Thumbnail of Alhazan
Alhazan
(965 - 1040)

Arab philosopher (also known as Ibn al-Haitham, Ibn al-Haytham, or Al Hazan) who as a great Arab experimentalist was a pioneer of optical science. In his seven-volume work, Optics, identified that vision resulted from illuminating rays reaching the eye (whereas ancient Greek scientists had long held that the eye originated the rays).

Science Quotes by Alhazan (1)

The sun's rays proceed from the sun along straight lines and are reflected from every polished object at equal angles, i.e. the reflected ray subtends, together with the line tangential to the polished object which is in the plane of the reflected ray, two equal angles. Hence it follows that the ray reflected from the spherical surface, together with the circumference of the circle which is in the plane of the ray, subtends two equal angles. From this it also follows that the reflected ray, together with the diameter of the circle, subtends two equal angles. And every ray which is reflected from a polished object to a point produces a certain heating at that point, so that if numerous rays are collected at one point, the heating at that point is multiplied: and if the number of rays increases, the effect of the heat increases accordingly.
— Alhazan
In H. J. J. Winter, 'A Discourse of the Concave Spherical Mirror by Ibn Al-Haitham', Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1950, 16, 2.
See also:  |  Eye (14)  |  Light (39)  |  Mirror (3)  |  Optics (6)  |  Ray (4)  |  Reflection (8)  |  Sun (37)


back arrow
Custom search within only our quotations pages:
Sitewide search within all Today In Science History pages:

Visit our Science and Scientist Quotations index for more Science Quotes from archaeologists, biologists, chemists, geologists, inventors and inventions, mathematicians, physicists, pioneers in medicine, science events and technology.

Names index: | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |

Categories index: | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |



Site Navigation



If you find this site useful, please add a link from your site.


Today in Science History
Quotations
by scientists, inventors, on science and more.
- Go To Index -





8,509,582


Test Link - Please Ignore








Locations of visitors to this page