![Book Cover of Opticks](/image/book/opticks.webp)
Opticks
by Isaac Newton
'Opticks' Summary
The publication of Opticks represented a major contribution to science, different from but in some ways rivalling the Principia. Opticks is largely a record of experiments and the deductions made from them, covering a wide range of topics in what was later to be known as physical optics. That is, this work is not a geometric discussion of catoptrics or dioptrics, the traditional subjects of reflection of light by mirrors of different shapes and the exploration of how light is "bent" as it passes from one medium, such as air, into another, such as water or glass. Rather, the Opticks is a study of the nature of light and colour and the various phenomena of diffraction, which Newton called the "inflexion" of light.
In this book Newton sets forth in full his experiments, first reported to the Royal Society of London in 1672, on dispersion, or the separation of light into a spectrum of its component colours. He demonstrates how the appearance of color arises from selective absorption, reflection, or transmission of the various component parts of the incident light.
The major significance of Newton's work is that it overturned the dogma, attributed to Aristotle or Theophrastus and accepted by scholars in Newton's time, that "pure" light (such as the light attributed to the Sun) is fundamentally white or colourless, and is altered into color by mixture with darkness caused by interactions with matter. Newton showed just the opposite was true: light is composed of different spectral hues (he describes seven — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet), and all colours, including white, are formed by various mixtures of these hues. He demonstrates that color arises from a physical property of light — each hue is refracted at a characteristic angle by a prism or lens — but he clearly states that color is a sensation within the mind and not an inherent property of material objects or of light itself. For example, he demonstrates that a red violet (magenta) color can be mixed by overlapping the red and violet ends of two spectra, although this color does not appear in the spectrum and therefore is not a "color of light". By connecting the red and violet ends of the spectrum, he organised all colours as a color circle that both quantitatively predicts color mixtures and qualitatively describes the perceived similarity among hues.
Newton's contribution to prismatic dispersion was the first to outline multiple-prism arrays. Multiple-prism configurations, as beam expanders, became central to the design of the tunable laser more than 275 years later and set the stage for the development of the multiple-prism dispersion theory.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1704Author
![Isaac Newton image](/thumbs/image/author/isaac-newton.webp)
Isaac Newton
United Kingdom
Sir Isaac Newton was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher") who is widely recognised as one of the greatest mathemat...
More on Isaac NewtonDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
![Has a Frog a Soul? Cover image](/image/noimage.jpeg)
Has a Frog a Soul? by Thomas Henry Huxley
Thomas Huxley, known as “Darwin’s Bulldog” for his championing and development of Darwinism, was perhaps the most important Victorian biologist after...
![The Silence: What It Is, How To Use It Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-silence-what-it-is-how-to-use-it.webp)
The Silence: What It Is, How To Use It by David Van Bush
In a world that never stops talking, imagine the power of silence. In "The Silence: What It Is, How To Use It" by David Van Bush, you'll embark on a t...
![The Children's Book of Birds Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-childrens-book-of-birds.webp)
The Children's Book of Birds by Olive Thorne Miller
Embark on an enchanting journey into the fascinating world of feathered friends with "The Children's Book of Birds" by Olive Thorne Miller. This delig...
![The Story Book of Science Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-story-book-of-science.webp)
The Story Book of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre
The famed French naturalist Fabre covers a large variety of subjects in these 70 short but fascinating essays about insects, animals and nature in gen...
![The Kama Sutra Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-kama-sutra.webp)
The Kama Sutra by Mallanaga Vatsyayana
The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfilment in life. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the Kama Sutra...
![Canoeing in the Wilderness Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/canoeing-in-the-wilderness.webp)
Canoeing in the Wilderness by Henry David Thoreau
A highly descriptive and engaging narrative from one of America's beloved nature writers, this short piece shows well Thoreau's great love of the earl...
![Treatise on Light Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/treatise-on-light.webp)
Treatise on Light by Christiaan Huygens
Treatise on Light was published in 1690 and is probably the largest scientific volume on light published before Newton's Opticks. The book explains ho...
![Wood Wanderings Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/wood-wanderings.webp)
Wood Wanderings by Winthrop Packard
This is a captivating book that invites readers to embark on a journey through the enchanting world of forests and woods. Written by the talented auth...
![How to Camp Out Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/how-to-camp-out.webp)
How to Camp Out by John Mead Gould
In the thrilling wilderness of nature, secrets are whispered by the wind and shadows dance around the campfire. Step into the enchanting world of outd...
Reviews for Opticks
No reviews posted or approved, yet...