It has been claimed that the Principia is the greatest work in the history of the physical sciences. By demonstrating that the motion of all bodies was controlled by the same universal laws, Isaac Newton brought to the scientific community a vision of an orderly, harmonious universe which could be understood independent of any supreme being.
Divided into three books, Book I develops general dynamics from a mathematical standpoint for the entire work and begins with the motion of mass particles. Book II is a treatise on fluid mechanics and Book III is devoted to astronomical and physical problems. Newton addressed and resolved a number of issues including the motions of comets and the influence of gravitation. For the first time, he demonstrated that the same laws of motion and gravitation ruled everywhere under a single mathematical law.
Newton's scientific accomplishments were vast. He was the co-discoverer with Leibniz of differential calculus and the founder of mathematical physics. He made important studies in optics and yet had time to devote to theology, alchemy and chemistry.
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