In his crucial prism experiment, Newton noted the position of the final image, but not its shape or coloring. Most scholars describe the image as a single-colored representation of the selective aperture; some report multiple colors. When the experiment is re-enacted as the transformation of a camera obscura image, it becomes clear that the final image is a rainbow-colored representation of the outside world. Backward ray tracing enhances Newton's demonstration of diverse refrangibility. Using a projector, teachers can easily bring this historical experiment into the classroom and build a bridge to modern applications in hyperspectral imaging and spectral encoding.
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