A History of Optics from Greek Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century

by Olivier Darrigol

This book is a long-term history of optics, from early Greek theories of vision to the nineteenth-century victory of the wave theory of light. It shows how light gradually became the central entity of a domain of physics that no longer referred to the functioning of the eye; it retraces the subsequent competition between medium-based and corpuscular concepts of light; and it details the nineteenth-century flourishing of mechanical ether theories. The author critically exploits and sometimes completes the more specialized histories that have flourished in the past few years. The resulting synthesis brings out the actors' long-term memory, their dependence on broad cultural shifts, and the evolution of disciplinary divisions and connections. Conceptual precision, textual concision, and abundant illustration make the book accessible to a broad variety of readers interested in the origins of modern optics.

Genres: History, Science, Physics, History Of Science

344 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[N Perrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise, tight, yet simultaneously comprehensive scholarship providing the perfect introduction to the history of optics. Darrigol outlines the development of optical theory from Greek contexts through Islamic and Enlightenment developments with incredible clarity and acuity.

The brevity of his explanations are enriched by the depth of bibliographic material, and one need look no further if they are interested in this aspect of the history of science.