Who discovered infrared light, and when did the discovery occur?
The famous astronomer William Herschel, who also discovered the first new planet since antiquity (Uranus) and studied sunspots, was the first to discover a form of light other than visible (optical). In an 1800 experiment, Herschel used a glass prism to spread sunlight into a rainbow of colors. He then measured the temperature of each color of visible light and noted differences. Most intriguingly, he found a curious reading when the thermometer bulb was placed just beyond the red portion of the visible spectrum. He had discovered thermal radiation, which has come to be known as infrared. [The prefix “infra” means “below.
