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Known as the Neolithic Revolution, around 10,000 B.C.E, the transition from hunting and gathering societies to settled agricultural societies was taking place. One’s duty in society was no longer consumed by constant foraging for food and new land to settle. This opened the gap for leisure time, and this leisure time could be considered the spark that brought about contemplation. People began to shift away from only thinking pragmatically and really began to wonder about the nature of the world – they wanted to be able to explain what was going on and why; thus, philosophy (the basis of mathematics, science, morality, logic, epistemology, metaphysics, and even aesthetics) was brought to life. Greek philosopher Aristotle said the celestial objects past the moon were part of a fifth element called “aether,” and that everything between the moon and the earth was made of the first four elements-water, earth, fire, and air. Also Greek, philosopher Ptolemy formulated his theory of the solar system in which all the objects of the solar system (including the sun) orbited the Earth; he stated that the earth was the center of not just the solar system, but the universe. This popular belief remained on the pedestal until Galileo knocked it off by oppugning and successfully proving it false. This was the start of the scientific revolution. Aristotle’s theory of five elements was also corrected by the “mechanical philosophy” scheme of matter proposed by Atomism. In the wake of the scientific revolution, natural philosophy- otherwise known as science- was brought into development. A big part of natural philosophy was light.
#1 Historical Commection
The book written by Englishman, Isaac Newton, in 1704. The book explored the ways of optics as it was mainly known then- lights behavior through refraction.
Light, as it is often viewed today, was not viewed then as the glow that can emit from a light bulb. Light was what allowed us to see due to the eyes interaction with the light that is reflected off objects. It was rather obvious that light is what allowed us to see being that one could not see in darkness. Light was often viewed as an invisible element. In this case, it was not studied in the way it is today through quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, and such. Light was studied in the way it interacted with was visible around it – optics.
One of the most influential scientists of all time, Isaac Newton, most commonly known for laying the foundation of classical mechanics with his laws of motion, made seminal contribution to optics. He expanded on Descartes’s ideas from mid- 17th century “treatises.” Explanation behind a variety of optical behaviors. This was the start of further studies of the subject matter by other "natural philosophers" such as Pierre de Fermat.
Pierre de Fermat, born 1601, was a French lawyer and mathematician who is recognized for his early developments that led to further discovery and integration in infinitesimal calculus and Snell's law. His work that led to Snell's law is all compressed into what is called Fermat's principle of least time. A self explanatory name- this principle describes how light always travels the fastest possible when moving through different materials. This principle is known to be the first variational principle of physics since Hero of Alexandira's principle of least action- a principle similar to Fermat's in some ways. As mentioned, Snell's law was derived from Fermat's principle. This principle is one based on the formula used to find the angle of incidence and refraction of bending light through different materials. This principle is one that has its origins dating back to the life time of Ptolemy, a Greek living in Alexandria- born AD 90.
Refraction
Sources:
Gjersten, Derek (1986). The Newton Handbook. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
"Newton, Isaac" in the Dictionary of Scientific Biography, n.4.
O'Connor, J J. Pierre de Fermat. Scotland: 1996. <http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Fermat.html>.
M. Burnyeat, “Aristotle on Understanding Knowledge,” in E. Berti (ed.), Aristotle on Science: The Posterior Analytics (Padua: 1981), 97–139.
"Who really invented lenses?." OPTICS 1. N.p.. Web. 13 Nov 2013. <http://www.optics1.com/optics_history.php>.
Citation for images
1st image(top): image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.
2nd image(middle): http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/PictDisplay/Fermat.html
3rd image(bottom): http://www.santilli-foundation.org/images/Light-refraction.jpg
Pierre de Fermat - portrait painted in the 17th century.
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