18 Questions
Who was the first to accurately describe how vision worked by showing that light bounces off objects and then travels to the eye?
al-Haytham
What did al-Haytham study that led to Pythagoras's theory being abandoned?
Properties of light
Which scientist's experiment showed that white light is actually a mixture of different colors of light?
Newton
How did Newton demonstrate that white light is made up of different colors?
Passing light through a prism
What property of light did al-Haytham try to explain but had little success with?
Dispersion
What characteristic of light was known among early scientists although they were uncertain about its speed?
Speed
Who made the first reasonably accurate measurement of the speed of light in 1676?
Ole Romer
How did Albert A. Michelson refine Ole Romer's measurement in the 1920s?
By placing two mirrors on mountain tops in California
What is one of the basic properties of light mentioned in the text?
Light travels at different speeds in different media
Which scientist placed two mirrors on mountain tops to measure the speed of light?
Albert A. Michelson
What did Albert A. Michelson use to measure the time it took for a beam of light to travel between two mountains?
Accurate timing devices
One of the characteristics of light mentioned in the text is that it __________.
Can be reflected
What did Pythagoras believe light consisted of?
Beams
According to Pythagoras, how did the sense of sight occur?
When light beams touched objects
What did Euclid discover about the reflection of light on a flat mirror?
The angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence
What was Archimedes' plan involving light and enemy ships in Syracuse harbour?
To reflect light from mirrors to burn enemy ships
Why was there a problem with Pythagoras's theory about light consisting of beams?
It implied that humans could see in the dark
What did Pythagoras believe about the interaction of light and objects?
Sight occurs when light beams touch objects
Learn about the contributions of Ptolemy and al-Haytham to the understanding of light in the Middle Ages. Discover how light bends when transitioning from air to glass and how vision works according to early scholars.
Make Your Own Quizzes and Flashcards
Convert your notes into interactive study material.
Get started for free
