Article ID: CBB875901893

The Problem of Reflection in Eighteenth-Century Projectile Theories of Light (2020)

unapi

This paper explores the mechanical models elaborated by projectile theorists throughout the eighteenth century to explain the reflection of light. Influenced by Isaac Newton’s Opticks, these projectile theorists proposed that repulsion was the cause of reflection. My purpose is to show that their models were not unified and lacked a deeper understanding of the origin of repulsive powers. This analysis illustrates how a simple optical phenomenon was not easy for eighteenth-century theorists to explain, even when the projectile theory of light was prominent among natural philosophers.

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https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB875901893/

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Authors & Contributors
Holmberg, Megan E.
Sacco, Francesco Giuseppe
Mueller, Olaf L.
Akbari, Marjan
Marasy, Mohsen
Abou-Nemeh, Samar Catherine
Concepts
Light
Optics
Natural philosophy
Explanation; hypotheses; theories
Physics
Mechanism; mechanical philosophy
Time Periods
18th century
17th century
Early modern
19th century
Modern
Medieval
Places
England
Netherlands
Europe
United States
Greece
Iran
Institutions
Ikhwān al-Ṣafā (Brethren of Purity)
Royal Society of London
Académie des Sciences, Paris
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