Often hailed as both the first modern scientist and the last of the ancient magicians, Isaac Newton reduced nature's chaos to a single set of mathematical laws.

Often hailed as both the first modern scientist and the last of the ancient magicians, Isaac Newton reduced nature's chaos to a single set of mathematical laws. More than three centuries later, those laws still govern the way we analyze and forecast the motions of everything from roller coasters to comets. Besides his fundamental breakthroughs in physics, optics and calculus, Newton poured vast energy into fruitless explorations of alchemy and religion. With lively period re-creations of key moments in his career and replications of his experiments in optics and alchemy, NOVA explores how Newton became the giant upon whose shoulders all later scientists found a place to stand.