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- Published in 1687, the Principia lays out Newton’s three laws of motion (the basic principles of modern physics), which resulted in the formulation of the law of universal gravitation.
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One of the most important scientific books ever written, it deals with the celestial mechanics of the Solar System and for the first time weaves together mathematical analysis and physical observation.
- Summary
- Contents
- Analysis
- Influence
- Publication
The Principia, arguably the most important book published in modern European history, began by offering the reader three basic principles, which have come to be known as Newton's three laws of motion:
From this opening, Newton proceeded to the meat of his book, the principle of gravitation and its role in the solar system. He showed how his inverse square law worked perfectly with Kepler's elliptical orbits; how planets are deflected into orbit around the sun by the pull of the sun's gravity, and how the same principle can be used to explain the...
It was, as Newton admitted, a purely mathematical analysis. How gravity worked was not explained; the work did not posit anything analogous to Descartes' swirling particles. But Newton's system did correspond to actual calculations, and he proved its hypotheses beyond a reasonable doubt: he backed very point, every argument, by rigorous mathematic ...
The Principia fell upon European intellectual circles like a bombshell. The first edition, written and published in Latin, sold out rapidly, and a second edition was not issued until 1713, making copies rare and much sought- after. And yet while the scientific community quickly acknowledged the importance of what Newton had done, wide acceptance of...
Thus Newton decided to publish a second edition, in 1713, in which he endeavored to placate his critics. To Leibniz and the French, he admitted that he did not know what enabled gravitational pull to act across the void of interstellar space--though he protested that he had never claimed to understand the nature of gravity, but only the mathematica...
The Principia, which appeared in three editions (1687, 1713, 1726) clarified the concept of force used in physical reasoning regarding motion, and marshalled evidence for one such force: gravity. We read the Principia to be guided by Newton’s evolving recognition of various challenges to evidential reasoning regarding forces, and his ...
The Principes Mathematiques de la Philosophie Naturelle, the Principia translated into French by Madame La Marquise du Chastellet. This is a delightful translation, and more down to earth than Motte's version, with less extra waffle and more common sense extra words to help it along.
This chapter explores Newton’s Principia, which is considered by most as his greatest work. It suggests that the principia were originally made as a criticism of Descartes’ Principia Philosophiae, which Newton thought to lack adequate mathematical principles. Newton derived his first law of motion, the law of inertia, from Descartes.
The Principia provided a standard for doing scientific investigations, and with his other published works, such as Opticks (1704), formed the cornerstone for the modern scientific method. It offered a coherent method that seemed free of the occult and reliance on the ancients.
