The Beef with Isaac Newton: What Exactly Is Light Made Of?
One of the greatest scientific beefs in history took place in the 17th century. The cause? A deceptively simple question: what exactly is light made of? The very thing that lets us see the world around us became the center of a fierce debate - one that would eventually reshape our understanding of physics itself. Everyone is most certainly familiar with the father of physics, Isaac Newton, the apple guy, arguably one of the most influential scientists to have ever lived. But long before he became the scientific giant we know today, he was a relatively unknown scholar whose ideas about light would spark one of the greatest scientific beefs in history. At the time, however, Newton wasn't the biggest name in science. That title belonged to Christiaan Huygens. In the mid-17th century, Huygens was the undisputed king of European science. Born into the wealthy Dutch aristocracy, he was intelligent, well-connected, and highly respected throughout the scientific world. By then, he ...