Pierre-Simon Laplace
Date of Birth and Death
DOB- March 23, 1749
DOD- March 5, 1827
Education
University of Caen Lower Normandy
At the age of 16
Major Contribution
Made crucial contributions in planetary motion by applying Sir Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity to the entire solar system
Brief Summary
Laplace contributed to physics by developing a strong understanding of motion of large objects in outer space, including the anomalies and inequalities that were noticed in there orbit in his book Celestial Mechanics. He also helped in the development of differential equations, difference equations, probability and statistics. He established that small perturbations observed in orbital motion of the planets will always remain small, constant, and self-correcting. He was also the first astronomer to suggest the idea that the solar system originated from the contraction and cooling of a large rotating nebula of incandescent gas. He supplied his own definition of probability to justify the fundamental mathematical manipulations.