Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton, FRS (Born::January 4, 1643 – Died::March 31, 1727 [OS: December 25, 1642 – March 20, 1727] ) was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, credited with many scientific and mathematical contributions and is considered by many to be the father of modern science. Along with being an ardent believer in the Bible and Genesis, he was a physicist, a mathematician, an astronomer, a philosopher, and an alchemist.

He said: "I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by men who were inspired. I study the Bible daily."(Perloff, p241.)

And also: All my discoveries have been made in answer to prayer.(Perloff, p241.)

Notable Scientific Accomplishments

 * He formulated his law of universal gravitation adding mathematical strength to Johannes Kepler's mathematical formulations of planetary motion.
 * He developed the theory of calculus at the same time as Leibniz.
 * He discovered that white light was made up of all the colours of the visible spectrum, by passing white light through one prism to form all the colours, and then passing it through another prism to recombine the colours back into white light again.
 * Using that knowledge of light, he improved the telescope.
 * He formulated his three famous laws of motion, including the law of inertia.[3]

He summarized a lot of his formulations in his book Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (mathematical principles of natural philosophy), and his work made great contributions to mathematics, physics and astronomy even for today.

Publications

 * July 31 - De analysi sent is to John Collins,
 * February 8 of 1672 Newton publishes a letter entitled, Light & Colors in the Philosophical Transactions,
 * November of 1684 - Newton sends his short treatise De motu to London,
 * May 19 - Royal Society publishes Principia,
 * 1704 - Newton publishes first edition of Opticks.

Cosmology
The planets and comets will constantly pursue their revolu-tions in orbits given in kind and position, according to the laws above explained; but though these bodies may, indeed, continue in their orbits by the mere laws of gravity, yet they could by no means have at first derived the regular position of the orbits themselves from those laws (Principia, “General Scholium,” 1713).

This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent Being.(Principia, “General Scholium,” 1713)

Atheism
Newton wrote: Of Atheism

Opposite to the first is Atheism in profession & Idolatry in practise. Atheism is so senseless & odious to mankind that it never had many professors. Can it be by accident that all birds beasts & men have their right side & left side alike shaped (except in their bowells) & just two eyes & no more on either side the face & just two ears on either side the head & a nose with two holes & no more between the eyes & one mouth under the nose & either two fore leggs or two wings or two arms on the sholders & two leggs on the hipps one on either side & no more? Whence arises this uniformity in all their outward shapes but from the counsel & contrivance of an Author? Whence is it that the eyes of all sorts of living creatures are transparent to the very bottom & the only transparent members in the body, having on the outside an hard transparent skin, & within transparent juyces with a crystalline Lens in the middle & a pupil before the Lens all of them so truly shaped & fitted for vision, that no Artist can mend them? Did blind chance know that there was light & what was its refraction & fit the eys of all creatures after the most curious manner to make use of it? These & such like considerations always have & ever will prevail with man kind to beleive that there is a being who made all things & has all things in his power & who is therfore to be feared. - A short Schem of the true Religion by Isaac Newton, Keynes Ms. 7, King's College, Cambridge, UK

 In the book: The Truth: God or evolution? Marshall and Sandra Hall describe an often quoted exchange between Newton and an atheist friend.

Sir Isaac had an accomplished artisan fashion for him a small scale model of our solar system, which was to be put in a room in Newton's home when completed. The assignment was finished and installed on a large table. The workman had done a very commendable job, simulating not only the various sizes of the planets and their relative proximities, but also so constructing the model that everything rotated and orbited when a crank was turned. It was an interesting, even fascinating work, as you can imagine, particularly to anyone schooled in the sciences.

Newton's atheist-scientist friend came by for a visit. Seeing the model, he was naturally intrigued, and proceeded to examine it with undisguised admiration for the high quality of the workmanship. "My, what an exquisite thing this is!" he exclaimed. "Who made it?" Paying little attention to him, Sir Isaac answered, "Nobody." Stopping his inspection, the visitor turned and said, "Evidently you did not understand my question. I asked who made this." Newton, enjoying himself immensely no doubt, replied in a still more serious tone, "Nobody. What you see just happened to assume the form it now has." "You must think I am a fool!" the visitor retorted heatedly, "Of course somebody made it, and he is a genius, and I would like to know who he is!" Newton then spoke to his friend in a polite yet firm way: "This thing is but a puny imitation of a much grander system whose laws you know, and I am not able to convince you that this mere toy is without a designer or maker; yet you profess to believe that the great original from which the design is taken has come into being without either designer or maker! Now tell me by what sort of reasoning do you reach such an incongruous conclusion?"

Additional Information

 * Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) A Scientific Genius By Ann Lamont Creation 12(3):48-51 June-August, 1990
 * Isaac Newton by Wikipedia
 * Newton, Sir Isaac Encyclopedia.com
 * Newton's Three Laws of Motion Physics & Astronomy Department at the University of Tennessee
 * Isaac Newton Wikiquote. Accessed July 9, 2011.

Ньютон, Исаак