Inverse-square law
Date
1613
Creator
Theodor Galle (1571 - 1633, Flemish) , Engraver
After
Peter Paul Rubens (1577 - 1640, Flemish) , Draughtsman
Object type
Library reference
RCN 24525
Material
Technique
Subject
Description
Illustration from the title page of the fifth book of Opticorum libri sex (Six Books of Optics) by Flemish mathematician and physicist François d'Aguilon (1567-1617). The vignette, engraved after an original drawing by Peter Paul Rubens, shows a demonstration of the inverse-square law.
A robed man, assisted by two putti, male childlike angels, is shown observing the intensity of light from two distinct sources. A lamp with a single flame is seen on an ornate table and is arranged to cast a circle of light on board at the left edge of the image. A brighter lamp, with two flames, is held further away by one of the putti but casts a circle of light with the same intensity.
François d'Aguilon (1567-1617), Flemish mathematician and physicist, was not a Fellow of the Royal Society.
A robed man, assisted by two putti, male childlike angels, is shown observing the intensity of light from two distinct sources. A lamp with a single flame is seen on an ornate table and is arranged to cast a circle of light on board at the left edge of the image. A brighter lamp, with two flames, is held further away by one of the putti but casts a circle of light with the same intensity.
François d'Aguilon (1567-1617), Flemish mathematician and physicist, was not a Fellow of the Royal Society.