1.
Prague Castle
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Prague Castle is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic, dating from the 9th century. It is the residence of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, the Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept within a hidden room inside it. The castle is among the most visited tourist attractions in Prague attracting over 1.8 million visitors annually, the history of the castle began in 870 when its first walled building, the Church of the Virgin Mary, was built. The Basilica of Saint George and the Basilica of St. Vitus were founded under the reign of Vratislaus I, Duke of Bohemia, the first convent in Bohemia was founded in the castle, next to the church of St. George. A Romanesque palace was erected here during the 12th century, King Ottokar II of Bohemia improved fortifications and rebuilt the royal palace for the purposes of representation and housing. In the 14th century, under the reign of Charles IV the royal palace was rebuilt in Gothic style, in place of rotunda and basilica of St. Vitus began building of a vast Gothic church, that were completed almost six centuries later. During the Hussite Wars and the decades, the castle was not inhabited. In 1485, King Ladislaus II Jagello began to rebuild the castle, the massive Vladislav Hall was added to the Royal Palace. New defence towers were built on the north side of the castle. A large fire in 1541 destroyed large parts of the castle, under the Habsburgs, some new buildings in Renaissance style were added. Ferdinand I built the Belvedere as a palace for his wife Anne. Rudolph II used Prague Castle as his main residence and he founded the northern wing of the palace, with the Spanish Hall, where his precious art collections were exhibited. The Second Prague defenestration in 1618 began the Bohemian Revolt, during the subsequent wars, the Castle was damaged and dilapidated. Many works from the collection of Rudolph II were looted by Swedes in 1648, the last major rebuilding of the castle was carried out by Empress Maria Theresa in the second half of the 18th century. Following his abdication in 1848, and the succession of his nephew, Franz Joseph, to the throne, in 1918, the castle became the seat of the president of the new Czechoslovak Republic, T. G. The New Royal Palace and the gardens were renovated by Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik, in this period the St Vitus Cathedral was finished. Renovations continued in 1936 under Plečniks successor Pavel Janák, during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II, Prague Castle became the headquarters of Reinhard Heydrich, the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia
2.
Attic
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An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building, an attic may also called a sky parlor or a garret. While some attics are converted into bedrooms, home offices, or attic apartments complete with windows and staircases, Attics are generally used for storage, though they can also help control temperatures in a house by providing a large mass of slowly moving air. The hot air rising from the floors of a building is often retained in attics. However, in recent years attics have been insulated to help decrease heating costs, since, on average, the word attic is derived from the Attica region of Greece and comes from Attic style architecture. Modern building codes require unoccupied attics to be ventilated to reduce the accumulation of heat and moisture that contribute to growth and decay of wood rafters. Various types of turbine ventilators and exhaust fans can also be used to assist with attic ventilation, Attic ladder Basement Hayloft Loft Penthouse apartment Media related to Attics at Wikimedia Commons
3.
Latin
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Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole
4.
Camera
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Thumb|A2016 Nikon D810 A camera is an optical instrument for recording or capturing images, which may be stored locally, transmitted to another location, or both. The images may be individual still photographs or sequences of images constituting videos or movies, the camera is a remote sensing device as it senses subjects without physical contact. The word camera comes from camera obscura, which means dark chamber and is the Latin name of the device for projecting an image of external reality onto a flat surface. The modern photographic camera evolved from the camera obscura, the functioning of the camera is very similar to the functioning of the human eye. A camera may work with the light of the spectrum or with other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. A still camera is a device which creates a single image of an object or scene. All cameras use the basic design, light enters an enclosed box through a converging lens/convex lens. A shutter mechanism controls the length of time that light can enter the camera, a display, often a liquid crystal display, permits the user to view scene to be recorded and settings such as ISO speed, exposure, and shutter speed. A movie camera or a video camera operates similarly to a camera, except it records a series of static images in rapid succession. When the images are combined and displayed in order, the illusion of motion is achieved, the forerunner to the photographic camera was the camera obscura. The oldest known record of this principle is a description by Han Chinese philosopher Mozi, Mozi correctly asserted that the camera obscura image is inverted because light travels in straight lines from its source. In the 11th century Arab physicist Ibn al-Haytham s wrote very influential essays about experiments with light through an opening in a darkened room. The use of a lens in the opening of a wall or closed window shutter of a room to project images used as a drawing aid has been traced back to circa 1550. Since the late 17th century portable camera obscura devices in tents, before the development of the photographic camera, it had been known for hundreds of years that some substances, such as silver salts, darkened when exposed to sunlight. The first person to use this chemistry to create images was Thomas Wedgwood, to create images, Wedgwood placed items, such as leaves and insect wings, on ceramic pots coated with silver nitrate, and exposed the set-up to light. These images werent permanent, however, as Wedgwood didnt employ a fixing mechanism and he ultimately failed at his goal of using the process to create fixed images created by a camera obscura. The first permanent photograph of an image was made in 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce using a sliding wooden box camera made by Charles. Niépce had been experimenting with ways to fix the images of a camera obscura since 1816, the photograph Niépce succeeded in creating shows the view from his window
5.
Pinhole camera
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A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens but with a tiny aperture, a pinhole – effectively a light-proof box with a small hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through the aperture and projects an image on the opposite side of the box. It is based on property of light Camera obscura or pinhole images are an optical phenomenon. Early known descriptions are found in the Chinese Mozi writings and the Aristotelian Problems, starting with Alhazen the effect was used in dark rooms, mostly to study the nature of light and to safely watch sun eclipses. Giambattista della Porta wrote in 1558 in his Magia Naturalis about using a mirror to project the image onto paper. However, about the time the use of a lens instead of a pinhole was introduced. In the 17th century the camera obscura with a lens became a drawing aid that was further developed into a mobile device, first in a little tent. The photographic camera, as developed early in the 19th century, was basically, one older use of the term pin-hole in the context of optics was found in James Fergusons 1764 book Lectures on select subjects in mechanics, hydrostatics, pneumatics, and optics. Sir William Crookes and William de Wiveleslie Abney were other photographers to try the pinhole technique. The image of a camera may be projected onto a translucent screen for real-time viewing or to trace the image on paper. But it is often used without a translucent screen for pinhole photography with photographic film or photographic paper placed on the surface opposite to the pinhole aperture. A common use of photography is to capture the movement of the sun over a long period of time. This type of photography is called solargraphy, pinhole photography is used for artistic reasons, but also for educational purposes to let pupils learn about, and experiment with, the basics of photography. Pinhole cameras with CCDs are sometimes used for surveillance because they are difficult to detect, related cameras, image forming devices, or developments from it include Frankes widefield pinhole camera, the pinspeck camera, and the pinhead mirror. Pinhole photographs have nearly infinite depth of field, everything appears in focus, as theres no lens distortion, wide angle images remain absolutely rectilinear. Exposure times are long, resulting in motion blur around moving objects. Pinhole cameras can be handmade by the photographer for a particular purpose, in its simplest form, the photographic pinhole camera can consist of a light-tight box with a pinhole in one end, and a piece of film or photographic paper wedged or taped into the other end. A flap of cardboard with a hinge can be used as a shutter
6.
Pupil
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The pupil is a hole located in the centre of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina. In humans the pupil is round, but other species, such as cats, have vertical slit pupils, goats have horizontally oriented pupils. In optical terms, the pupil is the eyes aperture. The image of the pupil as seen from outside the eye is the entrance pupil, on the inner edge lies a prominent structure, the collarette, marking the junction of the embryonic pupillary membrane covering the embryonic pupil. The pupil is a located in the centre of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina. The iris is a structure, consisting mainly of smooth muscle. Light enters the eye through the pupil, and the iris regulates the amount of light by controlling the size of the pupil, the iris contains two groups of smooth muscles, a circular group called the sphincter pupillae, and a radial group called the dilator pupillae. When the sphincter pupillae contract, the iris decreases or constricts the size of the pupil, the dilator pupillae, innervated by sympathetic nerves from the superior cervical ganglion, cause the pupil to dilate when they contract. These muscles are referred to as intrinsic eye muscles. The sensory pathway is linked with its counterpart in the eye by a partial crossover of each eyes fibers. This causes the effect in one eye to carry over to the other, the pupil gets wider in the dark but narrower in light. When narrow, the diameter is 2 to 4 millimeters, in the dark it will be the same at first, but will approach the maximum distance for a wide pupil 3 to 8 mm. In any human age group there is considerable variation in maximal pupil size. For example, at the age of 15, the dark-adapted pupil can vary from 4 mm to 9 mm with different individuals. After 25 years of age the pupil size decreases, though not at a steady rate. At this stage the pupils do not remain completely still, therefore may lead to oscillation, the constriction of the pupil and near vision are closely tied. When this muscle contracts, it reduces the size of the pupil and this is the pupillary light reflex, which is an important test of brainstem function. Furthermore, the pupil will dilate if a person sees an object of interest, certain drugs cause constriction of the pupils, such as opioids
7.
Perspective (graphical)
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Perspective in the graphic arts is an approximate representation, on a flat surface, of an image as it is seen by the eye. If viewed from the spot as the windowpane was painted. Each painted object in the scene is thus a flat, scaled down version of the object on the side of the window. All perspective drawings assume the viewer is a distance away from the drawing. Objects are scaled relative to that viewer, an object is often not scaled evenly, a circle often appears as an ellipse and a square can appear as a trapezoid. This distortion is referred to as foreshortening, Perspective drawings have a horizon line, which is often implied. This line, directly opposite the viewers eye, represents objects infinitely far away and they have shrunk, in the distance, to the infinitesimal thickness of a line. It is analogous to the Earths horizon, any perspective representation of a scene that includes parallel lines has one or more vanishing points in a perspective drawing. A one-point perspective drawing means that the drawing has a vanishing point, usually directly opposite the viewers eye. All lines parallel with the line of sight recede to the horizon towards this vanishing point. This is the standard receding railroad tracks phenomenon, a two-point drawing would have lines parallel to two different angles. Any number of vanishing points are possible in a drawing, one for each set of lines that are at an angle relative to the plane of the drawing. Perspectives consisting of parallel lines are observed most often when drawing architecture. In contrast, natural scenes often do not have any sets of parallel lines, the only method to indicate the relative position of elements in the composition was by overlapping, of which much use is made in works like the Parthenon Marbles. Chinese artists made use of perspective from the first or second century until the 18th century. It is not certain how they came to use the technique, some authorities suggest that the Chinese acquired the technique from India, oblique projection is also seen in Japanese art, such as in the Ukiyo-e paintings of Torii Kiyonaga. This was detailed within Aristotles Poetics as skenographia, using flat panels on a stage to give the illusion of depth, the philosophers Anaxagoras and Democritus worked out geometric theories of perspective for use with skenographia. Alcibiades had paintings in his house designed using skenographia, so this art was not confined merely to the stage, Euclids Optics introduced a mathematical theory of perspective, but there is some debate over the extent to which Euclids perspective coincides with the modern mathematical definition
8.
Lens (optics)
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A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses. Lenses are made from such as glass or plastic, and are ground. A lens can focus light to form an image, unlike a prism, devices that similarly focus or disperse waves and radiation other than visible light are also called lenses, such as microwave lenses, electron lenses, acoustic lenses, or explosive lenses. The word lens comes from the Latin name of the lentil, the genus of the lentil plant is Lens, and the most commonly eaten species is Lens culinaris. The lentil plant also gives its name to a geometric figure, the variant spelling lense is sometimes seen. While it is listed as a spelling in some dictionaries. The oldest lens artifact is the Nimrud lens, dating back 2700 years to ancient Assyria, david Brewster proposed that it may have been used as a magnifying glass, or as a burning-glass to start fires by concentrating sunlight. Another early reference to magnification dates back to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs in the 8th century BC, the earliest written records of lenses date to Ancient Greece, with Aristophanes play The Clouds mentioning a burning-glass. Some scholars argue that the evidence indicates that there was widespread use of lenses in antiquity. Such lenses were used by artisans for fine work, and for authenticating seal impressions, both Pliny and Seneca the Younger described the magnifying effect of a glass globe filled with water. The Viking lenses were capable of concentrating enough sunlight to ignite fires, between the 11th and 13th century reading stones were invented. Often used by monks to assist in illuminating manuscripts, these were primitive plano-convex lenses initially made by cutting a sphere in half. As the stones were experimented with, it was understood that shallower lenses magnified more effectively. Lenses came into use in Europe with the invention of spectacles. Spectacle makers created improved types of lenses for the correction of vision based more on knowledge gained from observing the effects of the lenses. With the invention of the telescope and microscope there was a deal of experimentation with lens shapes in the 17th. Opticians tried to construct lenses of varying forms of curvature, wrongly assuming errors arose from defects in the figure of their surfaces
9.
F-number
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The f-number of an optical system such as a camera lens is the ratio of the systems focal length to the diameter of the entrance pupil. It is a number that is a quantitative measure of lens speed. It is also known as the ratio, f-ratio, f-stop. The f-number is commonly indicated using a hooked f with the format f/N, the f-number N or f# is given by, N = f D where f is the focal length, and D is the diameter of the entrance pupil. It is customary to write f-numbers preceded by f/, which forms a mathematical expression of the pupil diameter in terms of f and N. Ignoring differences in light transmission efficiency, a lens with a greater f-number projects darker images, the brightness of the projected image relative to the brightness of the scene in the lenss field of view decreases with the square of the f-number. Doubling the f-number decreases the brightness by a factor of four. To maintain the same photographic exposure when doubling the f-number, the time would need to be four times as long. Most lenses have a diaphragm, which changes the size of the aperture stop. The entrance pupil diameter is not necessarily equal to the aperture stop diameter, a 100 mm focal length f/4 lens has an entrance pupil diameter of 25 mm. A200 mm focal length f/4 lens has a pupil diameter of 50 mm. The 200 mm lenss entrance pupil has four times the area of the 100 mm lenss entrance pupil, a T-stop is an f-number adjusted to account for light transmission efficiency. The word stop is sometimes confusing due to its multiple meanings, a stop can be a physical object, an opaque part of an optical system that blocks certain rays. In photography, stops are also a used to quantify ratios of light or exposure. The one-stop unit is known as the EV unit. On a camera, the setting is traditionally adjusted in discrete steps. Each stop is marked with its corresponding f-number, and represents a halving of the light intensity from the previous stop. This corresponds to a decrease of the pupil and aperture diameters by a factor of 1/2 or about 0.7071, each element in the sequence is one stop lower than the element to its left, and one stop higher than the element to its right
10.
Diffraction
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Diffraction refers to various phenomena that occur when a wave encounters an obstacle or a slit. It is defined as the bending of light around the corners of an obstacle or aperture into the region of shadow of the obstacle. In classical physics, the phenomenon is described as the interference of waves according to the Huygens–Fresnel principle. These characteristic behaviors are exhibited when a wave encounters an obstacle or a slit that is comparable in size to its wavelength. Similar effects occur when a wave travels through a medium with a varying refractive index. Diffraction occurs with all waves, including sound waves, water waves, since physical objects have wave-like properties, diffraction also occurs with matter and can be studied according to the principles of quantum mechanics. Italian scientist Francesco Maria Grimaldi coined the word diffraction and was the first to record observations of the phenomenon in 1660. If the obstructing object provides multiple, closely spaced openings, a pattern of varying intensity can result. This is due to the addition, or interference, of different parts of a wave that travel to the observer by different paths, the formalism of diffraction can also describe the way in which waves of finite extent propagate in free space. For example, the profile of a laser beam, the beam shape of a radar antenna. The effects of diffraction are often seen in everyday life and this principle can be extended to engineer a grating with a structure such that it will produce any diffraction pattern desired, the hologram on a credit card is an example. Diffraction in the atmosphere by small particles can cause a ring to be visible around a bright light source like the sun or the moon. A shadow of an object, using light from a compact source. The speckle pattern which is observed when laser light falls on a rough surface is also a diffraction phenomenon. When deli meat appears to be iridescent, that is diffraction off the meat fibers, all these effects are a consequence of the fact that light propagates as a wave. Diffraction can occur with any kind of wave, ocean waves diffract around jetties and other obstacles. Sound waves can diffract around objects, which is why one can hear someone calling even when hiding behind a tree. Diffraction can also be a concern in some applications, it sets a fundamental limit to the resolution of a camera, telescope
11.
Tracing paper
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Tracing paper is paper made to have low opacity, allowing light to pass through. It was originally developed for architects and design engineers to create drawings which could be copied using the diazo copy process. The original use for drawing and tracing was largely superseded by technologies which do not require copying or manual copying of drawings. The transparency of the paper is achieved by selection of the raw materials. Cellulose fibre forms the basis of the paper, usually from wood species, often, paper contains other filler materials to enhance opacity and print quality. For tracing or translucent paper it is necessary to any material which obstructs the transmission of light. This method produces a translucent and even looking paper over a range of grammages from 42 to over 280 gsm. By making a ‘normal’ sheet of paper and then filling the spaces between the fibres with a material that has the same refractive index as the cellulose and this was a common process adopted in the USA. The product was frequently called Vellum, although this terminology can refer to a range of special papers. Due to the high cost, this method of manufacture has largely disappeared. As with 2, by making a normal sheet of paper, the acid converts some of the cellulose into amyloid form having a gelatinous and impermeable character. When the treated paper is thoroughly washed and dried, the resultant product is stronger than the original paper. Tracing paper is resistant to oil, grease and to a large extent impervious to water, tracing paper is named as such for its ability for an image to be traced onto it. When tracing paper is placed onto a picture, the picture is viewable through the tracing paper. Thus, it easy to find edges in the picture. Pure cellulose fiber is translucent, and it is the air trapped between fibers, that makes paper opaque and looks white, if the fibers are refined and beaten until all the air is taken out, then the resulting sheet will be translucent. Translucent papers are dense and contain up to 10% moisture at 50% humidity and this type of paper is roughly 25% lighter than regular paper. The sizing in production will determine whether it is for laser printer or inkjet/offset printing, tracing paper may be uncoated or coated
12.
Paleolithic
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It extends from the earliest known use of stone tools, probably by Homo habilis initially,2.6 million years ago, to the end of the Pleistocene around 10,000 BP. The Paleolithic era is followed by the Mesolithic, the date of the Paleolithic–Mesolithic boundary may vary by locality as much as several thousand years. During the Paleolithic period, humans grouped together in small societies such as bands, the Paleolithic is characterized by the use of knapped stone tools, although at the time humans also used wood and bone tools. Other organic commodities were adapted for use as tools, including leather and vegetable fibers, however, due to their nature, surviving artifacts of the Paleolithic era are known as paleoliths. About 50,000 years ago, there was a increase in the diversity of artifacts. For the first time in Africa, bone artifacts and the first art appear in the archaeological record, the first evidence of human fishing is also noted, from artifacts in places such as Blombos cave in South Africa. The new technology generated an explosion of modern humans which is believed to have led to the extinction of the Neanderthals. Humankind gradually evolved from members of the genus Homo—such as Homo habilis. The climate during the Paleolithic consisted of a set of glacial and interglacial periods in which the climate periodically fluctuated between warm and cool temperatures, by c. 50,000 – c. 40,000 BP, the first humans set foot in Australia. By c. 45,000 BP, humans lived at 61°N latitude in Europe, by c. 30,000 BP, Japan was reached, and by c. 27,000 BP humans were present in Siberia, above the Arctic Circle. At the end of the Upper Paleolithic, a group of humans crossed Beringia, the term Paleolithic was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. It derives from Greek, παλαιός, palaios, old, and λίθος, lithos, stone, human evolution is the part of biological evolution concerning the emergence of anatomically modern humans as a distinct species. The Paleolithic Period coincides almost exactly with the Pleistocene epoch of geologic time and this epoch experienced important geographic and climatic changes that affected human societies. During the preceding Pliocene, continents had continued to drift from possibly as far as 250 km from their present locations to positions only 70 km from their current location. South America became linked to North America through the Isthmus of Panama, most of Central America formed during the Pliocene to connect the continents of North and South America, allowing fauna from these continents to leave their native habitats and colonize new areas. Africas collision with Asia created the Mediterranean Sea, cutting off the remnants of the Tethys Ocean, climates during the Pliocene became cooler and drier, and seasonal, similar to modern climates. The formation of an Arctic ice cap around 3 million years ago is signaled by a shift in oxygen isotope ratios and ice-rafted cobbles in the North Atlantic. Mid-latitude glaciation probably began before the end of the epoch, the global cooling that occurred during the Pliocene may have spurred on the disappearance of forests and the spread of grasslands and savannas
13.
Cave painting
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Cave paintings are painted drawings on cave walls or ceilings, mainly of prehistoric origin, to some 40,000 years ago in Eurasia. The exact purpose of the Paleolithic cave paintings is not known, evidence suggests that they were not merely decorations of living areas since the caves in which they have been found do not have signs of ongoing habitation. They are also located in areas of caves that are not easily accessible. Some theories hold that cave paintings may have been a way of communicating with others, the paintings are remarkably similar around the world, with animals being common subjects that give the most impressive images. Humans mainly appear as images of hands, mostly hand stencils made by blowing pigment on a hand held to the wall. The earliest known cave paintings/drawings of animals are at least 35,000 years old and are found in Pettakere cave on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, previously it was believed that the earliest paintings were in Europe. The earliest non-figurative rock art dates back to approximately 40,000 years ago, nearly 340 caves have now been discovered in France and Spain that contain art from prehistoric times. But subsequent technology has made it possible to date the paintings by sampling the pigment itself, the choice of subject matter can also indicate chronology. For instance, the reindeer depicted in the Spanish cave of Cueva de las Monedas places the drawings in the last Ice Age. The oldest date given to a cave painting is now a pig that has a minimum age of 35,400 years old at Pettakere cave in Sulawesi. Indonesian and Australian scientists have dated other non-figurative paintings on the walls to be approximately 40,000 years old, the method they used to confirm this was dating the age of the stalactites that formed over the top of the paintings. The art is similar in style and method to that of the Indonesian caves as there were also hand stencils and this date coincides with the earliest known evidence for Homo sapiens in Europe. Because of the cave arts age, some scientists have conjectured that the paintings may have made by Neanderthals. The earliest known European figurative cave paintings are those of Chauvet Cave in France and these paintings date to earlier than 30,000 BCE according to radiocarbon dating. Some researchers believe the drawings are too advanced for this era, the radiocarbon dates from these samples show that there were two periods of creation in Chauvet,35,000 years ago and 30,000 years ago. In 2009, cavers discovered drawings in Coliboaia Cave in Romania, an initial dating puts the age of an image in the same range as Chauvet, about 32,000 years old. Some caves probably continued to be painted over a period of thousands of years. This was created roughly between 10,000 and 5,500 years ago, and painted in rock shelters under cliffs or shallow caves, though individual figures are less naturalistic, they are grouped in coherent grouped compositions to a much greater degree
14.
Neolithic
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It ended when metal tools became widespread. The Neolithic is a progression of behavioral and cultural characteristics and changes, including the use of wild and domestic crops, the beginning of the Neolithic culture is considered to be in the Levant about 10, 200–8800 BC. It developed directly from the Epipaleolithic Natufian culture in the region, whose people pioneered the use of wild cereals, which then evolved into true farming. The Natufian period was between 12,000 and 10,200 BC, and the so-called proto-Neolithic is now included in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic between 10,200 and 8800 BC. By 10, 200–8800 BC, farming communities arose in the Levant and spread to Asia Minor, North Africa, Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around 10,000 BC. Early Neolithic farming was limited to a range of plants, both wild and domesticated, which included einkorn wheat, millet and spelt, and the keeping of dogs, sheep. By about 6900–6400 BC, it included domesticated cattle and pigs, the establishment of permanently or seasonally inhabited settlements, not all of these cultural elements characteristic of the Neolithic appeared everywhere in the same order, the earliest farming societies in the Near East did not use pottery. Early Japanese societies and other East Asian cultures used pottery before developing agriculture, unlike the Paleolithic, when more than one human species existed, only one human species reached the Neolithic. The term Neolithic derives from the Greek νέος néos, new and λίθος líthos, stone, the term was invented by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system. In the Middle East, cultures identified as Neolithic began appearing in the 10th millennium BC, early development occurred in the Levant and from there spread eastwards and westwards. Neolithic cultures are attested in southeastern Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia by around 8000 BC. The total excavated area is more than 1,200 square yards, the Neolithic 1 period began roughly 10,000 years ago in the Levant. A temple area in southeastern Turkey at Göbekli Tepe dated around 9500 BC may be regarded as the beginning of the period. This site was developed by nomadic tribes, evidenced by the lack of permanent housing in the vicinity. At least seven stone circles, covering 25 acres, contain limestone pillars carved with animals, insects, Stone tools were used by perhaps as many as hundreds of people to create the pillars, which might have supported roofs. Other early PPNA sites dating to around 9500–9000 BC have been found in Jericho, Israel, Gilgal in the Jordan Valley, the start of Neolithic 1 overlaps the Tahunian and Heavy Neolithic periods to some degree. The major advance of Neolithic 1 was true farming, in the proto-Neolithic Natufian cultures, wild cereals were harvested, and perhaps early seed selection and re-seeding occurred. The grain was ground into flour, emmer wheat was domesticated, and animals were herded and domesticated
15.
Gnomon
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A gnomon is the part of a sundial that casts a shadow. The term has come to be used for a variety of purposes in mathematics, a painted stick from 2300 BCE found in China is the oldest known gnomon. Anaximander is credited with introducing this Babylonian instrument to the Greeks, oenopides used the phrase drawn gnomon-wise to describe a line drawn perpendicular to another. Later, the term was used for an L-shaped instrument like a steel square used to right angles. This shape may explain its use to describe a shape formed by cutting a square from a larger one. Euclid extended the term to the figure formed by removing a similar parallelogram from a corner of a larger parallelogram. Indeed, the gnomon is the increment between two successive figurate numbers, including square and triangular numbers, hero of Alexandria defined a gnomon as that which, when added to an entity, makes a new entity similar to the starting entity. In this sense Theon of Smyrna used it to describe a number added to a polygonal number produces the next one of the same type. The most common use in this sense is an odd integer especially when seen as a number between square numbers. Perforated gnomons projecting an image of the sun were described in the Chinese Zhoubi Suanjing writings. The location of the circle can be measured to tell the time of day. In Arab and European cultures its invention was later attributed to Egyptian astronomer. With markings on the floor it tells the time of each midday as well as the date of the summer solstice. Italian mathematician, engineer, astronomer and geographer Leonardo Ximenes reconstructed the gnomon according to his new measurements in 1756, in the northern hemisphere, the shadow-casting edge of a sundial gnomon is normally oriented so that it points north and is parallel to the rotation axis of the Earth. That is, it is inclined to the horizontal at an angle equals the latitude of the sundials location. At present, such a gnomon should thus point almost precisely at Polaris, on some sundials, the gnomon is vertical. These were usually used in times for observing the altitude of the Sun. The style is the part of the gnomon that casts the shadow and this can change as the sun moves
16.
Zhoubi Suanjing
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The Zhoubi Suanjing, or Chou Pei Suan Ching, is one of the oldest Chinese mathematical texts. Zhou refers to the ancient dynasty Zhou c, 1046-771 BCE, Bi means thigh and according to the book, it refers to the gnomon of the sundial. The book is dedicated to astronomical observation and calculation, Suan Jing or classic of arithmetic were appended in later time to honor the achievement of the book in mathematics. This book dates from the period of the Zhou Dynasty, yet its compilation and addition of materials continued into the Han Dynasty and it is an anonymous collection of 246 problems encountered by the Duke of Zhou and his astronomer and mathematician, Shang Gao. Each question has stated their numerical answer and corresponding arithmetic algorithm and this book contains one of the first recorded proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem. Commentators such as Liu Hui, Zu Geng, Li Chunfeng and Yang Hui have expanded on this text, tsinghua Bamboo Slips Boyer, Carl B. A History of Mathematics, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, full text of the Zhoubi Suanjing, including diagrams - Chinese Text Project. Full text of the Zhoubi Suanjing, at Project Gutenberg Christopher Cullen, astronomy and Mathematics in Ancient China, The Zhou Bi Suan Jing, Cambridge University Press,2007
17.
Solar eclipse
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As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse is a type of eclipse that occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun. This can happen only at new moon when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth in an alignment referred to as syzygy, in a total eclipse, the disk of the Sun is fully obscured by the Moon. In partial and annular eclipses, only part of the Sun is obscured, if the Moon were in a perfectly circular orbit, a little closer to the Earth, and in the same orbital plane, there would be total solar eclipses every month. However, the Moons orbit is inclined at more than 5 degrees to the Earths orbit around the Sun, Earths orbit is called the ecliptic plane as the Moons orbit must cross this plane in order for an eclipse to occur. In addition, the Moons actual orbit is elliptical, often taking it far away from Earth that its apparent size is not large enough to block the Sun totally. The orbital planes cross each other at a line of nodes resulting in at least two, and up to five, solar eclipses occurring each year, no more than two of which can be total eclipses. However, total solar eclipses are rare at any particular location because totality exists only along a path on the Earths surface traced by the Moons shadow or umbra. An eclipse is a natural phenomenon, nevertheless, in some ancient and modern cultures, solar eclipses have been attributed to supernatural causes or regarded as bad omens. A total solar eclipse can be frightening to people who are unaware of its explanation, as the Sun seems to disappear during the day. People referred to as eclipse chasers or umbraphiles will travel to locations to observe or witness predicted central solar eclipses. For the date of the next eclipse see the section Recent, during any one eclipse, totality occurs at best only in a narrow track on the surface of Earth. An annular eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are exactly in line with the Earth, hence the Sun appears as a very bright ring, or annulus, surrounding the dark disk of the Moon. A hybrid eclipse shifts between a total and annular eclipse, at certain points on the surface of Earth, it appears as a total eclipse, whereas at other points it appears as annular. A partial eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are not exactly in line with the Earth and this phenomenon can usually be seen from a large part of the Earth outside of the track of an annular or total eclipse. However, some eclipses can only be seen as an eclipse, because the umbra passes above the Earths polar regions. Partial eclipses are virtually unnoticeable in terms of the suns brightness, even at 99%, it would be no darker than civil twilight. Of course, partial eclipses can be observed if one is viewing the sun through a darkening filter, the Suns distance from Earth is about 400 times the Moons distance, and the Suns diameter is about 400 times the Moons diameter. Because these ratios are approximately the same, the Sun and the Moon as seen from Earth appear to be approximately the same size, about 0.5 degree of arc in angular measure
18.
Mozi
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Mozi, original name Mo Di, was a Chinese philosopher during the Hundred Schools of Thought period. A book named him, the Mozi, contains material ascribed to him. Born in what is now Tengzhou, Shandong Province, he founded the school of Mohism that argued strongly against Confucianism and Taoism and his philosophy emphasized self-restraint, self-reflection and authenticity rather than obedience to ritual. During the Warring States period, Mohism was actively developed and practiced in many states, during that period, many Mohist classics are by many believed to have been ruined when the emperor Qin Shi Huang supposedly carried out the burning of books and burying of scholars. The importance of Mohism further declined when Confucianism became the dominant school of thought during the Han Dynasty, for the modern juvenile audience of Chinese speakers, the image of his school and its founder were popularized by the animated TV series The Legend of Qin. There has been debate about the actual name of Mozi. Three concepts of its origin exist as of today, traditionally, Mozi was said to have inherited the surname Mo from his supposed ancestor, the Lord of Guzhu, himself descended from Shennong, the legendary emperor. As Mo came to be the name of the Mohist school itself, it might have derived from the name of a criminal punishment and it signals the Mohists identification with the lowest of common people. The actual ancestral name and clan name of Mozi is not known and it may be that, because he was likely born into the lower classes, he did not have an ancestral or clan name. During Chinese antiquity, the vast majority of the Chinese people who were not related to aristocratic families did not possess ancestral, a plausible source of Mozis name may have been the philosophers skin complexion itself, which is referred to as dark in the text. Mozi was going north to Qi and met a fortune teller on the way, the fortune teller told him, God kills the black dragon in the north today. Most historians believe that Mozi was a member of the artisan class who managed to climb his way to an official post. It is known, however, that his parents were not affectionate towards him, Mozi was a native of the State of Lu, although for a time he served as a minister in the State of Song. Like Confucius, Mozi was known to have maintained a school for those who desired to become officials serving in the different ruling courts of the Warring States. Mozi was a carpenter and was skilled in creating devices, designing everything from mechanical birds to wheeled. Though he did not hold an official position, Mozi was sought out by various rulers as an expert on fortification. He managed to attract a following during his lifetime which rivaled that of Confucius. His followers—mostly technicians and craftspeople—were organized in an order that studied both Mozis philosophical and technical writings
19.
History of science and technology in China
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Among the earliest inventions were the abacus, the shadow clock, and the first items such as Kongming lanterns. The Tang Dynasty in particular, was a time of great innovation, a good deal of exchange occurred between Western and Chinese discoveries up to the Qing Dynasty. In the 19th and 20th century the introduction of Western technology was a factor in the modernization of China. Much of the early Western work in the history of science in China was done by Joseph Needham, the Warring States period began 2500 years ago at the time of the invention of the crossbow. Needham notes that the invention of the crossbow far outstripped the progress in defensive armor, at this time, there were also many nascent schools of thought in China — the Hundred Schools of Thought, scattered among many polities. The schools served as communities which advised the rulers of these states, mo Di introduced concepts useful to one of those rulers, such as defensive fortification. One of these concepts, fa was extended by the School of Names, the development of a school of logic was cut short by the defeat of Mohisms political sponsors by the Qin Dynasty, and the subsumption of fa as law rather than method by the Legalists. You conquered the empire on horseback, but from horseback you will never succeed in ruling it, derived from Taoist philosophy, one of the newest longstanding contributions of the ancient Chinese are in Traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture and herbal medicine. These claims, however, are disputed and rely on much supposition. The Book of Silk was the first definitive atlas of comets and it listed 29 comets that appeared over a period of about 300 years, with renderings of comets describing an event its appearance corresponded to. In architecture, the pinnacle of Chinese technology manifested itself in the Great Wall of China, typical Chinese architecture changed little from the succeeding Han Dynasty until the 19th century. The Qin Dynasty also developed the crossbow, which became the mainstream weapon in Europe. Several remains of crossbows have been found among the soldiers of the Terracotta Army in the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the Eastern Han Dynasty scholar and astronomer Zhang Heng invented the first water-powered rotating armillary sphere, and catalogued 2500 stars and over 100 constellations. In 132, he invented the first seismological detector, called the Houfeng Didong Yi, according to the History of Later Han Dynasty, this seismograph was an urn-like instrument, which would drop one of eight balls to indicate when and in which direction an earthquake had occurred. On June 13,2005, Chinese seismologists announced that they had created a replica of the instrument, the mechanical engineer Ma Jun was another impressive figure from ancient China. However, Ma Juns most impressive invention was the south-pointing chariot and it incorporated the use of a differential gear in order to apply equal amount of torque to wheels rotating at different speeds, a device that is found in all modern automobiles. Sliding calipers were invented in China almost 2,000 years ago, the Chinese civilization was the earliest civilization to experiment successfully with aviation, with the kite and Kongming lantern being the first flying machines. The Four Great Inventions are the compass, gunpowder, papermaking and printing, paper and printing were developed first
20.
Aristotle
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Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira, Chalkidice, on the northern periphery of Classical Greece. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, at seventeen or eighteen years of age, he joined Platos Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty-seven. Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, teaching Alexander the Great gave Aristotle many opportunities and an abundance of supplies. He established a library in the Lyceum which aided in the production of many of his hundreds of books and he believed all peoples concepts and all of their knowledge was ultimately based on perception. Aristotles views on natural sciences represent the groundwork underlying many of his works, Aristotles views on physical science profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. Their influence extended from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance, some of Aristotles zoological observations, such as on the hectocotyl arm of the octopus, were not confirmed or refuted until the 19th century. His works contain the earliest known study of logic, which was incorporated in the late 19th century into modern formal logic. Aristotle was well known among medieval Muslim intellectuals and revered as The First Teacher and his ethics, though always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics. All aspects of Aristotles philosophy continue to be the object of academic study today. Though Aristotle wrote many elegant treatises and dialogues – Cicero described his style as a river of gold – it is thought that only around a third of his original output has survived. Aristotle, whose means the best purpose, was born in 384 BC in Stagira, Chalcidice. His father Nicomachus was the physician to King Amyntas of Macedon. Aristotle was orphaned at a young age, although there is little information on Aristotles childhood, he probably spent some time within the Macedonian palace, making his first connections with the Macedonian monarchy. At the age of seventeen or eighteen, Aristotle moved to Athens to continue his education at Platos Academy and he remained there for nearly twenty years before leaving Athens in 348/47 BC. Aristotle then accompanied Xenocrates to the court of his friend Hermias of Atarneus in Asia Minor, there, he traveled with Theophrastus to the island of Lesbos, where together they researched the botany and zoology of the island. Aristotle married Pythias, either Hermiass adoptive daughter or niece and she bore him a daughter, whom they also named Pythias. Soon after Hermias death, Aristotle was invited by Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor to his son Alexander in 343 BC, Aristotle was appointed as the head of the royal academy of Macedon. During that time he gave not only to Alexander
21.
Francesco Maurolico
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Francesco Maurolico was a mathematician and astronomer from Sicily. Born to a Greek family and immersed in the study of classical Greek texts, throughout his lifetime he made contributions to the fields of geometry, optics, conics, mechanics, music, and astronomy. He edited the works of authors including Archimedes, Apollonius, Autolycus, Theodosius and Serenus. He also composed his own treatises on mathematics and mathematical science. Born in Messina of a family of Greek descent who originated in Constantinople, recent studies seem indeed to indicate that the family settled in Messina at the end of 15th century. His father, Antonio, had been a physician and studied under the famous Hellenic scholar Constantine Lascaris, the Maurolico family had a villa outside the city. In 1521, Maurolico took holy orders, in 1550, he entered the Benedictine Order and became a monk at the monastery of Santa Maria del Parto à Castelbuono. Two years later, he was consecrated as abbot at the Cattedrale San Nicolò di Messina. Like his father, Maurolico also became head of the Messina mint and for a time was in charge of maintaining the fortifications of the city on behalf of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Maurolico tutored the two sons of Charles viceroy in Sicily, Juan de Vega, and had the patronage of many rich and he also corresponded with scholars such as Clavius and Federico Commandino. Maurolicos astronomical observations include a sighting of the supernova that appeared in Cassiopeia in 1572, tycho Brahe published details of his observations in 1574, the supernova is now known as Tychos Supernova. In 1569, he was appointed professor at the University of Messina, maurolicos Photismi de lumine et umbra and Diaphana concern the refraction of light and attempted to explain the natural phenomenon of the rainbow. He also studied the camera obscura, Photismi were completed in 1521, Diaphana first part 1523, the second and third ones in 1552, but all the material was published posthumously only in 1611. His Arithmeticorum libri duo includes the first known proof by mathematical induction and his De momentis aequalibus attempted to calculate the barycenter of various bodies. In his Sicanicarum rerum compendium, he presented the history of Sicily and his De Sphaera Liber Unus contains a fierce attack against Copernicus heliocentrism, in which Maurolico writes that Copernicus “deserved a whip or a scourge rather than a refutation”. Maurolico published a Cosmographia in which he described a methodology for measuring the earth, Maurolico published an edition of Aristotles Mechanics, and a work on music. He summarized Orteliuss Theatrum orbis terrarum and also wrote Grammatica rudimenta and he made a map of Sicily, which was published in 1575. Maurolico worked on ancient mathematical texts, Theodosius of Bithynia, Menelaus of Alexandria, Autolycus of Pitane, Euclid, Apollonius of Perga and he did not make new translations, but working on the existing ones, he provided new and sound interpretations of Greek mathematics
22.
Euclid
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Euclid, sometimes called Euclid of Alexandria to distinguish him from Euclides of Megara, was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the father of geometry. He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I, in the Elements, Euclid deduced the principles of what is now called Euclidean geometry from a small set of axioms. Euclid also wrote works on perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory, Euclid is the anglicized version of the Greek name Εὐκλείδης, which means renowned, glorious. Very few original references to Euclid survive, so little is known about his life, the date, place and circumstances of both his birth and death are unknown and may only be estimated roughly relative to other people mentioned with him. He is rarely mentioned by name by other Greek mathematicians from Archimedes onward, the few historical references to Euclid were written centuries after he lived by Proclus c.450 AD and Pappus of Alexandria c.320 AD. Proclus introduces Euclid only briefly in his Commentary on the Elements, Proclus later retells a story that, when Ptolemy I asked if there was a shorter path to learning geometry than Euclids Elements, Euclid replied there is no royal road to geometry. This anecdote is questionable since it is similar to a story told about Menaechmus, a detailed biography of Euclid is given by Arabian authors, mentioning, for example, a birth town of Tyre. This biography is generally believed to be completely fictitious, however, this hypothesis is not well accepted by scholars and there is little evidence in its favor. The only reference that historians rely on of Euclid having written the Elements was from Proclus, although best known for its geometric results, the Elements also includes number theory. The geometrical system described in the Elements was long known simply as geometry, today, however, that system is often referred to as Euclidean geometry to distinguish it from other so-called non-Euclidean geometries that mathematicians discovered in the 19th century. In addition to the Elements, at least five works of Euclid have survived to the present day and they follow the same logical structure as Elements, with definitions and proved propositions. Data deals with the nature and implications of information in geometrical problems. On Divisions of Figures, which only partially in Arabic translation. It is similar to a first-century AD work by Heron of Alexandria, catoptrics, which concerns the mathematical theory of mirrors, particularly the images formed in plane and spherical concave mirrors. The attribution is held to be anachronistic however by J J OConnor, phaenomena, a treatise on spherical astronomy, survives in Greek, it is quite similar to On the Moving Sphere by Autolycus of Pitane, who flourished around 310 BC. Optics is the earliest surviving Greek treatise on perspective, in its definitions Euclid follows the Platonic tradition that vision is caused by discrete rays which emanate from the eye. One important definition is the fourth, Things seen under a greater angle appear greater, proposition 45 is interesting, proving that for any two unequal magnitudes, there is a point from which the two appear equal. Other works are attributed to Euclid, but have been lost
23.
Euclid's Optics
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Euclids Optics, is a work on the geometry of vision written by the Greek mathematician Euclid around 300 BC. The earliest surviving manuscript of Optics is in Greek and dates from the 10th century AD, the work deals almost entirely with the geometry of vision, with little reference to either the physical or psychological aspects of sight. No Western scientist had previously given such mathematical attention to vision, Euclids Optics influenced the work of later Greek, Islamic, and Western European Renaissance scientists and artists. Writers before Euclid had developed theories of vision, however, their works were mostly philosophical in nature and lacked the mathematics that Euclid introduced in his Optics. Efforts by the Greeks prior to Euclid were concerned primarily with the dimension of vision. Because Optics contributed a new dimension to the study of vision, Renaissance artists such as Brunelleschi, Alberti, and Dürer used Euclids Optics in their own work on linear perspective. The postulates in Optics are, Let it be assumed 1 and that rectilinear rays proceeding from the eye diverge indefinitely,2. That the figure contained by a set of rays is a cone of which the vertex is at the eye. That those things are seen upon which visuals rays fall and those things are not seen upon which visual rays do not fall,4. That things seen under a larger angle appear larger, those under a smaller angle appear smaller, and that things seen by higher visual rays appear higher, and things seen by lower visual rays appear lower,6. That, similarly, things seen by rays further to the right appear further to the right and that things seen under more angles are seen more clearly. The geometric treatment of the subject follows the same methodology as the Elements, according to Euclid, the eye sees objects that are within its visual cone. The visual cone is made up of lines, or visual rays. These visual rays are discrete, but we perceive an image because our eyes. Because visual rays are discrete, however, it is possible for objects to lie unseen between them. This accounts for the difficulty in searching for a dropped needle, although the needle may be within ones field of view, until the eyes visual rays fall upon the needle, it will not be seen. Discrete visual rays also explain the sharp or blurred appearance of objects, according to postulate 7, the closer an object, the more visual rays fall upon it and the more detailed or sharp it appears. This is an attempt to describe the phenomenon of optical resolution
24.
Ignazio Danti
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Ignazio Danti, born Pellegrino Rainaldi Danti, was an Italian priest, mathematician, astronomer, and cosmographer. Danti was born in Perugia to a family rich in artists and scientists, Danti entered the Dominican Order on 7 March 1555, changing his baptismal name from Pellegrino to Ignazio. After completing his studies in philosophy and theology he gave some time to preaching, but soon devoted himself zealously to mathematics, astronomy, in 1562, he requested a transfer from the Dominican compound in Perugia to the monastery of San Marco in Florence. Soon after, he work on the side tutoring the children of wealthy Florentines in mathematics. In September 1563, he was invited by Cosimo I, Duke of Tuscany to participate in his great cosmographical project, over the next dozen years, Danti would paint 30 maps of regions of the world upon the cabinet doors of the Guardaroba. There were also discussions between the Duke and Danti about building a canal to place Florence in communication with both the Mediterranean and the Adriatic, however, this grandiose plan never got underway before Cosimos death in 1574. The following year Cosimos son, Grand Duke Francesco I de Medici and it is not known precisely why Francesco exiled Danti, but the Dominican had no trouble finding work or patrons anywhere else in Italy, although he never returned to Florence before his death. After leaving Florence, Danti became professor of mathematics at the University of Bologna, while occupying this chair he built a massive gnomon in the Bolognese church of San Petronio, the meridian line of which is still visible in the churchs pavement. He also spent some time in Perugia, at the invitation of the governor, on account of his mathematical attainments, Pope Gregory XIII invited him to Rome, appointed him pontifical mathematician and made him a member of the commission for the reform of the calendar. When the pontiff commissioned the architect Domenico Fontana to repair the Claudian harbour it was Danti who furnished the necessary plans, in recognition of his labours Gregory, in 1583, made him Bishop of Alatri in the Campagna. Danti showed himself a pastor in his new office. As bishop of Alatri, Danti convoked a synod, corrected many abuses. Shortly before his death Pope Sixtus V summoned him to Rome to assist in the erection of the obelisk in the piazza of the Vatican. Sacrobosco tradotta da Pier Vincenzio Danti, the first mentioned work deals with the use and construction of the astrolabe and is one of the oldest instructions for scientific instruments. Danti provided with his book the first Italian treatise on this topic and he died at Alatri, only three years into his service. After Dantis death, in 1588 Giovanni Antonio Magini was chosen over Galileo to occupy the chair of mathematics at the University of Bologna. List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics Egnatio Danti, Les deux règles de la pratique de Vignole,1583, Pascal Dubourg Glatigny, Paris,2003. Ignazio Danti at the Catholic Encyclopedia OConnor, John J. Robertson, Edmund F. Ignazio Danti, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles, ed. article name needed
25.
Ancient Greece
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Ancient Greece was a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th-9th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and this was followed by the period of Classical Greece, an era that began with the Greco-Persian Wars, lasting from the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Due to the conquests by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hellenistic civilization flourished from Central Asia to the end of the Mediterranean Sea. Classical Greek culture, especially philosophy, had a influence on ancient Rome. For this reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the culture which provided the foundation of modern Western culture and is considered the cradle of Western civilization. Classical Antiquity in the Mediterranean region is considered to have begun in the 8th century BC. Classical Antiquity in Greece is preceded by the Greek Dark Ages and this period is succeeded, around the 8th century BC, by the Orientalizing Period during which a strong influence of Syro-Hittite, Jewish, Assyrian, Phoenician and Egyptian cultures becomes apparent. The end of the Dark Ages is also dated to 776 BC. The Archaic period gives way to the Classical period around 500 BC, Ancient Periods Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details The history of Greece during Classical Antiquity may be subdivided into five major periods. The earliest of these is the Archaic period, in which artists made larger free-standing sculptures in stiff, the Archaic period is often taken to end with the overthrow of the last tyrant of Athens and the start of Athenian Democracy in 508 BC. It was followed by the Classical period, characterized by a style which was considered by observers to be exemplary, i. e. classical, as shown in the Parthenon. This period saw the Greco-Persian Wars and the Rise of Macedon, following the Classical period was the Hellenistic period, during which Greek culture and power expanded into the Near and Middle East. This period begins with the death of Alexander and ends with the Roman conquest, Herodotus is widely known as the father of history, his Histories are eponymous of the entire field. Herodotus was succeeded by authors such as Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato, most of these authors were either Athenian or pro-Athenian, which is why far more is known about the history and politics of Athens than those of many other cities. Their scope is limited by a focus on political, military and diplomatic history, ignoring economic. In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization, literacy had been lost and Mycenaean script forgotten, but the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet, modifying it to create the Greek alphabet. The Lelantine War is the earliest documented war of the ancient Greek period and it was fought between the important poleis of Chalcis and Eretria over the fertile Lelantine plain of Euboea. Both cities seem to have suffered a decline as result of the long war, a mercantile class arose in the first half of the 7th century BC, shown by the introduction of coinage in about 680 BC
26.
Byzantine Empire
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It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
27.
Anthemius of Tralles
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Anthemius of Tralles was a Greek from Tralles who worked as a geometer and architect in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. With Isidore of Miletus, he designed the Hagia Sophia for Justinian I, Anthemius was one of the five sons of Stephanus of Tralles, a physician. His brothers were Dioscorus, Alexander, Olympius, and Metrodorus, in addition to his familiarity with steam, some dubious authorities credited Anthemius with a knowledge of gunpowder or other explosive compound. His work also includes the first practical use of the directrix, having given the focus and this work was later known to Arab mathematicians such as Alhazen. Eutociuss commentary on Apolloniuss Conics was dedicated to Anthemius, as an architect, Anthemius is best known for his work designing the Hagia Sophia. He was commissioned with Isidore of Miletus by Justinian I shortly after the church on the site burned down in 532. He is also said to have repaired the flood defenses at Daras, other Anthemiuses Boyer, Carl Benjamin, A History of Mathematics, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0-471-54397-7. Histoire de lAcademie des Instrumentistes, XLII, Anthemius of Tralles, Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography,2008, retrieved 18 January 2015. OConnor, John J. Robertson, Edmund F. Anthemius of Tralles, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews
28.
Hagia Sophia
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Hagia Sophia was a Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal basilica, later an imperial mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. The building was converted into an Ottoman mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum on 1 February 1935, famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have changed the history of architecture. It remained the worlds largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years and it was designed by the Greek geometers Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The church contained a collection of relics and featured, among other things. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed the Conqueror, by that point, the church had fallen into a state of disrepair. Nevertheless, the Christian cathedral made an impression on the new Ottoman rulers. Islamic features—such as the mihrab, minbar, and four minarets—were added and it remained a mosque until 1931, when it was closed to the public for four years. It was re-opened in 1935 as a museum by the Republic of Turkey, Hagia Sophia was, as of 2014, the second-most visited museum in Turkey, attracting almost 3.3 million visitors annually. According to data released by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry, from its initial conversion until the construction of the nearby Sultan Ahmed Mosque in 1616, it was the principal mosque of Istanbul. The first church on the site was known as the Μεγάλη Ἐκκλησία, or in Latin Magna Ecclesia, inaugurated on 15 February 360 by the Arian bishop Eudoxius of Antioch, it was built next to the area where the imperial palace was being developed. The nearby Hagia Eirene church was completed earlier and served as cathedral until the Great Church was completed, both churches acted together as the principal churches of the Byzantine Empire. Writing in 440, Socrates of Constantinople claimed that the church was built by Constantius II, a tradition which is not older than the 7th or 8th century, reports that the edifice was built by Constantine the Great. Zonaras reconciles the two opinions, writing that Constantius had repaired the edifice consecrated by Eusebius of Nicomedia, after it had collapsed. Since Eusebius was bishop of Constantinople from 339 to 341, and Constantine died in 337, the edifice was built as a traditional Latin colonnaded basilica with galleries and a wooden roof. It was preceded by an atrium and it was claimed to be one of the worlds most outstanding monuments at the time. The Patriarch of Constantinople John Chrysostom came into a conflict with Empress Aelia Eudoxia, wife of the emperor Arcadius, during the subsequent riots, this first church was largely burned down. Nothing remains of the first church today, a second church on the site was ordered by Theodosius II, who inaugurated it on 10 October 415
29.
Al-Kindi
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Abu Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī, known as the Philosopher of the Arabs, was a Muslim Arab philosopher, polymath, mathematician, physician and musician. Al-Kindi was a descendant of the Kinda tribe and he was born in Basra and educated in Baghdad. In the field of mathematics, al-Kindi played an important role in introducing Indian numerals to the Islamic and he was a pioneer in cryptanalysis and devised several new methods of breaking ciphers. Using his mathematical and medical expertise, he was able to develop a scale that would allow doctors to quantify the potency of their medication, the central theme underpinning al-Kindis philosophical writings is the compatibility between philosophy and other orthodox Islamic sciences, particularly theology. And many of his works deal with subjects that theology had an immediate interest in and these include the nature of God, the soul and prophetic knowledge. Al-Kindi was born in Kufa to a family of the Kinda tribe, descended from the chieftain al-Ashath ibn Qays. His father Ishaq was the governor of Kufa, and al-Kindi received his education there. He later went to complete his studies in Baghdad, where he was patronized by the Abbasid caliphs al-Mamun and he was also well known for his beautiful calligraphy, and at one point was employed as a calligrapher by al-Mutawakkil. When al-Mamun died, his brother, al-Mutasim became Caliph, al-Kindis position would be enhanced under al-Mutasim, who appointed him as a tutor to his son. But on the accession of al-Wathiq, and especially of al-Mutawakkil, henry Corbin, an authority on Islamic studies, says that in 873, al-Kindi died a lonely man, in Baghdad during the reign of al-Mutamid. After his death, al-Kindis philosophical works quickly fell into obscurity and many of them were lost even to later Islamic scholars, felix Klein-Franke suggests a number of reasons for this, aside from the militant orthodoxy of al-Mutawakkil, the Mongols also destroyed countless libraries during their invasion. Al-Kindi was a master of different areas of thought and was held to be one of the greatest Islamic philosophers of his time. The Italian Renaissance scholar Geralomo Cardano considered him one of the twelve greatest minds of the Middle Ages, according to Ibn al-Nadim, al-Kindi wrote at least two hundred and sixty books, contributing heavily to geometry, medicine and philosophy, logic, and physics. His influence in the fields of physics, mathematics, medicine, philosophy and music were far-reaching and his greatest contribution to the development of Islamic philosophy was his efforts to make Greek thought both accessible and acceptable to a Muslim audience. Al-Kindi carried out this mission from the House of Wisdom, an institute of translation and learning patronized by the Abbasid Caliphs, in Baghdad. In his writings, one of al-Kindis central concerns was to demonstrate the compatibility between philosophy and natural theology on the one hand, and revealed or speculative theology on the other. Despite this, he did make clear that he believed revelation was a source of knowledge to reason because it guaranteed matters of faith that reason could not uncover. This was an important factor in the introduction and popularization of Greek philosophy in the Muslim intellectual world
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Arabs
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Arabs are an ethnic group inhabiting the Arab world. They primarily live in the Arab states in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabs are first mentioned in the mid-ninth century BCE as a tribal people dwelling in the central Arabian Peninsula. The Arabs appear to have been under the vassalage of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, tradition holds that Arabs descend from Ishmael, the son of Abraham. The Arabian Desert is the birthplace of Arab, there are other Arab groups as well that spread in the land and existed for millennia. Before the expansion of the Caliphate, Arab referred to any of the largely nomadic Semitic people from the northern to the central Arabian Peninsula and Syrian Desert. Presently, Arab refers to a number of people whose native regions form the Arab world due to spread of Arabs throughout the region during the early Arab conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries. The Arabs forged the Rashidun, Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates, whose borders reached southern France in the west, China in the east, Anatolia in the north, and this was one of the largest land empires in history. The Great Arab Revolt has had as big an impact on the modern Middle East as the World War I, the war signaled the end of the Ottoman Empire. They are modern states and became significant as distinct political entities after the fall and defeat, following adoption of the Alexandria Protocol in 1944, the Arab League was founded on 22 March 1945. The Charter of the Arab League endorsed the principle of an Arab homeland whilst respecting the sovereignty of its member states. Beyond the boundaries of the League of Arab States, Arabs can also be found in the global diaspora, the ties that bind Arabs are ethnic, linguistic, cultural, historical, identical, nationalist, geographical and political. The Arabs have their own customs, language, architecture, art, literature, music, dance, media, cuisine, dress, society, sports, the total number of Arabs are an estimated 450 million. This makes them the second largest ethnic group after the Han Chinese. Arabs are a group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. In the pre-Islamic era, most Arabs followed polytheistic religions, some tribes had adopted Christianity or Judaism, and a few individuals, the hanifs, apparently observed monotheism. Today, Arabs are mainly adherents of Islam, with sizable Christian minorities, Arab Muslims primarily belong to the Sunni, Shiite, Ibadi, Alawite, Druze and Ismaili denominations. Arab Christians generally follow one of the Eastern Christian Churches, such as the Maronite, Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, or Chaldean churches. Listed among the booty captured by the army of king Shalmaneser III of Assyria in the Battle of Qarqar are 1000 camels of Gi-in-di-buu the ar-ba-a-a or Gindibu belonging to the Arab
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Physicist
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A physicist is a scientist who has specialized knowledge in the field of physics, the exploration of the interactions of matter and energy across the physical universe. A physicist is a scientist who specializes or works in the field of physics, physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate causes of phenomena, and usually frame their understanding in mathematical terms. Physicists can also apply their knowledge towards solving real-world problems or developing new technologies, some physicists specialize in sectors outside the science of physics itself, such as engineering. The study and practice of physics is based on a ladder of discoveries. Many mathematical and physical ideas used today found their earliest expression in ancient Greek culture and Asian culture, the bulk of physics education can be said to flow from the scientific revolution in Europe, starting with the work of Galileo and Kepler in the early 1600s. New knowledge in the early 21st century includes an increase in understanding physical cosmology. The term physicist was coined by William Whewell in his 1840 book The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences, many physicist positions require an undergraduate degree in applied physics or a related science or a Masters degree like MSc, MPhil, MPhys or MSci. In a research oriented level, students tend to specialize in a particular field, Physics students also need training in mathematics, and also in computer science and programming. For being employed as a physicist a doctoral background may be required for certain positions, undergraduate students like BSc Mechanical Engineering, BSc Electrical and Computer Engineering, BSc Applied Physics. etc. With physics orientation are chosen as research assistants with faculty members, the highest honor awarded to physicists is the Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded since 1901 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The three major employers of career physicists are academic institutions, laboratories, and private industries, with the largest employer being the last, physicists in academia or government labs tend to have titles such as Assistants, Professors, Sr. /Jr. As per the American Institute for Physics, some 20% of new physics Ph. D. s holds jobs in engineering development programs, while 14% turn to computer software, a majority of physicists employed apply their skills and training to interdisciplinary sectors. For industry or self-employment. and also in science and programming. Hence a majority of Physics bachelors degree holders are employed in the private sector, other fields are academia, government and military service, nonprofit entities, labs and teaching
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Ibn al-Haytham
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Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Haytham, also known by the Latinization Alhazen or Alhacen, was an Arab Muslim scientist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher. Ibn al-Haytham made significant contributions to the principles of optics, astronomy, mathematics and he was the first to explain that vision occurs when light bounces on an object and then is directed to ones eyes. He spent most of his close to the court of the Fatimid Caliphate in Cairo and earned his living authoring various treatises. In medieval Europe, Ibn al-Haytham was honored as Ptolemaeus Secundus or simply called The Physicist and he is also sometimes called al-Baṣrī after his birthplace Basra in Iraq, or al-Miṣrī. Ibn al-Haytham was born c.965 in Basra, which was part of the Buyid emirate. Alhazen arrived in Cairo under the reign of Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim, Alhazen continued to live in Cairo, in the neighborhood of the famous University of al-Azhar, until his death in 1040. Legend has it that after deciding the scheme was impractical and fearing the caliphs anger, during this time, he wrote his influential Book of Optics and continued to write further treatises on astronomy, geometry, number theory, optics and natural philosophy. Among his students were Sorkhab, a Persian from Semnan who was his student for three years, and Abu al-Wafa Mubashir ibn Fatek, an Egyptian prince who learned mathematics from Alhazen. Alhazen made significant contributions to optics, number theory, geometry, astronomy, Alhazens work on optics is credited with contributing a new emphasis on experiment. In al-Andalus, it was used by the prince of the Banu Hud dynasty of Zaragossa and author of an important mathematical text. A Latin translation of the Kitab al-Manazir was made probably in the twelfth or early thirteenth century. His research in catoptrics centred on spherical and parabolic mirrors and spherical aberration and he made the observation that the ratio between the angle of incidence and refraction does not remain constant, and investigated the magnifying power of a lens. His work on catoptrics also contains the known as Alhazens problem. Alhazen wrote as many as 200 books, although only 55 have survived, some of his treatises on optics survived only through Latin translation. During the Middle Ages his books on cosmology were translated into Latin, Hebrew, the crater Alhazen on the Moon is named in his honour, as was the asteroid 59239 Alhazen. In honour of Alhazen, the Aga Khan University named its Ophthalmology endowed chair as The Ibn-e-Haitham Associate Professor, Alhazen, by the name Ibn al-Haytham, is featured on the obverse of the Iraqi 10, 000-dinar banknote issued in 2003, and on 10-dinar notes from 1982. The 2015 International Year of Light celebrated the 1000th anniversary of the works on optics by Ibn Al-Haytham, Alhazens most famous work is his seven-volume treatise on optics Kitab al-Manazir, written from 1011 to 1021. Optics was translated into Latin by a scholar at the end of the 12th century or the beginning of the 13th century
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Book of Optics
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The Book of Optics is a seven-volume treatise on optics and other fields of study composed by the medieval Arab scholar Ibn al-Haytham, known in the West as Alhazen or Alhacen. Alhazens work extensively affected the development of optics in Europe between 1260 and 1650, before the Book of Optics was written, two theories of vision existed. The extramission or emission theory was forwarded by the mathematicians Euclid and Ptolemy, when these rays reached the object they allowed the viewer to perceive its color, shape and size. The intromission theory, held by the followers of Aristotle and Galen, argued that sight was caused by agents, al-Haytham offered many reasons against the extramission theory, pointing to the fact that eyes can be damaged by looking directly at bright lights, such as the sun. He claimed the low probability that the eye can fill the entirety of space as soon as the eyelids are opened as an observer looks up into the night sky. According to this theory, the object being viewed is considered to be a compilation of an amount of points. In the Book of Optics, al-Haytham claimed the existence of primary and secondary light, the book describes how the essential form of light comes from self-luminous bodies and that accidental light comes from objects that obtain and emit light from those self-luminous bodies. According to Ibn al-Haytham, primary light comes from self-luminous bodies, accidental light can only exist if there is a source of primary light. Both primary and secondary light travel in straight lines, transparency is a characteristic of a body that can transmit light through them, such as air and water, although no body can completely transmit light or be entirely transparent. Opaque objects are those through which light cannot pass through directly, opaque objects are struck with light and can become luminous bodies themselves which radiate secondary light. Light can be refracted by going through partially transparent objects and can also be reflected by striking smooth objects such as mirrors, al-Haytham presented many experiments in Optics that upheld his claims about light and its transmission. He also claimed that acts much like light, being a distinct quality of a form. Through experimentation he concluded that color cannot exist without air, as objects radiate light in straight lines in all directions, the eye must also be hit with this light over its outer surface. This idea presented a problem for al-Haytham and his predecessors, as if this was the case, al-Haytham solved this problem using his theory of refraction. According to al-Haytham, this causes them to be refracted and weakened and he claimed that all the rays other than the one that hits the eye perpendicularly are not involved in vision. Other parts of the eye are the aqueous humor in front of the crystalline humor and these, however, do not play as critical of a role in vision as the crystalline humor. The crystalline humor transmits the image it perceives to the brain through an optic nerve, Book I - Book I deals with al-Haythams theories on light, colors, and vision. Book II - Book II is where al-Haytham presents his theory of visual perception, Book III and Book VI - Book III and Book VI present al-Haythams ideas on the errors in visual perception with Book VI focusing on errors related to reflection
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Vitello
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1230, probably in Legnica in Lower Silesia, died after 1280, before 1314) was a friar, theologian and scientist, a physicist, natural philosopher, mathematician. He is an important figure in the history of philosophy in Poland, on the Moon there is a crater, Vitello, named after him. Witelos mother was from a Polish knightly house, while his father was a German settler from Thuringia and he called himself, in Latin, Thuringorum et Polonorum filius — a son of Thuringians and Poles. He studied at Padua University about 1260, then went on to Viterbo and he became friends with William of Moerbeke, the translator of Aristotle. Witelos major surviving work on optics, Perspectiva, completed in about 1270–78, was dedicated to William, in 1284 he described reflection and refraction of light. Witelos Perspectiva was largely based on the work of the polymath Alhazen and in turn influenced later scientists. Witelos treatise in optics was closely linked to the Latin version of Ibn al-Haythams Arabic opus, Kitab al-manazir, Witelos Perspectiva, which rested on Ibn al-Haythams research in optics, influenced also the Renaissance theories of perspective. Lorenzo Ghibertis Commentario terzo was based on an Italian translation of Witelos Latin tract, Witelos treatise also contains much material in psychology, outlining views that are close to modern notions on the association of ideas and on the subconscious. Perspectiva also includes Platonic metaphysical discussions, Witelo argues that there are intellectual and corporeal bodies, connected by causality, emanating from God in the form of Divine Light. Light itself is, for Witelo, the first of all sensible entities, in Perspectiva, Witelo refers to other works that he had written. Most of these do not survive, but De Natura Daemonum, studies Clemens Baeumker, Witelo, Ein Philosoph und Naturforscher des dreizehnten Jahrhunderts, Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie des Mittelalters, part 3, no. Władysław Tatarkiewicz, Historia filozofii,3 vols, warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe,1978. jpg and. tiff format
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John Peckham
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John Peckham was Archbishop of Canterbury in the years 1279–1292. He was a native of Sussex who was educated at Lewes Priory and he studied at the University of Paris under Bonaventure, where he would later teach theology. From his teaching, he came into conflict with Thomas Aquinas, known as a conservative theologian, he opposed Aquinas views on the nature of the soul. Peckham also studied optics and astronomy, and his studies in those subjects were influenced by Roger Bacon, in around 1270, Peckham returned to England, where he taught at the University of Oxford, and was elected the provincial minister of England in 1275. After a brief stint in Rome, he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1279 and his time as archbishop was marked by efforts to improve discipline in the clergy as well as reorganize the estates of his see. Pluralism, or holding more than one benefice, was one of the abuses that Peckham combatted. He served King Edward I of England in Wales, where he formed a low opinion of the Welsh people, before and during his time as archbishop, he wrote a number of works on optics, philosophy, and theology, as well as writing hymns. Numerous manuscripts of his works survive, on his death, his body was buried in Canterbury Cathedral, but his heart was given to the Franciscans for burial. Peckham came from a family, possibly from Patcham in Sussex. He was born about 1230 and was educated at Lewes Priory, about 1250, he joined the Franciscan order at Oxford. He then went to the University of Paris, where he studied under Bonaventure and became regent master, or official lecturer, while at Paris, he wrote a Commentary on Lamentations, which sets out two possible sermons. For years Peckham taught at Paris, where he was in contact with many of the scholars of his time. He famously debated Aquinas on at least two occasions during 1269 and 1270, during which Peckham defended the conservative position. The Thomist doctrine of the unity of form was condemned after these debates and his theological works later were used by his pupil Roger Marston who in turn inspired Duns Scotus. Peckham also studied other fields, however, and was guided by Robert Grosseteste, where Peckham met Bacon is not known, but it would have been at either Paris or Oxford. Bacons influence can be seen in Peckhams works on optics and astronomy, about 1270, he returned to England to teach at Oxford, and was elected provincial minister of the Franciscans in England in 1275. He did not long remain in that post, being summoned to Rome as lector sacri palatii and it is likely that he composed his Expositio super Regulam Fratrum Minorum, a work that included information on preaching, a subject that Peckham felt was of great importance. In 1279 he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Pope Nicholas III who had prohibited the election of Robert Burnell and he was provided on 25 January 1279 and consecrated on 19 February 1279
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Roger Bacon
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In the early modern era, he was regarded as a wizard and particularly famed for the story of his mechanical or necromantic brazen head. He is sometimes credited as one of the earliest European advocates of the scientific method inspired by Aristotle. His linguistic work has been heralded for its exposition of a universal grammar. However, more recent re-evaluations emphasise that Bacon was essentially a medieval thinker and he was, however, partially responsible for a revision of the medieval university curriculum, which saw the addition of optics to the traditional quadrivium. A survey of how Bacons work was received over the found that it often reflected the concerns. Bacons major work, the Opus Majus, was sent to Pope Clement IV in Rome in 1267 upon the popes request, although gunpowder was first invented and described in China, Bacon was the first in Europe to record its formula. Roger Bacon was born in Ilchester in Somerset, England, in the early 13th century, although his date of birth is sometimes narrowed down to c. 1210,1213 or 1214, however, historians most agree on c. 1220. The only source for his date is a statement from his 1267 Opus Tertium that forty years have passed since I first learned the Alphabetum. His family appears to have been well off, Bacon became a master at Oxford, lecturing on Aristotle. There is no evidence he was awarded a doctorate. A caustic cleric named Roger Bacon is recorded speaking before the king at Oxford in 1233, in 1237 or some time over the next decade, he accepted an invitation to teach at the University of Paris. While there, he lectured on Latin grammar, Aristotelian logic, arithmetic, geometry, and his faculty colleagues included Robert Kilwardby, Albertus Magnus, and Peter of Spain, the future Pope John XXI. The Cornishman Richard Rufus was a scholarly opponent, in 1247 or soon after, he left his position in Paris. As a private scholar, his whereabouts for the decade are uncertain but he was likely in Oxford c. 1248–51, where he met Adam Marsh. He seems to have studied most of the known Greek and Arabic works on optics, a passage in the Opus Tertium states that at some point he took a two-year break from his studies. Pope Urban IV absolved the king of his oath in 1261 and, after an initial abortive resistance, Bacons own family were considered royal partisans, De Montforts men seized their property and drove several members into exile. In 1256 or 57, he became a friar in the Franciscan Order in either Paris or Oxford, following the example of scholarly English Franciscans such as Grosseteste and Marsh. After 1260, Bacons activities were restricted by a statute prohibiting the friars of his order from publishing books or pamphlets without prior approval
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Leonardo da Vinci
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He has been variously called the father of palaeontology, ichnology, and architecture, and is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. Sometimes credited with the inventions of the parachute, helicopter and tank, many historians and scholars regard Leonardo as the prime exemplar of the Universal Genius or Renaissance Man, an individual of unquenchable curiosity and feverishly inventive imagination. Much of his working life was spent in the service of Ludovico il Moro in Milan. He later worked in Rome, Bologna and Venice, and he spent his last years in France at the home awarded to him by Francis I of France, Leonardo was, and is, renowned primarily as a painter. Among his works, the Mona Lisa is the most famous and most parodied portrait, Leonardos drawing of the Vitruvian Man is also regarded as a cultural icon, being reproduced on items as varied as the euro coin, textbooks, and T-shirts. Perhaps fifteen of his paintings have survived, Leonardo is revered for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualised flying machines, a type of armoured fighting vehicle, concentrated power, an adding machine. Some of his inventions, however, such as an automated bobbin winder. A number of Leonardos most practical inventions are nowadays displayed as working models at the Museum of Vinci. He made substantial discoveries in anatomy, civil engineering, geology, optics, and hydrodynamics, today, Leonardo is widely considered one of the most diversely talented individuals ever to have lived. Leonardo was born on 15 April 1452 at the hour of the night in the Tuscan hill town of Vinci. He was the son of the wealthy Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci, a Florentine legal notary, and Caterina. Leonardo had no surname in the modern sense – da Vinci simply meaning of Vinci, his birth name was Lionardo di ser Piero da Vinci, meaning Leonardo. The inclusion of the title ser indicated that Leonardos father was a gentleman, little is known about Leonardos early life. He spent his first five years in the hamlet of Anchiano in the home of his mother and his father had married a sixteen-year-old girl named Albiera Amadori, who loved Leonardo but died young in 1465 without children. When Leonardo was sixteen, his father married again to twenty-year-old Francesca Lanfredini, pieros legitimate heirs were born from his third wife Margherita di Guglielmo and his fourth and final wife, Lucrezia Cortigiani. Leonardo received an education in Latin, geometry and mathematics. In later life, Leonardo recorded only two childhood incidents, one, which he regarded as an omen, was when a kite dropped from the sky and hovered over his cradle, its tail feathers brushing his face
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Johannes Kepler
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Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer. A key figure in the 17th-century scientific revolution, he is best known for his laws of motion, based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi. These works also provided one of the foundations for Isaac Newtons theory of universal gravitation, Kepler was a mathematics teacher at a seminary school in Graz, where he became an associate of Prince Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg. Later he became an assistant to the astronomer Tycho Brahe in Prague and he was also a mathematics teacher in Linz, and an adviser to General Wallenstein. Kepler lived in an era when there was no distinction between astronomy and astrology, but there was a strong division between astronomy and physics. Kepler was born on December 27, the feast day of St John the Evangelist,1571 and his grandfather, Sebald Kepler, had been Lord Mayor of the city. By the time Johannes was born, he had two brothers and one sister and the Kepler family fortune was in decline and his father, Heinrich Kepler, earned a precarious living as a mercenary, and he left the family when Johannes was five years old. He was believed to have died in the Eighty Years War in the Netherlands and his mother Katharina Guldenmann, an innkeepers daughter, was a healer and herbalist. Born prematurely, Johannes claimed to have weak and sickly as a child. Nevertheless, he often impressed travelers at his grandfathers inn with his phenomenal mathematical faculty and he was introduced to astronomy at an early age, and developed a love for it that would span his entire life. At age six, he observed the Great Comet of 1577, in 1580, at age nine, he observed another astronomical event, a lunar eclipse, recording that he remembered being called outdoors to see it and that the moon appeared quite red. However, childhood smallpox left him with vision and crippled hands. In 1589, after moving through grammar school, Latin school, there, he studied philosophy under Vitus Müller and theology under Jacob Heerbrand, who also taught Michael Maestlin while he was a student, until he became Chancellor at Tübingen in 1590. He proved himself to be a mathematician and earned a reputation as a skilful astrologer. Under the instruction of Michael Maestlin, Tübingens professor of mathematics from 1583 to 1631 and he became a Copernican at that time. In a student disputation, he defended heliocentrism from both a theoretical and theological perspective, maintaining that the Sun was the source of motive power in the universe. Despite his desire to become a minister, near the end of his studies, Kepler was recommended for a position as teacher of mathematics and he accepted the position in April 1594, at the age of 23. Keplers first major work, Mysterium Cosmographicum, was the first published defense of the Copernican system
39.
Dream Pool Essays
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The Dream Pool Essays or Dream Torrent Essays was an extensive book written by the Han Chinese polymath, genius, scientist and statesman Shen Kuo by 1088 AD, during the Song dynasty of China. He named the book after the name he gave to his estate, the Dream Brook. The literal translated meaning is Brush Talks from a Dream Brook, as the historian Chen Dengyuan points out, much of Shen Kuos written work was probably purged under the leadership of minister Cai Jing. For example, only six of Shens books remain, and four of these have significantly altered since the time they were penned by the author. The Dream Pool Essays was first quoted in a Chinese written work of 1095 AD, the book was originally 30 chapters long, yet an unknown Chinese authors edition of 1166 AD edited and reorganized the work into 26 chapters. There is one surviving copy of this 1166 edition housed now in Japan, in 1631 another edition was printed, but it was heavily reorganized into three broad chapters. English, Brush Talks from Dream Brook is the first complete translation of Meng Xi Bi Tan by Wang Hong and Zhao Zheng, published in 2008 by Sichuan People’s Publishing House, China. Modern Vernacular Chinese, Zhang Jiajus biographical work Shen Kuo contains selected translations of the Dream Pool Essays from Middle Chinese. English, Various volumes of Joseph Needhams Science and Civilization in China series, from 1954 onwards, french, Quoted excerpts from the Dream Pool Essays were printed in the written work of J. Brenier in 1989 as well as J. F. Billeter in 1993. German, Complete translation in Shen Kuo, Pinsel-Unterhaltungen am Traumbach, das Gesamte Wissen des Alten China, translated and edited by Konrad Hermann, published in 1997 by Diederichs Verlag Munich. He was so frightened by it that he dared not touch it, thus a serpent or some kind of marine snake had certainly been turned to stone, as happens with the stone-crabs. In recent years there was a landslide on the bank of a river in Yong-ning Guan near Yanzhou. The bank collapsed, opening a space of several dozens of feet and it contained several hundred bamboo with their roots and trunks all complete, and all turned to stone. Now bamboos do not grow in Yanzhou. These were several dozens of feet below the present surface of the ground, perhaps in very ancient times the climate was different so that the place was low, damp, gloomy, and suitable for bamboos. But these petrified bamboos appeared under the ground so deep, though they are not produced in place today. This is a strange thing. I replied that these bodies were certainly like balls. By the waxing and waning of the moon, the moon itself gives forth no light, but is like a ball of silver, the light is the light of the sun
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Song dynasty
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The Song dynasty was an era of Chinese history that began in 960 and continued until 1279. It succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, coincided with the Liao and Western Xia dynasties and it was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money nationally and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. This dynasty also saw the first known use of gunpowder, as well as the first discernment of true north using a compass, the Song dynasty is divided into two distinct periods, Northern and Southern. During the Northern Song, the Song capital was in the city of Bianjing. The Southern Song refers to the period after the Song lost control of its half to the Jurchen Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song Wars. During this time, the Song court retreated south of the Yangtze, the Southern Song dynasty considerably bolstered its naval strength to defend its waters and land borders and to conduct maritime missions abroad. To repel the Jin, and later the Mongols, the Song developed revolutionary new military technology augmented by the use of gunpowder, in 1234, the Jin dynasty was conquered by the Mongols, who took control of northern China, maintaining uneasy relations with the Southern Song. Möngke Khan, the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and his younger brother Kublai Khan was proclaimed the new Great Khan, though his claim was only partially recognized by the Mongols in the west. In 1271, Kublai Khan was proclaimed the Emperor of China, after two decades of sporadic warfare, Kublai Khans armies conquered the Song dynasty in 1279. The Mongol invasion led to a reunification under the Yuan dynasty, the population of China doubled in size during the 10th and 11th centuries. The Northern Song census recorded a population of roughly 50 million, much like the Han and this data is found in the Standard Histories. However, it is estimated that the Northern Song had a population of some 100 million people and this dramatic increase of population fomented an economic revolution in pre-modern China. The expansion of the population, growth of cities, and the emergence of a national economy led to the withdrawal of the central government from direct involvement in economic affairs. The lower gentry assumed a role in grassroots administration and local affairs. Appointed officials in county and provincial centers relied upon the gentry for their services, sponsorship. Social life during the Song was vibrant, citizens gathered to view and trade precious artworks, the populace intermingled at public festivals and private clubs, and cities had lively entertainment quarters. The spread of literature and knowledge was enhanced by the expansion of woodblock printing. Technology, science, philosophy, mathematics, and engineering flourished over the course of the Song, although the institution of the civil service examinations had existed since the Sui dynasty, it became much more prominent in the Song period
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