. Much effort has been expended, starting with Biot in 1836, in the attempt to identify the methods and equations that Newton used. In contrast to previous work, a closed form solution is iden...

The Gravity Environment in Space Experiments

In 1687, Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727) produced his famous and important work Principia , based on the experiments and analyses of Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642). In this work he proposed three main laws. The fi rst was the law of inertia . He used the term inertia for the property of matter that causes it to resist a change in its state of motion. Inertia of an object must be overcome to set it in...

Never at rest. A biography of Isaac Newton

mendable enthusiasm and praiseworthy humility. His object has been to present to his fellow neurologists, especially those entering the speciality, certain topics that he judges to be important, interesting, and handleable. It is, therefore, necessary to realize at once that Dr. Spillane's book is not a history of neurology. It is a survey of selected subjects arranged chronologically, from Gal...