5. Age of Newton 牛顿时代 （1660-1687）

Important discoveries happened throughout the 17th century, but the most influential scientific advance was Newton’s theory of gravity. Newton got around to publishing the Principia in 1687, but the crucial ideas came to him in the 1660s. Newton and Leibniz invented calculus about the same time. Boyle’s Law, which led to the development of chemistry, was discovered in 1662; Leeuwenhoek and others began microscopic observations at the same time. It was a fertile time for art (Rembrandt, Vermeer) and literature (Racine, Moliere, Milton, Pascal) and unfortunately, bad philosophy (Hobbes, Locke).

众多重要发现贯穿了整个十七世纪，但最具科学影响力的无疑是牛顿的万有引力理论。牛顿在1687年到处讲演他的理论，但其实他在17世纪60年代间就确立了核心思想。牛顿和莱布尼兹几乎同时发明了微积分方法。引导化学发展的波尔定律发现于1662年；列文虎克等人同时期也开始了显微镜观察。同时，当时也是艺术（伦布兰特，弗米尔）和文学（拉辛、莫里哀、米尔顿、帕斯卡）的多产期，而不幸的是，哲学（霍布斯、洛克）并不发达。