Basic Concepts

1. Light Waves and Physical Optics

A. Physics of waves and wave motion

B. The mathematics of sinusoidal waveforms

2. Interaction of Light Waves

A. The principal of superposition

B. Huygen's wavelets

3. Interference

A. Constructive and destructive interference

B. Young's double-slit interference experiment

C. Thin film interference

4. Diffraction

A. Diffraction by a single slit

B. Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction

C. Diffraction grating

D. Diffraction-limited optics

5. Polarization

A. Polarization—a simple analogy

B. Polarization of light waves

C. Law of Malus

D. Polarization by reflection and Brewster's angle

E. Brewster windows in a laser cavity