ABSTRACT
The lighthouse is only possible because of the material properties of light. Light travels outwards from a source of energy in the form of waves, and it is the way that these waves are reflected by objects that makes the world visible to the human eye. It is the particular characteristics of material surfaces and their capacity to reflect, refract or absorb light, in conjunction with the evolution of the eye, that enables humans–and other species–to perceive form and in many cases colour. Historian of science and technology, Fokko Jan Dijksterhuis, describes how 16th-century Dutchmen and their faith in their celestial reading pushed scientists to understand the refraction of light. The interaction of light with matter has been one of the most important drivers of discovery across the sciences. Augustin-Jean Fresnel's creative efforts led to a plethora of technologies using light beams which, as astronomer Robert Fosbury observes, can be used to illuminate the inner workings of materials themselves.
