The physics of a bright idea
15 Jul 2026
A camera obscura – created by a trio of Physics teachers – brings a new perspective to Christ’s College while shedding light on the role of photons.
Science students learn – through a hands-on experience within the camera obscura sited in Williams Court – how light travels and combines to become an image.
The camera obscura captures sights around it by projecting the outside into the darkened space inside, showing the height, width, depth, and relative position in the 3D world on a 2D flat surface. Light rays (photons) from the sun reflect off the objects outside, passing through a hole in the camera obscura wall to light up an internal surface with an exterior image. With that hole and some light, students can see the origins of photography,
Initially, the camera obscura was employed by painters – from the 16th century on – as a crucial aid for tracing the inverted image and then creating an artwork.
Teacher David Newton believes that “Physics you can see in action hopefully makes students more excited about the possibilities of studying the subject and that makes this an installation worth building”.
