Back Quote by Gabriel Lippmann
“The plate at each point only sends back to the eye the simple colour imprinted. The other colours are destroyed by interference. The eye thus perceives at each point the constituent colour of the image.”
About This Quote
Source Scientific Paper: Photographic Color Reproduction, 1907
Each point on a photographic plate records only one color; other colors are lost due to interference, so the eye perceives the image point‑by‑point.
In simple terms: Plate captures single colors per point.
Key Takeaway
Understand how color is recorded in early photography.
Themes
science
photography
optics
Mood
analytical
historical
Type
educational
technical
When to use this quote
- photographic analysis
- museum curation
- educational demos
Key Concepts
color theory
interference
visual perception
Questions to Reflect On
- How does this limitation affect image fidelity?
- What modern techniques overcome it?
A Different Perspective
Modern sensors capture multiple colors, unlike this method.
![“[On the Gaussian curve, remarked to Poincaré:] Experimentalists think that it is a mathematical theorem while the mathematicians believe it to be an experimental fact.” quote by Gabriel Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/caa/gabriel-lippmann-37391_belief_on-the-gaussian-curve-remarked-to-poinca_446072.jpg)
