Reading Time: 4 minutes

The Scientific Revolution was a pivotal period of the early modern era. The introduction of new ideas within science was very controversial to religious beliefs at this time. With many new forms of science and ideas emerging, many scientists were trying to explain why things happened in the natural world and believed that their ideas were not disproving religious beliefs, but rather cementing how natural occurrences happen. The Scientific Revolution yielded many great new ideas to explain how things work in the world and universe and was a huge part of the early modern era and the years following. One very important contributor to the Scientific Revolution is Sir Isaac Newton. Newton had developed many different ideas pertaining to many different areas of science and mathematics. He was very influential to education and the Scientific Revolution. We use many of his laws and findings of math and science to this day. One of Isaac Newton’s most influential writings was about the study of light. Opticks: or, a Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light, published in 1704, is the works of Newton and the experiments he had conducted in order to understand the way light had worked and ultimately was a huge success to the Scientific Revolution. 

Scientific Revolution was an upheaval of studies in order to prove why things happened the way they did in the natural world. When looking at Newton’s Opticks, he analyzed the “nature of light by means of the refraction of light with prisms and lenses, the diffraction of light by closely spaced sheets of glass, and the behavior of color mixtures with spectral lights or pigment powders” (Lybarger). He came to realize that light and color was made up of a spectrum of light ranging from violet to red. This spectrum of light was how colors were created. Light is not truly ‘white light’ coming from the sun, it was the combination of the different colors of the spectrum that created the colors we see. This was a new idea that disproved the old beliefs of the people of early modern society and before. The old beliefs stemmed from a scientist named Aristotle.

For a very long time, the majority of people in the early modern era believed that religion was the foundation of our world and everything was made up of religious beliefs. Aristotle had developed the first known theory of light and color, he believed it was “sent by God from heaven through celestial rays of light. He suggested that all colors came from white and black and related them to the four elements – water, air, earth, and fire” (The Science of Color). This was the belief of people for a very long time, religion was the center of everything for the beginning of the early modern times. When Newton published his experiments and theories of color and light in his works Opticks in 1704, it spiked upheaval from the people. Many people found it difficult to change their beliefs from thinking God was the creator of light, to a more natural explained phenomenon that Newton had theorized. 

Newton was one of the most influential and important scientists of the Scientific Revolution. Among his contribution to the study of light and color, he was also very well known for his Laws of universal gravitation, which we still use today in physics. He was part of the Royal Society and “In 1703, Newton was elected president of the Royal Society upon Robert Hooke’s death” (Isaac Newton). He was acknowledged for his great scientific discoveries that ultimately shaped modern science today. Newton had created an invention during his time as well, which helped further expand the knowledge of light and color, and influenced many different inventions throughout time. Newton created the reflecting telescope. “Instead of using a lens to focus the light from a star, Newton used a mirror. He experimented with different metals and polishing methods and made his first reflecting telescope in 1668” (Herschel). This was a crucial device that he used in his experiments and observations that make up Opticks. The creation of inventions was very important throughout the Scientific Revolution and ultimately made it possible for scientists and mathematicians to explain why the universe works the way it does. 

The Scientific Revolution had a very large impact on the early modern era. Although the Scientific Revolution was towards the end of the early modern era, it was a huge part of why the era became much more modernized. The Scientific Revolution pushed towards further explaining the universe and ultimately ended up creating many new inventions and ideas in education. This was a pivotal time that ended up revolutionizing the world. Without the renaissance and push for education, the Scientific Revolution may not have happened in the time it did. Further, the invention of the printing press was ultimately one of the most influential aspects leading to the widespread availability of education and published works. Without a doubt, this led to the expansion of education and the Scientific Revolution. Isaac Newton’s Opticks was one of many published works of the Scientific Revolution that created a very widespread leap in education and understanding. Finally, the Scientific Revolution was very influential in the early modern era and paved the path for inventions, education and ultimately led to modernization. 

Works Cited:

Works Cited Herschel, Caroline. “Multiwavelength Astronomy.” Newton's Reflecting Telescope | Multiwavelength Astronomy, 2009, ecuip.lib.uchicago.edu/multiwavelength-astronomy/optical/history/04.html. “Isaac Newton.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Aug. 2019, http://www.biography.com/scientist/isaac-newton. Lybarger, Suzanne. “Opticks by Sir Isaac Newton.” Sir Isaac Newton Online, 2010, sirisaacnewton.info/writings/opticks-by-sir-isaac-newton/. Sir Isaac Newton. Opticks. 1st ed. London, 1704 “The Science of Color.” Smithsonian Libraries, 1 Jan. 1970, library.si.edu/exhibition/color-in-a-new-light/science.