Why is Newton famous?

Newton -  Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), the great English physicist and mathematician, is best known for his work on gravity and light.

    In his twenties, Newton sent a paper on light and colours to the Royal Society of London, and devised a telescope in which the principle component was a con­cave or magnifying mirror. He enquired into how light was pro­duced and developed what was known as the "emission or cor­puscular theory of light", according which light is the product of a luminous body of tiny particles.

The theory was also used to explain the colours seen when light is reflected from a thin film (e.g. a film of soap) and a series of dark and light rings circling round a central black spot is seen. Newton said that some of the particles of light were reflected and others were refracted.

Rings of colour from the reflec­ted and refracted light were known as "Newton's Rings".