Newtonian physics does not make distinctions between space or time. The laws of motion that Newton laid down did not depend on any preferred direction, nor were mechanics affected by location. These points in space are simply convenient references to make measurements from that don't have any signifigance. Regardless how we choose to measure them, Newton thought that space and time have an independant existence.

Newton's idea of cosmology was reflected by his mechanics. The universe is seeded with stars scattered uniformly throughout space. Everything was started at some specific point in time, but throughout the universe's existance, Newton said the universe looked the same for and from all locations and all times. Newton's physics were supposed to be valid everywhere.

Newton's idea of absolute space takes in everything around us and everything we see and or experience. It includes three dimensions, being east to west, north to south, and up and down. To Newton, there could not be anything other than this one space, because it is shared by all humans and everything else in the world, and out of it. The sun, the planets, and all the stars are part of his absolute space. Everybody and everything moves through this space in individual ways and at different speeds, but despite these, space is experienced in the same way by all and everything. Our senses of length, breadth, and height are all determined by this space. According to Newton, so long as all measurements we make concering these three are accurate, anyone will agree on how long, or how wide, or how high an object is, even if we have different motions.

Following space is Newton's absolute time. His time is the time we all on Earth experience, moving forward second by second relentlessly as we age. Everyone on Earth experiences it, and it is experienced throughout space as well. Any measurement of a period of time, as with absolute space, will be agreed upon despite different motions so long as accurate clocks or watches are used.

Newton's Laws of Motion and Gravity

• Anything anywhere (especially in space) would move in a straight line unless something else changes its direction.
• The new acceleration of this something when it is acted upon is directly proportional to the amount of force acting on it. (Acceleration = change in speed or direction with time)
• Anywhere in the Universe, no matter how far apart, two objects will experience a gravitational attraction that is proportional to the product of the object's masses and inversely proportional to the square of how far apart they are.

Creating the Universe:

Philosophies About Space and Time

What is the universe? This is but one of the many questions that have been asked about that seemingly infinite blackness we see from the surface of the earth. Answers that have been given over time have been both profound, philosophical, fabulous, and serious, but until the science of modern times came about, nearly all these answers had more to do with what people imagined it might be rather than what it actually was.

The ancient Greeks' idea of the unverse was built on geometry, but it wasn't until Newton's ideas that things became clearer. The furtherments of science led to the development of models representing the universe. Every new model that was made had to be tested and compared against observations based on the natural laws we had already started to develop. It was decided early on that the universe must obey some sort of laws, and even though the laws we have set forth are accurate to us, they may possible not be the laws the universe obeys, yet at least our laws or rules are describing something about the universe.

The sciences tend to deal with physical things, so it follows that only the physical universe is accessible to science. Objects, energy, space and time -- all these are physical, and are included as all thing we are able to observe, those things that can affect or influece, or is subject to these. Everything subject to the laws of nature as we see them must be considered physical (such as atmos, particles, energy, matter, etc.), but what about space and time? Without going into any great detail, space keeps everthing from happening in the same place, and time keeps everything from happening at once.
One of the big things that troubles people is the concept of time as a physical quantity, but that may be because the human perception of such a quantity is going to be entirely distinct from that quantity. To us, a boring lecture may seem to drag on for the whole class, while a whole weekend can seem to fly by in the blink of an eye, yet the quantity of time itself goes neither faster nor slower.
But what is significant here? There is evidence that the universe had changed -- is changing -- and has a history. But the largest chunk of this history (the universe and our home the Earth) has passed without the presence of humans. Therefore, time had existence before we even began to consider it presence and speculate about what it is. Time exists apart from our influence and existence, and will be around long after we are gone.

But the question scientists have struggled with is how do time and space figure into the universe's existence? Throughout the centuries philosophers have debated the idea that space and time exist independently, that is, they are not simply relations between physical things as we saw them. We used to think that only "things" could exist, but modern theories of relativity (both general and special)say that space and time are physical after all, influencing both matter and energy, and being affected by these as well.
If we are then to include space and time as physical things, then any model of the universe that is set forth must be able to explain these two along with all the other physical phenomena we observe. Time did not exist before the universe, and space does not exist outside of it -- if these did, then space and time would be properties distinct from the universe.

The big bang did not just happen "somewhere", and the uinverse does not expand into space or spacetime, and it is not embedded in something larger. Space and time are part of the universe.

Aristotle's idea of the universe was different, both in appearance and physical laws. His physics said that Earthly objects moved linearly through space toward some location that corresponded to what percentage of earth, fire, water, and air the object contained. In Aristotle's time, these were the elements that physics dealt with. Special points and directions could be identified, and space was defined only by the objects it contained.

Aristotle's universe was wholly physical -- that is, not only the Earth and heavenly bodies, but also "crystalline spheres" that carried the planets and stars through space daily. Aristotle's image of the universe was based on 55 concentric crystalline spheres that all the celestial bodies / objects belonged to and each moved at different velocities -- and most importantly to him, the Earth was at the center.

His universal view was also based on a feeling of holistic harmony [explain this], and most important to this is the idea of final causation. What this means is that individual objects, like a falling leaf or such, and systems, like the motion of the planets, are caused by something higher. Their behavior is based on an overall plan -- a destiny if you will. This holistic idea can be seen in any living system where all the different parts perform their function, and cooperate with each other to create some end product -- they all together have some higher purpose.

• The Aristotelian and Ptolemaic Cosmos
• Aristotle: World System
• Aristotle
• Newton's Laws and Planetary Motion
• More Newton
• Newton's Life