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Even before Newton's famous experiments (1665) with light people were using prisms to experiment with colour, and thought that somehow the prism coloured the light. Newton obtained a prism, and set up his so that a spot of sunlight fell onto it. Usually, in such experiments a screen was put close to the other side of the prism and the spot of light came out as a mixture of colour. Newton realized that to get a proper spectrum you needed to move the screen a lot further away.

After moving the screen and achieving a beautiful spectrum he did his crucial experiment to prove that the prism was not colouring the light. He put a screen in the way of his spectrum, and this screen had a slit cut in it, and only let the green light go through.

Then he put a second prism in the way of the green light. If it was the prism that was colouring the light, the green should come out a different colour. The pure green light remained green, unaffected by the second prism.

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What did Newton discover about light when he passed a beam of light through a prism?

Newton discovered that white light is composed of a spectrum of colors when he passed a beam of light through a prism. This experiment led to the development of the theory of color and the understanding that light can be separated into its component colors.


Newton discovered that the colors formed by a prism can be recombined to create what light?

When the colors formed by a prism is made to pass through a second prism, it results in producing white light. Newton's experiment demonstrated in this method is recombination of light. Conversely dispersion can be demonstrated with the help of a single prism.


This scientist discovered that when light passes through a prism it splits into the seven colors that we now know to be the colors of the rainbow.?

Sir Isaac Newton is the scientist who discovered that light splits into the seven colors of the rainbow when it passes through a prism. He conducted experiments with light and prisms in the 17th century, leading to his groundbreaking findings in the field of optics.


Who discovered white light consists of 7 colours?

Sir Isaac Newton is credited with discovering that white light consists of seven colors by conducting experiments with prisms in the 17th century.


Which scientist discovered that when light passes through a prism it splits into the seven colors that are colors of the rainbow?

Isaac Newton discovered that when light passes through a prism, it splits into the seven colors of the rainbow. This phenomenon is known as the dispersion of light.