Overview of Light Propagation in Homogeneous, Source-free Media
Light can be described as a waveform propagating through free space (vacuum) or a material medium (such as air or glass). Mathematically, the (real valued) amplitude of one wave component is represented by a scalar wave function u that depends on both space and time:
where
represents position in three dimensional space, and t represents time.
Read more about this topic: Fourier Optics
Famous quotes containing the words light and/or media:
“When the light was extinguished,
She covered me warm,
And she prayed to the angels
To keep me from harm”
—Edgar Allan Poe (18091849)
“The media have just buried the last yuppie, a pathetic creature who had not heard the news that the great pendulum of public conciousness has just swung from Greed to Compassion and from Tex-Mex to meatballs.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)