SCIENCE & ISLAM ep2 5of6 | The Empire of Reason | موالإسلا العلم

Professor Al-Khalili travels to northern Syria to discover how, a thousand years ago, the great astronomer and mathematician Al-Biruni estimated the size of the earth to within a few hundred miles of the correct figure.
He discovers how medieval Islamic scholars helped turn the magical and occult practice of alchemy into modern chemistry.

He discovers how medieval Islamic scholars helped turn the magical and occult practice of alchemy into modern chemistry.
In Cairo, he tells the story of the extraordinary physicist Ibn al-Haytham, who helped establish the modern science of optics and proved one of the most fundamental principles in physics - that light travels in straight lines.
Prof Al-Khalili argues that these scholars are among the first people to insist that all scientific theories are backed up by careful experimental observation, bringing a rigour to science that didn't really exist before.

First shown on BBC4 12/01/2009
Professor Jim Al-Khalili presents Science and Islam

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Islam
• science
• Al
• Khalili
• bbc
• bbc4
• technology
• Islamic
• knowledge
• Arabic
• medicine
• algebra
• physics
• scientific
• theoretical
• physicist
• ibn
• al-Haytham
• celestial
• mechanics
• university
• Alexandria
• the
• empire
• of
• reason

[leporidus]

Very intriguing series, microman780. Thanks for sharing!

[microman780]

You're welcome. I am glad you enjoyed it.

[shaukatzaman1122]

Professor Al-Khalili good work. 

[amazeblaze]

um...if that's true then you know Abraham the father of the three religions was 3x times as dirty. lol dudette chill love and prosperity to our muslim brothers and sisters. You insult the arabs then you insult jesus who was an arab or brown and "beautiful." You're just a follower. Atleast I'm conscious to know we're all just going in the cycle of karma, sin, or (if you want alittle darwinistic) the repeat of animalistic behavior that we will repeat our ancestors mistake. God bless you usurper

[pillsburydoughboy47]

dude, seriously; your heritage does you a LOT of good, if you're fat and unhealthy.

food for thought man; I'd reather be a lean and ripped "low class" iraqi Jew

than some fat ass orthodox rabbi.

[enHanzable]

let what happen? do you have voices in your head? why are you all suddenly semites now, as if you suddenly approve of arabs? you're a bit schidzo too, aren't you? fact is, you and most israelis are the nazis of the middle east. you run an apartheid regime and kill children. everyone knows it. to be "israeli" is to be a cheap, racist bastard and a shameless thief of territory. so i'm not really surprised by your initial remarks, you little shit.

[pillsburydoughboy47]

you know what the beduin used to do to rapist British soldiers back in the 19th century? First, they castrated them while still alive, then they fed them their own genitals, after that, they tossed the cadavers in trains and sent them back to the British base.

My only regret is not being old enough to have seen white douchebags get taught a lesson.

[pillsburydoughboy47]

whatever man; as they would threaten all semites, Iraqi Jews and Arabs would drop any prejudice towards each other and have the Nazi's heads on spikes before we let that happen.

fuck you.

[enHanzable]

Oh, you're a Jew who goes around bashing Arabs. It's a shame and a dire fate for humanity that lumps of feces like you get to live. It's a shame Hitler didn't get hold of your grandparents. It's a shame one can't email someone Zyklon-B. If one could, you'd be fucking dead now.