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What is light? Light is a form of energy Light, like sound and heat, is a form of energy. Our understanding of light starts with what light does and what its properties are (Figure 10.1). We know that: • light travels extremely fast and over long distances; • light carries energy and information; • light travels in straight lines;
- Properties of Light
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Coherence
- 4 Material Properties for Optical Components
- 6.1 Retardation Plates
- 1⁄4 0 7 Summary
In order to understand the physical properties, design, and fabrication of any display Abstract: technology, it is essential to have a good appreciation of the basic physics involved in the light sources and materials used in their construction. This does not mean that to be a display engineer you need an in-depth knowledge of Maxwell’s equations, ...
Light is a very complex notion which stems from the general properties of electromagnetic radiation. However, to use light in applications such as displays, it is often only the simplest concepts of propagation that are required. The basic theory of light propagation stems from complicated mathematical theories such as Maxwell’s equations [1] which...
Optical coherence is difficult to define as there are many types and unusual definitions. If we assume that light has a basic wave property as described above, then we are assuming that light is fully coherent. Unfortunately such light sources are very rare and even the highest quality laser light source will have some degree of unpredictability. T...
The job of the optical component design engineer is to marry together many different specifications along with the packaging and environmental specifications in order to create a commercially cost-effective component. Two very important considerations are the choice of materials used to make the waveguide and the fabrication methods employed. Radio...
Some crystals such as sodium chloride have a cubic molecular structure. When light passes through these structures it sees no preferred direction and is relatively unaffected. If the crystal has a structure such as hexagonal or triagonal, different directions of light will see very different crystalline structures. This effect is called birefringen...
A display engineer does not need an in-depth knowledge of Maxwell’s equations, but rather to understand the fundamental physical properties of light that lead to its control, propagation, and modulation. Key to this is an understanding of the basic wave properties of light and how this leads to an energy transfer, and properties such as polarizatio...
light with matter, and light often behaves somewhat like a stream of particles. This confusion about the true nature of light continued for some years till a modern quantum theory of light emerged in which light is neither a ‘wave’ nor a ‘particle’ – the new theory reconciles the particle properties of light with the wave nature.
Absorption vs propagation of light. If light wave frequency = molecules resonant frequency. Light is absorbed (propagation is stopped) Medium is opaque. If light wave frequency ≠ molecules resonant frequency. Light is reradiated and propagated forward through medium. Medium is transparent. In a solid or liquid, propagation is in straight line.
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Geometrical optics, studied in the first year, ignored the wave nature of light and so, in this course, we focus particularly on Physical Optics where the primary characteristic of waves viz. interference, is the dominant theme. It is interference that causes diffraction – the bending of light around obstacles.
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Dec 7, 2022 · Light has the properties of waves. Like ocean waves, light waves have crests and troughs. The distance between one crest and the next, which is the same as the distance between one trough and the next, is called the wavelength. The frequency of a wave is the number of crests (or troughs) that pass a point in one second.
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\light particles" have energy that consists of two components: the kinetic energy K, and potential energy U. The total particle energy is conserved, meaning that K+ U = const. However, the potential energy of the light particle depends on the medium the light passes through: the energy U is di erent in air, di erent in water, di erent in glass ...
