The Force Behind the Motion
Kepler could describe how planets moved. Newton wanted to know why.
Lived
1643–1727
Known for
Gravity and laws of motion
Field
Mathematics and natural philosophy
TransitSatellite connection
Gravity and orbital motion
Each level uses the same core historical facts with a different depth of explanation.
Chapter 1
Newton was born after his father had died and was raised for part of his childhood by relatives. He became intensely interested in mechanical devices, mathematics, and natural phenomena.
Chapter 2
Find a single set of rules that could explain falling objects on Earth and the motion of the Moon and planets.
Chapter 3
Newton developed the laws of motion and universal gravitation, showing that the same physics applied on Earth and in the heavens.
Chapter 4
His framework made orbital motion calculable and transformed physics.
Chapter 5
Satellite orbit prediction, launch trajectories, and station keeping all trace back to Newtonian mechanics.
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James Gleick
A concise biography of Newton that links his personal life with the development of his scientific ideas. It offers context for the concepts of motion and gravity that underpin explanations of orbits throughout TransitSatellite.
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