Who invented the kalidescope?

lanfranco

It seems that the Kaleidoscope in one form or another was known to the ancient Greeks (the name is obviously Greek), but it was re-invented by a Scot named David Brewster in 1817: http://www.thebigcamera.com.au/Kaleidoscope.html Dec 31 06, 8:25 PM

awsomesam

The kaleidoscope was invented by Sir David Brewster, a Scottish scientist, in 1816, and patented (GB 4136) by him in 1817. He named his invention after the Greek words, kalos or beautiful, eidos or form, and scopos or watcher. So kaleidoscope means the beautiful form watcher. Brewster's kaleidoscope was a tube containing loose pieces of colored glass and other pretty objects, reflected by mirrors or glass lenses set at angles, that created patterns when viewed through the end of the tube. Dec 31 06, 11:10 PM

suresh2

Known to the ancient Greeks, it was reinvented by the Scot Sir David Brewster in 1816 while conducting experiments on light polarization, and it was patented in 1817. The initial design was made from a tube in which Brewster placed pairs of mirrors at one end, and pairs of translucent disks at the other end. Between the two, he placed the beads. Initially intended as a science tool, it was quickly copied as a toy. Brewster believed he would make money from his popular invention. However, a fault in his patent allowed others to copy his invention. Jan 01 07, 12:22 AM