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Graeco-Roman Notions of Visual Communication
2500 years ago the Greek philosophers of the "Golden Age" wrestled with and beautifully articulated the fundamental problem in -- viz., distinquishing transport mechanism from perception: in this case, the link between the eye and the object seen.
The Pythagorean View
The Link -- "Something" (the "quid") probes the
object -- the "invisible "pure fire of soul" (Apulrius)
The Atomists' View (refined by Epicureans)
The Link -- "Something" propagates to the observer with all
the properties of the object -- "husks" or Simulacra" (Leucippus of Miletus)
In 1030 Abu 'Ali Al-Hasan Ibn Al-Haitham, or Al-Hazen, writes the text Optical Illusion in which he describes the "Camera Obscura" and the "Persistance of Vision." Al-Hazen's theory is that light carries from the reflection of an object to the eye, thus implying the eye's need to focus. These concepts significantly influence the work of Italian Rennaissance painter Brunelleschi, who applies them to his perspective painting.
Optical Signal ProcessingProperties of a Simple Thin LensHow does a simple lens image a complex luminous object?
The facilitating ideas:
- Each point of luminous object emits light rays which propagate in straight lines through space.
- A set rules govern the behavior of light rays propagating through the simple thin lens.
- All rays passing through point in focal plane emerge parallel.
- All rays passing through center of lens are undeviated.
The generation of a real image of a point source at modest distances:
The generation of a real image of a point source at large distances:
