The achievements of Sir Isaac Newton (AD 1642-1727) established a new way of looking at the physical world and dominated science for 200 years. In Principia Mathematica(1687) he set out the nature of space, time and motion; the laws of mechanics; and the laws of gravity. Opticks, on the properties of light, was published in 1704. After his death, he became a symbol of the Enlightenment.

Newton’s quantum leap in pure science was followed by small, practical scientific advances, achieved by men like James Watt who pioneered improvements in the working of the steam engine. The textile industry was revolutionised by John Kay’s ‘flying’ shuttling, James Hargreaves’ 'spinning jenny' and Richard Arkwright’s water-powered spinning frame. Humphrey Davy is best known for his ‘Davy lamp’ – a safety device for miners, but he also experimented with the properties of laughing gas (nitrous oxide) and delivered lectures to packed audiences at the Royal Institution in London.

The spirit of enquiry was also maintained by amateur groups like the Lunar Society (they met on nights when the moon was full), which included Erasmus Darwin, physician and scientist, and grandfather of Charles Darwin. It was not until the second half of the 19th century that science became an academic discipline and was applied to industry and technology on a large scale.