Five Millennia of Optics. Volume 3. The Middle Ages. Study Guide

The book is devoted to the history of the formation and development of optics in the period from V to the XV century. It is a continuation of the books of the authors "Five Millennium Optics: Prehistory" (2006) and "Five Millennium Optics: Antiquity" (2010).
In the third book, on the background of the panorama of the life of the European and Arab Communities and the development of scientific knowledge during the Middle Ages, new ideas of scientists about the nature of light and the mechanism of view, the achievement of optical science and its connection with religion, philosophy and visual arts are considered. During this period, Greek optics are transformed first into the Arabic alk manazir, and then to the Latin perspective based on scholastic methods of knowledge of the world. Analyzed the mathematical foundations of medieval optics, issues of physics and metaphysics of light and color, theory of vision, optical materials, technologies and devices. The main achievement of the Middle Ages in the field of physical optics was the refusal of the hypothesis of the visual rays, and in the applied optics - the invention and the spread of glasses. Special attention in the book is given by the scientific heritage of the creators of medieval optics Algezen, Grossetest, Vitello, Pekkamu and their associates.
Optical achievements of the Middle Ages remain the subject of fascinating research up to the present day. The book is equipped with a rich illustrative material and an extensive list of literature. It is intended to students studying physics and natural sciences, graduate students of optical specialties, research workers, to all studies history and philosophy of science