The Impact of Mathematics on the Physical Sciences

The Impact of Mathematics on the Physical Sciences Intro Many great mathematicians of the past had an impact on physical sciences. This paper will discuss the historical background, respective times, and contemporary and modern societal contributions of three of those mathematicians: Archimedes of Syracuse, Isaac Newton, and Leonhard Euler. Archimedes of Syracuse Archimedes was born in a Greek city-state of Syracuse, Sicily in 287 BC. He was killed during a Roman incursion in 212 BC during the Second Punic War. Archimedes was purportedly largely responsible for the defense of Syracuse as they held the Romans off for two years with the use of his war machines. Most of the information we currently have about Archimedes is anecdotal.†¦show more content†¦He was born in England on December 25, 1642. He began attending Trinity College Cambridge in 1661 and graduated in 1665. Newton was elected a Fellow of Trinity College in 1667, and in 1669 became a Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. He became Master of the Mint in 1699. He was elected a Fellow in 1671 and President of the Royal Society of London in 1703. Newton ¡Ã‚ ¯s works include Principia, which was orignally published in 1687. Opticks followed this in 1704 and The System of the World in 1728. The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended (1728), and Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St John (1733) were posthumously published (Hall, 1998). Isaac Newton ¡Ã‚ ¯s work in mathematics had a great impact on his work in physical sciences. Newton ¡Ã‚ ¯s The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (1687), presents two fundamental arguments.  ¡Ã‚ ° The universe could be explained completely through the use of mathematics; mathematical models of the universe were accurate physical descriptions of the universe ¡Ã‚ ± and  ¡Ã‚ °The universe operated in a completely rational and predictable way following the mathematics used to describe the universe; the universe, then, was mechanistic ¡Ã‚ ± (Hooker, 1996). Newton also studied the problems of planetary motion and astronomy and used mathematics to explain the law of gravitation. HeShow MoreRelatedFemale Mathematicians Essay1686 Words   |  7 Pagesbe the case. Women have had just as big an impact on math as men have, if not a bigger contribution.They still continue to rock the mathematical world today. 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