Newton's Prism Experiment: Rainbow to White Light
Isaac Newton proved that a prism does not color light by using a second, inverted glass prism to recombine the separated rainbow colors back into a single beam of pure white light.
The dark room and the split sunbeam
The brave and painful eye-poking experiment
Putting the rainbow back together
The global battle over light and color
diego After Cambridge University closed, the young scientist spent eighteen months at Woolsthorpe Manor researching gravity, calculus, and light.
In which English county is Woolsthorpe Manor, the historic birthplace where Isaac Newton conducted his early experiments on light?
Why was Isaac Newton working on his optics experiments at his childhood home in 1665 instead of at Cambridge University?
What did ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle believe about the nature of white light before Newton's discoveries?
What simple modification did Isaac Newton make to his darkened bedroom window to begin his optics experiments?
Prism bargain: Newton actually bought his famous glass prisms at a local county fair in Stourbridge, England, in 1664 for just a few shillings.
What surprising shape did the spectrum of light project onto Isaac Newton's wall after passing through the prism?
Why did the elongated shape of the light spectrum puzzle Isaac Newton based on the physics of his era?
A transparent glass or plastic object that separates white light into a spectrum of colors. In 1666, Isaac Newton used this device in a darkened chamber to disperse sunlight.
diego The Prism's Trick
Watch the prism's trick turn a wild rainbow right back into pure white light!
Which color of the visible light spectrum bends the most when passing through a glass prism?
What term did Isaac Newton coin to describe the varying degrees to which different colors of light bend when passing through glass?