Discoveries are most often made as a result of the laborious research demanding collecting and the analysis of a set of the facts. But sometimes new knowledge is born in the form of inspiration which comes suddenly, after some unexpected event. If to trust a legend, Newton formulated the law of universal gravitation when to it usual apple fell down the head.
Whether apple on Newton's head fell?
A story about how Isaac Newton opened known for everyone the law of universal gravitation today, exists long ago. But whether it has a real basis? Not so long ago in Great Britain data which shed light on the history of opening of the well-known law were published. Now everyone can study the manuscript written by William Stakley, Newton's biographer and his friend.
Follows from the document that the case with apple took place in 1666 when because of epidemic of plague the Cambridge university was closed. Isaac Newton was forced to locate in the house located in the County of Lincolnshire.
Newton liked to wander long about a garden and to reflect on the scientific problems concerning him.
In one of days when Newton was shipped in the thoughts, near it from a tree apple fell. At this moment the scientist thought: and for what reason the fruit falls vertically, is perpendicular to the Earth's surface? Whether there can be some force which forces objects to aspire to the center of the planet? Probably, apple, as well as on all other bodies, is affected by force of terrestrial gravitation, Newton solved.
"Newton's apple" and role of accidents in science
The fact described by the biographer and Newton's friend became known not at once as Stakley's memoirs long were not published. Subsequently began to speak about this story, referring to stories by the niece of Newton. Over time the given fact began to acquire details. In particular, began to say that the law known to all was open when apple fell to Newton directly on the head when he sat under an apple-tree. However many serious scientists treated the described story with mistrust. The mathematician Gauss, for example, was even indignant about it, considering that the case which happened to Newton could not influence opening of so important law in any way. When the scientist long reflects over a scientific problem, any accident can become a push to important conclusions.
The gauss did not exclude that Newton consciously invented a story with apple to get rid of persuasive questions of how it output the law.
It is possible that the apple which fell near Newton became such catalyst. But sooner or later the law of universal gravitation would be all the same open (The magazine "Kvant", "Isaak Newton i yabloko", V. Fabrikant, January, 1979). And still researchers of scientific creativity do not deny the fact that quite often long the opening which are growing ripe in minds of scientists are born after an accidental push from the outside.