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Geometrical optics. Geometrical optics, or ray optics, is a model of optics that describes light propagation in terms of rays. The ray in geometrical optics is an abstraction useful for approximating the paths along which light propagates under certain circumstances. The simplifying assumptions of geometrical optics include that light rays:
Physical optics is used to explain effects such as diffraction. In physics, physical optics, or wave optics, is the branch of optics that studies interference, diffraction, polarization, and other phenomena for which the ray approximation of geometric optics is not valid. This usage tends not to include effects such as quantum noise in optical ...
In physics, the term "light" may refer more broadly to electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength, whether visible or not. [ 4 ][ 5 ] In this sense, gamma rays, X-rays, microwaves and radio waves are also light. The primary properties of light are intensity, propagation direction, frequency or wavelength spectrum, and polarization.
Laser. A telescope in the Very Large Telescope system producing four orange laser guide stars. A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word laser is an anacronym that originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission ...
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. [1][2] This includes: electromagnetic radiation consists of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma radiation (γ) particle radiation consists of ...
Modern physics is a branch of physics that developed in the early 20th century and onward or branches greatly influenced by early 20th century physics. Notable branches of modern physics include quantum mechanics, special relativity, and general relativity. Classical physics is typically concerned with everyday conditions: speeds are much lower ...
Conceptual physics. Conceptual physics is an approach to teaching physics that focuses on the ideas of physics rather than the mathematics. It is believed that with a strong conceptual foundation in physics, students are better equipped to understand the equations and formulas of physics, and to make connections between the concepts of physics ...
Laue equations. In crystallography and solid state physics, the Laue equations relate incoming waves to outgoing waves in the process of elastic scattering, where the photon energy or light temporal frequency does not change upon scattering by a crystal lattice. They are named after physicist Max von Laue (1879–1960).