CAMERA OBSCURA: A Muslim physicist born in A.D. 965, Alhazen pioneered experimental physics, founded the modern scientific understanding of optics, and invented the camera obscura--a device for projecting images--as shown in this illustration.
Image: © Ali Amro / MuslimHeritageImages.com
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A millennium ago a physicist under house arrest rewrote the scientific understanding of optics—the study of the behavior and properties of light. In a book that has been compared in its revolutionary effect with Newton's Principia more than 700 years later, a Muslim scientist in Cairo—Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham (or as he is known in the West, Alhazen)—proved that light traveled in straight lines via various experiments that employed mirrors and refraction. In a stroke, Alhazen pioneered the modern scientific method (hypothesis rejected or not rejected by experimentation) as well as experimental physics.
He also was the first to describe the camera obscura—a box with a hole in it that captures an image for the purpose of drawing it precisely, a precursor to the modern camera—as well as examining optical illusions in-depth and the thought processes behind human visual perception. His contributions also include the first explanation of dawn and twilight as effects of atmospheric refraction. All in an era when the Normans had yet to invade the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England and Viking raiders burned the Greek and Roman scientific legacy in the transcribed books of Irish monks.
Alhazen is just one of a multitude of scientists working in the Muslim world in centuries past who made significant contributions to the advancement of science. In fact, the golden age of Muslim science lasted nearly a millennium, as depicted in a traveling exhibition, "1001 Inventions," now showing at the New York Hall of Science.
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26 Comments
Add CommentIt is nice that you mentioned that. You forgot the Egyptian, Malian, Zimbabwean, Ghanaian and other civilizations which made great advancement in which very little people know about.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhile I agree with most of what you said mike, I personally feel that the article wasn't trying to make a specific point of how "Great" a particular period of Muslim science was compared to the rest of the world..
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy take on the article was more in line with your reply: That in the Muslim past, a climate of innovation and invention was fostered and their thinkers contributed to the global advancement of knowledge.. To me, this carries the obvious implication of contrast with the common popular images of Muslim science today. I am in no way trying to disparage any and all modern Muslim scientists, I am just saying the the public perception of Muslim nations is not one of exploration and enlightenment. (Although, I just read yesterday that the King Abdulaziz Center for Science & Technology (KACST) in Saudi Arabia funded a continuation of NASA Gravitational research (GP-B) when funds were no longer available domestically.)
http://einstein.stanford.edu/highlights/status1.html
Science is about PEOPLE looking at the world in a different way, through both incremental and inspirational processes.
In reply to you Nerdx86 I whole agree with you but why oh why is this point not made more prominent in the media.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisInnovation is most productive when the following conditions apply.
1 Freedom of Expression
2 Absence of political interference
3 Most of all dissemination of information unencumbered by non secular opinion.
Most often in History science benefits from the most favourable conditions often created not necessarily for that purpose.
It saddens me that the Saudi's are funding a science project in the USA as this is a regime that has none of the right conditions and is exactly the opposite to what is required. In my opinion the funding should be refused on moral ground but money after all is money.
Hey NNNLLL, sounds like a troll
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHi Spiff, maybe its the same everywhere, just depends on who you count and how much they weight
Mike, I like your comments
Me, I also invented the camera obscura when I notice a red and white regular pattern projected on a wall in my room. After searching a bit I noticed this happened when my blind was open just a slit and the neighbor's white mortared red brick wall, which was about eight feet from my window, was lit up by a strong afternoon sun.
Mike, you make a great point and I agree that we need to abandon the idea that one person is responsible for a good idea. I, along with you, detest the notion of hero-worship, and I wish we could do the things you say, like appreciate the nations and circumstances that enabled such discovery.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat being said, before we switch our thinking, we really need all the "heroes" that we're abandoning to be on the same level. If you say Einstein or Newton, people know who you mean. If you say Al-hazen, no one in the Western world will know what you are talking about. Before we change our ways we need to level the playing field according to the system of remembrance that we're currently working in. I like this article, I agree with the point. Before we recognize and cherish nations and circumstances that led to scientific discovery, the scientists that have fallen into the dustbin of history deserve recognition.
It's a shame that hardcore Eurocentrics simply cannot help themselves.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's the case even when the error of their ways are pointed out to them like they are in this article.
Wastrel makes a flagrant and futilistic attempt to claim and allocate all or most scientific innovation, & advance to Europe via Rome and Greece.
He grudgingly and dismissively admits
"Al-hazen did in fact demonstrate a primitive projector"
-as if to say any invention in this era were sophisticated.
He also talks of Muslim barbarism as if to say the killing that took place under the heading Renaissance was a relaxed stroll in the park. You cannot deny the savage christian slaughters that took place and are documented and recorded in our history books (the re-conquista) etc.
It's as if these 2 civilizations (Rome and Greece) just plopped out of the sky unaided and unaffected by any civilizations close by or that preceded them!
First of all history does NOT deny that these populations were closely linked and interconnected through trade, historically, religion and genetically (Egypt & Greece and Italy & North Africa and the Middle East).
In fact Rome and Greece learnt much of their craft from those that preceded them in the Middle East and North Africa.
Rome had Moors serving in their army and even had Moorish emperors, not to mention the same in Spain.
Wastrel speaks of a Muslim agenda, but in doing so is oblivious to how obvious him and his ilks agenda is. The Eurocentric agenda is uncomfortably brazen and clumsy in it's banality.
To reiterate, the Christian renaissance was no less brutal than Muslim Jihad. It was war sanctioned by religion. Men have always used religion to justify war. It's not like it's a phase that starts or ends with Muslims.
Muslims of course DID conquer chunks of Europe, Southern Spain, parts of Italy, parts of what is now Eastern Europe etc. But you still can't make it seem like they were always a people who came from somewhere else.
Apart from the above mentioned places how far is Turkey from Greece?
We can safely say that it's implausible to assume what Wastrel implies, nor will his claims and assertion stand up to scrutiny.
It's this type of one sided hypocrisy that gets nobody anywhere. I noticed Wastrel does not once mention China anywhere in his post. Like I said his attempt to hijack aspects of advancements made in history is brazen and clumsy.
In fact history is written by winners. First of all, I would disagree that it is not important to identify the founders of particular philosophy, technology etc etc. It is imperative that we credit "the true" inventors, discoverers simply because we would know how to prevent plagiarism and over written falsified identity imposition. Second,you should know that the problem of language is a game of minds aiming to collect, to convert and to manipulate the mass of people. Distancing an individual from mass population can be both misleading and trigger for a new form of collective mind.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThird, you should understand that at these times many societies lived independently as a function of space despite migrations, although migrations were most likely the cause for wars. Therefore, information was easy to steal. Lastly, about the Greeks or so called ancient Greeks is a quite messed up of story. In fact during the Trojan war (there were no Greeks), Thrace (perhaps one of the oldest civilizations) defended Trojans and thought them how to use mechanics. Pytagor is known to be the founder of geometry, but is that really a reality as a function of time? Yes, Greeks invented a language, but for what purpose? Now, lets go back in time! In short there were three main branches: The people who explored Nature, Thrace that was wiped out mostly due to Greeks (including Lesbos) betrayals, The people who explored light (Mid east and Asian) and The people who explored the Spirit which is in between Nature and Astrology. In fact, wine, yogurt and fetta are biotechnology of Thracian people as is gold technology,and agriculture, all currently in within the borders of BULGARIA. I hope you enjoyed little peace of TRUTH. Salutes, from the Orpheus Mountains.
Thanks for your reply, Chuka. In fact, I didn't mean to imply anything, nor do I intend for others to assume that I implied something. I merely wanted to assert the facts and encourage others to investigate independently, instead of swallowing whole the assertions that have been made about Muslim scientists. The facts you present are few.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd I did mention Chine. But I forgot Poland.
"The oldest continuously operating university in the world—Al-Qarawiyyin founded in Fès, Morocco, in 859—was founded by a merchant's daughter: Fatima al-Fihri."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisImagine that !! at an era when women were mere chattels in Europe !!
Thank you for this short but excellent presentation. You have related the right and the credit to their owners, and you let know for those who did not know before that the Muslim scholars and their people cared and contributed to the making of science and knowledge. Thanks for this commendable equity.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"The oldest continuously operating university in the world Al-Qarawiyyin founded in Morocco, in 859 was founded by a merchant's daughter: Fatima al-Fihri."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisImagine that !! at an era when women were mere chattels in Europe !! And people think women are oppressed in Islam...
I saw something like this on TED!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuezZsp64pY
No matter how you slice it and dice it this article is basically a political statement about the Muslim society designed to show the rest of the world that they should tolerate that society. I'll tolerate them when they tolerate me. SA should stick to scientific reporting.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisit's simple science flourishes when there is tolerance in society. Look at us Muslims now intolerant, superstitious and non-productive. The cycle could have changed in another 500years but unfortunately technology ensures our destruction before that time can come to pass.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI recall, from some of my reading of history, a few instances where some of the mathematical advancements attributed to the Muslim community, of the time mentioned in the article, were actually made by people of a different heritage, such as those people of what would today be called Indian or Pakistani. During the historic interval mentioned, when the city they inhabited was conquered by the Muslims, the citizens had a choice of converting to the Muslim faith, or to remain as they were and be basically taxed beyond comprehension. Part of their "conversion" included adopting a "Muslim" name.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOn another note, not all Muslim leaders had quite a generous heart when it came to the texts and writings of the ancients. In fact, one Muslim leader directed that the books be used to cook with. When he was given the argument that much of importance and discovery was to be found in the texts, he responded that if what they contained was of significance then it was in the Quran, and if it was in the Quran then the other books were not needed.
Just because NASA has been directed to focus some effort in a direction does not mean that the rest of the scientific community should follow in lock-step. Please be careful of forays into politics and religion within these pages.
I had sent a comment that the Muslims were still very inventive, examples of their handiwork include suicide vests, car bombs, and IED's as two of my sons have found. Very inventive indeed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn the Western World science is science and scientists are British or Canadian or American or French, etc. They are not classified by their religion.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy, in Muslim dominated countries, is it Muslim science and Muslim scientists?
nilsoma
Innovations and knowledge increase when the three conditions are satisfied, but it is depressing to note that a period of progress, open-mindedness and curiosity may be followed by a period where progress is not held very important. The (Muslim) people in that geographical region of that period would not have believed that their great-great-..-grandchildren would not be much interested in understanding the laws of nature and in making new inventions and discoveries.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisToday we too want to see our next generation making greater progress in understanding the universe we live in and I hope they will be able to resist the charm of creationist theory and treat it as only one of the possibilities (till disproved) without getting emotionally involved.
Politics can stop progress, and religion and politics are similar in using the tactics to get hold over the majority of the people.
Yes, thank goodness for the Muslim invention of algebra, otherwise we would not have it. Just like if it weren't for Columbus, we would all be stuck in the old world.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt appears that some of the story is missing.The fact that he was locked in a prison cell where no light could enter,and when some time later his eyes were exposed to light,and he experienced pain leading him to dismiss the theory that light came out of the eyes outward.This theory came out of Greece and was completely wrong as were many others that set the world of science back centuries.This isn't to say that the Greeks the didn't contribute a great many things to history,but they were wrong about a great many things.The correct study of optics and the invention of the scientific method most certainly can be attributed to Alhazen.Sometimes credit is due to one individual,and this is this is one of those times.Much like Newton centuries later,the rewards belongs to just one.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere is a LOT missing here, like the 59 messages that have been removed from this comments section. Some of them were likely ad spam, but I know they all weren't, including at least two I read before they disappeared. Is SA so bastardized now that they can't take any negative comments, or are they afraid of muslim backlash?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPLEASE, go back to your roots, pure science, not opinion pieces with an agenda.
Sorry, but I smell something fishy. In order for me to take your comments siriously, you would have to be one of 2% of the planet's population who are citizens of the world.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe must not be biased. We must explore the reasons behind the star burst of Sciences which happened just after arrival of Qur'an and the explanation of the Qur'an by words and deeds of Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Islam definitely pulled Europe out of dark ages. One can't simply shut his eyes from the fact that all modern sciences were founded in that era. From Chemistry to Physics to Algebra to hospitals, laboratories etc.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGreeks never took labor of hard Laboratory work. In my humble opinion the truth, sincerity, zeal, selflessness, tranquility, honesty, generous sponsorship which was required for such a superb work which words can't really describe was provided by the Quran. It made man to travel with speed of light.
If that work was not there we still be using V for 5 and X for 10, no decimal system, no plastics (as all come from H2SO4), no glasses, no clocks, no astronomy, no catgut suture, no...no.... many many no. Please read Philips Haiti and George Straton both are non Muslims. One important aspect of glittering Muslim civilization was very strong ethical and moral control of science and uses of sciences. Khalifa Walid who established first ever hospital used to personally interview doctors (Hakeems) and grant Medical Licenses to practice. It was Ma'moon who established House of wisdom and translated all scientific literature and threw all rubbish in the ocean no matter it belonged to "great" scholars! Without burial of those idiotic and baseless myths science would not have born!
We must not be biased. We must explore the reasons behind the star burst of Sciences which happened just after arrival of Qur'an and the explanation of the Qur'an by words and deeds of Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Islam definitely pulled Europe out of dark ages. One can't simply shut his eyes from the fact that all modern sciences were founded in that era. From Chemistry to Physics to Algebra to hospitals, laboratories etc.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGreeks never took labor of hard Laboratory work. In my humble opinion the truth, sincerity, zeal, selflessness, tranquility, honesty, generous sponsorship which was required for such a superb work which words can't really describe was provided by the Quran. It made man to travel with speed of light.
If that work was not there we still be using V for 5 and X for 10, no decimal system, no plastics (as all come from H2SO4), no glasses, no clocks, no astronomy, no catgut suture, no...no.... many many no. Please read Philips Haiti and George Straton both are non Muslims. One important aspect of glittering Muslim civilization was very strong ethical and moral control of science and uses of sciences. Khalifa Walid who established first ever hospital used to personally interview doctors (Hakeems) and grant Medical Licenses to practice. It was Ma'moon who established House of wisdom and translated all scientific literature and threw all rubbish in the ocean no matter it belonged to "great" scholars! Without burial of those idiotic and baseless myths science would not have born!
Nothing to get so exited my brother its just for those who says" islam is a relegion of camels time, no this is a relegion of future, " read the book Quran and study in which the past present and future whole is cleared, even about your prophet moses and the jesus and gabriel, just go on study please , i invite you to islam my brother all
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDear brother Mike organ
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDont get rude and anger as the explanation is only for that and those who says that" Islam is the relegion of camel time, not of rocket time". You just read the book HOly Quran in that all is clearly verified past present and future , in Quran even your moses are narrated and the jesus and the gabriel and all that you wish , and i invite you all brother to islam please study islam and for that study Quran