Fourier Optics - Overview of Light Propagation in Homogeneous, Source-free Media

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:

    A lover may bestride the gossamers
    That idles in the wanton summer air,
    And yet not fall; so light is vanity.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    The media transforms the great silence of things into its opposite. Formerly constituting a secret, the real now talks constantly. News reports, information, statistics, and surveys are everywhere.
    Michel de Certeau (1925–1986)