Читать книгу Magic Shadows. The Story of the Origin of Motion Pictures онлайн

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Aristotle also was interested in color and in a study in this connection he noted that certain given plants were bleached by the sun. This was the initial scientific observation in the chain which ultimately, though indirectly, led to photography.

Archimedes (287–212 B.C.), a half-century after Aristotle, developed at Syracuse, then a Greek colony on the island of Sicily, the first recorded light apparatus, “The Burning Mirrors or Lenses.” Famed as the first great geometrician, Archimedes is best known for his principle upon which all ship construction is based—the buoyant force exerted by a liquid is equal to the weight of the displaced liquid. In other words, a shaped object of metal, such as a ship, will float if it displaces a sufficient quantity of water. King Hiero of Syracuse, a relative of Archimedes, gave him the problem of determining whether or not a new crown he had received was made of pure gold, as ordered, or whether the gold had been mixed with silver. This would have been no task at all if the King had not been fond of the crown and wished the information secured without damaging it in any way. As was the custom in those days, Archimedes considered the problem one afternoon at the local bath which served the double function of promoting cleanliness and of fostering every kind of discussion. It was the gentlemen’s club of the day and place.