Skip to Main Content

Optometry and Vision Science Research Guide: Wave (physical) optics

Research resources and information for vision science.

Wave optics, also known as physical optics, treats light as an electromagnetic wave. It is essential for understanding phenomena that cannot be explained by simple ray models, such as interference, diffraction, and polarization.

Foundational reading

Equations

Maxwell's Equations

A set of differential equations describing the space and time dependence of the electromagnetic field and forming the basis of classical electrodynamics. These equations can be used to describe all electromagnetic phenomena, including light propagation. 

Crystal optics and anisotropic media

Articles

Daví, F. & Rinaldi, D. (2015) Mechanical and Optical Properties of Anisotropic Single-Crystal Prisms. Journal of elasticity. [Online] 120 (2), 197–224.

Electromagnetism

Interference