Students and professionals alike have long felt the need of a modern
source of practical advice on the use of optical tools in scientific
research. Walter T. Welford's Useful Optics meets this need.
Welford offers a succinct review of principles basic to the
construction and use of optics in physics. His lucid explanations and
clear illustrations will particularly help those whose interests lie in
other areas but who nevertheless must understand enough about optics to
create the experimental apparatus necessary to their research.
Consistently emphasizing applications and practical points of design,
Welford covers a host of topics: mirrors and prisms, optical materials,
aberration, the limits of image formation and resolution, illumination
for image-forming systems, laser beams, interference and
interferometry, detectors and light sources, holography, and more. The
final chapter deals with putting together an experimental optics system.
