What invention did Isaac Newton create in 1668 by using a curved mirror instead of lenses?
Answer
The reflecting telescope
In 1668, Isaac Newton developed a significant advancement in telescope design specifically engineered to overcome the inherent blurring caused by chromatic aberration found in refractors. Newton’s innovation involved replacing the objective lens entirely with a curved mirror designed to gather and focus the incoming light. This design breakthrough substantially reduced optical aberrations and had a practical benefit: a reflecting telescope could achieve high magnification, such as 40x, within an instrument that was considerably shorter—ten times shorter in the text's description—than a refractor providing equivalent optical performance.
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