Friday 12 February 2010

TV Worth Watching: Let There Be Light

1 hour left to watch this first in a series of programmes about Light and how we are affected and affect it. Fascinating!

From: BBC iPlayer: Factual | History
"Series in which Professor Simon Schaffer explores man's fascination with light begins by revealing the unwitting role religion played in forging our scientific understanding of the properties of light.

He reveals the extraordinary lengths to which the early light pioneers went to unlock the mysteries of light. The Greek philosopher Empedocles marked his theory that light travels like laser beams from our eyes by throwing himself into the volcano Mount Etna.

The Roman Church's obsession with Easter forced it to turn a blind eye to its own doctrines, as the religious authorities sanctioned the conversion of cathedrals into massive sun clocks, a move that would eventually drive the rabidly anti-Catholic Isaac Newton to unravel the true essence of light."


Broadcast on: BBC Four, 8:00pm Thursday 4th February 2010
Duration: 60 minutes
Available until: 8:59pm Thursday 11th February 2010
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