A Critical Edition of Ibn al-Haytham’s On the Shape of the Eclipse
The First Experimental Study of the Camera Obscura
Authors: Raynaud, Dominique
Free Preview- Provides the first critical edition with translation and commentary of Ibn al-Haytham's On the Shape of the Eclipse
- Contains Arabic text, translation, and glossary
- Gives and overview of all studies of Ibn al-Haytham's work
Buy this book
- About this book
-
This book provides the first critical edition of Ibn al-Haytham’s On the Shape of the Eclipse with English translation and commentary, which records the first scientific analysis of the camera obscura. On the Shape of the Eclipse includes pioneering research on the conditions of formation of the image, in a time deemed to be committed to aniconism. It also provides an early attempt to merge the two branches of Ancient optics—the theory of light and theory of vision.
What perhaps most strongly characterizes this treatise is the close interaction of a geometric analysis of light and experimental reasoning. Ibn al-Haytham conducted his experiments in a systematic way by varying all that could be changed: the shape and size of the aperture, the focal length of the camera obscura, the distance and shape of the celestial bodies. This way, he achieved a thorough understanding. This work represents a decisive step in both the history of optics and the application of the experimental method that was just as efficient in medieval Islam as today.
- About the authors
-
Dominique Raynaud is a science historian at the Université of Grenoble Alpes, France. He has published extensively in the field, including Optics and the Rise of Perspective. A Study in Network Knowledge Diffusion (Oxford, 2014), Scientific Controversies. A Socio-historical Perspective on the Advancement of Science (New Brunswick, 2015) and Studies on Binocular Vision (Springer, 2016).
- Table of contents (4 chapters)
-
-
This Edition
Pages 7-27
-
Arabic Text and Translation
Pages 29-127
-
Ibn al-Haytham’s Method
Pages 129-161
-
Ibn al-Haytham’s Optical Analysis
Pages 163-210
-
Table of contents (4 chapters)
- Download Sample pages 2 PDF (2.8 MB)
- Download Table of contents PDF (115.9 KB)
Recommended for you
Bibliographic Information
- Bibliographic Information
-
- Book Title
- A Critical Edition of Ibn al-Haytham’s On the Shape of the Eclipse
- Book Subtitle
- The First Experimental Study of the Camera Obscura
- Authors
-
- Dominique Raynaud
- Series Title
- Sources and Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences
- Copyright
- 2016
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Copyright Holder
- Springer International Publishing AG
- eBook ISBN
- 978-3-319-47991-0
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-319-47991-0
- Hardcover ISBN
- 978-3-319-47990-3
- Softcover ISBN
- 978-3-319-83874-8
- Series ISSN
- 2196-8810
- Edition Number
- 1
- Number of Pages
- XVIII, 305
- Number of Illustrations
- 74 b/w illustrations, 1 illustrations in colour
- Topics
