Dynamics. In his Physics (circa 335 B.C.E.), Aristotle was the first to formulate and then explore such common Western scientific concepts as force, movement, speed, place, weight, mass, distance, and resistance. He used them to develop a theory to account for what he called "forced" or "unnatural motion" here on earth. Natural motion occurs when an object obeys its immanent tendency to move, as when a rock falls down. Unnatural motion, on the other hand, is motion that is imparted to a body from the outside, as when a rock is thrown up in the air, against its nature. Aristotle's Physics is the beginning of the science of dynamics.

Celestial Bodies. The laws that govern the motion of celestial bodies are the subject of three books also written around 335 B.C.E. In Meteorology, On the Heavens...