A Blue Sky History

Pedro Lilienfeld

Although ideas about the origins of the sky’s blue color can be traced back to Greek antiquity, the first concerted effort to reach a plausible explanation is attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. The Italian master was followed by Newton, and later by Bouguer and de Saussure. Tyndall wrestled with the problem around 1869, but the definitive explanation was proposed only in 1899, by Lord Rayleigh.

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