Isaac Newton portrait in front of his historic drawing showing the splitting of white light from the sun into the spectrum. The diagram importantly sh
Isaac Newton portrait in front of his historic drawing showing the splitting of white light from the sun into the spectrum. The diagram importantly shows that once split, or dispersed, the second prism refracts the original colours, in this case red, without change. In splitting the spectrum a beam of white light strikes the prism and is dispersed onto the opposite faces. At these faces, some of the light is refracted again, exiting the prism and forming the spectrum. The spectrum is a result of the different amounts of refraction of the different wavelengths of light present. In Isaac Newton's time, it was believed that white light was colourless, and that the prism itself produced the colour.
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Photo credit: © DAVID PARKER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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