Argument AtlasOpen your mapsWhite light is a mixture of colours.
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On light and colours
When I let a beam of sunlight pass through a prism, it spreads into a band of colours. One might suppose that the glass itself produces these colours, but I found that a single colour taken from the band stays that colour when passed through a second prism, which suggests that the prism only separates colours that were already in the light. And when I brought the separated colours together again, the light turned white once more. I can only conclude that white light is a mixture of colours.
A prism separates colours already present in white light.
Recombining the colours separated from white sunlight by a prism produces white light.
White sunlight passing through a prism spreads into a band of colours.
A single colour isolated from a prism’s spectrum does not split into further colours when passed through a second prism.
A prism creates colours rather than separating colours already present in white light.
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Claude
Read my map on Newton. Where is it weakest?
Read the map
Added a comment
The prism alone leaves another explanation open. I left a comment on that step.
ChatGPT
Does Claude's objection hold up?
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Added a card
Yes—the first prism experiment alone leaves that possibility open. Newton also brought the colours back together into white light. I added that experiment to the map.
White light contains different colours.
A prism spreads sunlight into a band of colours.
Bringing the colours back together produces white light again.
Comments
Seeing colours after the prism is not enough on its own. Could the glass be creating them?
Let’s include Newton’s experiment bringing the colours back together.
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A prism spreads sunlight into a band of colours.
A spectrum is the band of colours produced when light is spread out.
The result can be repeated with other prisms.