This is the last, and perhaps most important, work by the man Einstein called "the father of modern science." Confined to house arrest in the final years of his life after his heresy trial, Galileo Galilei composed his "Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences" in 1638 as a sort of magnum opus to a life devoted to scientific experimentation. The book outlines his investigations into physics and astronomy, and includes such topics as the law of free fall,...

A comprehensive survey of eighteenth-century knowledge about all aspects of light, Opticks also offers countless scientific insights by its distinguished author. One of the most readable of all the great classics of physical science, this volume will impress readers with its surprisingly modern perspectives. In language that lay readers can easily follow, Sir Isaac Newton describes his famous experiments with spectroscopy and colors, lenses, and the...