Physics Through the Ages: Part 4
Physics in the Early Industrial Age
The early industrial age revved up the study of physics; industry and science were happy companions after the beginning of the Enlightenment.
In the 17th, century, western commerce and exploration flourished. The power and authority of the Catholic Church had been challenged by monarchs and monks. Democracy began to ignite once more. New cultural values emerged. Progress became the driving theme in western culture. It was okay to ask questions about the natural world, even if it challenged the old dogma, It was even better if the answers had a practical application.
Physics branched from the study of natural philosophy, and the focus of physics switched from the study of the natural world to the manipulation of the natural world. At the end of the 17th century, Isaac Newton published his Principia Mathematica, which laid the foundation of classical mechanics. Along with an understanding of rudimentary understanding of gravity and mechanical force, this led to the creation of new machines that extracted and processed natural resources. Engineering, the practical application of physics, emerged and fueled the development of massive new industries. This in turn further fueled the new economies of Europe and the Americas and spurred even more development.
Newton, with others, also developed calculus, a new branch of mathematics. Calculus gave scientists the ability to measure things with amazingly precise accuracy. Statistics also developed at this time allowing for the study of trends and patterns. Also in the 17th century clocks were improved to help with ocean navigation. The measurement of time could be standardized. Physical phenomena could be studied in new and more accurate ways.
The first experiments were conducted with electricity. Formerly it had been a curiosity as static electricity or a terror as lightning. Now a bolder form of science armed with such iconoclasts as Benjamin Franklin, was curious to find out just what it was - and it would change the world unimaginably in the centuries to come.
