The Rise of Light—Discovering Its Secrets [Scanning Our Past]

Abstract

Inspired by the celebration of the year of light in 2015, this article considers the long lasting interaction among man, vision and light. Our knowledge of light has greatly evolved in time together with the development of our civilization, with a tremendous boost in the last two centuries thanks to the outstanding contributions of many scholars and scientists from so many different countries. This presentation has highlighted the main steps upon which the knowledge of light has emerged, tracing the great phases in the history of science. At the same time, the use we make of light has enormously changed from ancient times when we used it to light our dwellings at night, but this is another story out of the scope of this paper. From a certain point of view, we can say that our knowledge of light, broadening in time, has increasingly enlightened our understanding of the world we live in, and, after all, the comprehension of ourselves.

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