Light, Colour and Vision
Celebrating is a term that we frequently use, without often grasping its value. Latins used celebratus, past participle of celebrare, in the meaning of “to perform publicly with appropriate rites”. This definition contains two important aspects: on the one hand honouring something; on the other hand doing it in a public way, trying to share it with others. This year, the scientific community is celebrating two big events. The first is the EPS’s 50th anniversary. The second is the first UNESCO International Day of Light, which came following the 2015 International Year of Light.
That’s why the Physics Department “Ettore Pancini” together with the Department of Industrial Engineering, both of the University of Naples Federico II, and the Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems of the National Research Council proposed “Light, Colour and Vision”, a full day dedicated to both the celebrations. The event, made possible thanks to the participation of several sponsors including the European Physical Society, was structured in two sessions aimed at different audiences.
In the morning, eight speakers from very different fields, from neuroscience to the psychology of perception, from the lighting design of environments to optometry, alternated in the church of the Monumental Complex of the SS. Marcellino and Festo in front of an audience of two hundred students, from university and the last year of high school. Prof. Antonio Sasso opened the session with an overview of the last 50 years of optics.
In the afternoon, the event moved to Piazza San Domenico Maggiore with a host of activities for the general public, aimed to show how light and photonic technologies play a central role in daily lives. Students of physics, engineering, and optics and optometry have carried out hands on experiments. Among them are also the members of the EPS Young Minds section of Naples. The beauty and fascination of optical illusion has attracted the public, thanks to a 13 panel exhibition.
Combining these two celebrations gave the audience a measure of how scientific research can lead to wonderful developments in 50 years, such as the laser or applications of quantum optics.
For more information, visit the event website: http://www.fisica.unina.it/dayoflight2018
