Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1.07.1646— 14.02.1716) was a German scientist and philosopher. He was born in Leipzig. He studied at the universities of Leipzig and Jena and then furthered his knowledge in Paris. From 1676 he was in the service of the dukes of Hanover.
His work in physics was in the field of mechanics, the theory of elasticity and the theory of oscillations. He developed the doctrine of the relativity of space, time and motion, arguing against Newton's absolute space and absolute time, and established the law of the conservation of “living forces” (1686), which was the first formulation of the law of the conservation of energy (he also expressed the idea of the transformation of energy).
Independently of others he formulated the principle of least action. He pointed out (1690) the connection between fluctuations in barometer readings and the weather, and expressed (1702) the idea of the aneroid barometer.
In mathematics, independently of I. Newton, he developed the differential (1684) and the integral (1686) calculus.