Step 1: Understand the origin of the color wheel. The concept of a color wheel originates from the scientific study of light and its spectrum.
Step 2: Identify the key contribution of Isaac Newton. In 1666, Sir Isaac Newton conducted experiments with a prism, demonstrating that pure white light is composed of a spectrum of colors.
Step 3: Connect Newton's discovery to the color wheel. Newton arranged these spectral colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet—into a circular diagram. This was the first color wheel, created to show the relationships between colors. While others like Goethe and Chevreul later developed more complex theories and wheels based on psychology and perception, Newton's was the foundational scientific model.