Science and Islam


Science and Islam: The Language of Science

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00gksx4/Science_and_Islam_The_Language_of_Science/

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.

Its legacy is
tangible, with terms like algebra, algorithm and alkali all being Arabic in
origin and at the very heart of modern science - there would be no modern
mathematics or physics without algebra, no computers without algorithms and no
chemistry without alkalis.

For Baghdad-born Al-Khalili this is also a
personal journey and on his travels he uncovers a diverse and outward-looking
culture, fascinated by learning and obsessed with science. From the great
mathematician Al-Khwarizmi, who did much to establish the mathematical tradition
we now know as algebra, to Ibn Sina, a pioneer of early medicine whose Canon of
Medicine was still in use as recently as the 19th century, he pieces together a
remarkable story of the often-overlooked achievements of the early medieval
Islamic scientists.



Science and Islam: The Empire of Reason

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00gq6h7/Science_and_Islam_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.