Seeing the Light: Optics Without Equations is written for nonscientists and explains the concepts of light, waves, photons, refraction, reflection, diffraction, etc., without using equations. This book will be useful as background information for any course in optics, for those who need a basic understanding of optics for their research or other activities, and for the curious. It is divided into five sections: Basic Concepts is followed by Optics in Nature, where the familiar phenomena we observe every day are explained without math. Next is Optical Components, which covers prisms and mirrors, followed by Optical Instruments, which includes instruments ranging from simple otoscopes to intercontinental ballistic missiles to clear air turbulence detectors. A final section on Experiments describes seminal experiments such as those that proved relativity and the wave and photon natures of light. Technical appendices are included for readers who want to dig into the math.
Author(s): William L. Wolfe
Publisher: SPIE
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 487
City: Bellingham
FM_online.pdf
Dedication
Contents
The Author
Thanksgiving
Preface
Introduction
Glossary
Ch01_online.pdf
Chapter 1 Optical Phenomena
1.1 Light
Light as Corpuscles3
Light as a Wave
Light as Photons
Light as an Electromagnetic Wave
Light as a Duality
1.2 Polarization
1.3 Refraction
1.4 Reflection
1.5 Interference
1.6 Diffraction
1.7 Scattering
1.8 Absorption and Emission
1.9 Propagation
1.10 The Red Shift
1.11 Fermat's Principle
1.12 Reciprocity
1.13 Resolution
Telescopes
Microscopes
Imaging Devices
Spectrometers
Interferometers
1.14 Aberrations
1.15 Ray Tracing
1.16 Radiometry and Photometry
Ch02_online.pdf
Chapter 2 Optics in Nature
2.1 Blue Skies
2.2 Blue Water and Blue Ice
2.3 The Green Flash
2.4 Hummingbirds
2.5 Lightning
2.6 Mirages
2.7 Mosquitoes
2.8 Pit Vipers
2.9 Rainbows
2.10 Sundogs and Halos
2.11 Sunsets
CH03_online.pdf
Chapter 3 Optical Components
3.1 Baffles
3.2 Beam Splitters
3.3 Blackbodies
3.4 Cone Channel Condensers
3.5 Detectors
3.6 Diffractions Gratings
3.7 Fibers
3.8 Filters
3.9 Lasers
3.10 Lenses
3.11 Mirrors
3.12 Polarizers
3.13 Prisms
3.14 Retroreflectors
3.15 Sources
ch04_online.pdf
Chapter 4 Optical Instruments
4.1 Aeronautical Optics
4.2 Aerospace Navigation
4.3 Automotive Optics
4.4 Autonomous Vehicles
4.5 Ballistic Missile Detection and Interception
4.6 Binoculars
4.7 Borescopes
4.8 Cameras
4.9 Camping Optics
4.10 Colorimeters
4.11 Colposcopes
4.12 Communications
4.13 Computer Optics
4.14 Emissometers
4.15 Endoscopes
4.16 Gyroscopes
4.17 Flyfishing Optics
4.18 Holography
4.19 The Human Eye
4.20 Infrared Cameras
4.21 Interferometers
4.22 Laser Damage
4.23 LASIK
4.24 LIDAR
4.25 Loupes
4.26 Medical Thermographs
4.27 Microscopes and Magnifiers
4.28 Missile Guidance
4.29 Multispectral Imagers
4.30 Ophthalmoscopes
4.31 Otoscopes
4.32 Periscopes
4.33 Photolithography
4.34 Photonic Greenhouses
4.35 Plumbing Snakes
4.36 Polarimeters
4.37 Printers and Scanners
4.38 Projectors
4.39 Radiative Coolers
4.40 Radiometers
4.41 Rangefinders
4.42 Reflectometers
4.43 Remote Sensors
4.44 Remote Thermometers
4.45 Solar Panels
4.46 Spectacles
4.47 Spectrometers
4.48 Spy Satellites
4.49 Stealth Optics
4.50 Stereoscopes
4.51 Stroboscopes
4.52 Submarine Communication
4.53 Teleprompters
4.54 Telescopes
4.55 Television Sets
4.56 Theodolites, Transits, Sextants, and Octants
4.57 Underground Object Detection
4.58 Submarine Wake Detection
4.59 Warehouse Optics
4.60 Weather Satellites
4.61 Windows
CH05_online.pdf
Chapter 5 Optical Experiments
5.1 Galileo's Heliocentricity
5.2 Newton's Colors
5.3 Herschel's Infrared Discovery
5.4 Young's Double-Slit Experiment
5.5 Poisson/Arago Diffraction Spot
5.6 Fizeau's Speed of Light in Materials
5.7 Michelson Morley Experiment
5.8 The Photoelectric Effect
5.9 Blackbody Spectra
5.10 Relativity Tests
5.11 The COBE-DIRBE Experiment
A0.0 Appendices_online.pdf
A1_online.pdf
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A.1.1 Light
A.1.2 Polarization5
A.1.3 Refraction
A.1.4 Reflection
A.1.5 Interference
A1.6 Diffraction
A.1.7 Scattering
A.1.8 Absorption and Emission
A.1.9 Propagation
A.1.11 Fermat's Principle
A.1.16 Radiometry
A2_online.pdf
A3_online.pdf
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A.3.3 Blackbodies
A.3.5 Detectors
A.3.6 Diffraction Gratings
A.3.7 Fibers
A.3.13 Prisms
A.3.14 Retroreflectors
A4_online.pdf
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A.4.3 Automotive Optics
A.4.5 Ballistic Missile Interception
A.4.14 Emissometers
A.4.19 Human Eye
A.4.21 Interferometers
A.4.22 Laser Damage
A.4.26 Medical Thermographs
A.4.29 Multispectral Imagers
A.4.39 Radiative Coolers
A.4.40 Radiometers
A.4.47 Spectrometers
A.4.55 Television Sets
A.4.57 Underground Object Detection
A6_online.pdf
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A.6.1 Numbers and Dimensions
A.6.2 Temperatures
A.6.3 Conic Sections
A.6.4 Spectra and Fourier Transforms
A.6.5 Mathematical Operations
A.6.6 Fields, Functions, and Variables
