Treatise on Light
Christiaan Huygens
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Treatise on Light was published in 1690 and is probably the largest scientific volume on light published before Newton's Opticks. The book explains how light travels (i.e., that it has a certain velocity), and what happens when it hits a surface (refraction and reflection). A large portion of the book is devoted to the double refraction occurring in Iceland chrystal, and all drawn conclusions are proved geometrically.
Christiaan Huygens (1629 - 1695) was a prominent physicist and astronomer. His main discoveries are the centrifugal force, collision laws for bodies and the argument that light consists of waves. He was a contemporary of Galilei and Descartes, and a member of the French Royal Society since 1663. (Summary by Availle) (4 hr 43 min)
Chapters
| Preface and Note by the Translator | 9:27 | Read by Availle |
| I: On Rays Propagated in Straight Lines, Part 1 | 23:13 | Read by Availle |
| I: On Rays Propagated in Straight Lines, Part 2 | 21:10 | Read by Availle |
| II: On Reflexion | 12:14 | Read by Availle |
| III: On Refraction, Part 1 | 13:04 | Read by Availle |
| III: On Refraction, Part 2 | 23:38 | Read by Availle |
| IV: On the Refraction of the Air | 13:42 | Read by Availle |
| V: On the Strange Refraction of Iceland Chrystal, Part 1 | 22:17 | Read by Availle |
| V: On the Strange Refraction of Iceland Chrystal, Part 2 | 40:05 | Read by Availle |
| V: On the Strange Refraction of Iceland Chrystal, Part 3 | 29:05 | Read by Availle |
| V: On the Strange Refraction of Iceland Chrystal, Part 4 | 26:12 | Read by Availle |
| VI: On the Figures of the Transparent Bodies, Part 1 | 21:42 | Read by Availle |
| VI: On the Figures of the Transparent Bodies, Part 2 | 27:32 | Read by Availle |