Newton and Goethe - The Science of Color Derived by Physicists and Literature

Newton was particularly interested in the sunlight coming through the window. His interest in the light first manifested itself in the form of sundials. Sundial is an instrument that shows the time by the shadow of a pointer cast by the sun on a plate marked with the hours of the day.

The play Faust is an immortal masterpiece by the world-famous literary master Goethe, who spent 60 years. (Note: In the play), I am a part of what everything was like in the beginning. In other words, I am part of the darkness that gave birth to the light. So, first of all, there is no chance of winning against the light."

ニュートンとゲーテ　～物理学者と文学者が導き出した色の科学～「色とは何か－」かつて全く異なる分野で活躍した二人の人物がこの問題に取り組み、研究成果を世に残しました。物理学者で近代科学の父として知られるアイザック・ニュートン、そして詩人で世界的文豪の一人、ヨハン・ヴォルフガング・フォン・ゲーテという二人の世界的な巨星でした。ニュートンは、光から導きだされる色を客観的に捉え体系化し、『光学』という書にまとめました。反してゲーテは、自らの目に映る色が心身にどのような働きを及ぼすのかを主観的に捉え、『色彩論』を記しました。全く異なる立場から生まれた色の理論は、今なお"現代色彩学"の礎とされ、その二人の研究からは、客観的データと主観的洞察が必要とされる－現代科学技術のあるべき姿が浮かびあがります。(English) "What is colour?" Once active in entirely different fields, two people tackled this problem and left their research results to the world. Isaac Newton, known as the physicist and father of modern science, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a poet and one of the world's greatest writers, were two giants of the world. Newton objectively grasped and systematized the colours derived from light and summarized them in the book Optics. On the other hand, Goethe subjectively held how colours reflected in his eyes affect the mind and body and wrote "Theory of Colors." The theory of colour, which was born from entirely different standpoints, is still regarded as the foundation of "modern colour science", and objective data and subjective insight are required from the research of these two people - what modern science and technology should be.

Newton and Goethe - The Science of Color Derived by Physicists and Literature

A) Prologue

1)

Colour is one of the phenomena controlled by light. Without light, paint cannot exist.

"Colours are found in nature. When you look at a landscape with the human eye, colours appear".

2)

What is colour? This question dates back to the birth of humanity and has been debated for many years. One of the world's oldest documents on colour states:

"Colour is made of white and black. All colours are made by mixing these two colours. Something is born from white and black, and it is visible. So now, in addition to white and black, there are many colours".

3)

Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher who lived around 350 BC, left this word. Aristotle believed that colour was created by mixing black and white. And this idea has been an unchanging truth for almost 2,000 years.

Since the middle of the 17th century, the truth has been put to the test by modern science.

A triangular glass prism. Around this prism, two men left behind completely different theories of colour.

Isaac Newton, a leading 17th-century physicist, cleverly used a prism to derive colour from light.

4)

Another person, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a leading literary figure of the 18th century, criticised Newton's prism experiment and created a different theory from his unique perspective.

The colours studied by these two artists from very different perspectives still shine brilliantly as the basis of modern colour science.

B)

5)

Isaac Newton

The father of modern science, Isaac Newton, is known for discovering the law of universal gravitation and calculus. However, the stone statue of Newton in Cambridge, England, holds a prism, not the apple, that led to the discovery of the law of universal gravitation. One of Newton's most significant contributions to modern science was using prisms to explain colour.

6)

Woolsthorpe Village

Woolsthorpe is a village about 150 kilometres north of London, England. Isaac Newton was born in this small farming village.

More than 350 years later, the house where Newton was born and grew up still stands in the village of Woolsthorpe. And in the garden, the apple tree that led to the discovery of the law of universal gravitation still bears bountiful fruit.

Newton was born on Christmas Eve, 25 December 1642. However, newton's life as a child was far from happy. His father died three months before he was born, and three years later, his mother remarried and left home. As a result, Newton rarely went out and spent most of his days indoors, often lost in thought.

7)

Newton's thoughts.

He was particularly interested in the sunlight coming through the window. His interest in the light first manifested itself in the form of sundials. It is said that Newton made many sundials and installed them in different places as if obsessed with something.

Margaret Winn (The National Trust): "There are a lot of little stones now, but in this corner of the house where he was born, there used to be a sundial made by Newton."

8)

Colsterworth Church

Colsterworth Church is near the village of Woolsthorpe. This is the church where Newton was baptised and named after his father, Isaac.

Newton's sundial was silently displayed on the wall of the church. Newton may have been interested in the changes caused by light and shadow and thought of recording these changes on a sundial.

Margaret Winn (The National Trust)

"It is said that Newton could tell the time without a clock, just by looking at the changes in light and shadow. Throughout his life, Newton was interested in light and shadow".

9)

There are 19 surviving sundials made by Newton. It is no exaggeration to say that Newton's extraordinary spirit of scientific research began with his relentless search for light.

Cambridge in south-east England. Numerous universities were built here between the 14th and 16th centuries, and the city still retains its tradition as a university town.

10)

Trinity College

Trinity College is the largest college in Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, it has produced many famous people.

In 1661, at the age of 18, Newton was admitted to Trinity College. It is said that Newton immersed himself in his research here, rarely leaving his laboratory.

11)

A little philosophical question

There is a notebook that Newton used from his third year at college. Quesciones Kwaedum Philosophie. It's called "A Little Philosophical Question".

12)

Philosophy

The philosophy at this time was a term that included both modern philosophy and science. In the notebook, questions about scientific matters, results of observational research, etc., are divided into 45 items.

Among them was a description of light and colour. Experiments with light and colour. Newton used a single prism in his experiments.

13)

Newton's prism experiment

Newton's prism experiments were carried out in a darkened room. He made a small hole in the darkroom and let a ray of sunlight into it. He directed a minimal amount of light into a single prism. The light is then refracted and split by the prism. The light appears in seven different colours.

14)

From the bottom, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. This is Newton's spectrum, which has since become common knowledge in science.

This result is also recorded in his notebook. And he tried scientifically explaining how light is refracted in a prism using x and y.

15)

Newton also experimented using a convex lens to convert light into its original seven colours. This led Newton to an epoch-making conclusion: light is not a single thing but can be divided into different colours.

Newton's theory of colour, carried out with prisms, was collected in a book. Optics (OPTICKS), Newton's theory of colour, is a significant discovery that overturned Aristotle's 2,000-year-old belief that colour comes from mixing black and white.

16)

"Colour is derived from light. The colour of an object is simply the fraction of light that it reflects the most."

"An object is perceived as red because it reflects a lot of red and absorbs other colours. For example, a thing that looks blue demonstrates a louche blue part and absorbs different colours, so we only see it as blue."

With the development of Newtonian optics, it is said that the difference in light waves and wavelengths causes the colour difference. For example, the longest wavelength is red, which changes to violet as the wavelength gets shorter.

17)

Infrared UV

Modern science continues to develop, and it is now possible to capture invisible wavelengths to the human eye, such as infrared and ultraviolet rays on both sides of the wavelength.

Newton's optics theory used a prism to explain colour with light. It is an immutable, unchanging truth that lives on in modern colour science.

C)

18)

Application to robotics

Newton's optical theory is also being used in cutting-edge robotics.

A colour recognition robot that can analyse and select 80 colours is being researched and developed at Kansai University's Faculty of Engineering in Japan.

19)

Kansai University Faculty of Engineering Associate Professor Junichi Kurata

"To our eyes, black and white, which has no colour, can be divided into several colours using a prism. Newton's experiment is beneficial for modern engineering. In other words, the colours we use are made up of a collection of different things, and if we look at the distribution of these things, for example, inks and dyes, and the things we use around us, they are also shaped in this way. Let's look at the wavelength as an axis: it can be used to quantify colours, such as the height and the presence or absence of many components, and all sorts of machines have been made using it. Even TV cameras like this one went from black and white to colour, which greatly contributed to creating the colourful world we see."

20)

To the President of the Royal Society

After the prism experiment, in 1669, at age 26, Newton became a professor at Trinity College and eventually president of the Royal Society.

Trinity College Chapel is a chapel within the college. It contains stone statues of many of the college's celebrities used in colour science and later in experiments that have become commonplace in modern science. The stone statue of Newton holding the prism still stands in the innermost part of the chapel, staring at us with a dignified air.

D)

21)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, an 18th-century literary figure, rebelled against Newton's optics theory. Goethe severely criticised Newton.

"My friend, get out of the darkroom. The darkroom which distorts light. The darkroom bows only to complex and monstrous figures".

22)

The play Faust is an immortal masterpiece by the world-famous literary master Goethe, who spent 60 years.

(Note: In the play), "I am a part of what everything was like initially. In other words, I am part of the darkness that gave birth to the light. So, first of all, there is no chance of winning against the light."

23)

Of all the books Goethe wrote, it was not Faust that Goethe said would be the most important in the future, but the theory of colours. Goethe radically criticised Newton's optical theory and created a completely different view of colour in his three-volume magnum opus, Theory of Colour.

24)

Goethe House

Located in southwest Germany, Frankfurt was once the coronation site of the Holy Roman Emperor. Today it is known as one of the world's leading financial centres.

Goethe was born in Frankfurt in 1749, some 100 years after Newton. Goethe grew up in one of Germany's most distinguished families, with an uncle who was the mayor of Frankfurt at the time. Goethe's study is also on the third floor of this house, and there is also a favourite standing desk where Goethe wrote many of his works.

25)

In 1774, this desk produced a masterpiece that made Goethe a celebrity in the literary world. "The Sorrows of Young Werther" is an international bestseller. The Sorrows of Young Werther is an academic work that Napoleon read then. It tells the story of a young man named Werther who falls in love with a beautiful woman he has already decided to marry and commits suicide after falling out of love with her.

Charlotte Buff was a beautiful woman. However, Goethe did fall in love with Charlotte. Goethe was 23 years old at the time. It happened in Wetzlar, a provincial town in Germany, where he was training to become a lawyer.

26)

Wetzlar

The German town of Wetzlar is surrounded by rich nature. Goethe and Charlotte often walked together along the promenade outside Wetzlar. Charlotte loved the rich character of Wetzlar. Charlotte's feelings for nature are said to have inspired Goethe and provided a stepping stone to the natural sciences that Goethe would study throughout his life.

27)

Plant Metamorphoses

Plant Metamorphoses was a book by Goethe when he was 40. He left us with the keen insight that all organisms have a familiar archetype and that the different forms of life are metamorphoses of this archetype. It is one of the records that give us a glimpse of Goethe not only as a literary man but also as a natural scientist.

E)

28)

Colour is born at the boundary between light and darkness.

The Theory of Colours was Goethe's last major work as a natural scientist. In it, Goethe writes about the impetus for his criticism of Newton's optics theory.

"I remembered Newton's theory and expected to see layers of colour through a prism borrowed from a friend. It just appeared. Without thinking about it, I knew that there had to be boundaries for blooms to appear. So instinctively shouted, 'Newton's theory is wrong'."

29)

Weimar

Weimar, a city in eastern Germany, once flourished as the independent principality of Weimar. Goethe was invited to Weimar as a minister. Goethe lived in Weimar from 1775 and continued to write and research alongside his ministerial duties.

Next to the house where Goethe lived is the Goethe Museum, which houses materials related to Goethe. Among the many materials, there are more than 200 items related to colour theory. Here is important material for understanding Goethe's theory of colour.

30)

"This is a card game of light. Goethe made this card game in a playing card factory. Goethe saw this card through a prism and confirmed this colour phenomenon. This card also observes these colour phenomena through a prism."

Goethe's theory of colour returns to Aristotle's theory that colour exists at the boundary between black and white.

31)

A black square is drawn in the middle of a white background. Looking at the boundary through a prism, you will see blue at the top and red and yellow at the bottom, centred on a black square. Goethe believed that the theory of colour required light and its opposite, darkness.

32)

Goethe National Museum

"Newton used mathematical formulae to approach the subject of colour scientifically. On the other hand, Goethe approached colour as an artist and developed his theory of colour. In his theory of colour, he studied in detail the colours that occur sensually in human beings, as well as the colours that occur physically. I have tried to comprehensively understand colour using the many experimental instruments I have developed".

Goethe criticised Newton's theory of optics and studied his experience of colour using a variety of experimental instruments.

33)

In addition, Goethe observed various colour phenomena and tried to capture what colour is, not what light is. One of the results of his research was to claim that colours come from the boundary between light and darkness, white and black.

But this was Newton's theory of optics, which was easy to explain. Moreover, Newton's optics theory can also confirm the colour on the boundary between white and black.

In colour science, this colour is called a boundary colour. This is because only Newton's experiment with narrowly limited light can reveal the essence of colour caused by sunlight.

35)

Coloured shadows

Both scientists and literary circles have criticised Goethe's colour theory. Goethe's friend Schiller also said that Goethe could have written more literature had it not been for his work on colour theory. Nevertheless, the importance of Goethe's colour theory was not studied for a long time. In the 20th century, however, quantum physicists appreciated Goethe's colour theory.

36)

Newton versus Goethe

Coloured shadows

It's an essay by the quantum physicist Walter Heitler called 'Man and Natural Science Cognition'. Heitler has a chapter on Newton vs Goethe in this book. He pays particular attention to the "coloured shadows" described in Goethe's theory of colour.

37)

The Brocken, drawn by Goethe

"I descended from the Brocken in the evening. As the sun approached, the evening light coloured the area bright red, and the shaded areas became green".

Heitler uses two projectors and an object to reproduce the phenomenon observed by Goethe.

38)

You want one spotlight to emit red light and the other to emit white light. In this experiment, Heitler confirmed the existence of coloured shadows.

First, illuminate the triangular object with red light. A pitch-black shadow stretches behind the crimson thing. Next, a white light is slowly shone on it from the side. This will give the shadow a faint blue tint. How do you see it?

39)

Heitler describes this phenomenon as some say it is an illusion of the human eye. However, he says that the blue tint cannot be considered an illusion for everyone.

So are these coloured shadows an optical illusion? Or is it scientifically proven?

40)

Spectrophotometer

We will use a spectrophotometer, which can detect, analyse and quantify the wavelength of light to see the colour of the shadow area.

This is data from a colourimeter. Represents a relative value that indicates what colour the shadow is closest to. The colour displayed by the colourimeter was red. However, it is believed that it is not the colour of the shadow but the wavelengths of red and white light that appear.

41)

So how do absolute blue and green light appear on a colourimeter? Put a green filter in the floodlight and see the colour then.

Let's compare it with the shadow data we analysed earlier. Almost no blue or green colours were observed, even when compared with green. Coloured shadows were discovered by Goethe observing nature and confirmed by the quantum physicist Heitler in his experiments. The key to solving this problem may lie in the mechanism of the human eye.

42)

The retina is located on the inner wall of the human eye. There are two types of cells in the retina that receive light.

Cells called rods sense only the brightness of the light. And the cells that only see colour are called cones. Coloured shadows are thought to be produced by cones, which sense red intensely and have opposite colours, such as blue and green. Newton's theory of optics cannot explain this phenomenon.

F)

43)

Benham's spinning top

In addition to this, Benham's spinning top is mentioned as something that has not yet been clarified from a physical point of view. It is said to have appeared in England in 1894, a black and white patterned board. Try to turn the top. You will see many colours other than black and white. [Note: This phenomenon cannot be reproduced by pausing or taking a picture of a rapidly spinning top, and the stayed or taken picture will still show only black and white. Green and blue can be seen in addition to white and black only when the black and white pattern of the top rotating at high speed is viewed with the naked eye. You can also check this with a video. ]

Benham's spinning top - in this video 33:50 -  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGzNRSvKFUE

Also, the colour changes according to the speed of rotation. Can you see the colours floating on the surface? There are still unexplained scientific things that can only be seen with the human eye.

Various black and white cards were made by Goethe for the prism experience and had the Goethe Museum. Hidden in the cover of this card was the subject of colour theory, drawn by Goethe. There is a rainbow arch with a prism and magnifying glass outlined underneath. In the centre is Goethe's right eye, which is said to be the eye of the sun or the eye of the world. Goethe believed that all colour studies should be made through the human eye.

G)

44)

Influence of Colour Theory

Ei Tamamura (Kyoto in Japan)

Goethe's theory of colour had a significant influence on painters and dyers. Kyoto is an ancient capital nurtured by tradition. Here is a dyer who expresses colours through dyeing. This is Ei Tamamura, a dyer who has a workshop in Kyoto.

Realistic designs are rarely seen in Tamamura's work—an expression of colour with dyes. Instead, the harmony of colours is Mr Tamamura's primary concern.

45)

Mr Tamamura first chooses the primary colour from over 2,000 colours. Then he decides which to use to make the primary colours look brighter. Mr Tamamura believes this is because the human eye seeks shade.

"Yellow is beautiful, so I don't think it will be lovely if only yellow is dyed. But, if something happens, yellow will shine even more—a plain yellow kimono and a kimono I have shaded in gradations with the same yellow colour. I think 100 people will probably say my colour kimono is more beautiful than a plain one."

According to Tamamura, colours can evoke unfamiliar emotions in people who see them.

46)

Goethe also said this about colour.

"Colour surrounds us, but if we had neither light nor colour within us, we would not be able to perceive the colours outside our eyes."

47)

Redness

Researched and developed by Professor Junichi Kurata of Kansai University's Faculty of Engineering, the Colour Robot is expected to play an active role in new fields. For example, there cannot be quantified colour in the medical field, such as the "skin redness" seen in hives. Therefore, a way of thinking about colour was needed, leading to Goethe's theory.

48)

Junichi Kurata, Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Kansai University in Japan "Many measuring instruments are based on Newtonian technology. For example, when synthesising paint, a spectroscope collects data for each wavelength. Whether it's your clothes or other industrial products, the final decision is partly left to the human eye. The people who judge it, I think the mood of the person probably less influences it, but based on their own experience, they say this is good and not good. Even if you compare two things that have come out as good or bad, the reality is that many subtle things have only slight differences when you look at them with a machine. Quantifying our senses the way machines do may be difficult, but there may be some aspects that only humans can understand. We need a different way of dealing with colour that makes good use of the information we perceive".

49)

Quantum physicist Walter Heitler's "Human and scientific perception."

Heitler, a 20th-century quantum physicist, explains with a diagram in Newton vs Goethe.

The research that began with Newton's optics discovered ultraviolet and infrared rays that are invisible to the human eye. This is an excellent achievement of physics that Goethe's theory of colour cannot find. However, as Goethe, who appreciated the workings of the human eye, said, taking a holistic view of colour is impossible by ignoring things like coloured shadows.

50)

Coloured shadows

"Newtonian optics and Goethe's theory of colour, the construction of a new dimension and a new academic discipline that integrates these two theories will be required in science in the future," Heitler asserts.

H)

51)

Newton

Westminster Abbey, London, England. This is where Newton's body lies. In his early twenties, Isaac Newton, who had solved several mysteries, became president of the Royal Society, the pinnacle of British science. He died at the age of 84.

I)

52)

Goethe

Goethe's body lies in Weimar, Germany. It took him about 20 years to complete his theory of colour, which he began working on at 41. He died on 22 March 1832 at the age of 82. Shortly before his death, Goethe is said to have said, "More light". For Goethe, light is the life of nature itself, and it is believed that Goethe feared that Newtonian optics would lose the mystery of life in nature.

53)

Newton

"Colour is a phenomenon governed by light. Without light, there can be no colour. Science seeks these immutable truths".

Goethe

"Colour exists in nature. When a landscape is seen with human eyes, colour appears; science exists because of man; scientific truth and lies between nature and man."

They might have argued like this if the two had lived in the same era.

The physicist Isaac Newton and the literary scholar Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The theory of colour, studied by these two scientists from entirely different perspectives and with different conclusions, is still essential as the foundation of modern colour science. (End)

Newton and Goethe - The Science of Color Derived by Physicists and Literature

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGzNRSvKFUE

https://reserve.starfree.jp/einstein/2-5.html

Is it true that the famous literary figure Goethe was also a scientist who studied colours? 

https://global.canon/ja/technology/kids/mystery/m_04_10.html

Colorists Newton and Goethe 

https://aura-soma.jp/blog/archives/49427

Faust 1926

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Flnxq2HMOqA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust_(1926_film)

God and Satan war over earth; to settle things, they wager on the soul of Faust, a learned and prayerful alchemist.

Faust – A German Folktale is a 1926 silent film produced by Ufa and directed by F. W. Murnau. His film draws on older traditions of the legendary tale of Faust as well as on Goethe's classic 1808 version.

GOETHE! offizieller Trailer HD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnuL2Mbmj9E

Full Documentary - Secret Life of Isaac Newton - Full Documentaries Films

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2YZN2L700Q