Discuss The Invisible Man and the Nature of Light HG Wells′ novel The Invisible Man makes a point of claiming scientific plausibility based on principles of optics, the branch of physics that deals with light. Today, of course, a physicist would find such claims far-fetched. Even scientifically literate readers of the time might have smirked. Still, the 19th century had seen dramatic advances in the science of optics—particularly regarding the nature of light —in the century leading up to Wells’ book. For this essay, research the history of the science of optics, colour, or other relevant science in the decades leading up to Wells′ novel, and create an argument as to how Wells uses the science of his time to craft this work of fiction (which you will have read already as part of the Science Fiction section of the course).
