Optics Light For A New Age

Describes the wonders of light and optics, exploring such developments as lasers, fiber optics, and holography.

Describes the wonders of light and optics, exploring such developments as lasers, fiber optics, and holography.

Discusses aspects of light and optics and their relevance to daily life.

Young adult introduction to optics and light, including what light is and does, simple optics and how they work, the eye, light sources, light detection and robot vision, infrared and ultraviolet light, Optical instruments, cameras and television, fiber optics, light and life, ray guns and reality.

In The New Age of Communications, author John Green outlines how computers and the World Wide Web are revolutionizing our lives in the new global community. Originally published in 1997. A Scientific American Focus book.

Since the incorporation of scientific approach in tackling problems of optical instrumentation, analysis and design of optical systems constitute a core area of optical engineering. A large number of software with varying level of scope and applicability is currently available to facilitate the task. However, possession of an optical design software, per se, is no guarantee for arriving at correct or optimal solutions. The validity and/or optimality of the solutions depend to a large extent on proper formulation of the problem, which calls for correct application of principles and theories of optical engineering. On a different note, development of proper experimental setups for investigations in the burgeoning field of optics and photonics calls for a good understanding of these principles and theories. With this backdrop in view, this book presents a holistic treatment of topics like paraxial analysis, aberration theory, Hamiltonian optics, ray-optical and wave-optical theories of image formation, Fourier optics, structural design, lens design optimization, global optimization etc. Proper stress is given on exposition of the foundations. The proposed book is designed to provide adequate material for ‘self-learning’ the subject. For practitioners in related fields, this book is a handy reference. Foundations of Optical System Analysis and Synthesis provides A holistic approach to lens system analysis and design with stress on foundations Basic knowledge of ray and wave optics for tackling problems of instrumental optics Proper explanation of approximations made at different stages Sufficient illustrations for facilitation of understanding Techniques for reducing the role of heuristics and empiricism in optical/lens design A sourcebook on chronological development of related topics across the globe This book is composed as a reference book for graduate students, researchers, faculty, scientists and technologists in R & D centres and industry, in pursuance of their understanding of related topics and concepts during problem solving in the broad areas of optical, electro-optical and photonic system analysis and design.

Our visual experience of the world and our ability to perceive the objects and people around us would be impossible without light and the many roles it plays in our daily lives. In addition to facilitating our perception, light sustains life on earth by providing energy to plants and heating the atmosphere. The fundamentals of light—including how it is measured, its interaction with matter, and the particle and wave theories of light—are covered in this detailed volume.

The Reader's Guide to the History of Science looks at the literature of science in some 550 entries on individuals (Einstein), institutions and disciplines (Mathematics), general themes (Romantic Science) and central concepts (Paradigm and Fact). The history of science is construed widely to include the history of medicine and technology as is reflected in the range of disciplines from which the international team of 200 contributors are drawn.