The Rise of the Wave Theory of Light

Download or read book The Rise of the Wave Theory of Light written by Jed Z. Buchwald and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1989-01-04 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Part 1 - Selectionism -- 1. The Optical Ray -- 2. The Concept of Polarization -- 3. Arago and the Discovery of Chromatic Polarization -- 4. Mobile Polarization -- Part 2 - Fresnel, Diffraction, and Polarization -- 5. Fresnel's Ray Theory of Diffraction -- 6. Huygen's Principle and the Wave Theory -- 7. The Puzzle of Polarization -- 8. Transverse Waves -- Part 3 - Controversy and Unification -- 9. A Case of Mutual Misunderstanding -- 10. Selectionists and Polarization after 1815 -- 11. Fresnel's Final Unification -- 12. The Emerging Dominance of the Wave Theory.