What fundamental component did Sir Isaac Newton use in his successful reflecting telescope to circumvent chromatic aberration?
Answer
Mirrors instead of lenses for the primary light collector
Newton demonstrated in 1672 that by using mirrors instead of lenses for the primary light collector, the problem of chromatic aberration could be circumvented because reflection does not separate colors as refraction does.
Related Questions
When did Galileo Galilei first make the leap from a simple spyglass to an astronomical tool?What was the main optical affliction of the simple, single-element objective lenses used by Galileo?What practical technique did Galileo use to mitigate the chromatic smear caused by his objective lens?What practical magnification ceiling did Galileo find because increasing power drastically shrank his field of view?How did the Keplerian refractor design differ fundamentally from the Galilean design regarding the eyepiece?What major drawback for general use accompanied the Keplerian design's advantage of a greater field of view?By 1673, approximately how long was the refractor constructed by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius?What fundamental component did Sir Isaac Newton use in his successful reflecting telescope to circumvent chromatic aberration?What new major defect resulted from Newton's choice to use a spherical mirror as the primary focusing element?What specific aberrations primarily resulted from William Herschel tilting his massive primary mirror by 2 degrees?What key feature characterizes modern cheap refractors that nearly eliminates the color fringes Galileo struggled with?