Assignment 3: Universal gravitation. Discovery disputes

According to the The Biography.com, Sir Issac Newton was born on January 4, 1643, in Woolsthorpe, England and was a very established physicist and mathematician, also credited as one of the great minds of the 17th century Scientific Revolution. He published "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica", a book that has been referred to as the single most impacting book on physics. Unfortunately, on March 31, 1727 Newton passed away in London.[1]

Sourced From: http://www.heisnear.com/SirIsaacNewtonPIC400.jpg

In earthobservatory.nasa.gov it explains that Kepler was charged with the task of defining the orbit of mars. Kepler was able to figure out three laws that explained the motion of planet's orbits using a lot of Tycho Brahe's research and observations. Kepler noted that there is a precise mathematical relationship between the distance from the sun and a planet and also the amount of time it takes to revolve around the sun, as defined in his third law. Kepler's third law inspired Newton who also discovered three laws that explains motion.[2]



In the online article "Sir Isaac Newton: The Universal Law of Gravitation'', there is a mathematical proof of Newtons modification of Kepler's Laws. It explains that Newton realized that the both sun and planets orbited around the common center of mass.[3]

The article, Newtonian Gravitation and the Laws of Kepler, further explains how Newton's Laws corrected Kepler's Laws. It explains the Kepler's and Newtons Laws together imply that planets travelling in an ellipitcal orbit around the sun are:
1. heading countinously around the sun
2. proportional to the product for the mass of the planets and mass of the sun
3. inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the planets and sun[4]

Newton goes on to precisely form the Universal Gravitational Law.

Sourced from: http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/
history/newtongrav.html#universal

An article online, "Imagining the Universe", show what Kepler's third law look like when applied with Newtons Laws. It states the Kepler's third law expresses:


 Sourced From: http://astro.physics.uiowa.edu/ITU/glossary/keplers-third-law/

The period (P, measured in years) squared is approximately equal to the size of the orbit (a, measured in astronomical units) cubed.

Newton then modifies Kepler's 3rd law by applying his laws of motion and law of gravity so that it takes the form:

Sourced From: http://astro.physics.uiowa.edu/ITU/glossary/keplers-third-law/

Newton figures out the precise mathematical relationship where, M1 and M2 are the masses of the two orbiting objects.[5]

This discovery by Newton was an enormous contribution to the Scientific community and an huge scientific breakthrough. Prior to this Newton had already discovered his three laws of motion on earth and by applying his laws with Kepler's Laws, he was able to unify his laws of motion to not only terrestrial applications but also celestial application. He came to the conclusion that the laws of motion and gravity not only apply to the objects on earth but also to the planets. This was also important because he further proved Copernicus's heliocentric theory as well, with the sun in the center and other planets including earth revolved around it.[4] 

History of the Discovery

There were many people involved in the discovery of the universal gravitational law other than Newton. In this section the blog I will explain its history and origins.

Robert Hooke


Sourced From: http://www.history-of-the-microscope.org/images/Robert-Hooke.jpg

The article "Was Robert Hooke really the greatest asshole in the history of science?" from io9.com, it explains about an English scientist by the name of Robert Hooke who was involved in the discovery of the gravitational law. Hooke was, according to the article, a giant in England's scientific revolution. He attended the prestigious school Westminster School and went onto attending Oxford because of his mechanical expertise. While at oxford he met fellow scientist Robert Boyle and Christopher Wren. Boyle was a brilliant scientist but also used Hooke to put many of his ideas into actions with his mechanics. Hooke was also very important to the field of biology and also astronomy by describing celestial phenomena and calculating the distances of far distant objects. He produced a theory the light were forms of waves.[6] 

According to this article prior to Newton's theory of gravity being published in his book, the theory of gravity has already been slowly moving for years before the books publishing in 1686. Apparently, Hooke had been preaching the idea that the Sun and planets are attracted to each other with the attraction growing stronger as the they travel closer. But according to the article, Hooke argued gravity as a universal force but it was more an idea rather than an actual theory as Newton proposed it in his publishing. Hooke apparently was the first to think that the inverse square law described the relationship between planets and the gravitational attraction. He believed that Newton would not have come to the conclusion of a universal gravitational force without his help on the inverse square law.[6] 


Sir Christopher Wren & Edmond Halley

Sourced From: http://www.rmg.co.uk/file/2243, Sourced From: http://www.newtonsapple.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Edmond-Hally.jpg

The article from www.rmg.co.uk about Chrisotper wren explains a lot about his life and accomplishments. He is best known as being an acrhitect and designing the St. Pauls cathedral. He also designed the Royal Observatory and is also known for his love of science, math, and astronomy.
He attended the Westminster school in London and went on to study at Oxford university much like Robert Hooke who he meet there as well.[7]

Edmond Halley also attended Oxford University and had a passion for astronomy. Halley was in the works of a project to compile a catalog of southern stars. His star catalog was the first to contain telescopically determined locations of southern stars. He met fellow scientists Robert Hooke and Christoper Wren at Oxford and the three together all had their individual ideas of a universal gravitational force.[8] The three of them put the ideas together and attempted to build a mechanical explanation for planetary motion. They all agreed that they needed theoretical proof and evidence to conclude the idea. Apparently Hooke had come up with the theoretical proof but intended it to be secret to show his fellow scientists the "value of it". Halley became impatient with Hooke and decided that he would ask for the help of Sir Isaac Newton to produce some theoretical evidence. With immense knowledge and hard work Newton produced the theoretical evidence and with the persuasion of Halley, he published it in his book.[9]

Newton vs Leibniz

Sourced From: http://www.nvnet.org/~Lajinian/FOV1-0004A943/S02E0F8B2-02E0F8B2.0/102508_42755_0.jpg

Newton used his forms of calculus to arrive at the conclusion of the formula for universal gravitation. However, Gottfried Leibniz also developed independently his own foundations for calculus. Newton considered more variables and them changing through time where as Leibniz thought more of variable ranging over sequences of infinitely close values. Neither of them thought in terms of functions but both thought in terms of graphs. Newtons calculus was considered more geometrical and Leibniz's calculus was more analytic.[10] Leibniz was conscious of using good notation and was more generalized, as a result the notation we use today is due to Leibniz. Newton wrote more for himself and used very temporary notation he understood mostly. Overall, they were both fundamental in the creation of the foundations of calculus. Newton created his unique form of calculus in 1665 and but he wasn't confident due to public criticism so he decided to hold it to himself and refine it until 1704. Leibniz also held on too his work to refine it but he managed to publish it in 1684 and Newton took offense to it. Newton had many followers and used them the attack Leibniz and his work, accusing him of plagiarism. In the end because of the scholarly attacks, Newton retained credit for it although through out history many important figures used Leibniz calculus also acknowledging his work and reviving his name.[11]

My Opinions

In my opinion, no matter the field, there should be some credit given to the people who are key in first realization. In reality people who fall under the category of first realization do contribute their ideas and thoughts to the world and therefor deserve some merit and mention for it. Although, majority of the credit and praise should go to those who fully formulate a theory. For example, Hooke, Wren, and Halley should all be mentioned in the history of the universal gravity law but Newton should acquire the most praise for formulating a proof too it because without him it would remain a theory rather than a law. Wren, Hooke, and Halley should all be honored equally among themselves because they all came to the conclusion of their theory but Newton receives the prize for putting it together and proving it.

My opinion for, who the real discoverer is, is the person who announces it first. If you think about it many aspects in life is on a first come first serve basis. In the world of business, the company that has patent to prove their product is the rightful owner. Similarly, the person who puts their discovery or findings out to the public deserves the praise. Anything after is considered and add on to the foundation idea.

Sources (footnotes)
1. Isaac Newton. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 12:34, Feb 09, 2015, from

http://www.biography.com/people/isaac-newton-9422656.

2. Planetary Motion: The History of an Idea That Launched the Scientific Revolution : Feature Articles. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2015, from 

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/OrbitsHistory/page2.php

3. Sir Isaac Newton: The Universal Law of Gravitation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/newtongrav.html

4. Newtonian Gravitation and the Laws of Kepler. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/newtonkepler.html

5. Imaging the Universe. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://astro.physics.uiowa.edu/ITU/glossary/keplers-third-law/

6. Was Robert Hooke really the greatest asshole in the history of science? (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://io9.com/5877660/was-robert-hooke-really-sciences-greatest-asshole

7. Christopher Wren - architect and astronomer. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.rmg.co.uk/explore/astronomy-and-time/astronomy-facts/history/christopher-wren-architect-and-astronomer

8. Edmond Halley (1656 - 1742). (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/halley_edmond.shtml

9. Christianson, G. (n.d.). Birth of a Masterpiece. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/newton/principia.html

10. The History of Calculus. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.uiowa.edu/~c22m025c/history.html

11. No. 1375: Newton vs. Leibniz. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1375.htm