Da Vinci, an Italian scientist, constructed his camera by making a pinhole opening in the shutter of a window of a darkened room. Images of the outside scenery were projected onto the wall opposite the window. Pinhole cameras do not have to be the size of a room. A simple pinhole camera can consist of a cardboard box with a small hole in one side. Light rays from the top and bottom of an object pass through the pinhole and cross paths. The rays form an upsidedown, real image on the back wall of the box. For firsthand experience with a pinhole optical device, build and use the pinhole viewer in the QuickLab later in this section.

Table of Contents