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Re: [Phys-l] Optics textbook?



Leigh,
When and where are you giving this presentation? Is there a possibility
the slides will be published online?
Thanks for your time.
Paul.

-----Original Message-----
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
[mailto:phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of Leigh
Palmer
Sent: Thursday, April 08, 2010 10:34 AM
To: phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
Subject: [Phys-l] Optics textbook?

I am looking for illustrations to copy for a talk I will give on 3D
movie technology to an audience of physics teachers. I am unfamiliar
with optics textbooks (or, perhaps, internet accessible references) that
have been published in the last two decades. I would appreciate your
recommendations of any textbooks that have either a good discussion of
birefringence, or good illustrations, or both.

Though the topic of birefringence is relatively simple and
straightforward, I have found in the past that my students had more
difficulty internalizing it than many other explanations, even of
concepts like entropy. This may well have been a failing of my own
teaching, but since I have not given a class lecture on this topic in
about twenty years I would like to get it right this time. The hard
questions I want to address are "What is circularly polarized light?"
and "How do I prepare circularly polarized light?". Because it is
important for the detailed explanation of how the RealD 3D system*
works, it would be useful to also include explanation of elliptical
polarization and chromatic aberration in circular polarizers, but if I
succeed in getting the simpler concepts across that will be
satisfactory.

Thanks for your help,

Leigh

* I have the benefit of having heard an excellent talk given two weeks
ago by Matt Cowan, the inventor who contributed most to the development
of the system that is used for films like "Avatar" and "Alice in
Wonderland". I want to write my own talk before my understanding fades
away.
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