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Patterns of Light

Chasing the Spectrum from Aristotle to LEDs

  • Book
  • © 2008

Overview

Authors:
  1. Steven Beeson

    1. Waterfront Technologies, Washington, USA

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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. James W. Mayer

    1. Center for Solid State Science, Arizon State Univeristy, Tempe, USA

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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • The book fills a void in the market by providing an overview of the entire electromagnetic spectrum, rather than just focusing on visible light
  • Competing books are 20 years old; this book brings the topic up-to-date
  • The book is observer-oriented with over 100 color photos as compared to decades-old texts which emphasize detailed treatments
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages I-VIII
    Download chapter PDF

  2. The Path of Light

    • Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer
    Pages 1-12

  3. The Reflection of Light

    • Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer
    Pages 13-23

  4. Daguerreotypes: Light Captured

    • Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer
    Pages 25-32

  5. The Refraction of Light

    • Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer
    Pages 33-47

  6. Lenses: From Water Drops to Telescopes

    • Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer
    Pages 49-73

  7. Sources of Light and Color

    • Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer
    Pages 75-90

  8. Diffraction and Interference

    • Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer
    Pages 91-102

  9. Rainbows

    • Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer
    Pages 103-113

  10. Sea, Sky, and Cloud

    • Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer
    Pages 115-130

  11. Polarized Light and Sunglasses

    • Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer
    Pages 131-138

  12. Photons, Electrons, and the Atom

    • Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer
    Pages 139-146

  13. X-rays, Ultraviolet Light, and Infrared

    • Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer
    Pages 147-156

  14. X-ray Emission: Earth, Moon, and Mars

    • Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer
    Pages 157-164

  15. Back Matter

    Pages 187-195
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Keywords

About this book

Light is all around us. Vision is our dominant sense, and we are richly rewarded with a palette of colors from red to violet. Our eyes do not detect the l- energy, long-wavelength infrared (IR) radiation, but we know it exists from d- cussions of war applications and televised images of guided weapons targets. Our eyes do not detect the higher-energy (above visible light energies) and shorter-than-visible-wavelength ultraviolet radiation, and yet we know it is there from the sunburn we receive in Arizona. We also know that window glass can block ultraviolet rays so we don’t get a burn while driving with the windows rolled up. We know about radio waves from the little boxes that talk to us and x-rays from the dentist office. These waves and rays belong to the same family of light, often called photons (from the Greek photos, light), that describes the spectra of electromagnetic radiation over 10 orders of magnitude from very low-energy - dio waves to very high-energy x-rays and gamma rays.

Reviews

From the reviews:

"In this work, which developed out of a general studies course at the university, Beeson and Mayer (both, Arizona State Univ.) present a descriptive overview of the nature of light and fundamental phenomena associated with its behavior. … The brief, nontechnical chapters are geared to the nonscientist and emphasize phenomena. The book includes excellent illustrations (with some color photos) and a glossary of terms. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers." (O. Eknoyan, CHOICE, Vol. 45 (11), 2008)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Waterfront Technologies, Washington, USA

    Steven Beeson

  • Center for Solid State Science, Arizon State Univeristy, Tempe, USA

    James W. Mayer

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