Color Vision

For centuries scientists wondered how humans perceived color. The scientific study of color vision began with a classic 1666 experiment by Isaac Newton. He was fascinated by glass prisms he obtained at the Stourbridge Fair, an international trade exposition. As you probably know, a triangular glass prism produces a rainbow of colors when struck by light from the sun. Newton realized this might be a clue to the nature of color.

Why did a triangular glass prism fascinate Isaac Newton? What did he speculate?

Newton observed how a prism splits light into a rainbow of colors

Coming home with a prism he purchased at the fair, Newton set up a dark room where a small amount of light could be admitted into the room through a hole. Newton placed the prism in front of the beam of light, producing a rainbow of colors on the wall. Contemplating this phenomenon, Newton decided the prism must bend each color by a different amount, resulting in the rainbow display.

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