DR Caroline Oprandi: A Christmas Canon
Science & technology at Portslade Aldridge Community Academy
There have been at least two very special people born on Christmas Day who have helped to shape the history of our world – one of which was Sir Isaac Newton. Along with gravity, Newton also discovered that white light is made up of the different colours of the rainbow, and he invented the reflecting telescope. He also developed the three laws of motion:
– An object will remain in a state of inertia unless acted upon by force.
– The relationship between acceleration and applied force is F=ma.
– For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Newton ensured that Britain was placed firmly ahead of the game for the Industrial Revolution that followed, but for this to happen Britain required sharp thinking entrepreneurs and engineers to adopt and apply the new found knowledge. It’s good to see that at Riccardo Engineering, Britain is still ahead of the game. Thank you to them for showing us around their facilities and inspiring our students on a recent visit.
Newton discovered that white light is made up of the different colours of the rainbow
Newton’s mathematical genius utilized Copernicus’ heliocentric theory (stating that the earth moves around the sun) to glean the underlying truths and laws of the universe. Halley then used Newton’s equations to predict that a comet seen in 1682 would return in 1758. As predicted, Halley’s comet was sighted in the night sky on Christmas Eve and gave final proof to the heliocentric theory (saving a lot of heretics from being burnt at the stake). Newton was, however, a deeply religious man. It took the Catholic Church until 1992 to admit that the heliocentric theory was correct and to repeal the ruling of the Inquisition against Galileo!
It’s great news also that our own ‘BrightStars’ came second in the ‘Designing a Settlement in Space Competition’ at Imperial College London. Showing true British resilience, they intend to return next year … to win it!
Follow me: @CarolineOprandi
