The Scientific Revolution: The Contributions Of Isaac Newton

Born the 4th of January 1643, Isaac Newton became a revolutionary scientist who made discoveries in physics, mathematics, alchemy, and a variety of other subjects. Because he lived during the 17th century Newton was a major part of the Scientific Revolution; a time of scientific acceleration and learning. It was started by a Protestant Revolution that sparked interest in both religious and scientific thought (PBS, 2016). People were looking at the world through a scientific lens because they were trying to further understand God’s creation. This is what sparked scientists, like Newton, to search for the truth about the natural world through science. Newton first became interested in the sciences during his time studying at The Trinity College at Cambridge. He was able to explore philosophy, chemistry, and mathematics there, and he found interest in all of these subjects. (Chalquist, 2009). He became familiar with the Roman ideas about Geometry and what little was known about Calculus. For a few years, Cambridge was shut down because of the plague, and Newton returned home to study. It was during these brief years that he made the majority of his discoveries. Newton is well known for being a physicist, but made discoveries in mathematics and chemistry as well. The work he contributed to the scientific community and world has impacted the way we discover …show more content…
He spent years of his life trying to understand rates of change, and how they related to their original functions. It was because of this study that he was able to come up with the idea of derivatives, the foundation of the Calculus we know today (Nandakumaran, 2006). We use Calculus every day in physics, engineering, to understand orbits, space exploration, and more. Derivatives are one of the foundational principles of Calculus, and the majority of more complex Calculus would not exist without this