Project Gutenberg 2005-01-18 Public domain in the USA. 502 Huygens, Christiaan 1629 1695 Huyghens, Christian Zuylichem, Christian Huygens van Hugenius, Christianus Huygens, Christianus Zuilichemius, Christianus Hugenius Hugens, Christian Thompson, Silvanus P. (Silvanus Phillips) 1851 1916 Thompson, Silvanus Phillips Traité de la lumière. English Treatise on light : $b In which are explained the causes of that which occurs in reflexion, & in refraction and particularly in the strange refraction of Iceland crystal E-text prepared by Clare Boothby, Stephen Schulze, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team "Treatise on Light" by Christiaan Huygens is a scientific treatise written in the late 17th century. The work delves into the properties of light, focusing on phenomena like reflection and refraction, and makes significant observations about the unusual behavior of Iceland crystal. Huygens aims to rationalize the behavior of light through principles drawn from both mathematics and experimental evidence, offering explanations that reflect the scientific inquiries of his time. The opening of the treatise introduces the author’s motivation for writing and the context in which his findings were presented, specifically to the Royal Academy of Science in France. Huygens describes the foundation of his work as based on both logical deductions and empirical observations, expressing a desire to clarify misconceptions about light propagation. He discusses the perception of light as a movement of ethereal matter, critiques previous theories, and lays the groundwork for exploring the principles of light's straight-line propagation, reflection, and refraction, ultimately leading to a detailed investigation of the unique properties observed in Iceland crystal. The discussion sets the stage for the treatise's exploration of optical phenomena and the pursuit of scientific truth. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 50.4 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en Wave theory of light Refraction, Double QC Text Category: Science - Physics 271680 2025-08-06T11:02:19.259084 text/html 243989 2024-10-28T21:45:55 text/html 2000923 2025-08-06T11:02:31.803022 application/epub+zip 2003207 2025-08-06T11:02:25.037035 application/epub+zip 149771 2025-08-06T11:02:21.320134 application/epub+zip 1732696 2025-08-06T11:02:35.260055 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1699875 2025-08-06T11:02:28.580082 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 289072 2022-09-07T17:59:18.964099 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 232269 2025-08-06T11:02:18.529117 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 212268 2024-10-28T21:45:55 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17790 2025-08-06T11:02:35.402984 application/rdf+xml 15477 2025-08-06T11:02:21.847062 image/jpeg 3703 2025-08-06T11:02:21.592052 image/jpeg 1993396 2025-08-06T11:02:19.426090 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia nl.wikipedia