4 0 c m
35cm
actual image size: 27cm x 32cm
Description
Page of diagrams from Newton's 'Opticks', (1704). Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) discovered that by refracting light through a prism white light was dispersed into its constituent colours. If one colour was selected and refracted through a second prism, no further colours were introduced, showing that colours were a property of light and not the prism.
Image Details
Image Ref.
10318156
© Science Museum / Science & Society Picture Library