Cambridge University has published, on a new digital library website, over 4,000 pages of Sir Isaac Newton's most important works. These include an original manuscript containing Newton's famous laws of motion. Also available online publicly is the scientist's own annotated copy of Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
First published in July 1687, Principia not only contains the laws of motion but also Newton's law of universal gravitation. It is widely regarded as one of the most significant works in the history of science. The university library will upload almost the whole of its Newton collection available for anyone to view and download over the next few months.
Work on the Cambridge Digital Library began in 2010 with the Newton collection being photographed during last summer. Up to 200 pages were captured each day. Major conservation work had to be carried out on several manuscripts and notebooks before they could be digitised.
The next phase of the project will see works by Charles Darwin and the archive of the Board of Longitude made available online.
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