International Year of Light: Anniversary of important milestones in the history of the science of light

Abstract

Within the frame of 2015 International Year of Light, this paper presents an overview of important milestones in the history of the science of light whose anniversary is celebrated this year. In a historic and bibliographic study that covers one thousand years, we document: 1) the works on optics by Ibn Al-Haytham in 1015; 2) the notion of light as a wave proposed by Fresnel in 1815; 3) the electromagnetic theory of light propagation proposed by Maxwell in 1865; 4) Einstein´s theory of the photoelectric effect in 1905; 5) the embedding of the light in cosmology through Einstein´s general relativity in 1915; 6) the discovery of the cosmic microwave background by Penzias and Wilson in 1965; 7) Kao´s achievements concerning the transmission of light in fiber for optical communications in 1965. All these scientific discoveries are placed in the context of the United Nations Resolution, highlighting that the International Year of Light celebrations provide an opportunity to recognize the importance of teaching sciences in our country.