Newtonians
Classical physics adherents
Newtonians are followers or adherents of Isaac Newton's scientific principles, particularly his laws of motion and theory of gravitation.
The term appears in historical debates between Newtonian physics and competing frameworks: The Newtonians clashed with Leibnizians over the nature of space and time.
In astronomy, a Newtonian is also a type of reflecting telescope using Newton's original mirror design.
Foundational principles or elements
- calculusMathematical analysis system
- opticsScience of illumination
- mechanicsScience of motion
- inertiaResistance to altered motion
mass · force · acceleration · momentum · dynamics · kinematics · orbit · gravitation
Mutual mass attraction
- orbitCurved celestial path
- planetStar-orbiting spherical body
- moonNatural planetary satellite
- tidesPeriodic sea-level changes
comet · space · galaxy · universal · attraction · perturbation · Halley · precession
Knowledge through observation
- rationalismReason as knowledge source
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- materialismPrioritizing goods over spirit
- mechanismMeans by which something operates
deism · causality · reductionism · objectivity · certainty · axiom · proof · deduction
Basis or justification
- progressMovement toward improvement
- scienceSystematic study through observation
- knowledgeUnderstood facts and skills
- intellectualismEmphasis on reasoning pursuits
freethought · skepticism · education · reform · humanism · secularism · philosophy · innovation
principia
Foundational principles or elements
inertia · mass · force · acceleration · momentum · dynamics · kinematics · orbit · gravitation · apple
gravity
Mutual mass attraction
tides · comet · space · galaxy · universal · attraction · perturbation · Halley · precession · eclipse
empiricism
Knowledge through observation
- rationalismReason as knowledge source
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- materialismPrioritizing goods over spirit
mechanism · deism · causality · reductionism · objectivity · certainty · axiom · proof · deduction · induction
reason
Basis or justification
- progressMovement toward improvement
- scienceSystematic study through observation
- knowledgeUnderstood facts and skills
intellectualism · freethought · skepticism · education · reform · humanism · secularism · philosophy · innovation · tolerance
- Newtonian physicsTraditional laws of motion
- non-Newtonian fluidSubstance with variable viscosity
- Newtonian mechanicsTheory of motion and force