Skip to main content

Primary sourceBook1704

Opticks, or a Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light

Isaac Newton · 1704

Newton's 1704 English treatise on light and colour, written by him after decades of experiments with prisms.

Newton's own treatise recording his experiments and theories on light and colour.

Ask Isaac Newton about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Title page of the 1704 first edition of Newton's Opticks. Red and black letters read 'OPTICKS: OR, A TREATISE OF THE REFLEXIONS, REFRACTIONS, INFLEXIONS and COLOURS OF LIGHT', followed by 'Also Two Treatises of the Species and Magnitude of Curvilinear Figures'. Imprint: London, printed for Sam. Smith and Benj. Walford, MDCCIV.
Isaac Newton, Opticks, 1704. First edition title page.

About this source

What it is

This is the title page of the first edition (1704) of Opticks, written in English by Isaac Newton. It presents his experiments on light, colour and dispersion, carried out over many years and first reported to the Royal Society in 1672.

Why it matters

Unlike the Latin Principia, Opticks was written in English and helped build a tradition of science writing for a wider public. Newton used careful experiments, not just mathematics, to show that white light is made of different coloured rays, overturning older ideas about light and colour. The book's speculative closing 'Queries' influenced scientists for decades after Newton's death.

Look closer

  • Why do you think Newton chose to publish this work in English rather than Latin?
  • What does Newton's opening statement about using 'Reason and Experiments' rather than hypotheses tell you about his scientific method?
  • How might the experiments described differ from the mathematical proofs in the Principia?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Isaac Newton on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Isaac Newton sources

Meet the AI Isaac Newton →
Title page of the 1687 first edition of Newton's Principia. Large capitals read PHILOSOPHIÆ NATURALIS PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA, with author credit, Imprimatur by S. Pepys, dated Julii 5, 1686, and London printing by Josephi Streater, Anno MDCLXXXVII.Book

Primary source

Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica

Isaac Newton · 1687

Title page with a page number marked [1] at top, reading PHILOSOPHIAE NATURALIS Principia MATHEMATICA, followed by the heading Definitiones and Def. I, with a Latin definition of quantity of matter in italic type. Faint bleed-through text from the reverse page is visible.Book

Primary source

Principia Mathematica, Page 1: Definitions

Isaac Newton · 1687

Black-and-white line engraving of an elderly man with long, wavy white hair seated in a dark armchair, wearing a dark coat, waistcoat, and white cravat, with his hands resting on his knee. A column appears at the right. Inscribed beneath: 'ISAACUS NEWTON EQ. AUR. ÆT. 83', with 'I. Vanderbank pinxit 1725' at lower left and 'Geo. Vertue Sculpsit 1726' at lower right.Painting

Primary source

Sir Isaac Newton, line engraving by Vertue, 1726

George Vertue · 1726

Engraved diagram on a cream page within a book, showing a curved comet path from Sol at left, with dated positions such as Nov. 25, Dec. 12, Jan. 5 and Mar. 5, labeled orbit lines and a sphere intersection line.Document

Primary source

Principia Mathematica, Fold-out Diagram

Isaac Newton · 1687

Engraved portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, a man with long curled wig and dark robe, bust-length, against a shaded background. Caption below reads 'SIR ISAAC NEWTON' and publisher 'William Collins Glasgow & London'.Painting

Primary source

Sir Isaac Newton, stipple engraving by J. Scott after Kneller, 1702

J. Scott, after Sir Godfrey Kneller · 1702 (print made later)

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Isaac Newton now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions