Optics Books

Optical Illusions: The Science of Visual Perception (Illusion Works)

Al Seckel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Nice book, very misleading title. 5 out of 5 stars.
40 of 42 people found this review helpful.

One of the most beautiful and wonderful books I own is Al Seckel's "Masters of Deception: Escher, Dali & the Artists of Optical Illusions" (2004). Unlike most other books on illusions, the book itself is a creative tour de force. And Seckel supplements his creation with visually striking and important media at his website. I think I've already given away as many as ten copies of that book to family and friends since its release.

Another of Seckel's books that I refer to frequently "Incredible Visual Illusions: You won't believe your eyes" (2003). That book has twenty chapters, each containing a different class of illusion. As a sensory scientist who teaches courses on sensation, perception and cognition, I find this book useful because it organizes a nice collection of illusions into meaningful categories that are relevant to me. In this work, as in Seckel's many others, the author acknowledges many renowned vision scientists. I imagine that the book's organization benefited from Seckel's association with these people.

Seckel's new book is "Optical Illusions: The Science of Visual Illusions." This is a fine book, with 281 optical illusions (one per page). The book begins with a four page essay on illusions. This is followed 281 pages of illusions, each printed to fill one page. Many of the illusions have been published by Seckel and others previously. A few of the illusions are new. The illustration section is followed by 24 pages containing BRIEF explanations of each illusion. Each explanation is, on average, seven or eight sentences.

I have one major criticism of the new book. The title is highly misleading. The book title suggested to me a book that would delve into science, in a scholarly way, at least at the level of a Sensation and Perception undergraduate textbook. I was hoping for something of a sequel to Masters of Deception (e.g., "The Science of Deception"?). However, this book is not about the science of visual perception or of illusions. It is not even about "optical" illusions, as most illusions are explainable in terms of perceptual and cognitive processes beyond simple optics. Sure there are 24 pages of explanation at the very end of the book, but these are generally not deep, satisfying explanations. And there is no reference list that would allow the casual reader to track down important scientific articles.

One superb, beautiful resource on the science of visual illusions is Michael Bach's website, "Optical Illusions and Visual Phenomena". Bach's dynamic site is visually striking, presenting some great illusions. The explanation of each illusion is accessible to the novice, but detailed enough to satisfy and impress other perceptual scientists. Bach generously acknowledges the artists and scientists associated with each illusion, providing scholarly references in each case. Bach lists and explains scientific controversies regarding many of the illusions. I should add that Bach is a first-rate sensory scientist from the University of Freiburg. His electophysiological and psychophysical research is highly-regarded, important, and of high quality. When I have spoken to him in the past (at conferences and at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in San Francisco), I have always been impressed by his knowledge and intellectual passion. Bach and his website are the real deal.

There are plenty of other excellent scientific sources on illusions. Richard Gregory, for instance, has written and spoken about many illusions, and he is the prime mover, director, and creator of London's Explororey. Another great innovator and scientist is Christopher Tyler, a vision scientist at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute. Among sensory scientists, Tyler is widely regarded as a genius and computational/theoretical wizard. He's the guy who invented the autostereogram (aka "The Magic Eye"), and who makes unique observations about art and symmetry. He contributed considerably to San Francisco's Exploratorium. He presents a variety of interesting things at his S-K website. The Exploratorium has a wonderful website on illusions and their explanations that is definitely worth a look. Project Lite and Viperlib are two other impressive, important sites related to the science of illusions.

Seckel mentions at his website that he has even more books on illusions that are coming soon. The one that got my attention is the following:

"Your Mind's Eye: A Comprehensive Scientific Examination of Visual and Sensory Illusions. Boston: The MIT Press." Seckel writes, "This will have a dual platform (Mac and PC CD Rom) featuring hundreds of interactive illusions, and very rigorous scientific explanations. University level." I hope that this book lives up to its billing. There's no doubt that Seckel's work, combined with a healthy dose of good science, would be an important contribution. I'd love to see Seckel promote scientists and their explanations with the same enthusiasm that he promotes their illusions. Moreover, I feel confident that Seckel has important insights into illusions, and that his ideas have scientific importance. I'm not sure that Seckel has succeeded in expressing these ideas... yet.

Editorial Review:

Seeing is not always believing.

Optical Illusions is an intriguing collection of baffling images and shapes that change before your eyes: hidden figures, incredible designs and dazzling graphic patterns. The book includes such well-known optical illusions as Shepard's Tabletop, Wade's Spiral, the Floating Finger illusion, Ames Room, and Rubin's Face/Vase illusion. There are more than 275 illusions in all, with explanations of each image and notes about the science of visual perception.

Every type of optical illusion is here, among them:

• Figure/ground illusions, in which one shape switches into another and back again
• Ambiguous figures
• Impossible objects
• Trompe l'oeil
• Stereo illusions.

With illusions rendered in photography, artwork and computer imaging, and its huge variety of themes and effects, Optical Illusions dazzles both the mind and the eye.

(20061210)

The Perfect Machine: Building the Palomar Telescope

Ronald Florence

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A fine rendering of a historic achievement 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Florence's narrative brings alive the fascinating saga of the great Mt. Palomar reflector, in its time the world's largest telescope and a pioneering example of "Big Science." The instrument's gestation period, beginning in 1928 and interrupted by the second World War, was so long that three of the principal figures didn't live to see it dedicated in 1948. Included in this group was the project's founding father, George Ellery Hale, for whom the telescope is named. The author uses Hale's remarkable abilities and seemingly unending physical and mental travails as a unifying theme throughout the book.

A renowned telescope developer and respected solar astronomer, Hale had the establishment clout and scientific connections to launch such a grand project and assemble a team to carry it out. While suffering from a chronic nervous condition that often left him isolated in a darkened room, he was nevertheless able to lead the program through its most critical periods and help rescue it from a multitude of financial and organizational crises.

The immense 200-inch (nearly 17 ft) diameter of the Palomar telescope's main mirror gave it twice the theoretical resolution and four times the light grasp of its Hale-inspired predecessor, the 100-inch reflector on Mt. Wilson. Everything about the 500-ton machine was Brobdingnagian, perhaps best symbolized by the fact that an observer at the prime focus actually sat inside the telescope tube, with plenty of clearance for starlight to stream past him to the mirror some fifty-five feet below.

In the hands of Florence, what might have been a confusing welter of facts becomes a coherent and utterly engrossing suspense story. He seemingly overlooks nothing about the relevant issues of Astronomy, optics, engineering, business, politics and personalities; yet there is no sense of overkill and one always feels eager to begin the next chapter. The dozens of interacting characters are portrayed with enough subtlety, irony and humor to make them seem real and familiar. I have seldom gotten so much pure enjoyment from a book.

Editorial Review:

Almost a half-century after is completion, the 200-inch Palomar telescope remains an unparalleled combination of vast scale and microscope detail. As huge as the Pantheon of Rome and as heavy as the Statue of Liberty, this magnificent instrument is so precisely built that its seventeen-foot mirror was hand-polished to a tolerance of 2/1,000,000 of an inch. The telescope's construction drove some to the brink of madness, made others fearful that mortals might glimpse heaven, and transfixed an entire nation. Ronald Florence weaves into his account of the creation of "the perfect machine" a stirring chronicle of the birth of Big Science and a poignant rendering of an America mired in the depression yet reaching for the stars.

Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing

Margaret Livingstone

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In his foreword to Harvard neurobiologist Margaret Livingstone's groundbreaking Vision and Art, Nobel prize-winner David Hubel expresses the hope that, "In the future, visual neurobiology will enhance art in much the same way as a knowledge of bones and muscles has for centuries enhanced the ability of artists to portray the human body." The future begins with this book, which demonstrates that how we see art depends ultimately on the cells in our eyes and our brains. Livingstone offers a comprehensive account of the biology of vision, drawing on the history of science and her own cutting-edge discoveries. She explains lucidly how the eye and brain translate different wavelengths of light into the colors and forms of the world around us. She then turns to art and explains the science underlying various phenomena in painting, using many examples-from the mystery of the allure of the Mona Lisa to the amazing atmospheric effects of the Impressionists-to illustrate her points. Her book will arm artists with new techniques that they can use in their own craft and thrill any reader with an interest in the biology of human vision.

Introduction to Modern Optics

Grant R. Fowles

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Decent, economical book for optics 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book while taking an optics course using Hecht's Optics 4th ed. I found Fowler's book to be fairly useful, especially since I got to see optics from two different perspectives. The one really good thing about this book is it's price, and makes it a good reference book. The downside is that since it's quite short, it doesn't cover everything, moves fairly fast, and has no examples. For the price I paid, however, I am quite satisfied.

More of an engineering than an academic viewpoint on optics 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

If you're studying optics in a college class using Hecht's classic text, or if you are an engineer who needs an overview of the subject, this is a good practical and economical introduction to the subject. However, be aware that this book is short on two components - details of derivations of mathematical formulas and illustrations. That is not to say they do not exist, it is just to say that at several points during the book I could have been aided in my comprehension by either an illustration or derivation that simply wasn't there.

There are end of chapter exercises included, and there are solutions to selected odd problems in the back of the book. However, there are no details as to how those solutions were arrived at. If you are an engineer, the only way to really be sure that you understand a subject is to solve problems. Thus I suggest Schaum's Outline of Optics by Hecht for that task. Often the solutions to problems in that outline are the mathematical details that are missing in this book!

The table of contents are not included in the product description, so I add that here:
Chapter 1 The Propagation of Light
1.1 Elementary Optical Phenomena and the Nature of Light
1.2 Electrical Consants and the Speed of Light
1.3 Plane Harmonic Waves. Phase Velocity
1.4 Alternative Ways of Representing Harmonic Waves
1.5 Group Velocity
1.6 The Doppler Effect
Chapter 2 The Vectorial Nature of Light
2.1 General Remarks
2.2 Energy Flow. The Poynting Vector
2.3 Linear Polarization
2.4 Circular and Elliptic Polarization
2.5 Matrix Representation of Polarization. The Jones Calculus
2.6 Reflection and Refraction at a Plane Boundary
2.7 Amplitudes of Reflected and Refracted Waves. Fresnel's Equations
2.8 The Brewster Angle
2.9 The Evanescent Wave in Total Reflection
2.10 Phase Changes in Total Internal Reflection
2.11 Reflection Matrix
Chapter 3 Coherence and Interference
3.1 The Principle of Linear Superposition
3.2 Young's Experiment
3.3 The Michelson Interferometer
3.4 Theory of Partial Coherence. Visibility of Fringes
3.5 Coherence Time and Coherence Length
3.6 Spectral Resolution of a Finite Wave Train. Coherence and Line Width
3.7 Spatial Coherence
3.8 Intensity Interferometry
3.9 Fourier Transform Spectroscopy
Chapter 4 Multiple-Beam Interference
4.1 Interference with Multiple Beams
4.2 The Fabry-Perot Interferometer
4.3 Resolution of Fabry-Perot Instruments
4.4 Theory of Multilayer Films
Chapter 5 Diffraction
5.1 General Description of Diffraction
5.2 Fundamental Theory
5.3 Fraunhofer and Fresnel Diffraction
5.4 Fraunhofer Diffraction Patterns
5.5 Fresnel Diffraction Patterns
5.6 Applications of the Fourier Transform to Diffraction
5.7 Reconstruction of the Wave Front by Diffraction. Holography
Chapter 6 Optics of Solids
6.1 General Remarks
6.2 Macroscopic Fields and Maxwell's Equations
6.3 The General Wave Equation
6.4 Propagation of Light in Isotropic Dielectrics. Dispersion
6.5 Propagation of Light in Conducting Media
6.6 Reflection and Refraction at the Boundary of an Absorbing Medium
6.7 Propagation of Light in Crystals
6.8 Double Refraction at a Boundary
6.9 Optical Activity
6.10 Faraday Rotation in Solids
6.11 Other Magneto-optic and Electro-optic Effects
6.12 Nonlinear Optics
Chapter 7 Thermal Radiation and Light Quanta
7.1 Thermal Radiation
7.2 Kirchoff's Law. Blackbody Radiation
7.3 Modes of Electromagnetic Radiation in a Cavity
7.4 Classical Theory of Blackbody Radiation. The Rayleigh-Jeans Fo
7.5 Quantization of Cavity Radiation
7.6 Photon Statistics. Planck's Formula
7.7 The Photoelectric Effect and the Detection of Individual Photons
7.8 Momentum of a Photon. Light Pressure
7.9 Angular Momentum of a Photon
7.10 Wavelength of a Material Particle. de Broglie's Hypothesis
7.11 Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle
Chapter 8 Optical Spectra
8.1 General Remarks
8.2 Elementary Theory of Atomic Spectra
8.3 Quantum Mechanics
8.4 The Schrödinger Equation
8.5 Quantum Mechanics of the Hydrogen Atom
8.6 Radiative Transitions and Selection Rules
8.7 Fine Structure of Specturm Lines. Electron Spin
8.8 Multiplicity in the Spectra of Many-Electron Atoms. Spectroscopic Notation
8.9 Molecular Spectra
8.10 Atomic-Energy Levels in Solids
Chapter 9 Amplification of Light. Lasers
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Stimulated Emission and Thermal Radiation
9.3 Amplification in a Medium
9.4 Methods of Producing a Population Inversion
9.5 Laser Oscillation
9.6 Optical-Resonaor Theory
9.7 Gas Lasers
9.8 Optically Pumped Solid-State Lasers
9.9 Dye Lasers
9.10 Semiconductor Diode Lasers
9.11 Q-Switching and Mode Locking
9.12 The Ring Laser
Chapter 10 Ray Optics
10.1 Reflection and Refraction at a Spherical Surface
10.2 Lenses
10.3 Ray Equations
10.4 Ray Matrices and Ray Vectors
10.5 Periodic Lens Waveguides and Opical Resonators
Appendix I Relativistic Optics
1.1 The Michelson-Morley Experiment
1.2 Einstein's Postulates of Special Relativity
1.3 Relativistic Effects in Optics
1.4 The Experiments of Sagnac and of Michelson and Gale to Detect Rotation
References
Answers to Selected Odd-Numbered Problems

Editorial Review:

A complete basic undergraduate-level course in modern optics for students in physics, technology and engineering. The first half deals with classical physical optics; the second, the quantum nature of light. Many applications of the laser to optics are integrated throughout the text. Problems and answers. 170 illustrations.

Optics (4th Edition)

Eugene Hecht

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The worst textbook i've ever used 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Of all the textbooks i have ever used at university (and as a fourth year student there have been quite a lot) this is simply the worst by far. Unlike the other physics textbooks i have used which were good at clarifying material, i found myself more confused after reading this book. Material i understood perfectly well at the lecture become suddenly incomprehendable when reading this awful book. Avoid it.
Having shelled out money at the beginning of the semester for this book, i ended up using other optics books from the library all semester. Do NOT buy this book.

Editorial Review:

Accurate, authoritative and comprehensive, Optics, Fourth Edition has been revised to provide readers with the most up-to-date coverage of optics. The market leader for over a decade, this book provides a balance of theory and instrumentation, while also including the necessary classical background. The writing style is lively and accessible. For college instructors, students, or anyone interested in optics.

A Natural History of Seeing: The Art and Science of Vision

Simon Ings

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Editorial Review:

The science, history, philosophy, and mythology of how and why we see the way we do.

We spend about one-tenth of our waking hours completely blind. Only one percent of what we see is in focus at any one time. There is no direct fossil evidence for the evolution of the eye. In graceful, accessible prose, novelist and science writer Simon Ings sets out to solve these and other mysteries of seeing.

A Natural History of Seeing delves into both the evolution of sight and the evolution of our understanding of sight. It gives us the natural science—the physics of light and the biology of animals and humans alike—while also addressing Leonardo's theories of perception in painting and Homer's confused and strangely limited sense of color. Panoramic in every sense, it reaches back to the first seers (and to ancient beliefs that vision is the product of mysterious optic rays) and forward to the promise of modern experiments in making robots that see. 16 pages of color; 90 black-and-white illustrations.

Principles of Optics: Electromagnetic Theory of Propagation, Interference and Diffraction of Light (7th Edition)

Max Born, Emil Wolf

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Classic 4 out of 5 stars.
24 of 26 people found this review helpful.

This book is a classic with all problems associated. Half of the reference quoted have been written before the WWII. Very useful if you like to quote original papers. This book cover most topics of the classical optics but hardy cover modern topics.

However, it is hard to read and use a weird notation. Certainly not useful for rapid referencing. Like the bible, use it only when you have serious problem to deal with.

Editorial Review:

Principles of Optics is one of the classic science books of the twentieth century, and probably the most influential book in optics published in the past forty years. This edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, with new material covering the CAT scan, interference with broad-band light and the so-called Rayleigh-Sommerfeld diffraction theory. This edition also details scattering from inhomogeneous media and presents an account of the principles of diffraction tomography to which Emil Wolf has made a basic contribution. Several new appendices are also included. This new edition will be invaluable to advanced undergraduates, graduate students and researchers working in most areas of optics.

Introduction To Fourier Optics

Joseph W Goodman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Goodman's Fourier Optics 3rd Edition: An Improved Classic. 5 out of 5 stars.
22 of 22 people found this review helpful.

For the last month, I have been using this book for self study to aid me in my work with lasers. Originally, I was working from the 1st edition (borrowed from a co-worker), but decided to buy my own copy. I wound up buying the 3rd edition, a significantly expanded version of the original.

Goodman's writing style is conversational and his treatment of the subject is thorough. I appreciate his inclusion of enough optics/E&M background within the text that I am not constantly having to go to my bookshelf to consult other references. Note, the 3rd edition has several helpful appendices not found in the 1st edition.

There are also many instructive problems given throughout the text to help students solidify their understanding of the material.

This is an excellent book for self study, and would certainly make a fine text for a senior undergrad course on the subject. I recommend it highly.

Charlie.

Editorial Review:

The second edition of this respected text considerably expands the original and reflects the tremendous advances made in the field. All the material has been update and several new sections explore the recent progress made in the areas of wavelength modulation, analog information processing, and holography. The book also explores Fourier analysis applications and emphasizes those applications to diffraction, imaging, optical data processing, and holography.

Fundamentals of Photonics (Wiley Series in Pure and Applied Optics)

Bahaa E. A. Saleh, Malvin Carl Teich

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Now in a new full-color edition, Fundamentals of Photonics, Second Edition is a self-contained and up-to-date introductory-level textbook that thoroughly surveys this rapidly expanding area of engineering and applied physics. Featuring a logical blend of theory and applications, coverage includes detailed accounts of the primary theories of light, including ray optics, wave optics, electromagnetic optics, and photon optics, as well as the interaction of photons and atoms, and semiconductor optics. Presented at increasing levels of complexity, preliminary sections build toward more advanced topics,
such as Fourier optics and holography, guided-wave and fiber optics, semiconductor sources and detectors, electro-optic and acousto-optic devices, nonlinear optical devices, optical interconnects and switches, and optical fiber communications.

Each of the twenty-two chapters of the first edition has been thoroughly updated. The Second Edition also features entirely new chapters on photonic-crystal optics (including multilayer and periodic media, waveguides, holey fibers, and resonators) and ultrafast optics (including femtosecond optical pulses, ultrafast nonlinear optics, and optical solitons). The chapters on optical interconnects and switches and optical fiber communications have been completely rewritten to accommodate current technology.

Each chapter contains summaries, highlighted equations, exercises, problems, and selected reading lists. Examples of real systems are included to emphasize the concepts governing applications of current interest.

Light-Emitting Diodes

E. Fred Schubert

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Great for LED Device info, Short on Process Technology 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

It is a great book for pople interested in the LED device. It is disappointing in people interested in the processing to make the device. I hope Prof. Schubert will add that dimension in his next book on this topic.

Second edition much improved 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

In its Second Edition - this book is much improved and far more up-to-date, with plenty of practical advice as well theory/design. But still no discussion of band-structure in any detail - which I feel is a weakness of this text. Some valuable material on Nitrides is now included. Overall - this is now arguably the best LED book in the market-place at this time.

Editorial Review:

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are devices that are used in a myriad of applications, such as indicator lights in instruments, signage, illuminations, and communication. This graduate textbook covers all aspects of the technology and physics of infrared, visible-spectrum, and white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) made from III-V semiconductors. It reviews elementary properties of LEDs such as the electrical and optical characteristics. Exercises and illustrative examples reinforce the topics discussed.