How did Isaac Newton formulate classical mechanics?

Isaac Newton formulated his three laws of motion in his 1687 book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica. These physical laws describe the relationship between an object's motion and the forces acting upon it, serving as the foundation of classical mechanics. Newton also independently formulated infinitesimal calculus years before Leibniz, using his mathematical framework to investigate physical phenomena.

What we know

• Isaac Newton first stated the three laws of motion in his 1687 publication Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica. [2, 3]
• The second law of motion establishes that the net force on a body equals its acceleration multiplied by its mass, or equivalently the rate of change of its momentum. [2]
• Newton independently formulated infinitesimal calculus years before Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. [3, 5]
• Newton used his mathematical description of gravity to derive Kepler's laws of planetary motion and account for phenomena like tides and comet trajectories. [3]

Where to go next

• whoWho shares credit with Newton for inventing calculus?
• how we knowHow do Kepler's laws describe planetary orbits?
• what followedWhat are the limitations of Newtonian mechanics in modern physics?
• how it workedWhat is the fundamental theorem of calculus?
• the bigger pictureHow did the Scientific Revolution shape modern physics?
• an unexpected connectionHow does an empirical law of cooling connect to Newton's mathematical physics?Aside from formulating the laws of motion and mechanics, Newton also originated the first heat transfer formulation known as the empirical law of cooling.

Sources

• [1]Newton's laws of motion (Wikidata Q38433) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Newton's laws of motion · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Isaac Newton · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Kepler's laws of planetary motion · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Calculus · CC BY-SA 4.0