Introduction to Statistical Optics (Dover Books on Physics) [Paperback]

Edward L. O'Neill (Author), Physics (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0486435784 | ISBN-13: 978-0486435787

Authoritative introduction covers the role of Green's function in mathematical physics, essential differences between spatial and time filters, fundamental relations of paraxial optics, and effects of aberration terms on image formation.

"An excellent book; well-organized, and well-written." — Journal of the Optical Society of America. 80 illustrations. 1963 edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (January 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486435784
• ISBN-13: 978-0486435787
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #176,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Optics

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast-paced and in-depth, June 23, 2005

By 

Xin Zhou (CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Introduction to Statistical Optics (Dover Books on Physics) (Paperback)

Paraphrasing J.W. Goodman in his Fourier Optics, E.L.O'Neill helped consummate the marriage between communication theory and optics.

This book is not an introduction. In under 200 pages, It covers geometrical, fourier and statistical optics without patiently deriving the formulae in small steps. It feels to me like a train ride over a long distance, with many stops where the conductor points at important scenes and tells good stories that I did not know before, even for the places I previously visited. For example, page 26-27 talks about contrast reversal in a most direct fashion in real space, much more elucidating than treatments in frequency space only.

The range of the topics in this book is close to 50% of combined (Warren Smith's Modern Optical Engineering + Joseph Goodman's Fourier Optics & Statistical Optics), the depth is about 80% of that combo, while the thickness is only 10%.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for signal processing experts, September 7, 2010

By 

rwalcott - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Statistical Optics (Dover Books on Physics) (Paperback)

I came to this book with a good background in signal processing (communications) and math, but not so much in modern optics. The book really brought out the connections. I was able to quickly grasp a lot of the early part of the book, once I stepped up from 1 to 2 dimensions (no big deal). Later parts were sometimes over my head, but still interesting and worth reading. Often I'd just scan slowly, getting the sense of the equations or physics without worrying about proving every detail, then read the concluding paragraphs of a section in more detail and get some understanding. If you have a background like mine, this is a terrific book. Probably pretty good for others, too, but I can't promise that.

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Summary!, July 13, 2010

By 

Wayne R. Mckinney "Wayne R. McKinney" (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Introduction to Statistical Optics (Dover Books on Physics) (Paperback)

Really great book for seeing the forest without getting clobbered by the trees. I came to the book a practicing optical physicist. While I had seen all the pieces separately over the course of my education, I had never seen so much essential material presented so logically and so well. I find it light years more readable than Goodman, or Born and Wolf. O'Neill has the gift of being able to sense what is hard to swallow, and illuminating it like no other. I would elevate to an essential place on the shelf of any would be optiker of today. Would make an excellent senior undergraduate course, or gift for a beginning graduate student in optics.