Opticks is a book by English natural philosopher
Isaac Newton that was published in English in 1704. (A scholarly
Latin translation appeared in 1706.) The book analyzes the fundamental nature of light by means of the
refraction of light with prisms and lenses, the
diffraction of light by closely spaced sheets of glass, and the behaviour of color mixtures with spectral lights or
pigment powders. It is considered one of the great works of science in history.
Opticks was Newton's second major book on
physical science.