Facts
Why It Is OpenThe pinhole-image effect was independently recorded by more than one ancient culture centuries apart, so no single origin year or inventor can be attested; the earliest surviving written description, in the Chinese text Mozi, is itself dated only to the 4th century BCE by scholarly convention, not to an exact year, and Aristotle's roughly contemporaneous account in Problems raises the same difficulty. 1 What Would Resolve ThisA dated primary text or archaeological find earlier than the Mozi passage (4th century BCE) or Aristotle's Problems, with scholarly consensus on its date, naming a specific first description rather than a range of centuries. 1 Discipline Neededhistory of optics and early media technology 1 Question Kind Question Status Reader Facing Open Question
The pinhole-image effect was independently recorded by more than one ancient culture centuries apart, so no single origin year or inventor can be attested; the earliest surviving written description, in the Chinese text Mozi, is itself dated only to the 4th century BCE by scholarly convention, not to an exact year, and Aristotle's roughly contemporaneous account in Problems raises the same difficulty.
What would resolve this A dated primary text or archaeological find earlier than the Mozi passage (4th century BCE) or Aristotle's Problems, with scholarly consensus on its date, naming a specific first description rather than a range of centuries.
Openhistory of optics and early media technologyWikipedia
Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationCamera obscura (Wikipedia), 500 BC to 500 AD: Earliest written observations sectionView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.