corpuscular theory
- noun
- /ˈkɔrpəsˌkələr ˈθɪəri/
- Archaic
:
teoría corpuscular
- The corpuscular theory of light was proposed by Isaac Newton.
And as I said, his particulate theory became his corpuscular theory.
- And as I said, his particulate theory became his corpuscular theory.
Examples
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Isaac Newton's corpuscular theory competed with the wave theory in explaining how light behaves.
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The corpuscular theory was once widely accepted before experiments showed wave-like behavior of light.
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According to the corpuscular theory, light travels in straight lines as a stream of particles.
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Many scientists supported the corpuscular theory during the 17th century.
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Newton's corpuscular theory suggested that light is made up of tiny particles traveling through space.
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Many scientists support the corpuscular theory of light, which contrasts with the wave theory proposed by others.
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The corpuscular theory explains how light behaves in the context of reflection and refraction.
Synonyms
The idea that light is a stream of tiny particles rather than a wave
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is transparently compositional: 'corpuscular' means relating to small particles and 'theory' means an explanatory framework, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a theory about particles (in historical physics, specifically about light). The lexical items are morphologically and semantically regular and have cross‑linguistic cognates, making the overall meaning directly derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Corpuscular theory comes from corpuscular, a word meaning 'little body', and theory, meaning an idea or explanation. It pictures light as a stream of tiny 'particles', so it now means a 'theory that light is made of particles' rather than a 'wave'.