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A camera obscura
(Latin: "dark chamber") is an optical device that led to photography and the photographic camera. The device consists of a box or room with a hole in one side. Light from an external scene passes through the hole and strikes a surface inside, where it is reproduced, inverted (thus upside-down), but with color and perspective preserved. The image can be projected onto paper, and can then be traced to produce a highly accurate representation Stone age man may have used the principle of the camera obscura to produce the world's first art in cave drawings. Later on, in the 10th Century, the Arabian scholar Al Hassan used the camera obscura to demonstrate how light travels in straight lines. In the 13th Century, the camera obscura was used by astronomers to view the sun. In the 16th Century, camera obscuras became an invaluable aid to artists who used them to create drawings with perfect perspective and accurate detail. Portable camera obscuras were made for this purpose. In Victorian times, much larger public camera obscuras became popular seaside attractions, where spying on courting couples became a popular pastime. Today, we spy on visitors and locals alike as they make their way around our city.
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