Abstract
In this chapter we are going to explore the intriguing question, “What is light?” The nature of light has been a topic of great interest throughout history. In the biblical story of creation, we find the creation of light mentioned already in the third verse, and elsewhere we find the statement that “God is light.” During the Golden Age of Enlightenment in Greece, four hundred years before Christ, followers of Socrates and Plato speculated that light rays leave our eyes, are reflected from objects, and are then returned, thereby allowing us to see.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References and Suggested Reading
Kirkpatrick, L. D., and Wheeler, G. F. (1995). Physics: A World View, 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing, Chapter 14.
Rossing T. D. (1990). The science of Sound, 2nd ed, Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, Chapter 3.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rossing, T.D., Chiaverina, C.J. (1999). The Mystery of Light. In: Light Science. Undergraduate Texts in Contemporary Physics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-21698-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-21698-0_2
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-3169-6
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-21698-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive