I’ve mentioned previously that I listen to a lot of Podcasts and one of my favourites is ‘Hello Internet’, hosted by popular YouTubers CGP Grey and Brady Haran. For one episode they take a trip, which is highly unusual for the format, to the Royal Society. The Royal Society website describes itself as the following, “The world's oldest independent scientific academy, dedicated to promoting excellence in science”; this appealed to me greatly.
In the podcast, Grey and Brady view what could be considered one of the most important works in the history of science - Isaac Newton’s handwritten manuscript of ‘Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica’. The Principia details Newton's laws of motion, which form the foundation of classical mechanics; Newton's law of universal gravitation and a derivation of Kepler's laws of planetary motion. Basically, it's very exciting. In 2016 a first edition Principia sold for $3.7 million and the Podcasters were handling the original!
It transpires that anyone can visit the library and access the archives, so one afternoon I visited with my old housemate Ver. We walked inside the grand building, asked very politely if we could visit the library and signed in. Sitting at the head of the room was Keith Moore, Head of Library and Information Services who welcomed us and assisted with viewing the Principia. As Keith laid the Principia on the bookstand he began with the quip, “How’s your Latin?”; truth be told mine is non-existent. What I really wanted to see were luscious equations penned by the giant.
At school teachers try to instill the habit of neatly crossing out your incorrect workings, to this you can tell them Isaac Newton and Edmond Halley may well have expunged phrases from the priceless manuscript with bold redactions.
I felt privileged to not only see but handle the manuscript that helped form the base of Physics; after studying the subject for so many years I could really appreciate what was infront of me.
If you wish to visit the Royal Society, it is a five minute walk from Trafalgar Square and you can delve into the works that define modern science and our understanding of the world around us.