Mathematics
It seems that Newton’s interest in mathematics originated during his undergraduate years at Cambridge, when he became acquainted with many of the contemporary works of that era. It was in the two year hiatus between 1665 and 1667, during the time of the plague epidemic that Newton began to contribute to geometry, algebra and calculus. Two of his most influential mathematical discoveries include:
- The Binomial Theorem; a less time-consuming method for expansion of infinite series ; where:
This theorem shows that there is a formula that can be used to find any power of a binomial (a polynomial with two terms; in the above formula (x + y) is the binomial, where ‘x’ is one term and ‘y’ is the other) without multiplying at length.
- “Direct and inverse method of fluxions”; a form of calculus that serves as a method for treating changing or flowing quantities (or, as in Newton’s terms, fluxions). Newton calculated a derivative function (rxr-1 is the general derivative function for the straight line of the type f(x) = xr), which gives the slope at any point on a curve. This process of calculating the slope or derivative of a curve is called differential calculus, differentiation or the method fluxions. In theory, as the distance between any two given points becomes smaller, though still greater than zero, the approximation becomes more exact.
Author: Hannah Davies