Optics is one of the oldest subjects of science. Ancient Egyptians (~1900 BC) had the knowledge to make mirrors out of polished metals, and references to lenses, laws of reflection and refraction can be found in ancient Greek literature (~500 BC). Optics also has deep connections to diverse areas of physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. For instance, two giants in classical physics, Newton and Hooke, fought fiercely over the nature of light (~ the 1700s); Newton advocating the corpuscular nature of light, and Hooke promoting the wave nature of light. Newton ultimately prevailed, publishing the book “OPTIKS.” Soon after, though, the wave nature of light was experimentally demonstrated by Young (1804). More recently, optical observations have been critical in the discovery of quantum phenomena and the rapid development of quantum physics in the early 20th century. Moreover, fiber-optic communication technologies have made the modern information age possible, and optical imaging technologies are essential in biological studies and in health care.

Modern optics, the study of light and its interaction with matter, covers a broad range of phenomena, including geometric optics, wave optics, fiber optics, nonlinear optics, statistical optics, Fourier optics, nano-optics, laser, and quantum optics. In this class (PHYS410: Optical physics), we will cover a number of basic topics in optics, including the electromagnetic theory of light, the vectorial nature of light (polarization), crystal optics, interference, and diffraction. A separate course (Applied Optics), scheduled for the fall semester, will focus on geometric optics (imaging systems), optical cavities and lasers, and other applied optics topics.

This course is mainly aimed at undergraduate students of physics and engineering with some basic knowledge of elementary physics. At the end of the year, after taking both PHYS410 and PHYS422, students will have learned important basic principles in classical optics and know how to apply these principles to solve real-world problems, such as, imaging, light propagation and guiding, interferometric phase and displacement measurement, etc.
The official language in this class is English. Lectures, homework, handout materials, and exams will be given in English. Students may ask questions in Korean. When deemed necessary by me or requested by students, however, I will give lectures in Korean.

TBD

Optics by E. Hecht (5th ed.)
Introduction to Modern Optics (G.R. Fowles)
Modern Classical Optics (G. Brooker)
Fundamentals of Photonics (2nd Edition) by Saleh and Teich

TBA

This is a regular lecture course.