Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,587,922,461 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

physical optics

   Also found in: Acronyms, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
physical optics [′fiz·ə·kəl ′äp·tiks]
(optics)
The study of the interaction of electromagnetic waves in the optical frequency range with material systems.

Physical optics

The study of the interaction of electromagnetic waves in the optical range with material systems. The optical range of wavelengths may be taken as the range from about 1 nanometer to about 1 millimeter.

The explanation of the absorption, reflection, scattering, polarization, and dispersion of light by a material medium in terms of the properties of the atoms and molecules making up the medium is the objective of physical optics. In the course of seeking this objective, physicists have found that optical investigations are powerful methods of determining the structures of atoms and molecules and of large systems composed thereof. See Atomic structure and spectra, Crystal optics, Diffraction, Dispersion (radiation), Electromagnetic radiation, Electrooptics, Faraday effect, Fluorescence, Interference of waves, Laser, Light, Magnetooptics, Molecular structure and spectra, Polarized light, Reflection of electromagnetic radiation, Refraction of waves, Scattering of electromagnetic radiation, Spectroscopy



How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Mentioned in?  References in periodicals archive?   Encyclopedia browser?   Full browser?
No references found
 
Did you know that most of what we know today about physical optics we knew more than one hundred years ago?
95 Hardcover TA1520 Al-Azzawi (photonics engineering, Algonquin College, Canada) offers a textbook on the basic theoretical principles of physical optics and industrial applications in such areas as lasers and fiber optics.
The study of physical optics requires a strong background in mathematics and most photographers avoid texts on the subject for that reason.
 
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.