Although there is no precise answer to the date of origin of modern physics, a strong case can be made that it started in 1647 with the publication of Isaac Newton’s Philosophie Naturalis Principia Mathematica. In recognition of the momentousness of this publication, the Encyclopedia Britannica called Newton “’the culminating figure of the scientific revolution of the l7th Century’, and describes Principia Mathematica as ‘one of the most important works in the history of modern science.’ From its inception, modem science has quite simply dominated the human mind.”[iii] The sweep and influence of Newton’s work on subsequent scientific developments can be gleaned from the list of his important works. In Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, Newton gives a concise account of his discoveries in terrestrial and celestial mechanics, which is a cornerstone for modern physics. In it, he explicated how universal gravitation is operant upon objects on earth as well as in the celestial space. Further,
“Newton’s discoveries in optics were presented in his Opticks (1704), in which he elaborated his theory that light is composed of corpuscles, or particles. His corpuscular theory dominated optics until the early 19th century, when it was replaced by the wave theory of light. The two theories were combined in the modern quantum theory…. Among his other accomplishments were his construction (1668) of a reflecting telescope and his anticipation of the calculus of variations, founded by Gottfried Leibniz and the Bernoullis. In later years Newton considered mathematics and physics a recreation and turned much of his energy toward alchemy, theology, and history, particularly problems of chronology.”[iv]
Newton’s imposing legacy on the development of physics started to form during his own lifetime. No sooner did he publish Principia Naturalis and Optiks, his theories became topics of active discussion throughout England, especially in the intellectual circles of the Royal Society (in Britain as well as Continental Europe). Leading thinkers of the time in the fields of mathematics, physics and other sciences from Germany, France, Holland and Italy read Newton’s theories, laws and other observations made in his books and published commentaries of it. While his work was generally accepted and further researched upon in the rest of Europe, Newtonianism was rejected by the Church in some European countries as being in opposition to Church teachings. Nevertheless, it did spread far and wide, but behind closed doors through the means of ‘silent diffusion’.[v] But the powerful influence of Newton’s works could not be contained by religious institutions. One of the prominent examples
“is the Neapolitan philosopher Giuseppe Valletta, who lectured about the Principia and made his copy of it available to his friends. Despite the importance of Descartes to the French, Newton still carried the day. Voltaire made a hero of Newton. His Elemens de la philosophie de Neuton, published in 1737, was a success that rendered Newton intelligible and his work accessible, to the non-specialist. In Germany Leibniz praised Newton’s Principia, but was unhappy with Newton’s position regarding gravity. It was philosophically untenable to merely dismiss the problem of its cause. Leibniz and Newton were also to become bitter enemies over the issue of the development of the calculus. Still, Newton’s science continued to gain acceptance throughout Europe.”[vi]