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He dismissed Descartes' theory of light because he rejected Descartes’ understanding of space, which derived from it. [8] With the publication of Opticks in 1704, [9] Newton for the first time took a clear position supporting a corpuscular interpretation, though it would fall on his followers to systemise the theory. [10]
Corpuscularianism is similar to the theory of atomism, except that where atoms were supposed to be indivisible, corpuscles could in principle be divided.In this manner, for example, it was theorized that mercury could penetrate into metals and modify their inner structure, a step on the way towards the production of gold by transmutation.
The last query (number 31) wonders if a corpuscular theory could explain how different substances react more to certain substances than to others, in particular how aqua fortis (nitric acid) reacts more with calamine that with iron. This 31st query has been often been linked to the origin of the concept of affinity in chemical reactions.
The corpuscular theory of light, developed by Isaac Newton in his Opticks, which proposed the existence of light particles which are now known as photons; A term used by J. J. Thomson to describe particles now known to be electrons, in his plum pudding model; A small free-floating biological cell, especially a blood cell
Newton's corpuscular theory implied that light would travel faster in a denser medium, while the wave theory of Huygens and others implied the opposite. At that time, the speed of light could not be measured accurately enough to decide which theory was correct. The first to make a sufficiently accurate measurement was Léon Foucault, in 1850. [38]
He recorded his observations in an essay entitled "Of Colours". The phenomenon became a source of dispute between Newton, who favored a corpuscular nature of light, and Hooke, who favored a wave-like nature of light. [1] Newton did not publish his analysis until after Hooke's death, as part of his treatise "Opticks" published in 1704.
Bradley explained this effect in the context of Newton's corpuscular theory of light, by showing that the aberration angle was given by simple vector addition of the Earth's orbital velocity and the velocity of the corpuscles of light, just as vertically falling raindrops strike a moving object at an angle.
At that time, the Newtonian theory of gravitation and the so-called corpuscular theory of light were dominant. In these theories, if the escape velocity of the gravitational influence of a massive object exceeds the speed of light, then light originating inside or from it can escape temporarily but will return.