OU Libraries logo

Citation

Alternate Title(s): Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica
Author: Isaac Newton
Publication Location: London
Year: 1729

Item Location

Summary

This is the first English translation of Newton’s masterwork in physics. The Copernican idea that the Earth moves as a planet required a thorough revision of physics. Galileo undertook this task in his Discourse on Two New Sciences, published 80 years after Copernicus. With a mathematical description of the law of universal gravitation, Newton in this book unified the terrestrial physics of Galileo with the celestial mechanics of Kepler’s laws. The development of science from Copernicus to Newton then became recognized as a “Scientific Revolution,” a complete overthrow of Aristotelian physics and cosmology.

Related Items

Theme(s): Astronomy, Physics, Mathematics, Philosophy
Chronological Period: 17th century
Geographical Region(s): Europe, England
Resource Type: Book