CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO NEWTON, THE

Sir Isaac Newton was one of the greatest scientists of all time, a thinker of extraordinary range and creativity who has left enduring legacies in mathematics and the natural sciences. In this volume a team of distinguished contributors examines theprincipal aspects of Newton's thought. They include not only his approach to space, time, mechanics, and universal gravity in Principia and his research in optics and mathematics, but also his lesser known clandestine investigations into alchemy, theology, and prophecy.

Contents - List of figures; List of contributors; Preface; Introduction I. Bernard Cohen and George E. Smith; 1. Newton’s philosophical analysis of space and time Robert DiSalle; 2. Newton’s concepts of force and mass, with notes on the Laws of Motion I. Bernard Cohen; 3. Curvature in Newton’s dynamics J. Bruce Brackenridge and Michael Nauenberg; 4. The methodology of the Principia George E. Smith; 5. Newton’s argument for universal gravitation William Harper; 6. Newton and celestial mechanics Curtis Wilson; 7. Newton’s optics and atomism Alan E. Shapiro; 8. Newton’s metaphysics Howard Stein; 9. Analysis and synthesis in Newton’s mathematical work Niccolò Guicciardini; 10. Newton, active powers and the mechanical philosophy Alan Gabbey; 11. The background to Newton’s chemistry William Newman; 12. Newton’s alchemy Karin Figala; 13. Newton on prophecy and the Apocalypse Maurizio Mamiani; 14. Newton and eighteenth-century Christianity Scott Mandelbrote; 15. Newtonversus Leibniz: from geometry to metaphysics A. Rupert Hall; 16. Newton and the Leibniz-Clarke correspondence Domenico Bertoloni Meli; Bibliography; Index.