Dioptrique

This essay is known as Descartes' greatest contribution to optics, as it is the first publication of the Law of Refraction.In the first model, he compares light to a stick that allows a blind person to discern his environment through touch.Descartes uses a tennis ball to create a proof for the laws of reflection and refraction in his third model.This was important because he was using real-world objects (in this case, a tennis ball) to construct mathematical theory.In today's notation, the law of refraction states, The astronomer Jean-Baptiste Morin was noted as one of the first people to question Descartes' method in creating his theories.
First page of "La dioptrique" by René Descartes
Page of Descartes' La dioptrique with the wine vat example.
Page of Descartes' "La dioptrique" with the tennis ball example.
treatiseRené DescartesDiscourse on the MethodreflectionrefractionJean-Baptiste Morin