Which scientist is credited with discovering and first demonstrating colour photography as a practical photographic technique?

Introduction / Context:
Colour photography is an important milestone in the history of science and technology, because it changed how people record reality, art, and scientific observations. This question tests your knowledge of the key scientist who is credited with discovering and first demonstrating colour photography in a practical experiment. Knowing such discoveries helps in general awareness of scientific progress and in understanding how different inventions built the modern world of imaging and media.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The question asks about the scientist who is credited with discovering and first demonstrating colour photography.
• We focus on the person whose experiment is historically recognised as the first successful demonstration of colour photography.
• We assume a basic school level understanding of famous scientists and their contributions.

Concept / Approach:
To answer this question, you need to recall the history of photography and specifically the transition from black and white images to colour images. Many scientists contributed to optics and light, but only one name is closely associated with the first successful demonstration of colour photography using the additive colour method. The correct scientist carried out an experiment in the nineteenth century using three colour filters and a projection method to reconstruct a coloured image from separate black and white photographic plates.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall which scientist worked on the theory of light, colour and electromagnetism and also performed a famous colour photography experiment. Step 2: Connect this with the name James Clerk Maxwell, who is known for Maxwell equations and for pioneering work on colour vision and colour photography. Step 3: Remember that in 1861 Maxwell demonstrated the first colour photograph of a tartan ribbon using red, green and blue filters. Step 4: Compare the options and identify that James Clerk Maxwell is the only scientist linked directly with the first practical demonstration of colour photography. Step 5: Select James Clerk Maxwell as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
You may cross check by eliminating other options. Robert Noyce is associated with integrated circuits. Enrico Fermi is known for nuclear physics. John Logie Baird worked on television, not on the first colour photograph. Guglielmo Marconi is linked with wireless telegraphy and radio. None of these have any major role in the first colour photograph. Only James Clerk Maxwell fits the historical description of the discovery and demonstration of colour photography.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Robert Noyce contributed to semiconductor technology and integrated circuits, not to colour photography.
Enrico Fermi made important contributions to nuclear physics and atomic research, not photographic colour processes.
John Logie Baird worked on mechanical television systems and early television, not on the first colour photograph.
Guglielmo Marconi focused on radio communication and wireless telegraphy, not on photographic techniques.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to associate any famous physicist or inventor with many different inventions without checking the exact field. Another pitfall is confusing colour television pioneers with colour photography pioneers. Students may also think that the person who invented the camera or improved film must be the same as the one who demonstrated colour photography, which is not correct. Careful reading and targeted recall of names avoids these errors.

Final Answer:
The scientist credited with discovering and first demonstrating colour photography is James Clerk Maxwell.