no such Curvity in them. And besides (which was enough for my purpose) I observ'd, that the difference 'twixt the length of the Image, and Diameter of the Hole, through which the Light was transmitted, was proportionable to their distance.
The gradual removal of these suspicions, at length led me to the Experimentum Crucis, which was this; I took two Boards, and plac'd one of them close behind the Prism at the Window, so that the light might pass through a small hole, made in it for the purpose, and fall on the other Board, which I plac'd at about twelve Feet distance, having first made a small hole in it also, for some of that incident Light to pass through. Then I plac'd another Prism behind this second Board, so that the Light, trajected through both the Boards, might pass thro' that also, and be again refracted before it arrived at the Wall. This done, I took the first Prism in my Hand, and turn'd it to and fro slowly about its Axis, so much as to make the several parts of the Image, cast on the second Board,
successively pass through the hole in it, that I might observe to what places on the Wall the second Prism would refract them. And I saw by the Variation of those places, that the Light, tending to that end of the Image, towards which the Refraction of the first Prism was made, did, in the second Prism, suffer a Refraction considerably greater than the Light tending to the other end. And so the true cause of the length of that Image was detected to be no other, than that Light consists of Rays differently refrangible, which, without any respect to a difference in their incidence, were, according to their degrees of Refrangibility, transmitted towards divers parts of the Wall.
When I understood this, I left off my aforesaid Glass Works; for I saw, that the perfection of Telescopes was hitherto limited, not so much for want of Glasses