1997 - the centennial year of the electron - provides a good occasion to publish the first English translation ever made of H.A. Lorentz's doctoral dissertation of 1875. Just 22 years old, Lorentz took up and handled magisterially one major unresolved problem of Maxwell's electromagnetic theory, the reflection and refraction of light. By then the superiority of Maxwell's electromagnetic ether theory over current elastic solid conceptions such as Fresnel's was not nearly a settled issue. In his dissertation, Lorentz strove with considerable success to make it that. Still, he found that neither theory allowed for a satisfactory account of dispersion. One intriguing aspect of Lorentz's earliest scientific achievement (which within two years was to earn him the chair of theoretical physics at Leyden University) is that a range of subjects soon to occupy him for the rest of his life are already clearly foreshadowed in it. So far, Lorentz's first step in science has existed only in the original Dutch, and in a French translation made long ago as part of the Collected Works. Here, the joint translators have striven to provide a fluently readable, full text while preserving the flavor of Lorentz' original language and style.

University Physics is a three-volume collection that meets the scope and sequence requirements for two- and three-semester calculus-based physics courses. Volume 1 covers mechanics, sound, oscillations, and waves. Volume 2 covers thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, and Volume 3 covers optics and modern physics. This textbook emphasizes connections between between theory and application, making physics concepts interesting and accessible to students while maintaining the mathematical rigor inherent in the subject. Frequent, strong examples focus on how to approach a problem, how to work with the equations, and how to check and generalize the result. The text and images in this textbook are grayscale.

Light and light based technologies have played an important role in transforming our lives via scientific contributions spanned over thousands of years. In this book we present a vast collection of articles on various aspects of light and its applications in the contemporary world at a popular or semi-popular level. These articles are written by the world authorities in their respective fields. This is therefore a rare volume where the world experts have come together to present the developments in this most important field of science in an almost pedagogical manner. This volume covers five aspects related to light. The first presents two articles, one on the history of the nature of light, and the other on the scientific achievements of Ibn-Haitham (Alhazen), who is broadly considered the father of modern optics. These are then followed by an article on ultrafast phenomena and the invisible world. The third part includes papers on specific sources of light, the discoveries of which have revolutionized optical technologies in our lifetime. They discuss the nature and the characteristics of lasers, Solid-state lighting based on the Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology, and finally modern electron optics and its relationship to the Muslim golden age in science. The book’s fourth part discusses various applications of optics and light in today's world, including biophotonics, art, optical communication, nanotechnology, the eye as an optical instrument, remote sensing, and optics in medicine. In turn, the last part focuses on quantum optics, a modern field that grew out of the interaction of light and matter. Topics addressed include atom optics, slow, stored and stationary light, optical tests of the foundation of physics, quantum mechanical properties of light fields carrying orbital angular momentum, quantum communication, and Wave-Particle dualism in action.

Reproduction of the original: Treatise On Light by Christiaan Huygens

Provides an explanation of how light works, including how it bounces or reflects, how it bends or refracts, and how light gets absorbed. Also discusses mirrors, telescopes, and colors.