| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
Some reasons why a particular publication might be regarded as important:
Description: The Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica ( Latin: "mathematical principles of natural philosophy", often Principia or Principia Mathematica for short) is a three-volume work by Isaac Newton published on July 5, 1687. Probably the most influential scientific book ever published, it contains the statement of Newton's laws of motion forming the foundation of classical mechanics as well as his law of universal gravitation. He derives Kepler's laws for the motion of the planets (which were first obtained empirically).
In formulating his physical theories, Newton had developed a field of mathematics known as calculus.
Importance: Topic creator, Breakthrough, Influence
Description: Special relativity, developed in 1905Events January-April January 22 Massacre of Russian demonstrators at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, one of the triggers of the abortive Russian Revolution of 1905. January 26 The Cullinan Diamond is found near Pretoria, South Africa at the Premier, only considers observers in inertial reference frames which are in uniform motion with respect to each other. Einstein's paper that year was called "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies". While developing this theory, Einstein wrote to Mileva (his wife) about "our work on relative motion". This paper introduced the special theory of relativity, a theory of time, distance, mass and energy. The theory postulates that the speed of lightCherenkov effect in a "swimming pool" nuclear reactor. The effect is due to electrons moving faster than the speed at which light moves in water. The speed of light (denoted as c reputedly from the Latin celeritas "speed", and also known as Einstein's con in vacuum will be the same for these observers. Special relativity solved the puzzle that had been apparent since the Michelson-Morley experimentThe Michelson-Morley experiment one of the most important and famous experiments in the history of physics, was performed in 1887 (at what is now Case Western Reserve University), and is considered to be the first strong evidence against the theory of a l, which had failed to show that light waves were travelling through any mediumIn the late 19th century the luminiferous aether ("light-bearing aether"), or ether was a substance postulated to be the medium for the propagation of light. Later theories, including Einstein's Theory of Relativity, demonstrated that an aether did not ha (other known waves travelled through media - such as water or air). It had been suggested that light waves actually did not travel through any medium: the speed of light was thus fixed, and not relative to the movement of the observer. This was impossible under Newtonian classical mechanics however, and Einstein provided a new system which allowed for this.
Importance: Topic creator, Breakthrough, Influence