BeforeWatching

NOVApresentsthelifeandscienceofSirIsaacNewton(1642–1727),oneofthegreatestscientistswhoeverlived.

Theprogram: •chroniclesNewton’supbringingintheearlypartofthe

ScientificRevolution. •recountsNewton’sattendanceatTrinityCollegeatCambridge

UniversityinEngland,wherehestudiedthelatestscientificideas, andhisreturntohishometownofWoolsthorpefouryearslater whentheplaguestruckCambridge.

•reviewstheadvancesNewtonmadeingravity,calculus,andthe compositionoflightwhilehewasatWoolsthorpe.

•relatesNewton’sreturntoCambridge,wherehewasappointedthe LucasianProfessorofMathematics,achaircurrentlyheldbyphysicist StephenHawking.

•reportshowNewtonsolvedtheproblemofchromaticaberrationin refractingtelescopesbydesigningandbuildingareflectingtelescope basedonmirrorsratherthanlenses.

•recountsNewton’selectiontotheRoyalSocietyanddetailsthe contentiousrelationshipbetweenNewtonandfellowsociety memberRobertHooke,whoaccusedNewtonofstealinghisideas.

•exploresNewton’sinterestsinalchemyandreligion. •explainsNewton’sconceptsoftheinversesquarelaw,thelawsof

motion,andgravity. •describesthe1687publicationofPhilosophiae Naturalis Principia

Mathematica,aworkgenerallyacknowledgedasthegreatest scientificbookeverwritten.

•relateshowNewtonhadwhatsomebelievewasanervous breakdown;followinghisrecovery,hetakesajobaswarden oftheMintinLondon.

•reportshowNewtonpublishedhissecondgreatwork,Opticks, theyearafterHookedied.

•concludesbynotinghow,morethan250yearsafterhisdeath, anewpictureofNewton—asscientist,alchemist,andtheologian— isemerging.

1 AskstudentswhattheyknowaboutSirIsaacNewton.Liststudentanswersontheboard.Whereandwhendidhelive?Whatdidhedo?Whatishemostknownfor?

2Organizestudentsintothreegroups.Astheywatch,haveeachgrouptakenotesononeofthefollowingtopics:Newton’skeyscientificandmathematicaldiscov-eries,hisreligiousjourney,andhisworkinalchemy.

1 Havestudentswhotooknotesonthesametopicmeetandpresenttheirnotes.Askthefollowingquestionsasdifferentteamssharetheirnotes:WhatweresomeofNewton’smathematicalandscientificcontributions?Whichareimportantintheworldtoday?Whatroledidreligionplayinhislife?Whywasheinterestedinalchemy?

2LeadadiscussionaboutNewton’sinterestinalchemy.WhatfirstattractedNewtontoalchemy?Whatwashelookingfor?WhymightNewtonhavefelttheneedtokeephisalchemicalworkasecret?Whydidheeventuallyabandonalchemy?Howdoesalchemycomparetotoday’schemistry?

3ProvidestudentswithinformationaboutNewtonfromdifferentsci-enceandhistorytexts.Howdoestheinformationcomparetowhattheysawintheprogram?How,ifatall,havetheirimpressionsaboutNewtonchangedafterviewingtheprogram?

afterWatching

Newton’sDarkSecrets

noVateacher’sguidewww.pbs.org/nova/newton

tapingrights:Canbeuseduptooneyearaftertheprogramistapedofftheair.

originalbroadcast:november15,2005

Programcontents

�

neWton’sdarksecrets

Studentswillbeableto:

• identifySirIsaacNewtonasa scientistandmathematician whopracticedalchemy.

• explainthatalchemyisamedieval chemicalphilosophy.

• interpretsymbolsandmetaphors thatdescribedifferentmaterialsand proceduresinanalchemicaltext.

• practiceusingsymbolsand metaphorstoconcealworkas alchemistsdid.

� noVateacher’sguidewww.pbs.org/nova/newton

activitysummaryStudentswillreadandinterpretapassagefromafamousalchemicaltexttitledThe Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine.

materialsforeachteam•copyofthe“SecretSymbols”studenthandout•copyofthe“TheKeystotheStone”studenthandout•highlightingpen

materialsforteacherdemonstration•coppersulphate•water•ungalvanizedsteelnail

BackgroundAlchemywasaformofearlymodernchemistry.Alchemistssoughttocreatetheso-calledphilosophers’stoneinorderto,amongothergoals,changemetalssuchasleadintogold.ForNewtonandotherpracticingalchemistsofthe17thcentury,therewasaphilosophicalandspiritualaspectoftheirworkthatinvolvedtransformingthechaosofoureverydayworldintoapureenlightenedstate.ThisjourneytoenlightenmentisknownastheGreatWork.

Alchemistsheavilycodedtheirworkinsymbolsandmetaphorstobothpreventbacklashfromthechurchandtokeeptheuninitiatedfrompenetratingtheirsecrets.Animals,humans,plants,colors,andcelestialbodieswereusedtoindicatedifferentsubstances,processes,andthedesiredresultofthoseprocesses.Whiletherewerenofixedrulesintheuseofsymbolism(differentsymbolswereoftenusedtorepresentthesamething),thereareafewcommonthemes.Sevenbaseelements—gold,silver,iron,mercury,tin,copper,andlead—forexample,wereassociatedwithparticularplanetsandzodiacsigns.Theproductsofchemicalprocesseswererepresentedbycolors.Kingsandqueensrepresentgoldandsilver,respectively.

Inthisactivity,studentswillreadandinterpretamedievalalchemicalpassage.

learningoBjectiVes

alchemy:Amedievalchemicalphilosophythataimedtochangebasemetalstogold,discoverauniversalremedyforillness,andprepareanelixirthatwouldenableonetoliveforever.

antimony:ametallicelementwithfourallotropicforms;usedinawidevarietyofalloys.

elements:Thesevenbasemetalsplusarsenicandsulfur.Theywerenotelementsinthemodernsense.

philosophers’stone:Amythicalsubstancebelievedtocuredisease,conferimmortality,andturnordinarymetalslikeleadintogold.

symbol:Aprintedorwrittensignforthepurposeofrepresentinganoperationoraction,anelement,aquantity,aquality,orarelation(asinmusic).

symbolism:Thepracticeofrepresent-ingthingsusingsymbolsorattribut-ingsymbolicmeaning(s)toobjects,events,orrelationships.

keyterms

classroomactiVity

neWton’sdarksecrets

Procedure1 Havestudentsnamesomeuniversalsymbolstheycommonlysee.

(Some symbols include graphic road signs, warning signs, or musical notes.).Askstudentstonamesomesymbolsystemsthatdonotusewords.(Some examples include hieroglyphics, Braille, Zip codes, bar codes, or ISBN numbers.)Discusswithstudentswhysymbolsareused.(Some reasons include to communicate without language, to encourage secrecy, or to efficiently communicate information.)Explainthatalchemistsusedsymbolsandmetaphorstodescribedifferentmaterialsandproceduresinalchemicaltextsandart.

2 Alchemistsbelievedinthetransmutationofmetals.Onechemicalreactiontheyusedtosupporttheirclaimswasthechangethatoccurredwhenironcameincontactwithcoppersulfatepoolsfoundnearmines.Sincetherewasnowaytoweighthecopperinthepools,itlookedtomanyasthoughthenaturallyoccurringcoppersulfatewastransmutingtheironintocopper.Youcandemonstratethisreactiontostudents.Makeasolutionofcoppersulfateandwater.(The concentration is not important, but the solution should have a bright blue color, like that of the dry copper sulfate.)Dipanungalvanizedsteelnailinthesolutionandletitstaythereforaboutaminute.Whenyouremoveit,thenailwillbeplatedwithcopper.(Point out to students that weighing the initial and final products would have shown that the iron did not transmute into copper.)

3 Organizestudentsintoteams.Providecopiesofthestudenthandoutsandhighlightingpenstoeachteam.ReviewThe Twelve Keys of Basil Valentineandthe“KeystotheStone”withstudents.

4 Haveteamsreadthepassageandthenusethedescriptionofthecommonalchemicalsymbolstocreatetheirowninterpretationofthetext.

5 Whenteamshavefinishedinterpretingthepassage,discusstheirresults.Howsimilarwaseachteam’sinterpretation?Whatmightaccountforanydifferencesininterpretations?Whymightteams—whoworkedfromthesamepassageandkeycode—endupwithdifferentinterpretations?

6 Asanextension,havestudentsviewthecompletepassageand/oradditionalpassagesoftheTwelve Keys of Basil Valentineonlineatwww.levity.com/alchemy/twelvkey.html

The“SecretSymbols”activityalignswiththefollowingNationalScienceEducationStandards(seebooks.nap.edu/html/nses).

GRADES 5–8sciencestandardgHistoryandNatureofScienceHistoryofscience

GRADES9–12sciencestandardg

HistoryandNatureofScience Historicalperspectives

standardsconnections

classroomactivityauthorMargyKuntzhaswrittenandeditededu-cationalmaterialsfor20years.Shehasauthorednumerouseducationalsupple-ments,basaltextmaterials,andtradebooksinscience,math,andcomputers.

�

classroomactiVity(cont.)

Video is not required for this activity.

noVateacher’sguidewww.pbs.org/nova/newton

actiVityansWer

neWton’sdarksecrets

linksNOVA—Newton’sDarkSecretswww.pbs.org/nova/newton

Discover more about who Sir Isaac Newton really was, find out what inspired the Principia, read what Einstein wrote about his predecessor, see one of Newton’s 300-year-old manuscripts decoded, and learn about seven of Newton’s greatest accomplishments.

AlchemyWebandVirtualLibrarywww.levity.com/alchemy/index.htm

Offers comprehensive library of imagery, symbols, music, alchemical texts, and commentary.

Newton’sAlchemy,Recreatedwww.indiana.edu/~college/

WilliamnewmanProject.shtmlDescribes a project to decipher Newton’s chemical laboratory notebooks and manuscripts.

TheNewtonProjectwww.newtonproject.ic.ac.uk/

Provides digital facsimile images of Newton’s papers alongside text-encoded transcriptions on a split screen.

BooksadictionaryofalchemicalimagerybyLyndyAbraham.CambridgeUniversityPress,2001.Documents alchemical symbolism from the early centuries AD to the late-20th century.

alchemytriedinthefire:starkey,Boyle,andthefateofhelmontianchymistrybyWilliamR.NewmanandLawrenceM.Principe.UniversityofChicagoPress,2002.Examines the goals and practices of mid-17th century alchemists and prominent scientists and how their work contributed to the development of modern chemistry.

linksandBooks

�

Intheexcerptedpassage:•greywolfisstibnite,anoreofantimony•Marsisiron•Saturnislead•thekingisgold

Students’answersshouldreflectthatthepassagedescribesthepreparationofgoldbymixingimpuregoldwithstibniteandthenheatingthemixtureinahotfirethreetimestopurifythegold.Otherinterpretationsofthepassagemayincludethatthestibniteisderivedfromlead[theoffspringofancientSaturn],thatstibniteisaddedtoimpuregold[casttohimthebodyoftheking],thatafterbeingheatedthreetimesthereisnostibniteleft[whenthishasbeenperformedthricetheLionhasovercomethewolfandwillfindnothingmoretodevourinhim],andthatattheendoftheexperiment,theking—orthegold—hasbeenprepared[ourBodyhasbeenrenderedfitforthefirststageofourwork].

studenthandoutQuestions1 Compareyourteam’sinterpretationofthetexttoothersintheclass.

Diddifferentteamscomeupwiththesameanswer?Whyorwhynot?Discussanddefendyourchoices.While students should all be able to identify the basic materials and procedure outlined in the text passage, the exact interpretation will vary among students based on their understanding of the procedure and context of the text. In addition, interpretations will vary due to the fact that different students will identify different sections and phrases of the passage as more important and/or having more relevance than others.

2 Newtonusedhisownsymbolsandphrasestodescribethestepshetookwhenperformingalchemicalexperiments.Explainwhyhemighthavedonethis.Newton might have done this because he was obsessed with the idea of keeping his work a secret both from the society at large and from other alchemists.

MajorfundingforNOVAisprovidedbyGoogleandBP.AdditionalfundingisprovidedbytheHowardHughesMedicalInstitute,theCorporationforPublicBroadcasting,andpublictelevisionviewers.

noVateacher’sguidewww.pbs.org/nova/newton©2005WGBHEducationalFoundation

Majorfundingfor“Newton’sDarkSecrets”providedbytheNationalScienceFoundation.ThismaterialisbaseduponworksupportedbytheNationalScienceFoundationunderGrantNo.9901978.Anyopinions,findings,andconclusionsorrecommendationsexpressedinthismaterialarethoseoftheauthor(s)anddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsoftheNationalScienceFoundation.

Newton’sDarkSecretsStudentHandout

SecretSymbols

SirIsaacNewtoniswellknownforhismathematicalandscientificachievements,yetfewpeopleknowabouthisworkasanalchemist.SomepeoplebelievethatNewtonpursuedalchemywiththehopesthatitmighthelphimbetterunderstandgreattruthsaboutnatureandtheuniverse.Manyalchemistsdescribedtheirworkinsymbolsandmetaphors.Inthisactivity,youwilluseaglossaryofalchemicalsymbolstointerpretapassagefromafamousalchemicaltextcalledThe Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine.

Procedure1 Readthetextpassageonthispage.Useapencilor

highlightingpentomarkanywordsorphrasesyouthinkmightbecluestothetext’smeaning.

2 Asateam,usethedescriptionofcommonsymbolismforalchemicalsubstances,principles,andelementsonthe“KeystotheStone”handouttodecipherthetext.Notethatsomesymbolsandimageshavemorethanonemeaning.

3 Together,writeyourinterpretationofthetextonaseparatepieceofpaper,andthenshareyourworkwiththeclass.Wheninterpretingthetext,refertothelinenumberinwhichthewordorphraseappears.

QuestionsWrite your answers on a separate sheet of paper.1 Compareyourteam’sinterpretationofthetextto

othersintheclass.Diddifferentteamscomeupwiththesameanswer?Whyorwhynot?Discussanddefendyourchoices.

2 Newtonusedhisownsymbolsandphrasestodescribethestepshetookwhenperformingalchemicalexperiments.Explainwhyhemighthavedonethis.

theTwelve Keys of Basil Valentine

TheTwelve Keys of Basil ValentineisafamousalchemicaltextthatappearstohavefirstbeenpublishedinGermanyaround1599.ThetextwaslatertranslatedintoLatin,Greek,andEnglish.Theauthor,“BasiliusValentinus,”claimedtobeaBenedictinemonk.Theauthor’strueidentityisunknown.Thetextitselfcontains12codedpassages,orkeys,thatdescribetheprocessofcreatingthePhilosopher’sStone,amythicalsubstancebelievedtocuredisease,conferimmortality,andturnordinarymetalsintogold.Thefollowingisapartofthefirststep,whichinvolvespreparingthematerialstobeusedinthecreationofthestone.

1 If you would operate by means of our bodies, take 2 a fierce grey wolf, which, though on account of its 3 name it be subject to the sway of warlike Mars, is 4 by birth the offspring of ancient Saturn, and is found 5 in the valleys and mountains of the world, where he 6 roams about savage with hunger. Cast to him the 7 body of the King, and when he has devoured it, burn 8 him entirely to ashes in a great fire. By this process 9 the King will be liberated; and when it has been 10 performed thrice the Lion has overcome the wolf, 11 and will find nothing more to devour in him. Thus 12 our Body has been rendered fit for the first stage 13 of our work.

©2

00

5W

GB

HE

duca

tiona

lFou

ndat

ion

Newton’sDarkSecretsStudentHandout

KeystotheStone

somecommonsymbolsinalchemicaltextsandimages

baths:cleansing;dissolvingasolidinaliquid

blackcow:blackorpurifyingmatter

blackraven/blackbird:ablackmixture

boneofwhale:awhitemixture

child:offspringofthekingandqueen,theresultoftheirmarriageorunion;anakedchildsymbolizestheinnocentsoul;achildcrownedorclothedinpurplerobessignifiessaltorthePhilosopher’sStone

crown:completion;perfectionofametal

dragon/serpent:fire;thedragoninflamesisasymboloffireandcalcination(breakingdownasubstancebyheat-ingorburningit);dragonswithwingsrepresentthevolatileprinciple(mercury);dragonswithoutwingsrepresentthefixedprinciple(sulfur);adragonbitingitsowntailistheouroborosandsignifiesthefundamentalunityofallthings

eagle:volatilizationandair

egg:thesealedvesselofcreation

hermaphrodite(halfman/halfwoman):conjunction;theunionoftwoopposites

king:man,solarconsciousness,andgold;theredkingissophicsulfur(consideredtheseedofgold);thekingunitedwiththequeensymbolizesconjunction(thejoiningoftwooppositenatures)

lion:rawmatterandacid;redlionistheredacetateofleadincrystallineform;greenlionisthegreenacetateofleadinliquidorcrystalform;blacklionrepresentscarbon;thewingedlionismercuryorsophicsalt

ouroboros(aserpentbitingitstail):completion

queen:woman,lunarconsciousness,andsilver;thewhitequeenissophicmercury(consideredthequintessenceofmetals);thequeenunitedwiththekingistheoperationofconjunction(thejoiningoftwooppositenatures)

stag:thesoul

trees:theprocessoftransformation

whale:water

wolf,greywolf:stibnite,anoreofantimony

metalsusedbyalchemists

antimony:wolf,greywolf

gold:sun,king,perfectsphere,LeotheLion,Sunday

silver:moon,queen,whiterose,crescent,raincup,CancertheCrab,Monday

iron:Mars,shieldandspear,ScorpiotheScorpionandAriestheRam,Tuesday

mercury:MercuryorHermes,caduceus(twinedserpentsonastaff),VirgotheVirginandGeminitheTwins,Wednesday

tin:Jupiter,lightning,PiscestheFishandSagittariustheArcher,Thursday

copper:Venus,handmirror,TaurustheBullandLibratheScales,Friday

lead:Saturn,oldmancarryingascytheorhourglass,CapricorntheGoatandAquariustheWaterCarrier,Saturday

PropertiesofthealchemicalPrinciples

sophicsulfur:symbolizedbytheredkingorredrose

sophicmercury:symbolizedbythewhitequeenorwhiterose

sophicsalt:symbolizedbytheouroboros,thestone,andtheastralbody

alchemicalelements

air:spiritintothemanifestedworld;hotandwet;sanguine

earth:manifestation,birth,andmaterialcreation;coldanddry;melancholy

fire:activityandtrans-formation;hotanddry;choleric

water:cleansingandpurification;coldandwet;phlegmatic

©2

00

5W

GB

HE

duca

tiona

lFou

ndat

ion