Describe the contributions and significance of Isaac Newton to science and Europe's understanding of the natural world in the Eighteenth Century?

Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) was the most influential
scientist of the 17th Century. He virtually invented the fields of physics and calculus,
two subjects that, even in modern times, are quite challenging. When Cambridge closed
down because of the plague, Newton developed some of the great theories in the history
of physics. Consider Newton's Laws of Motion (1666), a staple of physics even
today:

• An object
  will remain in a state of inertia unless acted upon by
  force.


• The relationship between acceleration and applied
  force is F=ma.


• For every action there is an equal and
  opposite
  reaction.

He
utilized these laws of motion to create theories on gravity that ultimately changed how
scientists viewed the universe. He was able to explain the motions of the Sun and the
planets in a groundbreaking fashion.

Isaac Newton's most
accomplished work was the book Principia. In Principia, he broke down the mechanisms of
the solar system through the use of equations. These equations explained the nature of
orbits and the pull of gravity between heavenly bodies. He was able to explain to the
world that the Moon orbits around the Earth because the Earth is substantially heavier
than the Moon. This mass allows gravity to pull the Moon around the Earth and not
vice-versa.