Programme one: Let
There Be Light
The journey into the nature of light itself begins with a fascinating
look into man's earliest beliefs.
According to Genesis, God created light before the heavens and the
earth.
In Islamic culture, there is a close connection between light, truth
and divinity.
Light Fantastic: Let There Be Light charts the powerful relationship
in all cultures between our understanding of light and our ever changing
relationship with religion.
Beginning in Scilly 2,000 years ago Simon Schaffer
embarks on his investigation with a look at the Greek philosopher and
poet Empedocles, who created the first comprehensive theory of light
and vision.
Empedocles put forward the idea that light streams from the eyes and
touches objects.
From this seemingly unlikely theory, one of the most important early
discoveries about light was made.
Euclid, a renowned Greek mathematician, reasoned that light must travel
in straight lines.
This discovery was to transform navigation into a rigorous skill based
on the positions of the sun and the stars.
Greek navigators opened up new trade routes, and Greek culture and
learning dominated the civilised world.
Islamic scholars were to develop these ideas further: Alhazen - who
made a living copying the works of Euclid - studied light and the eye
in great depth and created the earliest law of reflection, that eventually
pathed the way for modern optics.
Jumping forward to the development and spread of Christianity, the
story of light moves on to how the church used light to both inspire
and control its flock.
Light was essential for the church to dramatise true faith. Churches
were bathed in candle light and featured intricate stained glass windows
in order to transport their flock closer to God. Light was seen as a
direct messenger of God.
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