LAW OF INERTIA AND THE PROBLEM OF THE PLANETS PHILOSOPHY ESSAY     2400W

Modern astronomy and modern science emerging between the deaths of Copernicus and Galileo breathe new life into learning in all fields. People accepted a different understanding of their place in the universe and also approved a different model of the universe. The period after the death of Copernicus saw a transition from Aristotle’s and Ptolemy’s ancient astronomy to Newton’s new breakthroughs in gravitation and the understanding of motion. The modern science of this period helped in understanding the universe.

The Copernican Revolution answered the question of our place in the universe, but Kepler’s law only partially answered the question of planetary movements. Though Galileo put forth several theories on inertia, free-fall and projectile motion, he was not able to reconcile terrestrial motions with the motions of the heavens. That step fell to Isaac Newton. The work of Newton brought about the concept of a mechanical universe.

Issac Newton was a calm boy from a farming family. He was born on Christmas day 1642 in the English village of Woolsthorpe. He studied mathematics and physics at Trinity College. It was during this period that he made most of his discoveries in optics, physics, and mathematics. Among other things, he studied optics, developed three laws of motion, prophesied the nature of gravity, and invented differential calculus. His work got published in his book Principia in 1687. The book placed science on a firm analytical base. 1