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Sir
Isaac Newton
1643 - 1727
Sir Isaac
Newton
was one of the first people to study light scientifically.
In 1672, Newton directed a
beam of
white light through a triangular bar of glass, called a ÒprismÓ. He discovered that the light coming out of the prism was separated into bands of colors.
The arrangement of colors produced by a prism is
called a ÒspectrumÓ.
Prior to this it was
believed that Òwhite lightÓ was equal to purity.
A Quantitative Study of Light