NEWTON’S MATH

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Isaac Newton’s interest in mathematics lives after his death. Some of the Engineering concepts used in various fields of human life are derived from his mathematics prowess. He wrote several journals in various topics which included motion, commonly referred to as three laws of motion. He also discovered the law of gravity, and the concepts behind diffraction of light. His contribution in law of motion is of great significance various activities of man in the past, present and future society. The laws of motion written about by Isaac Newton are mainly three. They are ordered in numerical terms such as; Newton’s first law of motion, Second law of motion and third law of motion. The development and extensive understanding of each of Newton’s three Laws of Motion exhibits high standard of analytical skills and mastery of mathematics concepts (Zimba, 2009). In his journals and the currently published works, mathematical equations were widely used in the different laws of motion to form models. These equations were a mathematical expression of the simplified theories that are linked to each other from the first law to the third. In this respect, Newton’s laws of motion are an important manifestation of mathematics’ central role in linking up different disciplines of academia.

Newton’s 1st law of motion states that an object at rest will stay at rest until acted on by external larger force. The basic idea expressed by Newton in this law is that a body in motion will continue in that state unless stopped by a larger force. For example, when the ball is in motion, it will continue in this state until stopped by the force of another player’s foot. On the other hand, the ball will remain at rest on a spot kick until when a player sets it on motion by kicking. This has been tried and tested for virtually all objects on earth ranging from living organisms to non-living things. In practical application, cars, aircrafts, train among other objects remain in the state of rest or motion unless a large starting force or stopping force is applied (DE Rosa & Reeves, 2009). It is because of this phenomenon that a body resists external force that interrupts its state of motion or rest. This constitutes inertia and explains the use of seatbelts in cars to protect driver and commuters from crushing out when the car becomes to an immediate halt.

Newton’s 2nd law of motion states that Force is equal to the change in momentum per change in time. In other words, for a constant mass, force equals mass times acceleration. In this law, Newton assets that the smaller the object is, the more the acceleration it will experience and vice versa. This law derives a formula that incorporate three variables in an equation i.e. force, mass and acceleration (Zimba, 2009). The general formulae that Newton derived was Force= mass X acceleration which in short is represented as F = ma. This law explains the difference in tractive and stopping force for different sizes of objects. For instance, it takes more force to start a large track than to start off a small car due to their relative difference in weight. This law of motion exploited the mathematics and physics mastery of Newton as the model stands out important beyond this field.

Newton’s 3rd law of motion states that all Forces act in pairs. In other words, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The essence in this law shows that, for one force to act on an object, the second object will have the force in the opposite direction. Simple, practical examples are the forward force required by a sprinter to start off from the ground. When the spike comes into contact with the ground, the sprinter put pressure on the ground with force and the ground offers opposite and equal force which helps the sprinter to gain forward motion (DeRosa & Reeves, 2009). Aircraft, cars and even ships use this Newton’s idea to move and stop as controlled by the assigned drivers and captains. This law shows a relative complex phenomena which was simplified through as a mathematical equation to help the scientists in their technological development agenda. It is worth to note the flowing connection of the three laws of motion in terms of increasing complexity and need for excellent analytical skills.

In his sunset years, newton had attained an honor when Queen Anne knighted him in 1705. His phenomenal accomplishments laid the foundations for modern science and revolutionized the world. He amassed a substantial amount of wealth through investment and participated in charity works. However, due to his poor interpersonal relations especially with women, he never married but had only a filial connection with the niece Sir Isaac Newton died in 1727 leaving around a remarkable legacy in science (Newton & Janiak, 2004). Isaac Newton’s fame only grew more with his death. Many philosophers later wrote great things about him as his laws were gaining much application in the world of increasing technological research and development. His genius nature can only be compared to other great personalities like Aristotle, Galileo, and Albert Einstein among others

References

DeRosa, T., & Reeves, C. (2009). Forces & motion: From high-speed jets to wind-up toys. Green Forest, AR: Master Books.

Newton, I., & Janiak, A. (2004). Philosophical writings. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Zimba, J. (2009). Force and motion: An illustrated guide to Newton’s laws. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.