
The Light Fantastic: A Modern Introduction to Classical and Quantum Optics
Ian Kenyon(Author)
Oxford University Press
2nd Edition
Published on 11. November 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
734 pages
978-0-19-958460-4 (ISBN)
Description
A thorough introduction to modern classical and quantum optics, appropriate for advanced undergraduates or beginning graduates. The emphasis is on building an understanding in straightforward steps. Digital cameras, LCD screens, laser welding, and the optical fibre-based internet illustrate the penetration of optics in twenty-first century life: many such modern applications are presented from first principles.
Self-contained themes covered in the book include:
- Paraxial ray optics for devices including matrix methods and aberrations.
- Interference, coherence and interferometry.
- Diffraction, spectrometry and Gaussian optics.
- Fourier optics, holography and information processing.
- Astronomical telescopes, adaptive optics and aperture synthesis.
- Maxwell's theory; scattering, absorption and dispersion in bulk materials; multilayer filters.
- Quantum phenomena, wave-particle duality and the uncertainty principle.
- Schroedinger's analysis of spectra, photon properties.
- Laser principles; He:Ne to MQW lasers and applications.
- Detectors: photodiodes, CCDs, PMs and image intensifiers; response, noise and linearity.
- Fibre optics: single mode fibre analysis; the modern data highway; fibre sensors.
- Photon-atom interactions, optical cooling and optical clocks.
- Second quantization, photon correlations, SPDC, entanglement.
This thoroughly revised and updated edition includes new coverage of photonic crystals and Bloch waves, as well as quantum dots and microcavities.
Self-contained themes covered in the book include:
- Paraxial ray optics for devices including matrix methods and aberrations.
- Interference, coherence and interferometry.
- Diffraction, spectrometry and Gaussian optics.
- Fourier optics, holography and information processing.
- Astronomical telescopes, adaptive optics and aperture synthesis.
- Maxwell's theory; scattering, absorption and dispersion in bulk materials; multilayer filters.
- Quantum phenomena, wave-particle duality and the uncertainty principle.
- Schroedinger's analysis of spectra, photon properties.
- Laser principles; He:Ne to MQW lasers and applications.
- Detectors: photodiodes, CCDs, PMs and image intensifiers; response, noise and linearity.
- Fibre optics: single mode fibre analysis; the modern data highway; fibre sensors.
- Photon-atom interactions, optical cooling and optical clocks.
- Second quantization, photon correlations, SPDC, entanglement.
This thoroughly revised and updated edition includes new coverage of photonic crystals and Bloch waves, as well as quantum dots and microcavities.
Reviews / Votes
This will I am sure be found to be an invaluable textbook. * P.W. Hawkes, Ultramicroscopy * Review from previous edition The well designed illustrations, strongly linked to the discussion, the clear definition of terms and the easy to follow derivations of key equations make this an excellent choice for a graduate optics course. It is also an appropriate choice for advanced undergraduates. This highly recommended modern textbook can both explain the principles and applications of modern optics and stimulate creative minds. * Barry R. Masters, Optics and Photonics News * Review from previous edition This book presents a thorough and self-contained introduction to modern optics, covering in full the three components of ray optics, wave optics and quantum optics. Digital cameras, LCD screens, aircraft laser gyroscopes and the optical-fibre-based internet illustrate the penetration of optics into 21st-century life. * CERN Courier *More details
Edition
2nd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Readership: Third and fourth year undergraduates, graduates, lecturers and professionals in physics, optical engineering, and opto-electronics.
Edition type
Revised edition
Illustrations
490 b/w line illustrations and 10 halftones
Dimensions
Height: 245 mm
Width: 189 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
1582 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-958460-4 (9780199584604)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
11/2010
2nd Edition
Oxford University Press
€167.13
Shipment within 15-20 days
Previous edition

Book
03/2008
Oxford University Press
€51.98
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Ian Kenyon has been a Research Associate at Oxford University, Northwestern University and Brookhaven National Laboratory, and subsequently Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Reader at Birmingham University.
Content
1. Introduction ; 2. Reflection and refraction at plane surfaces ; 3. Spherical mirrors and lenses ; 4. Optical Instruments ; 5. Interference effects and interferometers ; 6. Diffraction ; 7. Fourier optics ; 8. Astronomical telescopes ; 9. Classical electromagnetic theory ; 10. Polarization ; 11. Scattering, absorption and dispersion ; 12. The quantum nature of light and matter ; 13. Quantum mechanics and the atom ; 14. Lasers ; 15. Detectors ; 16. Optical Fibres ; 17. Photonic crystals ; 18. Quantum interactions ; 19. The quantized electromagnetic field ; 20. Quantum dots, optical cavities and cryptography