Which mechanism enabled Ibn al-Haytham's (Alhazen) accurate descriptions of image formation via pinhole?

💡 Explanation

When sunlight enters the camera obscura through a pinhole, the spatial resolution is maintained because light propagates rectilinearly through the aperture following the law of reflection, projecting an inverted scene. Therefore, rectilinear propagation dominates forming the image, rather than refraction, diffraction, or polarization effects which are negligible with small pinholes.

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