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Optics For Dummies
The easy way to shed light on Optics In general terms, optics is the science of light. More specifically, optics is a branch of physics that describes the behavior and properties of light?including visible, infrared, and ultraviolet?and the interaction of light with matter. Optics For Dummies gives you an approachable introduction to optical science, methods, and applications. You'll get plain-English explanations of the nature of light and optical effects; reflection, refraction, and diffraction; color dispersion; optical devices, industrial, medical, and military applications; as well as laser light fundamentals. If you're taking an optics course for your major in physics or engineering, let Optics For Dummies shed light on the subject and help you succeed!
368 pages, Paperback
First published July 12, 2011
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March 13, 2013
This book suffers from a question that might have been asked when it was pitched to the publisher: What sort of "dummy" reads about optics?
While there are interesting theoretical explanations for optics and what they can be used for, this book covers very few in its first 150 pages, preferring instead to hammer its reader with matrix algebra equations and passages like:
Certain materials have two indexes of refraction, a characteristic known as birefringence. Each index of refraction corresponds to the same direction of propagation, but the light's linear polarization determines the specific index that the light waves experience in the material. The two linear polarization states are orthogonal to each other. Inside the material, light with electric field components parallel to one direction has one index, and the orthogonal component experiences a different value for the index of refraction. One orientation causes light to refract at an angle predicted by Snell's law. This index is the ordinary index of refraction and has the same value for all directions inside the material for that orientation of light. The other orientation can cause the light to refract at an angle not predicted by Snell's law. This index of refraction, the extraordinary index of refraction, doesn't have a fixed value because this index depends on the direction of travel in the material. (p. 111)
In other words, if you want to know about optics, just get a collegiate physics textbook. It will be no less enjoyable, and you'll look smarter without the bright yellow cover.
While there are interesting theoretical explanations for optics and what they can be used for, this book covers very few in its first 150 pages, preferring instead to hammer its reader with matrix algebra equations and passages like:
Certain materials have two indexes of refraction, a characteristic known as birefringence. Each index of refraction corresponds to the same direction of propagation, but the light's linear polarization determines the specific index that the light waves experience in the material. The two linear polarization states are orthogonal to each other. Inside the material, light with electric field components parallel to one direction has one index, and the orthogonal component experiences a different value for the index of refraction. One orientation causes light to refract at an angle predicted by Snell's law. This index is the ordinary index of refraction and has the same value for all directions inside the material for that orientation of light. The other orientation can cause the light to refract at an angle not predicted by Snell's law. This index of refraction, the extraordinary index of refraction, doesn't have a fixed value because this index depends on the direction of travel in the material. (p. 111)
In other words, if you want to know about optics, just get a collegiate physics textbook. It will be no less enjoyable, and you'll look smarter without the bright yellow cover.
Displaying 1 of 1 review