346 scientific revolution in mathematics and physics, respectively Christian Huygens developed a wave theory to explain light Otto von Gernicki proved the material composition of air in terms of its ability to have weight and exert pressure Other breakthrough work was done in other sciences In astronomy, astronomer and mathematician Pierre Laplace discovered that comets were governed by mathematical laws, and that the Sun, which once had been a gaseous mass, threw off the planets as it solidified and contracted In biology, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria, protozoa, and human spermatozoa Robert Hooke discovered the cellular structure of plants Andreas Vesalius gave detailed drawings of the human anatomy William Harvey traced the circulation of blood Chemistry Advances Chemistry also saw breakthroughs Robert Boyle developed an atomic theory and investigated fire, respiration, fermentation, evaporation, and metal rusting Joseph Priestley also developed ammonia, generated carbon monoxide, and discovered oxygen and offered an explanation of combustion Henry Cavendish discovered hydrogen Antoine Lavoisier proved that combustion resulted from a combination of oxygen with other elements He also showed that respiration was another form of oxidation Ultimately, this led to a famous law of conservation—“Matter cannot be created or destroyed.” The supreme thinker of the early scientific age, perhaps, was Johannes Kepler, who developed differential calculus, mathematics of infinity, variables—the bases for modern algebra, geometry, and calculus So dominant was Isaac Newton (1640–1727) in the later scientific age that physical science is often characterized as Newtonian, pre-Newtonian, and postNewtonian His writing and ideas were so prevalent that ultimately they affected philosophy, religion, and social science His ideas influenced reformers who believed (based on Newtonian science) that a science of humanity could solve human problems just as natural sciences were beginning to solve the questions of science Why was Newton so influential? It was because he was able to synthesize previous discoveries His law of gravitation stated that all natural objects attract other bodies—inversely, according to the square of their distances and directly in proportion to the products of their masses Newton had arrived at this conclusion by methods that combined the methods advocated by Descartes and Bacon in his major work, Principia In that work, he used mathematical proofs that were tested by observation He arrived at the conclusion that underlies all modern science—all final conclusions have to be based on solid facts Accordingly, the hypothesis even if supported by mathematics must be rejected if it is not supported by observation or experimentation More importantly, his basic premise, based on his own experiments in gravitation, was that laws govern all nature, including the universe His universal laws were then applied to every area The result in terms of religion and philosophy was deism Succeeding philosophers following Descartes and Newton divided reality between mind and matter Science assisted human reason in dealing with matter; faith dealt with the truth beyond the natural senses and helped the mind to intuit truth directly from God Taking the clue from Newton, clergymen subordinated science to faith The world was run by universal laws, of which the first law was God’s will Deism The greatest influence of science and future events was in the development of deism—a belief held by many of the leading members of the American Revolution such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson Even though deists considered themselves Christians, they rejected many tenets of traditional Christianity They did accept Jesus Christ but as a great moral teacher rather than as a human savior The view of most deists was that God was a rather impersonal force—the great physicist or master clock winder in the universe God set things in motion, but if people behaved according to the golden rule and the Ten Commandments, everything else was left to them God proposed; humans disposed All moral decisions were based on the individual’s reason and conscience No formal denomination held their allegiance—nature was their church and natural laws were their spiritual guides, even their bibles In the 18th century, sciences passed into general acceptance Kings endowed observatories, cities funded museums, wealthy benefactors established parks and gardens, and learned societies sponsored popular lectures Learned societies were established, such as the Royal Society of London, the French Academy of Science, and the American Philosophical Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge The role of the sciences changed markedly in the 18th century Benjamin Franklin was lionized on both sides of the Atlantic for his many achievements including the Franklin stove and especially his research and experimentation that proved that lightning was another form of electricity Whereas