Science and Islam 1/3 The Language of Science
Professor Jim Al-Khalili tells the story of the great scientific achievements that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries. The series reveals a great leap in scientific knowledge during this period in Baghdad, Cairo and Cordoba.
For Jim, this is a personal story. Born in Baghdad to an Iraqi father and English mother, he is a scientist, a professor of Nuclear Physics at Surrey University.
Jim travels to Iran, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Spain and Italy to find out about the great Islamic scientists whose names are rarely heard in the west.
He tells the story of mathematician Al-Khwarizmi, who did much to establish the mathematical tradition known today as algebra.
Jim investigates the great doctors and medical researchers of the time and discovers that Arabic texts like Ibn Sina's Canon Of Medicine remained a source of medical knowledge up to the 17th century. He tells the story of Al-Razi, who improved medical diagnosis and even attempted medical trials, and he finds out how cataract operations were done and visits one of the world's first hospitals in Damascus.
When the Islamic Empire established itself, from the 7th century AD onwards, its rulers or caliphs made gathering the world's knowledge a top priority. Islamic scholars travelled the known world in search of mathematical, medical, astronomical and philosophical texts.
By the 8th and 9th centuries, the ruling elite of Baghdad organised regular debates between scholars. At these vibrant events, all kinds of ideas, often from other civilisations and cultural traditions, were debated, discussed and even radically improved.
The scientific legacy of this extraordinary time lives on. Terms like algebra, algorithm and alkali, are all Arabic in origin and are at the heart of modern science.
For Jim, this is a personal story. Born in Baghdad to an Iraqi father and English mother, he is a scientist, a professor of Nuclear Physics at Surrey University.
Jim travels to Iran, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Spain and Italy to find out about the great Islamic scientists whose names are rarely heard in the west.
He tells the story of mathematician Al-Khwarizmi, who did much to establish the mathematical tradition known today as algebra.
Jim investigates the great doctors and medical researchers of the time and discovers that Arabic texts like Ibn Sina's Canon Of Medicine remained a source of medical knowledge up to the 17th century. He tells the story of Al-Razi, who improved medical diagnosis and even attempted medical trials, and he finds out how cataract operations were done and visits one of the world's first hospitals in Damascus.
When the Islamic Empire established itself, from the 7th century AD onwards, its rulers or caliphs made gathering the world's knowledge a top priority. Islamic scholars travelled the known world in search of mathematical, medical, astronomical and philosophical texts.
By the 8th and 9th centuries, the ruling elite of Baghdad organised regular debates between scholars. At these vibrant events, all kinds of ideas, often from other civilisations and cultural traditions, were debated, discussed and even radically improved.
The scientific legacy of this extraordinary time lives on. Terms like algebra, algorithm and alkali, are all Arabic in origin and are at the heart of modern science.
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Science and Islam 2/3 The Empire of Reason
Physicist Jim Al-Khalili travels through Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Spain to tell the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Science and Islam 3/3 The Power of Doubt
Physicist Jim Al-Khalili tells the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries.
Al-Khalili turns detective, hunting for clues that show how the scientific revolution that took place in the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe had its roots in the earlier world of medieval Islam. He travels across Iran, Syria and Egypt to discover the huge astronomical advances made by Islamic scholars through their obsession with accurate measurement and coherent and rigorous mathematics.
He then visits Italy to see how those Islamic ideas permeated into the West and ultimately helped shape the works of the great European astronomer Copernicus, and investigates why science in the Islamic world appeared to go into decline after the 16th and 17th centuries, only for it to re-emerge in the present day.
Al-Khalili ends his journey in the Royan Institute in the Iranian capital Tehran, looking at how science is now regarded in the Islamic world.
Al-Khalili turns detective, hunting for clues that show how the scientific revolution that took place in the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe had its roots in the earlier world of medieval Islam. He travels across Iran, Syria and Egypt to discover the huge astronomical advances made by Islamic scholars through their obsession with accurate measurement and coherent and rigorous mathematics.
He then visits Italy to see how those Islamic ideas permeated into the West and ultimately helped shape the works of the great European astronomer Copernicus, and investigates why science in the Islamic world appeared to go into decline after the 16th and 17th centuries, only for it to re-emerge in the present day.
Al-Khalili ends his journey in the Royan Institute in the Iranian capital Tehran, looking at how science is now regarded in the Islamic world.
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