I. Introduction
Optics is the part of physics that studies light and how it behaves in different materials. It’s usually taught in two parts:
- Geometric (ray) optics: Reflection, refraction, and image formation with mirrors and lenses.
- Wave (physical) optics: Effects include interference, diffraction, and polarization.
II. Outline
- Light Basics
- Wavelength, frequency, speed of light
- Intensity, power, and energy flow
- Index of refraction
- Ray Optics: Reflection and Refraction
- Law of reflection
- Snell’s Law
- Total internal reflection and critical angle
- Mirrors
- Plane mirrors
- Spherical mirrors (concave/convex)
- Mirror equation and magnification
- Ray diagrams and sign conventions
- Lenses
- Converging vs diverging lenses
- Thin lens equation and magnification
- Lens combinations
- Common lens aberrations
- Optical Instruments
- The eye and vision correction
- Camera focusing basics
- Microscope and telescope basics
- Resolution limits
- Interference
- Coherence and Path difference
- Double-slit interference
- Thin-film interference
- Interferometers
- Diffraction
- Single-slit diffraction
- Diffraction gratings and spectra
- Rayleigh criterion and resolution
- Polarization
- Polarizers and Malus’s Law
- Polarization by reflection
- Applications
III. Free Resources
- Optics Resources Reddit wiki
- This is a large list including paid and free options for books, software, and niches in optics.
- OpenStax
- BYU’s Light and Optics Textbook
- PhET Simulations
IV. Video Series
- MIT OCW Optics Course
- Includes videos, notes, problem sets, projects, and practice exams.
- Optical Engineering Playlist
V. See Also
- Electricity and Magnetism, Calculus III, Signal Processing
- Beam42 Optical Ray Tracer
- Ray-tracing tool for modeling optical systems (lenses/mirrors) and evaluating image quality.
