The Principia

by Isaac Newton

Book Overview

Sir Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles) is considered to be among the finest scientific works ever published. His grand unifying idea of gravitation, with effects extending throughout the solar system, explains by one principle such diverse phenomena as the tides, the precession of the equinoxes, and the irregularities of the moon's motion. Newton's brilliant and revolutionary contributions to science explained the workings of a large part of inanimate nature mathematically and suggested that the remainder might be understood in a similar fashion. By taking known facts, forming a theory that explained them in mathematical terms, deducing consequences from the theory, and comparing the results with observed and experimental facts, Newton united, for the first time, the explication of physical phenomena with the means of prediction. By beginning with the physical axioms of the laws of motion and gravitation, he converted physics from a mere science of explanation into a general mathematical system.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879759801
• ISBN13: 9780879759803
• Release Date: June 1995
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 472 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

This is a key masterpiece in the history of Science.

I bought this book not for the purpose of learning Classical Mechanics from it, but for the scientific curiosity of learning how the great Isaac Newton presented his revolutionary scientific ideas to the world. Of course, it is difficult to read. This is an old translation of a book written in Latin more than 300 years ago!This book is a jewel. Just like the original works of Einstein, Maxwell, Heisenberg, Schroedinger and all those giants. The person buying this book should not expect to find a clear didactic textbook when originally it was not written for the layman, but for the expert scientific community of its time. Buy this book, sit back, scan through it, and enjoy a true piece of history.