Customer Reviews

Introduction to Modern Optics (Dover Books on Physics)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a classic introductory text on optics, that is still my first choice recommendation when people ask me for a reference to bring them up to speed on optics, optical phenomena and optical devices. It is concise, readable, and not over-rigourous; perfect for people new to the field who need to "come up to speed". Although there has been a spectacular growth in optics and photonics in the last 25 years, the fundamentals one needs to work in the field have not changed that much, and Fowle's text covers the optical bases well, from polarization to interference to lasers to non-linear optics; it's all here in a condensed readable format.

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

I was fortunate to have a physics professor use this text in his undergrad class. At the time, I considered optics as a mere curiousity. Well, I enjoyed the book and course enough to continue with the subject, eventually getting a PhD in Optical Physics. Never regretted it. I still rely on Fowles as a frequent reference, especially when deriving Fresnel eqns from Maxwell's eqns, solid state refresher, and intro to quantum theory.

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.

This book is a little gem - and it costs next to nothing.

It's a beautifully concise and remarkably clear introduction to the main principles of modern optics - the ones that you are going to need over and over again as you continue into the subject.

This book gives you a great overview and set of basic foundations for every-day modern optics. I return to it often for little insights and reminders, even after 37 years in the business.

This is an easy 5 star. For those who gave it less, please think again:
1) Title says: introduction. So don't imagine it covers every equation there is. Get Wolf's book if you like equations that much.
2) Short but concise on key subjects. To do that, you have to skip a lot of intro/background or equations, that's why there are references and citations (and better bricks/bug killers).
3) This is an intro book but also serves well as a refresher. This is intermediate level to advanced level for non-physicists, as it assumes good understanding of calculus.

To be fair, the book is not without flaws. One obvious is the name implied recent advances (although different people use modern optics differently), while the book was last revised in 1975. Nonetheless, the key component of modern optics are mostly there, unless you are into cutting edge advances. It might be more appropriate to name it as "intro to physical optics", then again the author added a section of ray optics at the end of the book...

This book by G.R. Fowles sufficies for one or two all-nighter studying sessions where a massive review of physical optics is needed.

The advantages to the book are that it is concise and attempts to cover a small fraction of the mathematics behind physical optics. Yet, there are some mistakes, such as an incorrect presentation of the forward Fourier Transform in the first chapters.

As far as the explanations and motivations for modern theoretical and applied optics, this book does not compare to "Optiks" by Born and Wolfe.

In essence, the books by Born or Hecht make this book the 'engineers reference' in the world of academia.

An applied mathematician by trade (with additional training in electrical engineering), I purchased this book to fill in background information on general optics in order to prepare me to read background material and scientific papers in nonlinear optics, a subject in which I am just beginning to undertake research. My familiarity with basic optics is limited to what I learned in 100-level physics many years ago--in other words, I know essentially nothing. The book really does deliver on the promise on the backcover that all that is needed is some "advanced mathematics (beyond calculus)" and "an intermediate course in electricity and magnetism."

I found this book incredibly nice to read, with concise explanations that contain the proper amount of detail for both veteran readers and complete newbies (such as myself). The author doesn't bog the reader down with equations and long derivations, but he explains clearly how one step leads to another, allowing the reader to quickly fill in the details of the derivations, a perfect compromise for all audiences: those new to the field can learn by doing, yet with the proper guidance to prevent the process from being too frustrating, and experienced readers needing a refresher can merely read the results. Figures are well-placed and especially helpful, and notation is clear and not needlessly complicating.

I highly recommend this book. Its value can't be denied; however, I'm certain that the book would compare favorably with other books costing several times more.

This book is a great refresher, but I find it lacking in readability. It often omits important details, and too quickly comes to mathematical conclusions. It feels almost like an outline.

That said, it is a useful reference, especially for the price. However, don't try to learn optics from the ground up with this text.

This is an excellent book on fundamentals of optics, and optical devices. It provides a very good reference even for those who are not novices in the field of optics. The book covers a great deal of knowledge for only 12 dollars. Even though the book does not include many solved examples, and it is missing many important topics in optics, I am glad I have purchased it, since it is very affordable.