A Matter of Time

Famous physicists view of time - Isaac Newton

If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent. Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton: English (born December 25, 1642; died March 20, 1727)

When Isaac Newton was born, he was destined to enter into a world of new ideas.  When Newton was young, the church and state were entwined in troubling power struggles throughout England and other areas in Europe. At the ripe age of 12, Newton was attending school and living in the home of an apothecary, where he developed a love for science.  At 19, he entered Trinity College at Cambridge University.  Eight years later he became professor of mathematics there and continued in that position for the next 27 years.  During this time, he catapulted into becoming a key part of the small-scale scientific revolution that was brewing in parts of Europe during this era.  Although his primary interest was in the field of optics, his major and most well known contributions consisted of his work done with the laws of gravity and mechanics.

Considered by many to be one of the most important scientists of all time, Newton applied his work to time physics by laying down the foundation for the mechanics and mathematics of time.  By presenting us with his basic laws, including his important 2nd law of motion F = ma (force equals mass times acceleration), Newton provided the world of science with a mathematical and linear perspective of time. There was no room for human perception in his formulas.  According to his theories, time in relation to space (or distance traveled) could easily be plotted and graphed out on a Euclidean coordinate plane; he saw a linear relationship between the two.  In fact, he himself said that, “Absolute, true and mathematical time, of itself and from its own nature, flows equably without relation to anything external” (“How Newton Modeled Time”). 

In a way, Newton made time a global concept.  His logic was simple enough that it could be applied, as is, to our entire universe with little room for doubt or error.  His ‘clockwork universe’, for example, described time as something which remained constant, no matter what speed or location it held in space (“Newton’s Universal”).  We recall that in Newton’s time, it was assumed that nothing could travel faster than the speed of light, and consequently, neither he, nor his fellow scientist, ever considered introducing such a possibility when developing their theories on time.  As a result, Newton’s theories became outdated when Einstein proposed his theory of relativity.  Still, Newton’s contributions were extremely valuable to those who followed. 

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