Final answer:
Aristotle's plan likely entailed the reflection of light, not refraction, diffraction, or dispersion. Reflection allows the focusing of light, and total internal reflection can transmit images through a curved tube.
Step-by-step explanation:
Aristotle's plan to sink enemies' warships is often mistakenly associated with the use of large mirrors to focus sunlight onto distant ships, thereby setting them alight. However, this anecdote likely demonstrates an understanding of the reflection of light, rather than refraction, diffraction, or dispersion. Reflection is the principle of light that describes how it can bounce off surfaces, potentially focusing enough energy to cause combustion when directed appropriately.
Reflection is also relevant in allowing images to travel through a tube that is not straight, via the process of total internal reflection of light. This is different from refraction, which involves a change in direction of light due to its passage from one medium to another. Lastly, diffraction is associated with the wave behavior of light where it bends around edges or through small openings, and dispersion refers to the separation of light into its different color components due to varying refractive indices of those colors.