24 Universal Gravitation

Next morning, under a clearing sky, Newton saw his young nephew playing with a
ball. The ball was tied to a string the boy held tight in his fist. He swung the ball, slowly at
first, and then faster and faster until it stretched straight out.
With a start Newton realized that the ball was exactly like the moon. Two forces acted
on the ballits motion (driving it outward) and the pull of a string (holding it in). Two
forces acted on the moon. Its motion and the pull of gravitythe same pull (force) that
made the apple fall.
For the first time, Newton considered the possibility that gravity was a universal attractive force instead of a force that applied only to planets and stars. His deep belief in alchemy and its concept of the attraction of matter led him to postulate that gravitational
attraction force did not just apply to heavenly objects, but to all objects with any mass.
Gravity pulled apples to earth, made rain fall, and held planets in their orbits around the sun.
Newtons discovery of the concept of universal gravitation was a major blow to the
prevalent belief that the laws of nature on Earth were different from those that ruled the
heavens. Newton showed that the machinery that ruled the universe and nature is simple.
Newton developed universal gravitation as a property of all matter, not just of planets
and stars. Universal gravitation and its mathematical expression lie at the foundation of all
modern physics as one of the most important principles in all science.
Fun Facts: The Flower of Kent is a large green variety of apple. According to the story, this is the apple Isaac Newton saw falling to ground from
its tree, inspiring his discovery of universal gravitation.

More to Explore
Christianson, Gale. Isaac Newton and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1996.
Gale, Christeanson. In the Presence of the Creator: Isaac Newton and His Times. New
York: Collier Macmillan, 1994.
Gleick, James. Isaac Newton. New York: Vintage , 2004
Koestler, Arthur. The Sleepwalkers: A History of Mans Changing Vision of the Universe. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1999.
Maury, Jean. Newton: The Father of Modern Astronomy. New York: Harry Abrams,
1996.
Peteson, Ivars. Newtons Clock. New York: W. H. Freeman, 1995.
White, Michael. Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer. Jackson, TN: Perseus Books, 1999.

Fossils
Year of Discovery: 1669
What Is It? Fossils are the remains of past living organisms.
Who Discovered It? Nicholas Steno

Why Is This One of the 100 Greatest?

The only way we can learn about the ancient past is to examine fossil remains of now
extinct plants and animals and try to re-create that long-gone life and environment. Scientists can only do this if they correctly interpret the fossil remains that are dug from ancient
rock layers.
That process began with Nicholas Steno. He provided the first true definition of the
word fossil and the first understanding of the origin and nature of fossils. Stenos work
represents the beginning of our modern process of dating and studying fossils and the development of modern geology.

How Was It Discovered?

For 2,000 years, anything dug from the earth was called a fossil. By the middle ages,
fossil had come to be used for only those things made of stone that were dug from the earth
and that looked remarkably like living creatures. Many thought these fossils were Gods
practice attempts to create living things. Some claimed they were the Devils attempts to
imitate God. Some believed they were the remains of drowned animals from Noahs flood.
No one thought them to be of scientific value.
Nicholas Steno was born Niels Stensen in 1638 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He changed
his name to its Latinized form in 1660 when he moved first to Paris and then to Italy to study
medicine. Steno was a student of Galileos experimental and mathematical approach to science and focused his studies on human muscular systems and on using math and geometry
to show how muscles contracted and moved bones and the skeleton. Steno gained considerable fame in Italy for these anatomical studies.
In October 1666, two fishermen caught what was described as a huge shark near the
town of Livorno, Italy. Because of its enormous size, Duke Ferdinand ordered that its head
to be sent to Steno for study. Steno dutifully dissected the head, focusing on the musculature
of the sharks deadly jaw.

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