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The Secret Scientists part three

The Secret Scientists part three

Professor Jim Al-Khalili looks at the legacy of scientists from the Islamic world.

The Documentary Podcast: Archive 2009 · BBC World Service

April 29, 200922m 8s

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Show Notes

Professor Jim Al-Khalili looks at the legacy of scientists from the Islamic world. In part three of The Secret Scientists, he talks about the work of Abu Rayhan Biruni, who calculated the Earth's circumference with an incredible degree of accuracy. Jim explores how the Christian Crusades, the invasion of the Mongols, the fall of the Abbasid dynasty and the discovery of the New World may have contributed to the decline of great scholarship in the 13th century. Finally he explores the status of science in the modern Muslim world and investigates recent developments in funding and research.