Even though light has been visible to humans for thousands of years, it was Sir Isaac Newton who managed to understand what light consists of. Newton was the first person to realize that white light consists of a mix of light rays of various colors.
Newton began his experiments about light in 1662. Other scientists had been interested in deciphering the phenomenon, but none of them managed to come up with an explanation. Francesco Maria Grimaldi, a Jesuit priest, was another pioneer in the study of light. He conducted several experiments and coined the term "diffraction," which is still used today.
