书摘
1.1:Prolegomenon
In chapters to come we will evolve a formal treatment of much of the science of Optics,with particular emphasis on aspects of contemporary interest.The subject embraces a vast body of knowledge accumu-lated over roughly three thousand years of the human scene.Before embarking on a study of the modern view of things optical,let"s briefly trace the road that led us there,if for no other reason than to put it all in perspective.1.2:In the BeginningThe origins of optical technology date back to remote antiquity.Exodus 38:8(ca.1200B C E)recounts how Bezaleel,while preparing the ark and tabernacle,recast"the looking-glasses of thewomen"into a brass laver(a ceremonial basin).Early mirrors were made of polished copper,bronze,and later on of speculum,a copper alloy rich in tin.Specimens have survived from ancientEgypt-a mirror in perfect condition was unearthed along with some tools from the workers"quartersnear the pyramid of Sesostris II(ca.1900B C E)in the Nile vaUey.The Greek philosophers Pythagoras,Democritus,Empedocles,Plato,Aristotle,and others developed several theories of the natureoflight.The rectilinear propagation oflight(P.77)was known,as wasthe Law ofReflection(P.86)enunciated by Euclid(300B C E)in his book Catoptrics.Hero of Alexandria attempted to explain both these phenomena by asserting that light traverses the shortest allowed path between two points.The burning glass(a positive lens used to start fires)was alluded to by Aristophanes in his comic play The Clouds(424B.C.E.).The apparent bending of objects partlyimmersedin water(P 93)ismentionedin Plato"s Republw.Refraction was studied by Cleomedes(50A D)and later by Claudius Ptolemy(130AD)of Alexandria.who tabulated fairly precise measurements of the angles of incidence and refraction for severalmedia(P.92).Itis clearfromthe accounts ofthe historian Pliny(23-79A D)thatthe Ro.Bans also possessed burning glasses Several glass and crys
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