Most of us have believed that the apple was to
blame for the famous Newton
laws, but it’s not true. One day while taking a nap under a farm tree, the
apple fell on his head; he rose, went home, did some scribbling and came out
with a formula, BULL! In fact there was no apple, no tree, no Newton at that time. This is just a
children’s faulty tale sort off hallucination, it just isn’t real. A big lie we
have been hearing since our school days. Why on earth would he have derived the
law from the encounter with this particular apple, leaves fall to the ground as
well, a volatile puke flows downwards as well, and you never piss UPWARDS, do
YOU? Pathetic attempt at humor, whoever stated this apple story?
I’m afraid that the apple story of Isaac Newton is true. It has been verified by his biographer named William Stukeley.
Here’s what Mr. Stukeley wrote in his book about the incident:
“after dinner, the weather being warm, we went into the garden, & drank thea under the shade of some appletrees, only he, & myself. amidst other discourse, he told me, he was just in the same situation, as when formerly, the notion of gravitation came into his mind. “why should that apple always descend perpendicularly to the ground,” thought he to him self: occasion’d by the fall of an apple, as he sat in a comtemplative mood: “why should it not go sideways, or upwards? but constantly to the earths centre? assuredly, the reason is, that the earth draws it. there must be a drawing power in matter. & the sum of the drawing power in the matter of the earth must be in the earths center, not in any side of the earth. therefore dos this apple fall perpendicularly, or toward the center. if matter thus draws matter; it must be in proportion of its quantity. therefore the apple draws the earth, as well as the earth draws the apple.”
Even Newton’s assistant John Conduitt had a story about this:
“In the year [1666] he retired again from Cambridge on account of the plague to his mother in Lincolnshire & whilst he was musing in a garden it came into his thought that the same power of gravity (which made an apple fall from the tree to the ground) was not limited to a certain distance from the earth but must extend much farther than was usually thought — Why not as high as the Moon said he to himself & if so that must influence her motion & perhaps retain her in her orbit, whereupon he fell a calculating what would be the effect of that supposition but being absent from books & taking the common estimate in use among Geographers & our sea men before Norwood had measured the earth, that 60 English miles were contained in one degree of latitude his computation did not agree with his Theory & inclined him then to entertain a notion that together with the power of gravity there might be a mixture of that force which the moon would have if it was carried along in a vortex, but when the Tract of Picard of the measure of the earth came out shewing that a degree was about 69½ English miles, He began his calculation a new & found it perfectly agreeable to his Theory.”
I’m afraid that the apple story of Isaac Newton is true. It has been verified by his biographer named William Stukeley.
Here’s what Mr. Stukeley wrote in his book about the incident:
“after dinner, the weather being warm, we went into the garden, & drank thea under the shade of some appletrees, only he, & myself. amidst other discourse, he told me, he was just in the same situation, as when formerly, the notion of gravitation came into his mind. “why should that apple always descend perpendicularly to the ground,” thought he to him self: occasion’d by the fall of an apple, as he sat in a comtemplative mood: “why should it not go sideways, or upwards? but constantly to the earths centre? assuredly, the reason is, that the earth draws it. there must be a drawing power in matter. & the sum of the drawing power in the matter of the earth must be in the earths center, not in any side of the earth. therefore dos this apple fall perpendicularly, or toward the center. if matter thus draws matter; it must be in proportion of its quantity. therefore the apple draws the earth, as well as the earth draws the apple.”
Source: http://www.newtonproject.sussex.ac.uk/view/texts/normalized/OTHE00001
Even Newton’s assistant John Conduitt had a story about this:
“In the year [1666] he retired again from Cambridge on account of the plague to his mother in Lincolnshire & whilst he was musing in a garden it came into his thought that the same power of gravity (which made an apple fall from the tree to the ground) was not limited to a certain distance from the earth but must extend much farther than was usually thought — Why not as high as the Moon said he to himself & if so that must influence her motion & perhaps retain her in her orbit, whereupon he fell a calculating what would be the effect of that supposition but being absent from books & taking the common estimate in use among Geographers & our sea men before Norwood had measured the earth, that 60 English miles were contained in one degree of latitude his computation did not agree with his Theory & inclined him then to entertain a notion that together with the power of gravity there might be a mixture of that force which the moon would have if it was carried along in a vortex, but when the Tract of Picard of the measure of the earth came out shewing that a degree was about 69½ English miles, He began his calculation a new & found it perfectly agreeable to his Theory.”
Source: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2009/04/dayintech_0415