The world’s first color photograph was taken in 1848 by a physicist named Edmond Becquerel. The photograph, taken by Becquerel, can be seen as a color palette on a silver sheet. Edmond Becquerel was doing some experimental work to get color photographs. The method of the French physicist, who managed to obtain color photographs as a result of these studies, was never fully explained. Becquerel named the color photographs he took as “photochromatic images”. These photos, which are accepted as the first color photographs of the world, are few but they are very sensitive to light and there are very few of them. Color photographs by Becquerel have been causing controversy in the world of science for more than 170 years. In collaboration with the National Scientific Research Center (CNRS) in France, Paris-Saclay University and the History Museum, the scientific mystery behind the color photographs of Becquerel has been resolved. The researchers reviewed the hypotheses developed by Becquerel in the 19th century with the technology of the 21st century. In the study, the color pigments formed by reacting with light were investigated first. However, no spectroscopy method showed such color pigments. It was also thought that the colors that make up the world’s first color photographs were the result of initiatives. However, no regular microstructures showing the magnitude of the wavelength of the color in question were encountered. When researchers examined colored plates, they discovered silver nanoparticles made of silver chloride particles. The distribution of the sizes and positions of these nanoparticles varies by color. Scientists have found that the nanoparticles on the silver plate are reorganized according to the color of the light. Depending on the condition of the light, some particles were falling apart or merging. The separation of some nano particle groups according to the condition of the light or the combination of other nano particle groups also reveals why Becquerel’s color photographs are sensitive to light. This work at the SOLEIL particle acceleration center in France caused the 170-year scientific mystery of Edmond Becquerel to be solved while a discussion in the world of science ended.
