1 - Introduction

Summary

And the Lord saw that the light was good.

Genesis 1:4

Most probably all people, even though they belong to different cultures, would agree on the extraordinary role that light – the gift of the Sun-god – plays in nature and in their own existence. Optical impressions mediated by light enable us to form our views of the surrounding world and to adapt to it. The warming power of the sun's rays is a phenomenon experienced in ancient times and still appreciated today. We now know that the sun's radiation is the energy source for the life cycles on Earth. Indeed, it is photosynthesis in plants, a complicated chemical reaction mediated by chlorophyll, that forms the basis for organic life. In photosynthesis carbon dioxide and water are transformed into carbohydrates and oxygen with the help of light. Our main energy resources, coal, oil and gas, are basically nothing other than stored solar energy.

Finally, we should not forget how strongly seeing things influences our concepts of and the ways in which we pursue science. We can only speculate whether the current state of science could have been achieved without sight, without our ability to comprehend complicated equations, or to recognize structures at one glance and illustrate them graphically, and record them in written form.

The most amazing properties, some of which are completely alien to our common experiences with solid bodies, can be ascribed to light: it is weightless; it is able to traverse enormous distances of space with incredible speed (Descartes thought that light spreads out instantaneously); without being visible itself, it creates, in our minds, via our eyes, a world of colors and forms, thus “reflecting” the outside world.