Which scientist created the first working camera obscura and wrote about optics?

• A. Aristotle
• B. Alhazen
• C. Michelangelo
• D. Shakr-e Sukteh Pot Images

Answer: (B)

Understanding optics and how images are formed is being tested here. Alhazen, also known as Ibn al-Haytham, made the pivotal move from myth and speculation to careful experiment in the study of light and vision. In his Book of Optics he describes how light travels in straight lines and how a small opening can project a scene from the outside onto a surface inside, creating an inverted image. This is the essence of the camera obscura, a device that would later become a fundamental concept for the development of photography and filmmaking. His work combines empirical investigation with a clear explanation of how to build and use such an optical projection, which is why he’s recognized as the first to document a working camera obscura and to advance optics in a lasting way. Aristotle laid groundwork about vision but not this kind of experimental device; Michelangelo was a painter who used perspective but did not author on optical theory; the remaining option isn’t a known figure in this field.