#3

The story continues.  Isaac is now a late teen, ready to head on to university.  His paternal uncle, the same one who championed his case to attend Grammar School, now pushes for his alma mater- the University of Cambridge.  His mother, Hannah, agrees, but will only cover his tuition, so he has to become a sizar (an assistant to his tutor) in order to make spending money.

On a gloriously sunny day, I headed off to Cambridge, again by train, from London.  Trains runs almost every 15 minutes; the journey itself takes 45 minutes.  As I settled in, I thought of how a country boy like Isaac must have felt heading to one of the renowned universities of the world.  Was he nervous?  Lonely?  Excited?

Here is a quick sampling of some of the amazing architecture at Cambridge.  It looks just a little bit different from the O'Bryant:

If you'd like to see the entire campus, view the map HERE.

If you'd like to see a collection of University photos on Flickr, click HERE.

There could be an entire blog written about Cambridge alone.  But, instead, here are the basics:

·      There are 18,000 students

·      There are 31 Colleges

·      There are 150 Departments, Faculties, Schools and other institutions

·      The first students were admitted in 1209!

·      The earliest residential college dates from 1284!

·      There are 9 museums on campus (including the Whipple Museum of the History of Science) and they hold over 5 million artifacts!

Newton enrolled in Trinity College; he lived there, ate there, and took most of his classes there.  And so, with my trusty map in hand, to Trinity I headed!  Here I am:

I had a few goals in mind- I wanted to see the rooms where Newton lived, the apple tree that was planted there (descended from the original tree at Woolsthorpe) in the 1950s in honor him, his statue in the Chapel, and the library where he studied.

Now interestingly, one can visit each college at Cambridge, but you have to pay an admission fee ($5 each)!  It is open and free, of course, for the students who live there and the faculty and university staff.  It would be pretty odd to have to pay $5 to access your own dorm each night to go to sleep!  So, I saw many signs such as these:

Since it is summer session, the campus is relatively quiet.  I would like to go back and see it in session; I would like to ask the students if they get used to hoards of tourists snapping pictures of them when all they want to do is get to class on time! 

First, Newton's living quarters:

Yes- that is also the apple tree planted in his honor in the 1950s!

Newton enrolled  in June 1661 at age 18- two years older than the average student.  Interestingly, these were his quarters both as a student and when he returned as a professor.  Thus, he lived in these rooms for over 30 years!  The room is still given to students today.  So, although I was sad to be unable to visit it, I did like the idea of a student living and studying there today in 2013!

He lived on the second floor- his two windows are behind the tree.  There was once a wooden shed (to the right of the apple tree) where he worked on his alchemy experiments.  In class, I will go into more detail on both his time as a student and his time there as a professor.

Newton's traditional studies followed the teachings of Aristotle, but the more he learned and read, the more he rejected those ideas and began to support scientists such as Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and mathematician Descartes.  You will learn more about these men in class.

Next up, the Chapel, and Newton's statue.  All of the names behind him are to honor the Trinity graduates that died in WWI:

Here is the actual chapel, where I sat and enjoy a lovely organist's performance:

The security guards decided I looked harmless enough, so they allowed me cut through the interior courtyard to get to the library entrance instead of walking around the long way as tourists are required to do.  So, I snapped a few pictures as I went though.

This is the beautiful dining hall:

This is the courtyard and student living quarters:

The library is only open to 15 visitors at a time and for 2 hrs/day.  Luckily, I was there at the proper time!  Since Newton's actual living quarters are not open to the public (and are, in fact, still used for student housing today), I figured I could satisfy my curiosity by seeing the campus location where he spent the second most amount of time:

Here is the line to get into the library.  I met a lovely retired couple from Colorado in line; one of them was a retired high school math teacher.  They were spending 18 months driving and camping through Europe!

Here is a view of the library from the outside.  Sadly, you are not allowed to take any pictures inside.  I will say that it was very formal- there were many, many old books, and many marble busts of famous Trinity graduates.  There was a display case that had several of Newton's items: one of his pocket watches, his walking stick, copies of his two most famous books, "Principia" and "Optiks", and a few of his notebooks.

I also got to see the original manuscript of another famous Trinity grad's displayed- A.A. Milne's "Winnie the Pooh"!

Professors who lived at Trinity were given a little side "nook" area in the library where they basically had a mini-office.  They could leave their papers and books out and about and come and go as they pleased.  When Newton became a professor, he was given the last nook; here is the window:

 After all this excitement, I head out the back door of the library- to the river- to relax:

These, students, are the famous punters.  A punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square bow.  The punter pushes against the bottom of a shallow river with a pole to propel it along (a gondola uses an oar).

For the grand finale to my Cambridge visit, I headed to an appointment at the University Library, which contains the largest collection of Newton’s papers on Earth!  There has been a tremendous effort underway in the last several years, at a cost in the millions of dollars, to digitize Newton’s papers.  The quality is fantastic.  Literally, anyone in the world with access to the internet can see them in beautiful detail.  Here is the link: Cambridge Digital Library and Newton Papers

That being said, I wanted to hold some examples in my own hands after having traveled all this way!  And so, I contacted Adam Perkins, Curator of Scientific Manuscripts, told him how I was doing this research of behalf of my O’Bryant students, and asked for special permission. 

Here is the very imposing library: 

After running it by the powers-that-be, filling out special paperwork, being issued an “outside researcher” library card for the day, and locking up all of my personal possessions, save some notepaper and a pencil, I was allowed into a special room to view 3 items I had requested, as well as some bonus items that Adam had chosen for me.  It was one of the true highlights of the trip; I am very grateful for the special access!  You will see them soon...

I thought you would appreciate these blue lockers, students, because they remind me of the O'Bryant!  We should definitely get these; you can set your own 4-digit passcode on the electronic keypad and will never have to deal with a cranky combination lock ever again!

Here is my special-issued "visiting researcher" library card:

Once you put your bags and jackets in a locker, you get to carry your laptop, pens, and other studying materials in a fun clear bag.  It kind of made me feel like everyone was at the mall instead of being in a library!

In my next post, you will hear (and see) all about the Newton items I was lucky enough to hold!

 (This is a sample- it is from an early draft of his famous book Principia)





Part 2

It is now 1665 in our story of Isaac Newton’s life.  He is at Cambridge, continuing his studies, when a health emergency of epic proportions derails his plans- the return of the Bubonic Plague.

This was not the Black Death of 1348-50 (which killed 75-200 million people in Europe), but it was still bad news for those in England.  In the course of the plague’s destruction, 80,000 people died in London alone this time around- approximately 15% of the city's population.

And so, Isaac heads back to the rural isolation and safety of Woolsthorpe Manor to hunker down until the plague is past.  When I toured Woolsthorpe, I learned that Isaac’s room was the window on the top right side of the house when he returned:

As you know, Isaac seemed to thrive on isolation.  With his return, he reverted to his hometime routines- chiefly wandering, thinking, and reading in the outside grounds or tucked away inside his room, often in the pitch black, conducting optical experiments.  This year at Woolsthorpe is referred to by scientists and historians as his annus mirablis (miracle year) because this was the year in which he formulated much of his most profound work and changed the course of science forever!

His first major achievement: the development of calculus.  Newton had already made significant mathematical contributions; he had worked out the Binomial Theorem for fractions as an undergraduate at Cambridge, for example.  Calculus, however, was a matter of much more complexity.  The basic notion of calculus was discovered by the ancient Greeks.  Newton’s innovation was to introduce the notion of time into calculations measuring rates of change, and with that, differential calculus was born. 

In class, you will learn about his decades-long feud with a German mathematician named Gottfried von Leibniz, who developed parts of calculus independently during the same timeframe.  It was a bitter dispute, and it lasted for decades of their lives.  It is probably most fair to say that both men developed different parts of it.

  

 Gottfried von Leibniz

Next up: GRAVITY!  According to the famous story from Newton’s early biographer, “he told me… the notion of gravitation came into his mind… occasion’d by the falloff an apple, as he sat  in contemplative mood”.  So, here I am, with my own apple, in a contemplative mood of my own, beside that exact spot:

Newton’s genius was to put Galileo’s experimental findings and Kepler’s Laws of Motion together in order to develop his Theory of Universal Gravitation.  You will learn much more about these two important astronomers in class!  For example, Kepler’s laws may have explained the hows of Earth and planetary motion, but Newton explained the why.

Nevertheless, Newton did not publish his work on gravity for another 20 years.  It took a long time for him to refine his ideas, make tests, and devise new calculations to support his work.  Even geniuses need to put in the hard work to support their claims with evidence!

They also remained unpublished because of Newton’s chief character fault- he was often accused of being secretive by fellow scientists.  This poor attitude of his was borne out of the fact that he could not stand to be questioned and contradicted by others.  There have been many books written on the study of Newton's odd, angry, and vindictive personality.  He was not one to make many friendships and lasting connections.  He never wed or had children.  Some suspect he may have suffered from a form of autism.  You will learn more about his personality in class and how that influenced his work with others.

Nevertheless, his work to name and sort out this mysterious force of gravity was a watershed moment in science because it brought forth a profound idea: things that happened in the Universe could be explained by mathematics.  Forces and motions can be measured, calculated, and predicted based on universal properties.

This is one of the cornerstones of modern science today; all scientists use mathematical skills to analyze their data, make calculations, create computer models, evaluate inconsistencies, and more.  Science and math are inextricably linked- which is why our school, of course, is the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science!

Newton’s work on gravity and his Three Laws of Motion were eventually published in his famous work Principia.  I was very lucky and got to hold and read through an early copy of it at The Royal Society in London; you will see that in a later post!  You will be creating experiments about his Three Laws of Motion in class as well!

Here are the Three Laws displayed at the museum next to Newton's house:

The last great product of the annus mirablis: Newton’s work on optics.  Previously, people thought that color was created from a mixture of light and darkness.  Newton did not see any experimental evidence to support this.  After countless experiments in his dark bedroom with prisms, Newton saw that white daylight was split into distinct colors.  These colors were produced because different parts of the light were refracted (bent by the glass prism) different amounts.

Here I am shining a light through a prism at Woolsthorpe to see the spectrum of colors:

He continued on- testing rainbows and beams of colored light through his prisms.  His conclusion: white light was made up of a combination of colors from the spectrum.  Here are some of the optics experiments I tried at the museum exhibits next to his house:

The individual colors...

 Can also combine back into white light!

Eventually, well, 40 years later, Newton’s work with light would be published as his second most famous book- Optiks (spelled that way in Old English).  I was very lucky and got to hold and read through an early copy of it at The Royal Society in London; you will see that in a later post... but here is a quick look!

If you are interested in learning more about optics experiments you can do with the prism in my classroom- possibly as your Science Fair experiment!

In 1667, it was judged safe to return to Cambridge, and so Isaac leaves his childhood home.  It is the last significant period time he will ever spend there.  Our next post will explore the 20+ years he spent at Cambridge teaching, experimenting, writing, and more.

                                                                                    Part 2

Once the Plague was safely passed, Newton left Woolsthorpe and headed back to Cambridge.  He received his Master of Arts degree and was elected a Fellow of Trinity College in 1667.  Only two years later, he succeeded his mentor, Isaac Barrow, as Lucesian Professor of Mathematics.

 Isaac Barrow

Barrow was somewhat of a father figure to Isaac.  They both enjoyed working long hours and slept little.  They were both religious men with keen minds for mathematics.  Barrow recognized Isaac’s genius before most.  And, most helpfully, Barrow arranged for Isaac to be exempted from the rule requiring new faculty to also become members of the clergy.  He recognized Isaac’s unconventional and complicated ideas on religion would bar his ascension to professor and fought on his behalf.

Now, it must be mentioned that Newton may have been a prolific researcher, but he was not a prolific teacher.  He was required to deliver a small number of public lectures each term.  He was a poor public speaker and often ill-prepared with his notes.  He would often lecture to nearly empty halls!

In 1668, Newton’s telescope (p .58)

As promised, here are some of the documents from the Newton Collection that I got to hold and read through at Cambridge Library:

First off:

Second:

Third:

And now, the BONUS ITEMS.  And what a bonus they were!

On the train ride home, I thought a lot about my spectacular day- I held Isaac's actual notebooks!!!  I saw the places he scratched out his ideas!  I saw diagrams, drawings, and other interesting figures.  It had been so exciting and I was so grateful to the staff at Cambridge.

Newton’s telescope brought him much acclaim, and soon The Royal Society took notice.  He made a larger version of his telescope and Barrow brought it to London to show them.  They were so impressed that they elected Newton a member of the Society in 1672.

Now, what exactly, does an institution called The Royal Society have to do with science?  In fact, quite a lot!  It was the center in England for brilliant minds to mix and mingle.  There were lectures, social functions, and meetings there of all sorts, and to be invited to join was quite an honor.  As it still is today…

Here is the headquarters of The Royal Society today in downtown London.  I paid a visit there to see some of their Newton holdings and to hear about Newton’s time as President of the Society from 1703 until his death in 1727.

Here is the library where researchers can come to take out material relating to members.  I met with a lovely young librarian who had recently graduated from college and was happy to report that working in such a special place as her first job was a dream come true.  

In order to see an artifact, I would fill out a form and the item would be retrieved from the basement vaults:

I had come to see many items.  Let’s start with his famous book Optiks:

Here are some of the wonderful diagrams included inside:

Here is an interesting keepsake- a lock of Newton’s hair.  It got me thinking about the other famous members of The Royal Society and wondering if the vaults under the building contained lots of samples of hair form famous dead members!

Here the register of newly-elected members to the Royal Society from 1672:

Here is a copy of Newton’s signature in that register:

And here is a copy of King Charles in that same register:

The register is continued to this day; it must be quite exciting to be a new member in 2013 and to get the opportunity to sign your name in a book with so many famous and accomplished scientists!

Here is an index, so you can look up anyone; I asked to see Edmund Halley (of Halley’s Comet fame) and Charles Darwin!

Here I am holding a first edition copy of Principia- generally regarded as the finest work of science ever produced.  It is hard to underestimate how this work changed the relationship between philosophy, science, and knowledge at this time in Europe.  After this book was published, one could no longer simply announce a belief and say “it is so because I say so”.  Instead, it became the new norm to present evidence to support claims about the world- proof was needed!  The Age of Reason was born.  Science was showing that the world was constructed according to basic principles that could be explained and tested. 

I really enjoyed looking through the pages; there were even pencil marks by Newton himself so that changes could be made in subsequent additions!  It is said that Newton was aware that he was writing an instant classic, and so he wrote in a lovely and formal style.  When it was published in 1687, he because internationally famous.

Around the building, there are many mentions of Newton.  Here is a bust:

Here is an oil painting:

And here is a list of the Presidents:

Newton only missed three meetings in his years as President.  He brought back the scheduling of weekly meetings where experiments were demonstrated for members.  It is not all positive, however.  During his time as President, Newton went after some of his fellow members who had dared to disagree with him over the years with a vengeance.  It is said he had the papers and portraits of his intellectual enemies destroyed.  Newton was both feared and revered by his peers at this point.

Now, he is named Sir Isaac Newton not because of his connection with The Royal Society but because he was elected to Parliament in 1689-90 and 1701-1702.

Newton’s last official job night strike you as odd- he was appointed as Master of the Mint!  It turns out counterfeit coins were a big issue in England and it was a challenge that Newton took up with gusto.  If the economic situation were to continue deteriorating, and Monday became worthless, that could spell political ruin as well.  He jailed and sentenced to death many members of the underworld counterfeit money rings in London.  In the end, Newton oversaw the entire recoining of the British currency- a giant task!

And here, students, is one of my more favorite items: his death mask!  It was customary at that time to make a cast of famous people upon their death.  Does that sound spooky to you?

Although Newton’s hair turned gray in his thirties, he remained in excellent health up until his death.  He continued his work at both the Royal Mint and The Royal Society into his 80s.  He died at home in London, on March 20, 1727, at the age of 84.

Thank you to the staff at the Royal Society for my fantastic visit!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so, this brings us to the end of Part I of the Physics Adventures Blog.  I hope you have enjoyed getting a small introduction to the brilliant and complicated man that was Isaac Newton.  I have many more pictures, videos, and stories to share with you in class!

In the second half of the blog, we will make the leap from Newton’s time, as the fundamental “Father” of physics, to today, to the physicists of the 2000s!  In order to learn about the cutting-edge research that makes up physics today, I headed to Switzerland to visit CERN- the European Center for Nuclear Research...

In future entries, you will learn:

·      Why CERN was created

·      How CERN was built

·      All about the major discovery made there so far: the Higgs Boson particle!

·      The fascinating study of the branch of physics known as “particle physics”- what goes on inside the nucleus of an atom?  Get ready to study the tiniest things in the Universe!

·      The questions scientists at CERN will study next!