This new calculation proved bodies of mass could orbit the sun in an elliptic pattern. Newton also put a name and a definition to gravity. Like Galileo, Newton's discoveries forced man to think beyond what he already knew. His theories opened doors to understanding motion, matter, and space. Many of these theories are still taught today because they "still adequately account for most problems of motion" (Noble 724). People had to once again let go of familiar thought and embrace new ideas. Newton transformed astronomy because he set "modern physics on its feet by deriving laws showing how objects move on the Earth and in space" (Pasachoff 41). These laws are the groundwork for what eventually led to the law of gravity. Newton was open-minded enough to understand that gravity was not something confined to this earth. It was universal and it applied to all objects in space. The same force pulling objects to the ground on earth was the very same force pulling on objects in the whole universe. These laws and how Newton came up with them are mathematical miracles. He did not see objects falling as much as he saw objects reacting to gravity. He posited that this same force was pulling the moon close to the Earth ever so slowly. One only needs to realize that Newton had to invent calculus to solve the problems he had with the universe.

Newton might have had the same ideas floating around in his head without Galileo's previous work but he might not have been able to flesh them out as well as he did because of them. Galileo opened the door of possibility that allowed Newton to step inside and take a look around. His law of motion stating that objects stay at...

Even more amazing is the fact that Aristotle knew that force must be applied to objects constantly to keep them in a state of motion. Newton's law of inertia and his law of motion revealed a larger and more powerful universe to the world. Suddenly psychics was a part of everything happening on earth and in the universe. Newton's law stating for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction allows us to see how airplanes fly.
Galileo and Newton were the explorers of their day. Like Columbus, they discovered things no one else had never seen nor thought of before. Their discoveries forced the world to discard what was then considered conventional thought and accept new ideas that made the universe seem larger than anyone could guess. New frontiers exist and it takes strong minds tempered curiosity and determination to uncover those frontiers. From these men, we should learn that when we think we know it all, we know very little.

Work Cited

Boorstin, Daniel. The Discoverers. New York: Random House. 1983.

Craig, Virginia. "Biography: Isaac Newton." The American Mathematical Monthly. 8.8. 1901.

JSTOR Resource Database. Information Retreived January 6, 2010.

Goldsmith, Mike. Galileo Galilei. New York: Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers. 2001.

Pasachoff, Jay. Astronomy: From the Earth to the Universe. Philadelphia: Saunders Publishing

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White, Michael. Galileo Galilei: Inventor, Astronomer, and Rebel. Connecticut: Blackbirch

Press, Inc. 1999.