Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy
by Isaac Newton · Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica
Assigned by 5 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1687
- Language
- Latin
- Length
- Epic · 970 ppover 700 pages
- Difficulty
- Formidable5 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Principia, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, translated by I. Bernard Cohen and Anne WhitmanUniversity of California Press, 1999The first complete modern translation, with Cohen's long Guide that most readers need as much as the text.
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The book that founded classical mechanics. Newton sets out definitions of mass, motion and force, states his three laws of motion, and in Book I derives the motion of bodies under centripetal forces by geometry, proving that an inverse-square force produces orbits that are conic sections. Book II treats motion in resisting media and demolishes Descartes's vortices. Book III applies the results to the solar system, deriving universal gravitation from the moon and planets and explaining the tides, the precession of the equinoxes and the paths of comets.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
