  In 1746 Euler publishes E88 -- Nova theoria lucis et colorum (A new theory of
light and colors) in five chapters. This is an annotated translation of Chapter
II - De formatione ac propagatione pulsuum (On the formation and propagation of
pulses in ether), in which Euler considers that the propagation of light in
ether is similar to the propagation of sound in air. Based on the elastic
properties of the air, he then tries to find the elastic properties of the
ether, but, obviously, with no avail. Nonetheless, he correctly distinguished
the local motion of the fluid particles from the motion of the pulse itself,
and even attempted to estimate the speed of light.
