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Light Years: The Extraordinary Story of Mankind's Fascination with Light
This is the story of light and the people who were determined to unlock the secrets of one of the greatest puzzles of the Universe.
Acclaimed science writer Brian Clegg recounts how civilisations from the Ancient Egyptians to the Mayans understood light spiritually, and looks at the first scientific grapplings with light by the ancient Chinese sage Mo Ti, the Greek philosopher Empedocles, Arab genius Alhazen and others.
Clegg also explores the contribution of artists such as Brunellschi, Leonardo de Vinci and Durer to our understanding of light and examines the great revolutionaries of light theory including Galileo, Descartes, Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday and Albert Einstein.
In this new edition of one of his best-loved books, Clegg finally discusses the work of scientists such as Maxwell, Edison and Gould that led to light-driven inventions from the camera to the laser, CDs and optical computers and explains the mind-bending advances of quantum physics.
354 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2001
14 people are currently reading
265 people want to read
About the author
Brian Clegg
162 books3,175 followersBrian's latest books, Ten Billion Tomorrows and How Many Moons does the Earth Have are now available to pre-order. He has written a range of other science titles, including the bestselling Inflight Science, The God Effect, Before the Big Bang, A Brief History of Infinity, Build Your Own Time Machine and Dice World.
Along with appearances at the Royal Institution in London he has spoken at venues from Oxford and Cambridge Universities to Cheltenham Festival of Science, has contributed to radio and TV programmes, and is a popular speaker at schools. Brian is also editor of the successful www.popularscience.co.uk book review site and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Brian has Masters degrees from Cambridge University in Natural Sciences and from Lancaster University in Operational Research, a discipline originally developed during the Second World War to apply the power of mathematics to warfare. It has since been widely applied to problem solving and decision making in business.
Brian has also written regular columns, features and reviews for numerous publications, including Nature, The Guardian, PC Week, Computer Weekly, Personal Computer World, The Observer, Innovative Leader, Professional Manager, BBC History, Good Housekeeping and House Beautiful. His books have been translated into many languages, including German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Turkish, Norwegian, Thai and even Indonesian.
Along with appearances at the Royal Institution in London he has spoken at venues from Oxford and Cambridge Universities to Cheltenham Festival of Science, has contributed to radio and TV programmes, and is a popular speaker at schools. Brian is also editor of the successful www.popularscience.co.uk book review site and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Brian has Masters degrees from Cambridge University in Natural Sciences and from Lancaster University in Operational Research, a discipline originally developed during the Second World War to apply the power of mathematics to warfare. It has since been widely applied to problem solving and decision making in business.
Brian has also written regular columns, features and reviews for numerous publications, including Nature, The Guardian, PC Week, Computer Weekly, Personal Computer World, The Observer, Innovative Leader, Professional Manager, BBC History, Good Housekeeping and House Beautiful. His books have been translated into many languages, including German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Turkish, Norwegian, Thai and even Indonesian.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 2, 2025
În Grecia Antică, Empedocle și-a imaginat lumina ca fiind o rază de foc transmisă din ochi. El avea în vedere focul propiu-zis curgând afară, într-un flux arzător, spre obiectele care erau privite. O astfel de imagine dramatică trebuie înțeleasă în contextul celor patru elemente ale sale - lumina trebuie compusă din foc, deoarece cu greu ar putea fi pământ, apă, sau aer. Grecii antici nu prea se omorau cu experimentele.
Inspirat de atomiști, Isaac Newton a emis ipoteza că lumina este alcătuită din particule mici, pe care le-a denumit corpusculi. Contemporan cu Newton, olandezul Christian Huygens a postulat cu lumina este o undă, la fel ca undele sonore. De-a lungul secolului al XVIII-lea nu prea a avut importanță care dintre cele două idei, particulele lui Newton sau undele lui Huygens, erau mai raționale, întrucât cultul lui Newton era într-atât de pronunțat încât opinia lui era considerată lege.
Bătălia dintre teoriile contradictorii ale lui Newton și Huygens părea să fi fost tranșată de către Thomas Young, care a descoperit interferența luminii, și de James Clerk Maxwell, care a descoperit natura electromagnetică a luminii. Lumina este o undă electromagnetică.
Puțini se așteptau ca în secolul XX teoria corpusculară a luminii să revină. În 1905, tânărul Einstein a conchis că singurul mod de a explica efectul foto-electric este invocând așa-numitele "cuante de lumină" (vor fi redenumite fotoni). Pentru explicarea efectului foto-electric, Einstein a primit Premiul Nobel în 1921.
În concluzie, ce este lumina, undă sau particulă? Răspunsul este confuzionant: este și undă și particulă, depinde ce experiment avem în vedere. Oamenii de știință vorbesc de dualitatea undă-particulă.
Recomand
Inspirat de atomiști, Isaac Newton a emis ipoteza că lumina este alcătuită din particule mici, pe care le-a denumit corpusculi. Contemporan cu Newton, olandezul Christian Huygens a postulat cu lumina este o undă, la fel ca undele sonore. De-a lungul secolului al XVIII-lea nu prea a avut importanță care dintre cele două idei, particulele lui Newton sau undele lui Huygens, erau mai raționale, întrucât cultul lui Newton era într-atât de pronunțat încât opinia lui era considerată lege.
Bătălia dintre teoriile contradictorii ale lui Newton și Huygens părea să fi fost tranșată de către Thomas Young, care a descoperit interferența luminii, și de James Clerk Maxwell, care a descoperit natura electromagnetică a luminii. Lumina este o undă electromagnetică.
Puțini se așteptau ca în secolul XX teoria corpusculară a luminii să revină. În 1905, tânărul Einstein a conchis că singurul mod de a explica efectul foto-electric este invocând așa-numitele "cuante de lumină" (vor fi redenumite fotoni). Pentru explicarea efectului foto-electric, Einstein a primit Premiul Nobel în 1921.
În concluzie, ce este lumina, undă sau particulă? Răspunsul este confuzionant: este și undă și particulă, depinde ce experiment avem în vedere. Oamenii de știință vorbesc de dualitatea undă-particulă.
Recomand
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December 30, 2023Mi-a luat tot anul să termin cartea asta și încă nu am înțeles ce e lumina. Revin cu notițe.
June 21, 2019
My ratings of books on Goodreads are solely a crude ranking of their utility to me, and not an evaluation of literary merit, entertainment value, social importance, humor, insightfulness, scientific accuracy, creative vigor, suspensefulness of plot, depth of characters, vitality of theme, excitement of climax, satisfaction of ending, or any other combination of dimensions of value which we are expected to boil down through some fabulous alchemy into a single digit.
September 3, 2018
An interesting history of the discovery of ' light ' by those who unraveled and explained the many and complex aspects light down the centuries.
Brian Clegg provides insightful knowledge and understanding the fundamental physics of light, what it is, how it is and the many modern technologies that harness and manipulate it`s possibilities.
An invigorating and enjoyable read.
Brian Clegg provides insightful knowledge and understanding the fundamental physics of light, what it is, how it is and the many modern technologies that harness and manipulate it`s possibilities.
An invigorating and enjoyable read.
October 14, 2025
I'd been not fond of optics until the day when I encountered with this book. In my personal experience, it's honest-to-god starter for a young person who is passionate with physics and natural sciences.
June 8, 2020
Light is the very source of human sustenance. The rudimentary albeit fascinating process of photosynthesis which is inevitable for mankind's survival is totally dependent upon light. Right from the evolution of humanity, the concept of light has possessed an allure encompassing within it material degrees of both romanticism and mysticism in equal measure.
In this immensely readable and intensely engaging work, Brian Clegg by shaking away the cobwebs of scientific jargon and dispelling the terrors of fear inducing equations, provides a glowing overview of the anatomy, utility and the meaning of light. Tracing the history of human fascination for the study of light, Clegg commences with the exploits of Empidocles and Aristole before navigating a roller coaster of a path (spanning hundreds of years) that ends at the door step of frightening future possibilities, just one of which represents "Quantum Cloning". On the way he introduces the eager reader to many an indefatigable personality embodying inexhaustible patience and dedication, whose rigours have ensured that we have a better and grateful understanding of the world that we inhabit.
From the serene meadows of Woolsthorpe where Sir Issac Newton unraveled the mysteries of gravity, to an obscure Patent Office in Bern where the genius of Albert Einstein revealed the stunning and mind numbing facets of general and special relativity, Brian Clegg handholds us through the maze of reflection and refraction, helps us hurdle over the seemingly insurmountable obstacles of particle and wave theories, never deserting us when we arrive at a weird world characterised by the interplay of electromagnetism and the entanglement of Photons.
The most significant value addition of this book lies in its ability to impart esoteric concepts in elementary language. Whether it be describing James Clerk Maxwell and Michael Faraday's jousts with electromagnetism or the rift between Newton and Christiaan Huygens as to whether light is composed of particles or waves, the author takes great care to ensure that the reader is not ensnared or entangled in a trap of convoluted Physics. The Chapter on Richard Feynman is one of the best in the whole book if not the best.
"Light Years" - Sheds abundant lustre!
In this immensely readable and intensely engaging work, Brian Clegg by shaking away the cobwebs of scientific jargon and dispelling the terrors of fear inducing equations, provides a glowing overview of the anatomy, utility and the meaning of light. Tracing the history of human fascination for the study of light, Clegg commences with the exploits of Empidocles and Aristole before navigating a roller coaster of a path (spanning hundreds of years) that ends at the door step of frightening future possibilities, just one of which represents "Quantum Cloning". On the way he introduces the eager reader to many an indefatigable personality embodying inexhaustible patience and dedication, whose rigours have ensured that we have a better and grateful understanding of the world that we inhabit.
From the serene meadows of Woolsthorpe where Sir Issac Newton unraveled the mysteries of gravity, to an obscure Patent Office in Bern where the genius of Albert Einstein revealed the stunning and mind numbing facets of general and special relativity, Brian Clegg handholds us through the maze of reflection and refraction, helps us hurdle over the seemingly insurmountable obstacles of particle and wave theories, never deserting us when we arrive at a weird world characterised by the interplay of electromagnetism and the entanglement of Photons.
The most significant value addition of this book lies in its ability to impart esoteric concepts in elementary language. Whether it be describing James Clerk Maxwell and Michael Faraday's jousts with electromagnetism or the rift between Newton and Christiaan Huygens as to whether light is composed of particles or waves, the author takes great care to ensure that the reader is not ensnared or entangled in a trap of convoluted Physics. The Chapter on Richard Feynman is one of the best in the whole book if not the best.
"Light Years" - Sheds abundant lustre!
September 8, 2012
I love a book that speaks to me, name-drops and blows away the cobwebs in the corners of my mind. This book didn't fail. Little old light, the thing taken for granted each and every day, yet it has captured the imagination of the greatest minds that have been and gone....some remembered some not. Brian Clegg's words fill the reader with a tapestry rich in history. He literally ignites the inner flame that many have laid by the wayside and need to remember and re-embrace. A book should change you in some way, alter your course if need be and I'm pleased to say this book has redirected me. Thank you Brian for lighting up my world with LIGHT YEARS.
February 7, 2020
This was actually a really great read, as the author brings forth not just the history of how humans have perceived, explained and put light into equations, but also gives a detailed background for how each discovery and breakthrough came about.
July 25, 2016
This is ok as a background history and simplified look into the concept of light.
August 13, 2021
Ok, this took longer than expected, but I just loved it.
Can you even rate these kinds of books?
Can you even rate these kinds of books?
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews