Connecting Isaac Newton with Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
Isaac Newton was perhaps the most influential scientist of all time; Newton (1642-1727) took the current theories on astronomy a step further and formulated an accurate comprehensive model of the workings of the universe based on the law of universal gravitation. Newton explained his theories in the 1687 revolutionary work called simply the Principia. This work also went a long way toward developing calculus as well. Albert Einstein, most famously known as a physicist, was a contributor to the scientific world with his many known researches and humanitarian work. As a Nobel Prize Winner in 1921, his chronicled and more important works include Special Theory of Relativity (1905), Relativity (English Translation, 1920 and 1950), General Theory of Relativity (1916), Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and The Evolution of Physics (1938). Isaac Newton’s discoveries paved the way for the creation of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, which eventually lead the way for how science currently views time, space, energy, and gravity.
Classical relativity; refined by Sir Isaac Newton, involves a simple transformation between a moving object and an observer in another inertial frame of reference. The application of Newton's mechanics to continuously distributed masses led necessarily to the discovery and application of partial differential equations, which in turn supplied the language in which alone the laws of the theory of fields could be expressed. In this formal connection also Newton's conception of the differential law forms the first decisive step to the subsequent development.
The problem with this is that light was believed, in the majority of the 1800s, to propagate as a wave through a universal substance known as the ether, which would have counted as a separate frame of reference. Therefore, something was wrong with the classical interpretation of relativity as it applied to light ... and so the field was ripe for a new interpretation when Einstein came along developing the General Relativity Theory which was more accurate than Newton's.
The great greatest influence Einstein is credited with is due to the implications of relativity as a concept beyond science. While Einstein’s work did create new branches of study in physics and revolutionize astronomy, the impact on daily life, philosophy, and society are much more important. It is through the aftermath of his two theories on relativity that Einstein has truly raised to fame. Einstein's postulates regarding relativity challenged much of the way traditional science had viewed certain physical aspects of the universe. Put simply, he stated that the laws of physics (and science) are the same for all observers, regardless of their speed, and that the speed of light was constant for all observers, regardless of their speed. Einstein’s theories of relativity have not only affected our daily lives in such basic ways as how we heat our homes, reach our destinations, and measure our days. His theories of relativity were used by philosophers, politicians, and activists to turn moral philosophy upside-down. Another societal implication of Einstein’s theories is due to his humble background. The child of immigrants, Jewish, and poor, Einstein was the quintessential American. He had earned his success and thus, (so could we). Power and fame were not just for the rich and established. Education became the ticket to success for many less fortunate in the United States. He exemplified the importance of diversity and openness at a time when the world was not ready to see that which was different. Due to his fame and prominence after the publication of his theories of relativity, Einstein became an everyday hero. Amazingly, he was able to use his influence to comment on social and national policies such as nuclear warfare, education, and human rights.
Through all of these realms of influence, it becomes obvious that Einstein is not simply a brilliant physicist, but a man who changed his world in ways that he could not have even foreseen. It is for these reasons that he has often been called the most influential person of modern history, and that the greatest impact of his work on relativity was not on our science, but on our society. Einstein came the closest of the three 'giants' in answering the question 'what is gravity?'