Principles of Optics: Electromagnetic Theory of Propagation Interference and Diffraction of Light [Paperback]

Emil Wolf (Author), Max Born (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1980 | ISBN-10: 0080264816 | ISBN-13: 978-0080264813 | Edition: 6th

The latest edition of the author's classic work in the field of Physical Optics incorporating revisions to the text and illustrations as well as references to recent contributions to the literature.


The historical introduction is followed by detailed information clearly presented on all aspects of the subject including Basic Properties of the Electromagnetic Field, Geometrical Theory of Optical Imaging, Elements of the Theory of Aberrations and the
Optics of Crystals. Reviews of previous editions: `Principles of Optics still stands out as the central source of information for any serious student or research worker of optical science.' Applied Optics `It can be recommended without reserve as the
one that every serious worker in optics should have on his bookshelf.' Optics and Laser `As a result of the rigor, completeness, and elegance in the presentation of classical optics by Born and Wolf, the Principles of Optics will very likely remain for
many more years the unsurpassed reference book for the mature, experienced, and serious optical scientist and engineer.' Circuits and Systems

Editorial Reviews

Review

1990 A spectacular book. -- Joseph D Fargnole Westinghouse Scool of Applied and Eng Science

One of the most advanced and comprehensive optics text availabe...To know all it contains is to know nearly all of optics. -- Professor H Phillip Stahl Physics & Applied Optics Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Book Description

Principles of Optics is one of the classic science books of the twentieth century. This standard reference continues to be invaluable to advanced undergraduates, graduate students and researchers working in any area of optics. The book presents optics deductively as a system based on Maxwell's equations and provides a complete picture of our knowledge of optics as a whole --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 808 pages
• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann; 6th edition (December 1, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0080264816
• ISBN-13: 978-0080264813
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,104,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good professional reference book, but not for students., December 31, 2001

By 

GPK (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Principles of Optics: Electromagnetic Theory of Propagation, Interference and Diffraction of Light (Hardcover)

Already for many years, this is a classic on optics. Almost any subject you can think of is covered in this book, in a fundamental way. That is its strength and its weakness: experienced scientists will find everything they need, but for students it is not a good book because it is far too detailed: they will get lost in all the mathematical details before they grasp the essence of the subject.

This problem also exists - to a lesser extent - for professionals who try to use the book to fill in a gap in their knowledge: they too will find themselves asking why they have to read so many (well thought-through) pages before the authors finally make their point.

My advice: use other books to study from, and use this book when you are already experienced and need a high-quality reference work.

A note for scienctists: please mention section numbers when referring to this book in your own publications.

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Classic, December 12, 2002

By 

Yvan Dutil (Québec) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Principles of Optics: Electromagnetic Theory of Propagation, Interference and Diffraction of Light (Hardcover)

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.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It has everything about classical wave optics!, September 21, 2000

By 

Jinwon Sung (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Principles of Optics: Electromagnetic Theory of Propagation, Interference and Diffraction of Light (Hardcover)

This seventh edition of the famous classic standard book on optics is really neat! The notations, symbols became a little more modern than the previous editions. Also the shapes of the characters in the equations looks much more pretty so it helps reading, understanding. As most of you know, this has everything you need to study about, refer to classical wave optics. The only weak point of this book is the material covering geometrical optics. It's too abstract, mathematical and lacks modern treatment of optical designs, aberrations. But, regarding the wave optics, it's hard to find any flaws, downsides. Even though I am working on micro-photonic elements, I often need to refer to this book for some wave optics principles, knowledges. But this book alone does not cover the whole optics including optical design, photonics. If you want to have the best minimum combination of books covering the basics of the entire optics. I would recommend "Fundamentals of Photonics(Saleh)", "Modern Optical Engineering(Smith)" and this book.