Demonstrational Optics

Demonstrational Optics presents a new didactical approach to the study of optics. Emphasizing the importance of elaborate new experimental demonstrations, pictorial illustrations, computer simulations and models of optical phenomena in order to ensure a deeper understanding of the general and statistical optics. It includes problems focused on the pragmatic needs of students, secondary school teachers, university professors and optical engineers.

This volume aims to present improved teaching methods and practical explanations of optical phenomena. An important feature is the inclusion of elaborate pictorial approach to explaining optical phenomena in parallel to a general mathematical description. The modern approach developed here is also used to illustrate many basic phenomena, complimenting the existing literature.

The volume contains a valuable compendium of optical experiments for university, college and senior-school physics teachers. Experiments and modern computer simulations are described within the volume in sufficient detail to allow successful reproduction in a classroom or lecture theatre.

• Atom
• Dispersion
• Evanescent wave
• Faraday effect
• Kerr effect
• Prism
• Wave plate
• birefringence
• electromagnetism
• magnetism
• optical activity
• optics
• relativity
• spectroscopy
• transparency

• St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia

  Oleg Marchenko

• Paris Observatory, Paris, France

  Sergei Kazantsev

• Technical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

  Laurentius Windholz

Policies and ethics