Which optical phenomenon underlies the operation of an Ibn al-Haytham's 'camera obscura' used for astronomical observations?

💡 Explanation

When light passes through a small pinhole, rectilinear propagation occurs because only rays traveling in a straight path through the hole reach the viewing surface, inverting the scene. Therefore pinhole imaging results, rather than refraction, polarization or diffraction which depend on different optical properties and systems.

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