A fragment of the apple tree of the English physicist Isaac Newton will defy gravity,the theory that he himself inspired,when it is transported to space on May 14 aboard NASA’s Atlantis shuttle. The piece of wood, which is part of the archives of the Royal British Society, will be brought into orbit by theastronauta Piers Sellers As part of the celebrations for the 350th anniversary of the academy of sciences, the fragment will travel along with an image of Newton that was also donated by the institution. Both will be returned after the space flight.
The English physicist Isaac Newton narrated the episode that inspired his theory of gravity to the scholar William Stukeley, who later collected it in hisBiography, published in 1752 and entitled“Memoirs of the life of Sir Isaac Newton”Newton told Stukleley that the idea to investigate the theory of gravity came about when an apple fell from a tree in his garden.
The current president of the British Royal Society, Martin John Rees, said he was “satisfied and proud that such an extraordinary part of scientific history and such an important element of the institution’s archive collection can make this historic journey into space.” . In addition, he anticipated that eThe piece of apple tree and the image of Newton will be part of a permanent exhibition on the history of the Royal Society, which will open this year.
The Atlantis mission is expected to last twelve days and be the ship’s last , following the US government’s decision to suspend the shuttle program.
BIOGRAPHY OF ISAAC NEWTON
