2015/03/23 by Michael Nauenberg, Nauenberg, Michael
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements #Historical Astronomy and Related Studies #History and Developments in Astronomy #History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1503.06861
openalex publication_date 2015/03/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Newton's Principia, when it appeared in 1687, was received with the greatest admiration, not only by the foremost mathematicians and astronomers in Europe, but also by philosophers like Voltaire and Locke and by members of the educated public. In this account I describe some of the controversies that it provoked, and the impact it had during the next century on the development of celestial mechanics, and the theory of gravitation.