The Infinite Monkey Cage
Illuminating Light - Jess Wade, Russell Foster and Bridget Christie
August 20, 202542 min · 8,914 words
Show notes
What is light? How has it shaped our understanding of the universe, our biology, and even our culture? In this illuminating episode Brian Cox and Robin Ince shine a spotlight on the fascinating science and history of light. From sun and circadian rhythms to the dazzling complexity of quantum, they explore how humans have understood and been influenced by light across time.
Highlighted moments
The original ideas from the ancient Greeks was that it was light from the eye that bathed objects, and that allowed us to see. And even Leonardo da Vinci thought about that for a while.
“the eye, the retina, has the highest metabolic rate of any tissue weight for weight. And so if you are losing levels of blood oxygen, then the whole of the visual system is going to slowly shut down.”
“And within the space of a relatively small period of time, I think it was only about 10 million years, you've got incredible diversity. And the evolution of eyes seems to have been part of that explosion.”
Transcript
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