Intro Panel
PHOTO: G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\1001Inventions3.jpg
Alt tag: Young woman examining model of 15th-century Chinese ship (1001 Inventions)
Credit: 1001 Inventions
The traveling exhibition 1001 Inventions: Discover the Golden Age of Muslim Civilization, at the California Science Center through 2011, reveals how science and technology flourished in the Islamic world from the seventh to the 17th century. Islamic culture reached from Spain to China, nurturing innovators of many faiths. Here, a museum visitor examines a model of a massive ship commanded by Zheng He, a 15th-century Chinese Muslim navigator. For size comparison, a to-scale model of Christopher Columbus’ Santa Maria is shown alongside it.
Photo 2
PHOTO: G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\1001Inventions1.jpg
Alt tag: Salim al-Hassani displaying crank mechanism at museum display (1001 Inventions)
Credit: 1001 Inventions
One of the most famous inventors of the Muslim world was a 13th-century mechanical engineer called al-Jazari. He designed a crank mechanism, shown here by 1001 Inventions curator Salim al-Hassani. According to Boston University’s Farouk El-Baz, who worked with NASA to help plan scientific exploration of the moon, “Al-Jazari’s inventions continue to bolster our modern transportation systems. His crank mechanisms were engineering marvels at his time as well as today; they continue to drive every plane, train and automobile on the planet.”
Photo 3
PHOTO: G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\1001Inventions8.jpg
Alt tag: Museum display featuring surgical instruments (1001 Inventions)
Credit: 1001 Inventions
The 10th-century Andalusian physician al-Zahrawi was the first surgeon to systematically use catgut sutures, and he designed medical instruments such as scalpels, syringes, forceps and surgical needles. Al-Zahrawi’s use of catgut sutures, which are absorbable, marked a turning point in medicine, said Osman Shinaishin of the National Science Foundation: “There could not be modern-day surgery without absorbable sutures.” Many methods and tools used today emerged in al-Zahrawi’s era, he added, “with evolutionary changes and refinements.”
Photo 4
PHOTO: G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\1001Inventions5.jpg
Alt tag: Model of early hang glider designed by Abbas Ibn Firnas (1001 Inventions)
Credit: 1001 Inventions
Ninth-century Andalusian engineer Abbas Ibn Firnas was known for his early experiments in aviation. He built a rudimentary hang glider and tried to fly by launching himself off a mountain, reportedly remaining airborne for several minutes before landing and injuring himself. As Boston University scientist Farouk El-Baz explained, “The genius of Ibn Firnas was in his observations of birds in flight to perfect wing design and then to seek a windy place to initiate motion — way before Leonardo da Vinci, and of course the Wright brothers.”
Photo 5
PHOTO: G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\1001Inventions2.jpg
Alt tag: Boy peering into camera obscura at museum exhibition (1001 Inventions)
Credit: 1001 Inventions
A 10th-century Egyptian physicist known as Alhazen, a pioneer in the field of optics, developed the camera obscura — a precursor to the modern camera — and provided the first correct explanation of how vision works. (Here, a museum visitor peers into a camera obscura.) Yale University’s Frank Griffel said Alhazen “correctly described the effect of light passing through a single pinhole onto a screen and thus discovered the camera obscura effect that is used everywhere where pictures and films are made or projected on a screen.”
Photo 6
PHOTO: G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\1001Inventions4.jpg
Alt tag: Model of 13th-century Elephant Clock, with mechanical figures perched above carved elephant (1001 Inventions)
Credit: 1001 Inventions
The 13th-century mechanical engineer al-Jazari produced many intricate devices, including the famous Elephant Clock, named for the carved elephant that forms its base. The clock, which stands five meters high, has inner mechanisms powered by water and features turbaned robots with synchronized movements.
“This ingenious design foretold the use of the downward flow of water to initiate mechanical movement, which is the principle used centuries later in hydropower,” said Boston University’s Farouk El-Baz.
Photo 7
PHOTO: G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\1001Inventions6.jpg
Alt tag: Model of 13th-century Scribe Clock, with mechanical scribe figure on top (1001 Inventions)
Credit: 1001 Inventions
The portable Scribe Clock, designed by 13th-century mechanical engineer al-Jazari, is topped by a mechanical scribe wielding a pen. The scribe, functioning like the hour hand of a modern clock, moves his pen as each hour passes. Like al-Jazari’s famous Elephant Clock, the Scribe Clock is water-powered. Boston University scientist Farouk El-Baz said the mechanical scribe’s movement “is a precursor to robotics” that foreshadows the automatons created centuries later.
See also: “How Islam’s Golden Age Shaped the Modern World” and “1001 Inventions Exhibition Launches in Los Angeles.”