Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton

Godfrey Kneller's 1689 portrait of Isaac Newton (age 46). 25 December 1642 Born
[NS: 4 January 1643]
[1]

Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, Lincolnshire, England 20 March 1727 (aged 84)

[OS: 20 March 1726 [1] NS: 31 March 1727]

Died

Resting place Residence Nationality Fields

Kensington, Middlesex, England, Great Britain Westminster Abbey England English (later British) Physics

Natural philosophy Mathematics Astronomy Alchemy Christian theology Economics University of Cambridge Institutions Royal Society Royal Mint Alma mater Trinity College, Cambridge Isaac Barrow[2] Academic advisors Benjamin Pulleyn[3][4] Roger Cotes Notable students William Whiston Newtonian mechanics Universal gravitation Infinitesimal calculus Known for Optics Binomial series Principia Newton's method Johannes Kepler Henry More[5] Polish Brethren[6] Robert Boyle[7] Nicolas Fatio de Duillier John Keill

Influences

Influenced Signature

Sir Isaac Newton PRS MP (25 December 1642 20 March 1727) was an English physicist and mathematician who is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution. His book Philosophi Naturalis Principia Mathematica ("Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy"), first published in 1687, laid

the foundations for most of classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics and shares credit with Gottfried Leibniz for the invention of the infinitesimal calculus. Newton's Principia formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation that dominated scientists' view of the physical universe for the next three centuries. It also demonstrated that the motion of objects on the Earth and that of celestial bodies could be described by the same principles. By deriving Kepler's laws of planetary motion from his mathematical description of gravity, Newton removed the last doubts about the validity of the heliocentric model of the cosmos. Newton built the first practical reflecting telescope and developed a theory of colour based on the observation that a prism decomposes white light into the many colours of the visible spectrum. He also formulated an empirical law of cooling and studied the speed of sound. In addition to his work on the calculus, as a mathematician Newton contributed to the study of power series, generalised the binomial theorem to non-integer exponents, and developed Newton's method for approximating the roots of a function. Newton was a fellow of Trinity College and the second Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. He was a devout but unorthodox Christian and, unusually for a member of the Cambridge faculty, he refused to take holy orders in the Church of England, perhaps because he privately rejected the doctrine of trinitarianism. In addition to his work on the mathematical sciences, Newton also dedicated much of his time to the study of alchemy and biblical chronology, but most of his work in those areas remained unpublished until long after his death. In his later life, Newton became president of the Royal Society. He also served the British government as Warden and Master of the Royal Mint. Main article: Newton's laws of motion In the Principia, Newton gives the famous three laws of motion, stated here in modern form. Newton's First Law (also known as the Law of Inertia) states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest and that an object in uniform motion tends to stay in uniform motion unless acted upon by a net external force. The meaning of this law is the existence of reference frames (called inertial frames) where objects not acted upon by forces move in uniform motion (in particular, they may be at rest). Newton's Second Law states that an applied force, , on an object equals the rate of change of its momentum, , with time. Mathematically, this is expressed as Since the law applies only to systems of constant mass,[127] m can be brought out of the derivative operator. By substitution using the definition of acceleration, the equation can be written in the iconic form The first and second laws represent a break with the physics of Aristotle, in which it was believed that a force was necessary in order to maintain motion. They state that a force is only needed in order to change an object's state of motion. The SI unit of force is the newton, named in Newton's honour.

Newton's Third Law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that any force exerted onto an object has a counterpart force that is exerted in the opposite direction back onto the first object. A common example is of two ice skaters pushing against each other and sliding apart in opposite directions. Another example is the recoil of a firearm, in which the force propelling the bullet is exerted equally back onto the gun and is felt by the shooter. Since the objects in question do not necessarily have the same mass, the resulting acceleration of the two objects can be different (as in the case of firearm recoil).
Gustav Kirchhoff

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Gustav Kirchhoff
1

Gustav Kirchhoff Gustav Robert Kirchhoff 12 March 1824 Knigsberg, Kingdom of Prussia

Born

17 October 1887 (aged 63) Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia Residence Prussia/German Empire Nationality Prussian Physics Fields Chemistry University of Berlin Institutions University of Breslau University of Heidelberg Alma mater University of Knigsberg Doctoral advisor Franz Ernst Neumann Max Noether Doctoral students Ernst Schrder Kirchhoff's circuit laws Kirchhoff's law of thermal radiation Known for Kirchhoff's laws of spectroscopy Kirchhoff's law of thermochemistry Notable awards Rumford medal Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (12 March 1824 17 October 1887) was a German physicist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission of black-body radiation by heated objects. He coined the term "black body" radiation in 1862, and two sets of independent concepts in both circuit theory and thermal emission are named "Kirchhoff's laws" after him, as well as a law of thermochemistry. The BunsenKirchhoff Award for spectroscopy is named after him and his colleague, Robert Bunsen. Died Kirchhoff's three laws of spectroscopy A hot solid object produces light with a continuous spectrum. A hot tenuous gas produces light with spectral lines at discrete wavelengths (i.e. specific colors) which depend on the energy levels of the atoms in the gas. (See also: emission spectrum) A hot solid object surrounded by a cool tenuous gas (i.e. cooler than the hot object) produces light with an almost continuous spectrum which has gaps at discrete wavelengths depending on the energy levels of the atoms in the gas. (See also: absorption spectrum) Kirchhoff did not know about the existence of energy levels in atoms. The existence of discrete spectral lines was later explained by the Bohr model of the atom, which helped lead to quantum mechanics. Kirchhoff's law of thermochemistry

Kirchhoff showed in 1858 that the variation of the heat of a chemical reaction is given by the difference in heat capacity between products and reactants: dH / dT = Cp. Integration of this equation permits the evaluation of the heat of reaction at one temperature from measurements at another temperature.[4][5]
Charles Wheatstone

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Charles Wheatstone

Wheatstone, drawn by Samuel Laurence in 1868 6 February 1802 Gloucester, England 19 October 1875 (aged 73) Died Paris, France Residence United Kingdom Fields Physics Wheatstone bridge, Playfair cipher, Known for early contributions to Spectroscopy and Telegraphy Sir Charles Wheatstone FRS (6 February 1802 19 October 1875), was an English scientist and inventor of many scientific breakthroughs of the Victorian era, including the English concertina, the stereoscope (a device for displaying three-dimensional images), and the Playfair cipher (an Born

encryption technique). However, Wheatstone is best known for his contributions in the development of the Wheatstone bridge, originally invented by Samuel Hunter Christie, which is used to measure an unknown electrical resistance, and as a major figure in
Kirchhoff's circuit laws

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Kirchhoff's circuit laws are two approximate equalities that deal with the current and voltage in electrical circuits. They were first described in 1845 by Gustav Kirchhoff.[1] This generalized the work of Georg Ohm and preceded the work of Maxwell. Widely used in electrical engineering, they are also called Kirchhoff's rules or simply Kirchhoff's laws (see also Kirchhoff's laws for other meanings of that term). Both of Kirchhoff's laws can be understood as corollaries of the Maxwell equations in the lowfrequency limit -- conventionally called "DC" circuits. They serve as first approximations for AC circuits.[2]

Kirchhoff's current law (KCL)

The current entering any junction is equal to the current leaving that junction. i2 + i3 = i1 + i4 This law is also called Kirchhoff's first law, Kirchhoff's point rule, or Kirchhoff's junction rule (or nodal rule). The principle of conservation of electric charge implies that: At any node (junction) in an electrical circuit, the sum of currents flowing into that node is equal to the sum of currents flowing out of that node, or: The algebraic sum of currents in a network of conductors meeting at a point is zero. Recalling that current is a signed (positive or negative) quantity reflecting direction towards or away from a node, this principle can be stated as:

n is the total number of branches with currents flowing towards or away from the node. This formula is valid for complex currents:

The law is based on the conservation of charge whereby the charge (measured in coulombs) is the product of the current (in amperes) and the time (in seconds). Uses A matrix version of Kirchhoff's current law is the basis of most circuit simulation software, such as SPICE. Kirchhoff's current law combined with Ohm's Law is used in nodal analysis.

Kirchhoff's voltage law (KVL)

The sum of all the voltages around the loop is equal to zero. v1 + v2 + v3 - v4 = 0 This law is also called Kirchhoff's second law, Kirchhoff's loop (or mesh) rule, and Kirchhoff's second rule. Similarly to KCL, it can be stated as:

Here, n is the total number of voltages measured. The voltages may also be complex:

This law is based on one of the Maxwell equations, namely the Maxwell-Faraday law of induction, which tells us that the voltage drop around any closed loop is equal to the rate-ofchange of the flux threading the loop. The amount of flux depends on the area of the loop and on the magnetic field strength. KVL says the loop voltage is zero. The Maxwell equations tell us that the loop voltage will be small if the area of the loop is small, the magnetic field is weak, and/or the magnetic field is slowly changing. Routine engineering techniques -- such as the use of coaxial cable and twisted pairs -- can be used to minimize stray magnetic fields and minimize the area of vulnerable loops. In this way things can be arranged so that KVL becomes a good approximation, even in situations where it otherwise would not have been. Limitations KVL is based on the assumption that there is no fluctuating magnetic field linking the closed loop. This is not a safe assumption for AC circuits.[2] In the presence of a changing magnetic field the electric field is not a conservative vector field. Therefore it cannot be the gradient of any potential. That is to say, the line integral of the electric field around the loop is not zero, which directly contradicts KVL. It may be possible to salvage the form of KVL by considering "parasitic inductances" (including mutual inductances) distributed along the conductors.[2] These are treated as imaginary circuit

elements that produce a voltage drop equal to the rate-of-change of the flux. However, this greatly detracts from the simplicity of KVL and invalidates the notion of topological circuit diagram. Generalization In the DC limit, the voltage drop around any loop is zero. This includes imaginary loops arranged arbitrarily in space -- not limited to the loops delineated by the circuit elements and conductors. In the low-frequency limit, this is a corollary of Faraday's law of induction (which is one of the Maxwell equations). This has practical application in situations involving "static electricity".

Topological circuit diagrams

The approximations that lead to Kirchhoff's circuit laws are part of a package that also leads to topological circuit diagrams, i.e. the idea that the physical and geometrical layout of the circuit does not matter; the only thing that matters is the topology as determined by the conductors and circuit elements connected to the nodes. These can be treated as the arcs and nodes of formal graph theory. In other words, Kirchhoff's laws say it suffices to use a circuit diagram that is purely schematic. This is a very useful, powerful simplification. This works fine in the DC limit, but it is only a first approximation for AC circuits.[2] For highpower, high-precision, and/or high-frequency work, the deviations from Kirchhoff's laws cannot be neglected.[2] The physical and geometrical layout of the circuit matters, because it determines the magnitude of the parasitic capacitances and inductances.[2][3][4]