From the Metaphysics towards the Physics of Light

Abstract

Za svjetlo možemo reći da je istinski razbuđivač mišljenja (Platon, Država 523/524), kako u metafizici tako u prirodnoj filozofiji i znanosti. Želimo ukazati na posebnost Petrića kao onoga mislioca s kojim je dokončana epoha od antike nasljeđene metafizike svjetla i koji otvara put za novovjekovnu fiziku svjetla, naročito u djelu Panaugia, ali ne samo u njemu. Nakon Petrića uslijedila su brojna uzbudljiva znanstvena otkrića koja su rezultirala dubokim uvidima u narav svjetla, u geometriji, a posebice u fizikalnoj optici: svjetlo se širi konačnom brzinom, složeno je, dio je elektromagnetskog spektra zračenja, djeluje na materiju (fotoefekt), dovedeno je u svezu s masom i energijom. Ono nas začuđuje dualnošću svoje prirode čestice i vala. Istraživanjem zračenja tamnog tijela, suprotnosti vidljivog svjetla, otvorena je epoha kvantne fizike. Pitamo: Možemo li na osnovu mnoštva znanja o svjetlu do kojih su došli fizičari govoriti o bîti svjetla (Max Planck)? Fotonika je nova epoha u komunikacijskoj tehnologiji. Što tek treba očekivati od istraživanja fotosinteze?Light has been defined as a true instigator of thought (Plato, Republic 523/524) both in metaphysics and in philosophy of nature and science. This article focuses on the exceptional position of Frane Petrić as the philosopher with whom the epoch of metaphysics of light inherited from antiquity ended and the path for the new epoch of the physics of light started – especially in his work Panaugia, though not only in it. After Petrić, numerous exciting scientific discoveries occurred that resulted in profound insights into the nature of light – in geometry, and especially in physical optics: light travels with finite speed, it is complex, it is part of electromagnetic specter of radiation, it has effect on matter (photo effect), it has been related to mass and energy. Light amazes us with the duality of its nature as both a particle and a wave. The research on the radiation of dark objects and the contrast with visible light has opened the epoch of quantum physics. The question this lecture poses is: Based on the body of knowledge about light accumulated by the physicists, could we talk about the essence of light (Max Planck)? Photonics is a new epoch in communication technology. What then could we expect from the research on photosynthesis