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theory Dictionary Terms

Gaussian optics
1. That branch of optics that illustrates the theory in which q is substituted for sin q in Snell's law. Effective results...
Doppler principle
The theory established by Christian J. Doppler in 1842 that states that the rate of change in distance between a perceiver...
first-order theory
 law of reversibility
In physics, the law of reversibility is often associated with the concept of reversibility in thermodynamics. The law...
correspondence theory
Bohr's formulation that every new theoretical principle must correspond to the salient classical predecessor. The principle...
thin lens
A concept used for purposes of preliminary calculations and analysis. In theory it is a lens whose axial thickness is zero.
dynamic theory
The theoretical explanation and analysis of the interactions between electron waves and crystals used in studying electron...
Michelson-Morley experiment
An optical experiment carried out conclusively in 1887 that demonstrated that the ether, a hypothetical medium postulated by...
geometric optics
A field of physics that deals with light as if it truly were composed of rays diverging in various directions from the...
scaling law
In coherence theory, an optical law put forth by physicist Emil Wolf that explains the behavior of light as it travels away...
marcuse loss theory
A theoretical analysis of radiation loss from planar optical waveguides due to scattering by surface irregularities/surface...
BCS theory
Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity, based on the notion that electrons with opposite momentum and spin...
optical theorem
A fundamental law of wave scattering theory that connects the extinction cross section of a scatterer to the real part of...
magneto-optic parameter
A complicated constant linked with the electron theory of the Faraday and Kerr effect. It demonstrates a specific value for...
quantum
The term quantum refers to the fundamental unit or discrete amount of a physical quantity involved in interactions at the...
Nyquist criterion
In image acquisition (and sampling theory), the postulate that the pickup sampling frequency must be a minimum of twice as...
Young's two-slit interference
The method by which Thomas Young in 1802 disproved Newton's corpuscular theory of light by the formation of interference...
enhanced Faraday effect
The occurrence of very large rotations in transparent materials at weak magnetic fields as predicted in the classical...
electron spectroscopy
The theory and interpretation of spectra produced by the electron emissions of substances after their irradiation by x-rays.
partial coherence theory
Totally coherent radiation is produced by a purely monochromatic point source. In the real world the energy will have a...
Casimir force
The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged...
wave optics
Also referred to as physical optics - the area of optics in which the wave nature of light is essential when defining its...
Kubelka-Munk theory
A two-flux theory in which the radiation is assumed to be composed of two oppositely directed radiation fluxes through a...
Einstein shift
A shift in the direction of the red in the spectral lines of light which, defined by the relativity theory, will have...
evanescent field theory
A high-frequency approach to the propagation of light in graded-index fibers in which the modal field is represented in...
Planck's law
A fundamental law of quantum theory which states that the discrete quanta of energy transfers associated with...
bending of light
1. That action occurring when light passes through an optical interface at other than normal incidence, i.e., refraction. 2....
gravitational waves
Postulated by Einstein in his theory of relativity. They are waves traveling at the speed of light and exerting force on...
surface wave
A wave that is guided by the interface between two different media or by a refractive index gradient in the medium. The...
third-order theory
Calculations of lens aberrations whereby the first two terms of the series expansion are the only ones employed....
scalar diffraction theory
Scalar diffraction theory is a simplified approach used to describe the propagation of electromagnetic waves, particularly...
laser spectroscopy
That part of the science involved in the study of the theory and interpretation of spectra that uses the unique...
Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory
 electromagnetic theory
The theory of propagation of energy by combined electric and magnetic fields included in Maxwell's equations.
phonon
A phonon is a quantum of vibrational energy associated with the periodic motion of atoms or molecules in a crystalline...
Mie scattering
Mie scattering, named after the German physicist Gustav Mie, refers to the scattering of electromagnetic radiation (such as...
quantum optics
The area of optics in which quantum theory is used to describe light in discrete units or "quanta" of energy known as...
transport theory approximations
Multiple scattering method used in biological analysis in which approximations yield simple, explicit solutions, at least...
scalar theory of light
That theory that treats the light field as a single scalar field rather than as two coupled vector fields.
quasi-linear theory
The first nonlinear theory in plasma physics that details the time and space evolution of plasma wave instability from a...

(40 results found)

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