A Rainbow, By Rene Descartes - 1743 Words

To be able to really discuss rainbows we have to know the mechanics of them, which has been studied since ancient times. Greek philosophers were aware of the role of reflection in forming a rainbow and had some understanding of the role of refraction. In the 13th century, scientists produced theories on rainbow formation, and in the 17th century, Rene Descartes sketched out the conditions required to observe a rainbow (Douma). There are two key aspects that affect a rainbow, and these include the altitude of the sun and the size of the raindrops. The colors of the rainbow are because of two basic facts: †¢ Sunlight is made up of the whole range of colors that the eye can detect. The range of sunlight colors, when combined, looks white to the eye. This property of sunlight was first demonstrated by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666. †¢ Light of different colors is refracted by different amounts when it passes from one medium (air, for example) into another (water or glass, for example) (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research). Determining whether or not the wavelengths will go through the raindrops or reflect always depends on the angle that the light falls on the backside of the raindrop. Each rain droplet has a function in the formation of the rainbow. Sunlight enters the rain droplet at a specific angle and the rain droplet separates the white light into many different colors. This angle is a fixed measurement between your eye and the sun. What color that isShow MoreRelatedThe Theory On Rainbow Formation And The Mechanics Of Them Have Been Studied Since Ancient Times1557 Words   |  7 PagesRainbows and the mechanics of them have been studied since ancient times. Greek philosophers had some understanding of the role of refraction, scientists in the 13th century produced theories on rainbow formation, and in the 17th century, Rene Descartes sketched out the conditions required to observe a rainbow (Douma). There are two key aspects that affect a rainbow, and these include the altitude of the sun and the size of the raindrops. The colors of the rainbow are because of two basic facts:Read MoreSnell s Law : The Law Of Refraction1195 Words   |  5 Pagesof the law, in which he never published. Meanwhile, Renà © Descartes derived the law using heuristic momentum conservation arguments in terms of sines and acknowledged this in his 1637 essay Dioptrics. Using his new knowledge, he was able to solve a range of optical complications.Descartes assumed the speed of light was infinite, yet in his induction of Snell s law, he also assumed the denser the medium, the greater the speed of light. Descartes obtained obtained cubic and higher degree curves. ToRead MoreThe Origins of Modern Science Essay2484 Words   |  10 Pagesideas Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Rene Descartes (1596-1650), and Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), stand as prime examples of human reason colliding with the ideas of the Cath olic Church. Given their continued importance, and the unquestionable impact of these thinkers, we find it important to ask: why were these men and their ideas heretical? The tradition of utilizing human reason to understand both the cosmos and the existence of mankind preceded Galileo, Descartes and Newton. Aristotle (384-322Read MoreEssay on Descartes Failure4852 Words   |  20 PagesDescartes Failure In his Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes strives first and foremost to provide an infallibly justified foundation for the empirical sciences, and second to prove the existence of God. I will focus on the first and second meditations in my attempt to show that, in his skepticism of the sources of knowledge, he fails to follow the rules he has set out in the Discourse on Method. First I claim that Descartes fails to draw the distinction between pure sensation andRead MoreModern Meteorology And Its Effects On The Earth1693 Words   |  7 Pagesoften reflecting divine opinions of man’s actions (Fleming). Ancients thought of rainbows as a pathway from mortal Earth to the Heavens, and observation was limited to the crude human senses. As modern scientific principles became more prevalent in the 16th and 17th centuries, weather was increasingly seen as a physical result of atmospheric conditions. For example, Renà © Descartes discarded the supernatural view of rainbows, instead proposing a detailed geometric explanation of how sunlight was refractedRead MoreThe Role Of The Textile Design?1552 Words   |  7 Pageshuman-machine integration can isolate us within a fixed chain of procedures and overlook opportunities to develop embod-ied, sensitive and nuanced methods of expression. The embodiment theories of Maurice Merleau-Ponty [4] provide an alternative to Renà © Descartes dualism of a radical separation of mind and body – thus offering a holistic lens to view and design a ‘soft machine’ through the active participation of the lived body in different stages of the design process. Moreover, digital critic Jaron