ABU ALI HASAN IBN AL-HAITHAM
(965-1040 C.E.)
Abu Ali Hasan Ibn al-Haitham was one of the most eminent physicists, whose contributions to optics and
the scientific methods are outstanding. Known in the West as Alhazen, Ibn al-Haitham was born in 965
C.E. in Basrah, and was educated in Basrah and Baghdad. Thereafter, he went to Egypt, where he was
asked to find ways of controlling the flood of the Nile. Being unsuccessful in this, he feigned madness
until the death of Caliph al-Hakim. He also travelled to Spain and, during this period, he had ample time
for his scientific pursuits, which included optics, mathematics, physics, medicine and development of
scientific methods on each of which he has left several outstanding books.
of refraction. He also carried out the first experiments on the dispersion of light into its constituent
colours. His book Kitab-al-Manadhir was translated into Latin in the Middle Ages, as also his book
dealing with the colours of sunset. He dealt at length with the theory of various physical phenomena like
shadows, eclipses, the rainbow, and speculated on the physical nature of light. He is the first to describe
accurately the various parts of the eye and give a scientific explanation of the process of vision. He also
attempted to explain binocular vision, and gave a correct explanation of the apparent increase in size of
the sun and the moon when near the horizon. He is known for the earliest use of the camera obscura. He
contradicted Ptolemy's and Euclid's theory of vision that objects are seen by rays of light emanating from
the eyes; according to him the rays originate in the object of vision and not in the eye. Through these
extensive researches on optics, he has been considered as the father of modern Optics.
The Latin translation of his main work, Kitab-al-Manadhir, exerted a great influence upon Western
science e.g. on the work of Roger Bacon and Kepler. It brought about a great progress in experimental
methods. His research in catoptrics centred on spherical and parabolic mirrors and spherical aberration.
He made the important observation that the ratio between the angle of incidence and refraction does not
remain constant and investigated the magnifying power of a lens. His catoptrics contain the important
problem known as Alhazen's problem. It comprises drawing lines from two points in the plane of a circle
meeting at a point on the circumference and making equal angles with the norrnal at that point. This
leads to an equation of the fourth degree.
In his book Mizan al-Hikmah Ibn al-Haitham has discussed the density of the atmosphere and developed
a relation between it and the height. He also studied atmospheric refraction. He discovered that the
twilight only ceases or begins when the sun is 19° below the horizon and attempted to measure the height
of the atmosphere on that basis. He has also discussed the theories of attraction between masses, and it
seems that he was aware of the magnitude of acceleration due to gravity.
His contribution to mathematics and physics was extensive. In mathematics, he developed analytical
geometry by establishing linkage between algebra and geometry. He studied the mechanics of motion of
a body and was the first to maintain that a body moves perpetually unless an external force stops it or
changes its direction of motion. This would seem equivalent to the first law of motion.
The list of his books runs to 200 or so, very few of which have survived. Even his monumental treatise
on optics survived through its Latin translation. During the Middle Ages his books on cosmology were
translated into Latin, Hebrew and other languages. He has also written on the subject of evolution a book
that deserves serious attention even today.
In his writing, one can see a clear development of the scientific methods as developed and applied by the
Muslims and comprising the systematic observation of physical phenomena and their linking together
into a scientific theory. This was a major breakthrough in scientific methodology, as distinct from guess
and gesture, and placed scientific pursuits on a sound foundation comprising systematic relationship
between observation, hypothesis and verification.
Ibn al-Haitham's influence on physical sciences in general, and optics in particular, has been held in high
esteem and, in fact, it ushered in a new era in optical research, both in theory and practice.
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