Article ID: CBB914527455

The Harvest of Optics: Descartes, Mydorge, and their paths to a theory of refraction (2022)

unapi

In 1626, René Descartes and Claude Mydorge worked closely together on the problem of refraction, apparently discovering what is now known as the sine law of refraction. They constructed a plano-hyperbolic lens in order to test out the truth of this mathematical relationship. In 1637, Descartes finally published the sine method of determining refractions in his Dioptrique, which also demonstrated, on the basis of this relationship, that the hyperbola and ellipse were anaclastic lines (that is, that a lens with their profile would refract rays perfectly to a single point) without mentioning Mydorge. Mydorge himself wrote a short manuscript on the subject of refraction and lenses, which is found in a copy among Mersenne’s papers. Scholars have usually assumed that this treatise was written as Mydorge and Descartes worked together in 1626. However, other evidence shows that only the first part of the treatise records the two men’s early collaboration. Subsequently, Mydorge and Descartes completed their arguments separately, Descartes with the help of Isaac Beeckman.

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Authors & Contributors
Goulding, Robert
Dong, Hao
Martínez-Adame, Carmen
Takahashi, Ken'ichi
Schuster, John A.
Sakellariadis, Spyros
Concepts
Optics
Physics
Mathematics
Refraction
Geometry
Light
Time Periods
17th century
16th century
Renaissance
Places
England
Wales
Italy
Germany
Great Britain
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