Optics For Dummies

An illuminating exploration of optics and optical technologies

Get turned on to the study of light with this friendly guide to the world of optics. Discover how the fundamentals of optical technologies help brighten your everyday life from the common table lamp to more complex devices such as cellphones, cameras, x–ray machines, 3–D TVs, and more. With the enlightening facts presented in this book, you′ll never feel left in the dark in your optics course.

Optics that are high in fiber get a grasp on the essentials behind fiber–optic cables for high–speed, long–distance communications

Making the world look like you want it to learn how to calculate the location of an image and determine the image′s characteristics

Shed light on light find out how light allows you to see, transmit data, cut things, and control electrical circuits

Catch the waves understand the wave property of light and how waves are used to see things you can′t see with your naked eye

Lasers pointing here and there discover the basic idea behind the laser and some of its uses in medicine and the military

Look far away from Earth take a look at the different types of telescopes and what you can do with them

Open the book and find:

The differences among incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs and diodes

Tips for knowing what you can and can′t see in CAT scans, PET scans, MRI scans, NMR scans, and x–ray pictures

Why you see things in 3–D

The principles for testing eyesight and prescribing corrective eyeglass lenses

The basic ideas involved in making a laser

The behavior and properties of visible, infrared, and ultraviolet light

Learn to:

Use optics principles and devices properly

Avoid common mistakes in working with typical optics problems

Determine image locations and characteristics with simple calculations

Grasp the basic concepts behind lasers and laser applications

Introduction 1

Part I: Getting Up to Speed on Optics Fundamentals 7

Chapter 1: Introducing Optics, the Science of Light 9

Chapter 2: Brushing Up on Optics–Related Math and Physics 15

Chapter 3: A Little Light Study: Reviewing Light Basics 31

Chapter 4: Understanding How to Direct Where Light Goes 45

Part II: Geometrical Optics: Working with More Than One Ray 57

Chapter 5: Forming Images with Multiple Rays of Light 59

Chapter 6: Imaging with Mirrors: Bouncing Many Rays Around 69

Chapter 7: Imaging with Refraction: Bending Many Rays at the Same Time 77

Part III: Physical Optics: Using the Light Wave 95

Chapter 8: Optical Polarization: Describing the Wiggling Electric Field in Light 97

Chapter 9: Changing Optical Polarization 113

Chapter 10: Calculating Refl ected and Transmitted Light with Fresnel Equations 131

Chapter 11: Running Optical Interference: Not Always a Bad Thing 143

Chapter 12: Diffraction: Light s Bending around Obstacles 161

Part IV: Optical Instrumentation: Putting Light to Practical Use 179

Chapter 13: Lens Systems: Looking at Things the Way You Want to See Them 181

Chapter 14: Exploring Light Sources: Getting Light Where You Want It 197

Chapter 15: Guiding Light From Here to Anywhere 213

Part V: Hybrids: Exploring More Complicated Optical Systems 227

Chapter 16: Photography: Keeping an Image Forever 229

Chapter 17: Medical Imaging: Seeing What s Inside You (No Knives Necessary!) 247

Chapter 18: Optics Everywhere: Exploring Other Medical, Industrial, and Military Uses 259

Chapter 19: Astronomical Applications: Using Telescopes 271

Part VI: More Than Just Images: Getting into Advanced Optics 285

Chapter 20: Index of Refraction, Part 2: You Can Change It! 287

Chapter 21: Quantum Optics: Finding the Photon 301

Part VII: The Part of Tens 311

Chapter 22: Ten Experiments You Can Do Without a $1–Million Optics Lab 313

Chapter 23: Ten Major Optics Discoveries and the People Who Made them Possible 319

Index 325

Galen Duree, Jr., PhD, is Professor of Physics and Optical Engineering at Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana, where he is also the Director of the Center for Applied Optics Studies. Duree jointly established the Ultrashort Pulse Laser Laboratory at RHIT and continues to work with the Navy.