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Glass Prism refracting colour spectrum
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Glass Prism refracting colour spectrum
Flint Glass Prism refracting the colour spectrum. Computer artwork. A narrow slit of light is focussed towards the prism which refracts the light into the colour spectrum. In Isaac Newtons time, it was believed that white light was colourless, and that the prism itself produced the colour. Newtons experiments convinced him that all the colours already existed in the light in a heterogeneous fashion, and that " corpuscles" (particles) of light were fanned out because particles with different colours travelled with different speeds through the prism. It was only later that Young and Fresnel combined Newtons particle theory with Huygens wave theory to show that colour is the visible manifestation of lights wavelength
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Media ID 6336064
© DAVID PARKER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Colour Colourless Corpuscles Experiment Flint Focus Glass Huygens Isaac Newton Light Particles Prism Projection Theory Wave Wavelength White Light Fresnel Refract Visible Spectrum
EDITORS COMMENTS
This artwork showcases a glass prism refracting the mesmerizing spectrum of colors. In this computer-generated image, a narrow beam of light is directed towards the prism, which then disperses the light into its constituent hues. During Isaac Newton's era, it was widely believed that white light had no color and that prisms were responsible for generating these vibrant shades. However, Newton's groundbreaking experiments challenged this notion. He discovered that all the colors already existed within white light in an assorted manner. By passing through the prism, particles of different colors traveled at varying speeds and spread out like a fan. It wasn't until later on that scientists Young and Fresnel combined Newton's particle theory with Huygens' wave theory to unravel more about this phenomenon. They revealed that color is actually the visible manifestation of light's wavelength. This thought-provoking image not only captures the beauty of refraction but also symbolizes humanity's continuous quest for knowledge and understanding. It serves as a reminder of how scientific theories evolve over time as new discoveries are made.
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