Rare first edition of Isaac Newton's groundbreaking book found in Corsica | History - Livescience.com

The book was "hidden in the upper shelves." according to Laura Geggel, associate editor for Live Science.

A rare first edition of Isaac Newton's "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica" (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy).
Photo: © SSPL/Getty Images

This book is the foundation for modern physics.

A rare first edition of Isaac Newton's groundbreaking book on the three laws of motion, the text that built the foundation for modern physics, was just discovered in a library on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, according to news reports. 

Newton wrote "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica" (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), in Latin in 1687. A first edition of "Principia Mathematica" made its way into the library on Corsica, which was founded by Lucien Bonaparte, one of Napoleon Bonaparte's brothers.

Vannina Schirinsky-Schikhmatoff, director of conservation at the Fesch public heritage library in Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica, learned of the book's whereabouts while reading an index of the library from Lucien Bonaparte himself...

In his Principia, Newton detailed the three laws of motion, which include the following, as Live Science previously reported. 

• An object will remain in a state of inertia unless acted upon by force.
• The relationship between acceleration and applied force is F=ma.
• For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Read more.. 

Source: Livescience.com